first have any confirmed ideas about the benefits of abstinence from alcohol but in the first years following setting up Bessbrook he saw the damage alcohol was doing to his employees and his business. Most of the Bessbrook population supported this policy and in the 1870’s when a poll was taken the majority of the town confirmed their wish that the town would remain free of public houses and alcohol. In 1885 the hydro-electrically powered Bessbrook and Newry Tramway opened. Infrastructure in the Model Village At one time, Bessbrook linen was among the finest in the world, and the linen mill provided most of the employment in the village. Tenement houses were constructed for the mill workers, many of which were of such good quality that they are still inhabited today. Each house also had an allotment garden for the growing of vegetables, and the area of the village where they were situated is still known as 'The Gardens', although the allotments themselves have been replaced by further housing. Most of the buildings in the village are constructed of granite, which is abundant locally. In the frequently segregated communities of Northern Ireland, Bessbrook is an unusually mixed village, with representation of Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic denominations. The Richardsons sometimes faced criticism that they did not employ enough Roman Catholics, however half of the employees of the linen company were Catholic. John G. Richardson facilitated the worship of Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Presbeterian, and other communities by providing ground for their place of worship and also showed great attention to detail in insuring that the provided schooling was free of sectarianism. The village also has a Quaker meeting house. This is set in the demesne of The Woodhouse, which was inhabited by the Richardson family until the 1980s, and of Derrymore House – also a Richardson property until bequeathed to the National Trust, it was once the home of Isaac Corry MP. The area has been designated a historic park. By the mid-1840s, when Bessbrook was set up as a model village it was not uncommon for Ulster workers to have housing built for them by factory owners, and Bessbrook was no different. John G. Richardson built housing for his workers and had a policy to bring poor people in, these people were often beggars and unqualified people, to work for him as he felt it would encourage these employees