Former School

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A symmetrical three-bay/ two-storey former schoolhouse, with sympathetic extension block to right gable, aligned NW-SE on the S side of Monaghan Road.

Pitched natural slate roof with a brick chimney to each gable. An advanced stone eaves course supports ogee metal rainwater goods, with downpipe to right.

Principal elevation faces SW. Walls are coursed sandstone rubble with stepped dressed stone quoins. All windows are 2/2 exposed box sliding sashes with horns and stone lintels and cills (unless otherwise stated). Those to first floor have stepped brick jambs. Each floor has three equally spaced openings; all are as stated except that to ground floor centre, which is a large segmental headed 4x3 fixed pane window with keyblocked and voussoired head.

Left gable is abutted by a set of thirteen stone steps with a modern metal railing, leading to a t+g-sheeted door with stone lintel and brick jambs at first floor level.

Rear elevation is partly built into the elevated churchyard to rear. Ground floor has three narrow ventilation openings. First floor has two windows (detailed as façade), set to centre. To left, set between ground and first floor level, is a window opening, now infilled with rubble stone, with exposed top section containing a small fixed 3x1 pane. The cill and brick reveals of the original opening remain.

Right gable is abutted by a modern single storey entrance and amenity block, which is joined to the main building by a short link block (see later). The exposed section is blank. The extension block is aligned SW-NE with gable to the road, and is detailed as original building with a brick chimney to centre. Road facing gable has a modern glazed timber entrance door set in a deep segmental headed opening with keyblocked and voussoired head. Above, a stone plaque reads ‘Rosslea / Heritage Centre / 1991’. Right elevation has five openings (from left): a large 2x3 top-hung casement with cement cill, a 2x2 top-hung casement with stone cill, three modern timber-sheeted doors accessed by a cement ramp. All openings, except the second from left, have gableted louvred heads. The rear gable has two obscurely glazed and louvred windows with stone cills to left and a timber-sheeted door to right. NW elevation is of no interest. The link block is glazed to front and blank to rear.

Historical information

First cited in the valuation revision book entry for 1879.

Primary sources:
1. Valuation revision book, 1879 (PRONI: VAL 12B/25/10A, p.64).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
D. Plan Form

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

An attractive former schoolhouse which has been sympathetically refurbished (now used as a heritage centre). It retains its original plan-form and is an attractive roadside feature.