Model School House Education Offices, 28 Dublin Road, Enniskillen BT74 6HN

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Handsome two-storey hipped-roofed former headmaster's residence of 1865-7 in brick and rock-faced squared limestone
to the designs of Enoch Trevor Owen, built as part of the Enniskillen Model School. Located on the north-eastern side of Dublin Road on the south-eastern outskirts of Enniskillen, the building is now used as educational offices for WELB. It is set back behind a lawn enclosed from the pavement by a masonry wall and railings. To the rear of the building there is a car park, beyond which is the modern school which replaced the original school building in 1974-75.

The building is roughly E-shaped in plan, with a main rectangular section and three rear returns- that to the centre single-storey while those to the ends two-storey. Appended to each of the two-storey returns is a later single-storey extension.

To the centre of the west front façade is a breakfront; to the centre of this is a projecting door surround. The replacement timber panelled door is set within a semi-circular arched opening. The plain fanlight rests on a projecting stone cornice that extends around the surround as a stringcourse. Voussoirs alternate with cut stone and radial bricks. The surround is topped with a stepped cut stone inscribed plaque, this reads ‘District National Model School'. The plaque and the stone cornice on which it rests have recently been topped with lead flashings.

Fenestration to the front and side façades is regularly arranged; to the rear facade this is less formal. Window openings to the first floor of the west façade are semi-circular arched. There are some single openings but mainly these have paired arrangements. Voussoirs alternate with cut stone and radial bricks and sills are cut stone. Openings to the ground floor are segmental-headed with radial brick arches and keystones and decorative imposts (set rather low). Openings rest on a cut stone sill course. To the rear original openings have segmental heads and brick dressings. All of these have 6/6 painted timber sash frames. Openings to the later extensions generally have painted timber, casement frames.

Walls to the front and sides are faced with red / orange clay brick. These rest on a canted rock-faced squared rubble base; the plinth in turn rests on a canted base; both are slightly battered. Walls to the rear are faced with squared rock-face rubble with brick quoins. There is a dressed stone eaves course.

The main and return roof are hipped and slated with red fireclay ridge tiled. The chineystacks, which were relatively largely Tudoresque examples, have been removed. Of the small extensions there is one with a flat roof, one with a slated lean-to roof and one with pitched slated roof. Rainwater goods are cast-iron; the round downpipes are secured with decorative cast-iron brackets.

Symmetrically arranged in front of the main front door is a pedestrian gateway with a replacement steel gate. Brick gate pillars and piers to the wall are topped with pyramidal stone caps. Walls are in squared, rock-face rubble with wrought-iron railings. To the right side there is a wide modern gateway; this is shared with the adjacent school.

Historical information

This building originally served as the headmaster’s residence for Enniskillen Model School, the last Model School to be built in Ulster, which opened in September 1867. The school itself was designed by Enoch Trevor Owen (c.1833-81), the brother of James Higgins Owen (1822-91) the then architect to the Board of Public Works, but the original plans for the residence are unsigned. The contractor was William Hague of Cavan, although a 1967 history of the school says the Matthew McClelland of Londonderry was responsible for the work.

The residence was separated from the school by large playgrounds, but connected to it by long walls and an open shelter. As well as the living quarter’s for the headmaster and his family, the building also contained a dormitory (on the south side of the upper floor), presumably to accommodate boarding pupils. Like the school the building originally had tall, almost Tudoresque, brick chimneystacks, which were removed at some point in the mid to later 20th century.

The original Model School building was extended in 1934-35 and demolished in 1973 and replaced with the present building. Around the same time the residence was taken over for use as offices for the Western Education and Library Board.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL12B/26/17A Annual valuation revision book, Enniskillen ED, 1864-68 [As part of a school this property was exempt from valuation, so the valuers recorded no details regarding the actual building.]

Secondary sources
1 ‘EMS 1867-1967’ [Centenary booklet of Enniskillen Model School] (1967), pp.5-7, 39-44
2 Dixon, Hugh, ‘Historic Buildings…Enniskillen’, (Belfast, 1973), p.37
3 Rowan, Alistair, ‘North West Ulster’, (London, 1979), p.285 [Rowan states that the school is by J.H. Owen.]
4 Wylie, Robin, ‘Ulster Model Schools’, (Belfast, 1997), pp.27-29

Internet sites / articles
1 Irish Architectural Archive

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
V. Authorship

Evaluation

Deigned by a notable Victorian Irish architect, ET Owens, this mid-Victorian former headmaster's residence is a prominent landmark on the south-eastern approach to Enniskillen complete with good quality boundary walling and railings to Dublin Road. It is an eye-catching structure with a symetrical front façade which has a breakfront and an elaborate entrance doorway all constructed in a luminous orange/red clay brick with a stone plinth which, bar the loss of its chimneystacks, has been well-preserved. The former headmaster's house is well proportioned and has many interesting internal features including elaborate window encasements. It has social interest for the local community.