Arch

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A pedimented sandstone segmental-headed archway commemorating Maud Houston, dated 1906 and built to designs of Vincent Craig, situated in the grounds of Coleraine Academical Institution (HB03/16/006A), to the north side of Castlerock Road in Coleraine town centre.

The monument is of ashlar red sandstone and comprises triangular pediment supported on two piers with buttresses and fluted frieze; the arch is segmental-headed with central keystone. A set of stone steps from south lead to a set of Art-Nouveau-style composite iron gates. Inscription to south side of entablature reads “ANNO DOMINI 1906”. Inscription to north side reads ‘THESE PLAYING FIELDS WERE PURCHASED AND PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL BY OLD BOYS AND OTHER FRIENDS AS A / MEMORIAL OF MAUD, WIFE OF T. G. HOUSTON, PRINCIPAL OF THE INSTITUTION WHO FOR MORE THAN THIRTY / YEARS DEVOTED HER MANY GIFTS OF HEAD AND HEART UNTIRINGLY TO THE WELFARE OF THE SCHOOL / AND ENRICHED THE TOWN & NEIGHBOURHOOD BY A LIFE OF NOBLE ENDEAVOUR.’ To south pediment is a moulded plaque of the school crest. Decorative scrolled arch carved frame to either pier at south, containing a metal inset with glazed oval photograph of Mrs Houston. That to left depicts her as a young woman and metal inset is embossed; “O WE WILL WALK THIS WORLD/ YOKED IN ALL EXERCISE OF NOBLE END”. That to right depicts her as an elderly woman and metal inset is embossed; “AND SO THRO’ THOSE DARK GATES/ ACROSS THE WILD THAT NO MAN KNOWS”.

Setting:

Situated to the south side of the school, at the entrance to the playing fields. Site is bounded by modern pebbledash walls and modern metal railings supported on concrete piers.

Material: Sandstone & iron

Historical information

The triangular-pedimented memorial arch at Coleraine Academical Institution (for history of the school see HB03/16/006A) was erected in 1906 as a memorial to Maud Houston, the wife of T. G. Houston, the second principal of the school who served from 1870 until his retirement in 1915. The memorial arch, which is located to the south of the main schoolhouse and acts as a gateway to the playing fields, was first depicted on the fourth edition of the Ordnance Survey map of 1923, however (as a monument) the arch was not included in valuation sources of the period.

The memorial arch was designed by Vincent Craig (1869-1925), a Belfast-based architect who was the younger brother of James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. Craig was apprenticed to W. H. Lynn during his early education and spent a year travelling Europe before establishing an independent practise in 1891; Craig was a key proponent of the emerging Art Nouveau which was popular during the Edwardian period and stressed asceticism of design over functionalism. Despite the classical appearance of the memorial arch, which was constructed with Dumfries red sandstone, the wavy design of the cast iron gates ‘does not quite conform to classical principles and betrays [Craig’s] Art Nouveau tendency’ (Girvan, p. 26).

In 1906 the playing fields were purchased, and the sandstone entrance arch was erected, to commemorate the memory of Maud Houston who died in 1906; two oval photographs of Mrs. Houston (one depicting her as a young woman and the other later in life) were installed in metal frames on the piers of the arch. These images have survived the century since their installation and underneath each photograph are the following texts: ’O we will walk this world yoked in all exercise of noble end’ and ‘and so thro’ those dark gates across the wild that no man knows.’ The lines are from the final stanza of Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem Princess, a narrative poem which tells the story of a princess who rejects all men and founds a university for women, but later falls in love with a prince who enters the school in disguise. Other inscriptions on the arch include the school crest (located on the pediment) and the construction date: ‘ANNO DOMINI 1906.’ Under the school crest is written the following: ‘THESE PLAYING FIELDS WERE PURCHASED AND PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL BY OLD BOYS AND OTHER FRIENDS AS A MEMORIAL OF MAUD, WIFE OF T. G. HOUSTON, PRINCIPAL OF THE INSTITUTION WHO FOR MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS DEVOTED HER MANY GIFTS OF HEAD AND HEART UNTIRINGLY TO THE WELFARE OF THE SCHOOL AND ENRICHED THE TOWN & NEIGHBOURHOOD BY A LIFE OF NOBLE ENDEAVOUR.’

The memorial arch was listed in 1977 and since that time has been well maintained by Coleraine Academical Institute, retaining all its original features and showing only minors signs of deterioration.

References
Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/5/7/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1923
2. PRONI OS/6/5/7/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1949
3. First Survey Record – HB03/16/002 (1970)
4. First Survey Image – HB03/16/002 (1971)
5. Ordnance Survey map – 13-9SW (1967)

Secondary Sources
1. Girvan, W. D., ‘Historic Buildings in Coleraine and Portstewart’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.
2. Rowan, A., ‘The buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ Yale: Yale University Press, 1979.

Online Resources
1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie
2. Coleraine Academical Institution website - http://www.coleraineai.com/school-history.aspx

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
V. Authorship
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

A pedimented sandstone segmental-headed archway commemorating Maud Houston, dated 1906 and built to designs of Vincent Craig, situated in the grounds of Coleraine Academical Institution (HB03/16/006A) with which it has group value. This triumphal arch style monument conforms to classical principles, but the detailing in the iron-work belies Craig’s interest in the Art Nouveau movement. The arch is an important example of the work of a prominent local architect and makes a significant contribution to the the school setting.

General comments

The record was previously numbered HB03/16/007

Listing Criteria R - Age; S - Authenticity and T - Historic Importance also apply.