Ballyvicknacally School

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A double-height rendered Victorian former school-house; built c.1850, extended 1906, and converted into a dwelling in 1972; located to the north side of Ballynahinch Road west of Dromore. Rectangular block (1850) with adjoining lower annexe (1906); abutted by a single-storey modern extension to rear.

Pitched natural slate roof with decorative crestings to roofline, plain bargeboards to gables and modern skylight insertions; yellow brick chimneystacks to gables having two tall clay pots. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on box eaves. Walling is painted smooth render with troupe l’oeil quoins and contrasting plinth. Windows are replacement uPVC throughout with projecting painted masonry sills and contrasting reveals.

The principal elevation faces east; main block has four evenly-spaced windows. Annexe to right has modern timber door to left and two smaller windows to right.

The south gable is blank. To gable is an inscribed slate plaque reading BALLYVICKNAKELLY NATIONAL SCHOOL. WILLIAM COWAN HERON PATRON AND PROPRIETOR”. To either side of this are exposed purlin ends.

The west (rear) elevation is four windows wide. Annexe to left is recessed and abutted by a modern extension, similarly detailed but of no historic interest.

The north gable is blank; abutted to right by a slated lean-to extension with modern door.

Setting:
Situated in a rural
setting to the west of Dromore; south gable to main road. Tarmacadamed lane to east leads to parking area and rear courtyard; and to a two-storey farmhouse to north. To west is the former headmaster’s house (HB17/14/003B). Lawned garden to rear bounded to south and north by modern timber fence. To north is a detached garage (1996) on the site of the original toilet block.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Smooth render
Windows: uPVC
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

Although the First Survey records that Ballyvicknacally Schoolhouse was constructed c. 1850 and was first depicted on the second edition of the Ordnance Survey map (1859), the one-storey schoolhouse, or its predecessor, appears on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map in 1833 as a small square-shaped structure captioned ‘schoolhouse.’ The Ordnance Survey Memoirs (1837) noted that it was not known when the schoolhouse had been established, suggesting that it was a considerable period of time prior to the 1830s. The memoirs noted that the school was funded by Dromore Parish Church (HB17/15/022) and accommodated approximately 70 students, the majority of whom were Presbyterian (54). Only four Roman Catholics attended the school at a time when attendance of hedge schools remained the primary source of education for that denomination (between 300,000 and 400,000 children in Ireland attended hedge schools during the 1820s) (Ordnance Survey Memoirs, p. 78; Connolly, p. 249).

By the second edition of the Ordnance Survey map (1859) the schoolhouse appears to have been extended to the north as it is depicted as a rectangular-shaped building; it is not certain whether the school was rebuilt or merely extended between 1833 and 1859 as subsequent rebuilding work conducted c. 1880 has quite altered the original character of the schoolhouse. The Ordnance Survey map captioned the school as the ‘Ballyvicknacally Nat[ional] School’ confirming that by at least 1859 the former church-administered school had been incorporated into the national school system and, although exempt from taxation, the schoolhouse was valued at £1 10s. in Griffith’s Valuation (1861).

Under the national school system, local schoolteachers could apply for a grant from the Board of Commissioners for National Education. In 1868 Ballyvicknacally applied for such a grant; in its application the school recorded that the building measured 27 feet long by 15 feet in breadth and accommodated over 120 children (although the average daily attendance was only 30.8 for males and 25.5 for females). The adjoining teacher’s residence, a two-storey cottage known as Heron’s Lodge (HB17/14/003B), was constructed c. 1882 shortly before the school was completely rebuilt at the sole expense of William Cowan Heron in 1885. Heron (c. 1820-1917) was a local landowner who funded a number of public buildings and utilities around Dromore; in 1891 he provided the four-faced town clock which adorns the cupola of Dromore’s Town Hall (HB17/15/010), however he is best remembered for erecting the Cowan Heron Hospital in the townland of Drumbroneth (HB17/12/028A) ‘for the benefit of the people of the town and neighbourhood’ (Ulster Town Directory 1901). Despite the reconstruction of the school in 1885 there was no subsequent alteration to either the layout of the building on the later editions of the Ordnance Survey maps, or to the valuation of the site which remained at £1 10s. by the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930.

Doloughan states that the school was opened on 7th October 1850, lending further support to the theory that the c. 1830 schoolhouse was completely rebuilt rather than renovated, however this schoolhouse was superseded by the current building constructed by Heron. William Cowan Heron continued to be a patron of Ballyvicknacally Schoolhouse after its reconstruction in 1885, and perhaps funded a renovation of the site that took place in 1906 (Heron continued to meet the cost of repairs and additions to the Cowan Heron Hospital until his death in 1917 making it a likely assumption that he also may have financed later alterations to the school). With the introduction of Intermediate Schools and the 11 plus test in the 1950s, Ballyvicknacally accommodated fewer pupils; the school continued with only one teacher for over a decade but was forced to close prior to 1969 (Doloughan).

In 1969 the First Survey recorded that a Mr. P. Duffy occupied the site however at that time the record included both the school and Heron Lodge, the former teacher’s dwelling; the former school was converted into a private dwelling in 1972. Ballyvicknacally Schoolhouse was listed in 1977 and continues to be occupied; a modern conservatory has been added to the rear of the dwelling. An original plaque affixed c. 1885 reads: ‘Ballyvicknacally / National School / William Cowan Heron / Patron and Proprietor.’

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/21/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey map 1833
2. PRONI OS/6/3/21/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1859
3. PRONI OS/6/3/21/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1904
4. PRONI OS/6/3/21/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1919-1920
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/38A – Griffith’s Valuation 1861
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/10A – Annual Revisions 1864 – 1878
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/10B – Annual Revisions 1879 - 1891
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/10C – Annual Revisions 1892 - 1898
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/10E – Annual Revisions 1899 - 1908
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/10F – Annual Revisions 1909 – 1930
11. PRONI ED/1/18/76 – Grant Aid Applications Co. Down 1866-99
12. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Co. Down III Vol. 12 (1837)
13. Ulster Town Directory (1901)
14. First Survey Record – HB17/14/003 (1969)
15. Ordnance Survey Map – 203-1SW (1974)

Secondary Sources

1. Connolly, S. J., ‘The Oxford Companion to Irish History’ Oxford: Oxford University Publishing, 2004.
2. Doloughan, A., ‘When Ballyvicknacally School closed its doors’ Dromore: Dromore and District Local Historical Group, 1994.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A double-height rendered Victorian former school-house; built c.1850, extended 1906, and converted into a dwelling in 1972, pre-dating the original listing. Typically Victorian in style with yellow brick chimneystacks and decorative crestings to ridgeline, extensive loss of historic fabric and detailing resulting from the conversion and later work, including the fenestration, has compromised its original character. The original plan form has been completely changed. Although the former school building retains its important local connections with William Cowan Heron, it is of a late date and not among the best examples of the type. Its character has been degraded by the alterations and it is no longer of special interest.