Artikelly Community Centre

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey, four structural bay, former school building aligning with Aghanloo Road 50 metres to south west. Painted harling to front and sides, exposed brick to rear. Slate roof, chimney on each gable, flat roofed brick porch to front. Two casement windows in the al south east side, one to the north west. Two top hung casement windows to either side of porch. Six square single pane casements aligning above.

To south east gable one window to the toilets at first floor and a vent pipe. To the north west gable one window near the rear at low level.

The rear facade is the most interesting, revealing the age of the bricks and a number of blocked up and altered windows. At present there are two square single pane casements at first floor near each gable. An emergency exit door with concrete lintel is adjacent to the north west window and an external steel staircase descends to approximately the centre of the facade. At ground floor a two pane casement window is near the south east gable, a door with adjacent window is near the centre (both have concrete lintels) and a second door and window are near the north west gable. To the left of the central door is a bricked up window with relieving arch above a flat arch. Four other flat arches are distributed at different levels between the central door and top of the stairs.

Historical information

A building marked as a school is shown on the site on the 1831 map. It is described in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs as: ‘The Marquis of Waterford is building an excellent school house in the townland of Artikelly for the instruction and the use of both sexes. The house was ready for the roof when the late storm, 7 November 1834, tossed it nearly to the ground.’ Elsewhere: ‘The house… has four apartments, two of the rooms are each 18 feet by 20 feet, the other rooms are each eight and a half by 20 feet. The walls are brick.’ From the brick work it is clear that this large building was never extended and is the size built in 1834. It has however, been extensively renovated, from the detailing, it is estimated that this was during the 1950s though the caretaker was unable to confirm. He related a story that the brick porch is made from rejects of a nearby brick field to explain their bad weathering. The building ceased to operate as a school during the 1970s

References:

O.S.S. 1831
Ordnance Survey Memoirs Vol 11

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Interesting for the enormous size of a country school built in the 1830s and still structurally unaltered. An unusual building in the history of school design which may repay further research into the reasons for its construction and the educational principles associated with this. Important also as a social focus for Artikelly community for 163 years. The renovations of the 1950's however have altered the architectural character so much that listing is not suitable.