House (former school house)

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

One and a half-storey former schoolhouse, with steeply pitched gabled roof and decorative bargeboards built c.1840, but converted to a dwelling in the mid to later 1900s with modern extensions to the east and south. The property is set on the east side of Whitepark Road, just over half a mile southwest of Ballycastle. To the E the property backs unto Ramoan old graveyard (with graves close to the rear elevation).

The building roughly rectangular in plan, but a full-length flat-roofed extension has been added to the E, with an odd-looking projection, with a gabled roof with an extremely steep pitch, to the SE.

The asymmetrical front elevation faces N and consists of the (uneven) gable of the original building, with a flat-roofed portion to the left (E). Roughly to the centre of the gable is a segmental-headed doorway with modern glazed timber door and segmental fanlight with ‘spoke’ tracery. To the left of the window is a window with modern multi-pane frame and label moulding over (all of the windows have similar frames. To the left again (within the flat-roofed section) there is a taller narrower window. To the right of the doorway is a window as that to immediate left of the door. To the upper level there are two windows. There was at one time a larger single window to this level- its cill is still in place.

The W elevation has two windows, as those to left and right of the doorway.

The S elevation consists of the gable of the original building to left, with a modern projection to right (with the steeply-pitched gabled roof). The ground floor of the gable could not be seen in its entirety, however it appears to have two openings, one of which is probably a window, the other possible a doorway. To the upper level are two more windows, similar to those to this level on the N gable. The projection to the right is completely modern and of little interest.

The E elevation consists of the flat-roofed portion with the projection with the steeply-pitched roof to left. The latter, as stated above, is of no interest. The former appears to have been built in two stages, the section to the right (N) earlier, with the deeper section to the left (which backs on to the projection) of more recent construction. There is only one window to the this elevation, located to the right of centre. To its left there is a projecting chimneystack.

The entire façade is finished in painted roughcast. The roof of the main section has a pronounced overhang with decorative bargeboards and exposed rafter ends (to the W). The roof is covered in artificial ‘slate’ and has Velux windows to each side. To the S gable there is a small brick chimneystack. The flat-roof of the section to E is covered in asphalt. A small section of this roof is pitched and has a Velux window. PVCu rainwater goods.

Historical information

This building was originally a schoolhouse, and was probably built in connection with the near by Ramoan (C of I) parish church. It is first shown on the OS map of 1856 (marked ‘School Ho.’), and recorded in the valuation of 1859, however the valuers give no details regarding the dimensions or the age of the building in this or in the subsequent valuations.

The building appears to have ceased to be used as a school in the mid 1900s, (probably following the post war education reforms), and at some point after this, was converted to a dwelling house. C.E.B Brett -writing in 1971- refers to the building as having been ‘recently modernised’ at that date, modernisation which included the insertion ‘of a rather unsuitable window upstairs’, presumably the window (now windows) to the north gable. The building was probably extended to the east side at this point also, with the projection to the southeast corner (with the steeply-pitched roof) added sometime after this, perhaps in the 1980s or early 1990s.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/1/8/2 OS map, Co Antrim, sheet 8 (1856)
2 PRONI VAL/2B/1/28c Second valuation, Ramoan parish (1859)
3 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3a Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1862-64)
4 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3b Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1865-76)
5 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3c Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1876-84)
6 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3d Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1884-93)
7 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3e Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1892/3-98)
8 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3f Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1898-1907)
9 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3g Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1908-21)
10 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5a Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD North and South Wards (1921-27)
11 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5b Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD North Ward (1927-30)
12 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5c Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD South Ward (1927-30)
13 PRONI VAL/3B/1/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballycastle UD, 1935
14 PRONI VAL/3C/1/6 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, 1936-57
15 PRONI VAL/4B/1/12 Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballycastle UD (1956-72)

Secondary sources
1 Brett, C.E.B., ‘Historic Buildings…The Glens of Antrim’ (Belfast, 1971), p.53

Other
references
1 EHS HB05/15/024 First Survey report (18 July 1972)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

One and a half-storey former schoolhouse, with steeply pitched gabled roof and decorative bargeboards built c.1840, but converted to a dwelling in the mid to later 1900s with modern extensions to the east and south.