Killowen School

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Single-storey/ single bay schoolhouse, with modern rear return, south facing to rear of playground on Killowen Old Road.

Pitched natural slate roof has a red tile verge and a painted, stepped rendered chimney on each gable. Semicircular cast iron rainwater goods.

All walls are painted wet dash over rubble stone (to be seen on left corner and left gable at ground level). Facade has a raised eaves course, smooth rendered painted basecourse and a central gable porch.

Porch has a pitched natural slate roof (with ridge to eaves of main roof). It has a coped gable with gabletted apex stone and moulded kneelers. Walls are dashed with basecourse as facade and stepped, painted, smooth render quoins to each corner and openings. In gable is an ashlar granite plaque incised with 'KILLOWEN / NATIONAL / SCHOOL / AD 1910'. There are two doors in gable, both four panelled (bolection moulded, raised and fielded) with segmental heads and each set into a deep segmental headed opening with stop-end chamfered reveals and head and a segmental hood with foliated label tops (left one missing) and stepped quoins. Left and right cheeks of porch have single segmental headed 2x2 fixed timber windows, with reveals and hoods as doors and with splayed rendered cills.

Remaining walls of facade to left and right of porch are symmetrical. Each contains two tall 2/2 fixed timber windows detailed was those on porch and with similar stepped quoins, hoods and foliated stops.

Left and right gables are devoid of openings.

Rear elevation is abutted to centre by a modern gabled single storey return. The remaining walls to left and right each contain one window as facade but without decorative reveals and label.

The artificial slate roof of return partially ties into main roof. Its walls are smooth rendered with a chamfered render basecourse. It has modern stained timber windows on rear gable and left cheek and a modern timber and glass door on right cheek.

To front is a modern playground enclosed by a rendered wall with wrought iron pedestrian gate. At front of playground is a much altered earlier structure which may have been the original school.

Historical information

The 1834 OS 6” map shows an R.C. chapel at this location, and a school a short distance south-west on the (new) main Newry-Kilkeel road. According to the 1836 Ordnance Survey Memoir, the latter was established about 1819. The dimensions of the chapel are given as 50ft 6in x 28ft x 15ft in the 1838 Valuation. The 1859 OS map shows Killowen National School to have moved to a new building immediately south of the chapel. The 1863 Valuation cites the church as the “Yelverton Chapel” (in reference to an infamous elopement and marriage) and the school as two storeys high. The 1901 OS map captions the chapel as being disused.

The present school is where the former chapel stood. The datestone indicates that it originated in 1910. The uniformity of its decoration and internal plan form suggests a new build rather than refurbishment of the earlier chapel.

Primary Sources:
1.PRONI- OS 6/3/55/1(1834 OS map) (Down sheet 55).
2. PRONI- OS 6/3/55/2 (1858 OS map (Down sheet 55)).
3. PRONI- OS 6/3/55/3 (1900 OS map) (Down sheet 55).
2. PRONI- VAL 1B/361, (1838 valuation) p.127.
3. PRONI-VAL 2B/3/61A, (1863 valuation) p.39.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A small rural school of character and assurance of design. However, it is not of special architectural or historic interest.