Lylo National School

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

‘L’ shaped single storey gabled school of 1894 joined to N gable of a simple barn-like RC church of 1863. The ensemble is situated on the SE side of the Drumnacanvy Road with the long side of the school lying right on the roadside.

Prior to the building of the school the church entrance was to the N gable. It is now entered from the long E side.

The schoolhouse is constructed in brick and has a plain render finish. The roof is covered with natural slate. RW goods are extruded aluminium guttering and PVC downpipes.

To right side of the N front is the (now blocked) front door opening. To the left are four unevenly spaced sash windows with horizontal astragals. To the upper part of the wall between the door and the first window is a small plaque inscribed ‘Lylo National School 1894’.

The gables of the front section i.e. to W and E are both blank. Marks to the render of the W gable show where a boiler room was attached. When standing this would have given the building a ‘T’ shaped plan.

The left side of the S face is obscured by the large return. To the right are two sash windows, as before with the exception that the upper astragal to the left window is missing.

To either gable is a small chimney stack. The roof is covered with natural slate but the ridge of this section is c.1000mm lower than the ridge of the rear portion.

The E face of the return has a double door to the right side and two sash-like (actually modern top hung) windows to the left. To the far left is a plain buttress.

To the S face of the main return is a small gabled linking block which joins the school and the church. The S face of the main return is gabled and has a chimney stack to the apex. The E face of the small return has a double door opening with modern doors. To the W face is a sash-like window, as before.

The W face of the main return has three sash-like windows, as before. To the far right is a plain buttress. These windows all have external security grills. The left side of the return merges with the gable of the front section of the school. An awkward roof junction has created an asymmetric gable to the W side of the front section.

Historical information

This church was constructed in c.1863, replacing an earlier one of 1813 which stood a few metres to the north east. The school house was added in 1894. Unusually for a National School, (which since their establishment in the 1830s were intended to be outside of the influence of the various religious denominations, and, symbolically, not allowed to be physically attached to any church), Lylo appears to have been linked to St John’s from the beginning. However, it is not clear if the ‘linking block’ originally belonged to the schoolhouse was constructed as a vestry.

After the building of the school, the interior of the church was reordered with the moving of the altar from the S wall to the N wall. In c.1910 the then parish priest donated the present altar and surroundings, and in c.1962 the altar railings were removed and the altar table moved forward to allow the celebrant to face the congregation.

In the 1970s damage caused by a terrorist bomb resulted in the removal of a boiler house which had stood against the west gable.

The school itself closed in 1974.

References- Secondary sources
1 Information supplied by local historian Frank McCorry.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

A little-altered school of 1894 joined to simple church of 1863. The presence of both church and school on the same site is unusual. The school retains its original simplicity.