Jackson Charity School

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A symmetrical two-storey/ three bay house aligned N-S along the W side of Church Road with a single-storey terrace of houses to left gable.

Pitched natural slate roof (coursed) with concrete verges. Cement-rendered chimney to each gable, each with two decorative tapering square pots. To centre of road elevation is a raised stepped parapet. Half-round plastic rainwater goods on slightly advanced rendered eaves. Walls are lined cement-rendered with stepped stucco quoins to façade and slightly advanced base course.

Principal elevation faces E to road. Central bay has a t+g sheeted door and a 2x3 fixed-pane window with stone cill aligned above (all windows are as this unless otherwise stated). Each flanking bay has a window to each floor - those to first floor are top-hung casements.

Left gable is abutted by a row of much-altered, single-storey dwellings with a higher garage at extreme left-end; the exposed section is blank.

Rear elevation is abutted to left bay by a single-storey return, to central bay by a single storey lean-to, and to right bay by a full height return which projects beyond gable. The exposed section has a 2x3 top-hung casement window with no cill (and modern metal security grille over) to centre. The left return has a pitched natural slate roof with brick chimney to centre of ridge and lime-rendered rubble stone walls. W face has a door opening to left and a small timber framed window opening to right. Left cheek has an infilled window opening with brick cill at extreme left. Right cheek is abutted by the shallower central lean-to return. It has a monopitched artificial slate roof with a timber bargeboard and an infilled window opening to centre of exposed face. Right cheek is abutted by the right return. The right return is two-storey and has a hipped natural slate roof. W elevation has a 2x3 fixed timber window with stone cill and modern security grille at ground floor left. The exposed section of left cheek is blank. Right cheek has a 2x3 top-hung casement to first floor.

Right gable of main block is blank.

Terrace has been refurbished as two dwellings. All with pitched natural slate roofs to front with half round plastic rainwater goods. Three cement rendered chimneys. Walls are pebble-dashed with smooth rendered basecourse. The road façade is 15 openings wide. Openings 1-8 related to one dwelling and 9-15 to the second. Doors in openings 3 and 11 into each dwelling. All are modern glazed timber. All windows are modern top-hung timber casements. Rear elevation has an artificial slate roof with smooth cement rendered walls, modern windows (with concrete cills) with at least one lean-to addition.

Garage walls are lime-rendered and white washed granite rubble; front face has a pair of t+g sheeted doors. Left gable has a fixed 2x4 metal-framed window with concrete cill. Rear elevation is blank.

Historical information

The Ordnance Survey Memoir of 1837 notes that this building was a school associated with the Church of Ireland (HB16/15/014). It notes: "The range of building[s] in the townland of Shean, which is used as school houses, was built for the purpose it is now applied to, the expenses paid by the late Richard Jackson Esq. By his will there is an annual sum of £350 allotted to the support of schools on his estate. In the male school there are - Male Department, boys 120, girls 10, total 130. Protestants 80, Catholics 50. Master a Protestant. The master receives œ40 a year from the sum appropriated to the support of schools by the will of the late Mr Jackson. Female Department: girls 84. Protestants 25, Catholics 59, total 84. Mistress, a Methodist, receives £20 a year from the above mentioned fund. Over 15 years of age - 30; over 10 years - 39; under 10 years - 15, total 84. Infant Department: girls 60, boys 5, total 65. Protestants 15, Catholics 50. Mistress a Protestant and receives £15 a year from the same fund."

Samuel Lewis, writing in 1837, noted that Mr Jackson, who died in 1787 (according to Sir Charles Coote, writing in 1803), endowed (through the proceeds of his will) no less than seven schools in the vicinity of Forkhill.

The First Valuation book notes the two storey end block as being the main school block and the one storey houses being used as a teachers’ dwellings, female school and car house. According to the HMBB field card of April 1970, the two-storey end section was (or became) the boardroom of the charity.

Primary sources:
1. First Valuation book, 1836 (PRONI VAL 1B/247, p.111).
2. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Forkhill Parish (1837).

Secondary sources:
1. S. Lewis, ‘Topographical Dictionary of Ireland’, vol.1, p.633.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A symmetrical two-storey/ three bay schoolhouse with a single-storey terrace of houses to left gable, directly fronting the main road.