LAYD SCHOOLHOUSE

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached symmetrical three-bay single-storey rendered former school, dated 1820, with single-bay single-storey rear extension. L-shaped on plan facing north east fronting onto Middlepark Road with enclosed rear yard, garden to the south and west. Extensively renovated c.1979 and more recently.

Pitched artificial slate roof with synthetic ridge tiles, replacement rendered chimneystacks to either end and replacement uPVC rainwater goods throughout. Rough-cast cement rendered walling with smooth cement rendered plinth course and corner strips. Square-headed window openings with replacement concrete sills and replacement 6/6 timber sliding sash windows with ogee horns and exposed sash boxes.

Three-bay front elevation (NE) has a central square-headed door opening with a painted stone lintel with incised lettering stating; ' Layd Schoolhouse / Founded / 5th September Anno Domini. 1820 / Samuel Boy?'. Replacement timber door, vertically-sheeted below upper glazed panel. Door opens onto concrete step to the street.

Gabled south side elevation with a single window opening roughcast cement render.

Rear elevation now obscured by extension. Largely uPVC windows to rear and extension.

Blind north west gabled side elevation.

Roof Replacement artificial slate
RWG Replacement uPVC
Walling Replacement rough-cast cement render
Windows Replacement timber sliding sash / uPVC

Setting;
Street-fronted and set on the west side of Middlepark Road on a largely residential road. A concrete block wall to the south supports a cast-iron pedestrian gate.

Historical information

No. 63 Middlepark Road, a single-storey three-bay late-Georgian house located in the townland of Culbidag, was constructed in 1820. A plaque located above the entrance door of the building records that the house was originally built as a schoolhouse (known as ‘Layd Schoolhouse’) that was founded in September 1820. The building was first recorded on the first edition Ordnance Survey map (1832) which depicted the structure along its current layout and captioned the building ‘School Ho[use]. The school was not included in the contemporary Townland Valuations (c. 1830) as the valuer noted that ‘there are no houses in this townland worth £3 per annum,’ the minimum value required for inclusion in the source. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs (1830-38) noted that ‘the introduction of schools into this parish is not of a recent date. The manner in which the schools (recently established) are conducted has led to a perceptible change for the better in the moral habits of the rising generation. There is a very great desire for information among the people and they are also anxious to have their children educated.’ The memoir specifically recorded that Culbidagh School [sic] possessed a total of 59 male and female pupils in the 1830s. The school was supported by the ‘Society of Discountenancing Vice’ and was partially funded by the Rector of the parish and by its pupils who hailed from Roman Catholic and Protestant backgrounds (OSM, p. 51).

The building continued to be recorded as ‘Layd School Ho[use] on the second edition Ordnance Survey map (1857), however the contemporary Griffith’s Valuation (1859) noted that the building was no longer utilised as a school but was occupied as a private dwelling. The presence of two schoolhouses in the neighbouring village of Cushendall, both of which were supported by the National School System, may have necessitated the closure of Layd Schoolhouse. In 1859 Griffith’s Valuation recorded that the former schoolhouse was valued at £2 and was leased by Edward Cuppage, a local landowner of Mount Edwards House, to a Mr. William Chard. The dwelling continued to be occupied by Chard until 1866 when the building passed to James Speers, a local farmer. The occupants of the cottage changed frequently until 1898 when Hugh Joseph Flatley, a local National School Teacher, took possession of the site. Despite Flatley’s occupation, the census building return confirms that No. 63 Middlepark Road was not utilised as a schoolhouse but was a 2nd class private dwelling that consisted of five rooms and possessed a fowl house as its sole out office. The contemporary third edition Ordnance Survey map (1903) did not caption the building as a school but simply depicted the house along its current layout. The cottage was increased in value to £3 and 5 shillings under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) which recorded a Ms. Mary Crawley as occupant. In c. 1969 the building was purchased outright from the Cuppage estate by James McAuley who leased the cottage to a Mr. A. Fusco. By the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) the total rateable value of the former schoolhouse stood at £6.

In 1972 the UAHS Guide for the Glens of Antrim described the former Layd Schoolhouse as ‘a very modest three-bay single-storey whitewashed cottage, with Georgian glazing bars’ (UAHS Guide, p. 31). The NIEA HB Records note that the cottage underwent an extensive renovation in c. 1979 which involved the restoration of the building’s rainwater goods, windows and roof and also included the construction of its single-storey kitchen and bathroom extension to rear (NIEA HB Records). During the Second Survey No. 63 Middlepark Road continued to be occupied as a private dwelling.

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/20/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/20/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1903)
4. PRONI OS/6/1/20/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1921)
5. PRONI VAL/1/A/1/20 – Townland Valuation Map (c. 1830)
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/148A-D – Townland Valuations (c. 1830)
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/40A – Griffith’s Valuation (c. 1859)
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/19A-F – Annual Revisions (1864-1923)
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/13A – Annual Revisions (1923-29)
10. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/4 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
11. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/10 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
12. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Co. Antrim IV, Vol. 13 (1830-38)
13. Ulster Town Directories (1861-1918)
14. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
15. First Survey Record – HB05/01/022
16. NIEA HB Record – HB05/01/022

Secondary Sources
1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings and areas of architectural importance in the Glens of Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Detached symmetrical three-bay single-storey rendered former school, dated 1820, with single-bay single-storey rear extension. Despite some alterations this former school retains its essential historic character and is of social interest to the local community. The incised stone lintel is of particular architectural interest.