Former school house

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Single storey former school house of c.1823, now converted to a dwelling. The property is set on the N of the main road running through Bryansford village, next to the junction with the Upper Burren Road.

The building has an odd plan with the basically rectangular former school house the main front section to the front and an L shaped return to the rear. The front (SE) façade has a left of centre hipped roof porch with multi-pane early to mid 20th century ‘Georgian’ window to the SE face and a partly glazed (c.1950s) doorway to the NE. Originally this porch had another doorway to the SW (one for girls and one for boys, as it were). To the left of the porch is a multi-pane window with upper hopper opener. To the right of the porch are two similar windows, with that to the far right narrower. The far right portion of the front façade is set back slightly.

The SW elevation consists of the SW façade of the rear return (to the left) and the short SW façade of the main front section (to right). The return façade has three windows of various size (all relatively small), with metal frames. The SW façade of the main section has a window similar to front.

The NE elevation consists of the short NE façade of the main front section (to the left) and the exposed NE façade of the rear return (to right). The short NE façade of the main front section is actually a gable, and has a single window, as front. The façade of the return has two relatively large windows with distinctive geometric lights. The SE facing gable of this portion of the return has a similar window.

The rear elevation consists exclusively of the NW façade of the return. This façade has a gable to either end and a flat roofed section in the middle. The gable ends both have recent looking projecting ‘lean-to’ bays with modern windows, whilst there is a timber sheeted door to the flat roofed centre section. This central section may once have been an open yard, but it now appears to be roofed over, linking the two gabled portions.

The façade is finished in rough cast render and unpainted. The roof is hipped and gabled and appears to be mainly covered in natural slate. Single rendered chimney stack between main front section and return. Cast iron rw goods.

Historical information

This property was originally built as a school house and is believed to date from 1823. It is shown on the OS map of 1834 and marked as such, however, it is not referred to in the contemporary OS memoirs, the compilers simply noting the village’s other school, which was contained within the row of picturesque houses to the north-east (now nos.42-50). ‘Slater’s Directory’ of 1856 lists the building as a girls’ and infants’ school, with ‘Infant school’ marked on the 1859 OS map. The boys’ school, at this stage, was still contained within the aforementioned picturesque house to the north-east, but by 1886 (at least) this housed an embroidery school, with the boys having transferring to the building described above. The property appears to have remained a school house until at least 1910.

The OS map of 1834 shows that the building was originally cruciform in plan, with the front porch and rear return (which possibly originally contained the teacher’s quarters). By 1859 this had altered with the return appearing on the OS map of that year as L-shaped. This L-shape however, probably contained an open yard, with a small free standing gabled building [?once a toilet] to the north-east side. The return as we see it today appears to have incorporated both the yard and the free-standing structure, hence the rear elevations odd arrangement of two gables on either side of a flat roofed section.

Many of the
references listed below refer to Bryansford village as a whole, and not necessarily this property in particular.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI MIC.147 Roden Papers
2 PRONI D.465 Roden Papers
3 PRONI D.2647 Roden Papers
4 PRONI T.2647 Roden Papers
5 PRONI T.3438 Roden Papers
6 ‘Taylor’s and Skinner’s Maps of the roads of Ireland’ (Dublin 1777), map 8 (Taylor and Skinner’s map shows a group of houses either side of the road running through Bryansford)
7 Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast News-Letter’ 26th April 1785 (Advertisement concerning lodgings in Bryansford)
8 R. Lewis, ‘The post chaise companion or traveller’s directory through Ireland’ (Dublin 1786)
9 PRONI OS/1/3/43 OS maps 1st ed. 1834, Co Down sheet 43
10 ‘Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland vol.3: Parishes of County Down I’, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1990)
11 PRONI VAL/1A/3/43 Valuation maps, Kilcoo (c.1836)
12 PRONI VAL/1B/362 First valuation records, Kilcoo (1836)
13 Samuel Lewis, ‘Topographical Dictionary of Ireland’ (Dublin 1837)
14 ‘Parliamentary gazetteer of Ireland’ (Dublin 1843-44)
15 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1846), pp.429-31
16 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ])
17 Maps of Lord Roden’s Co. Down estate (c.1855) [Originals in possession of Lord Roden]
18 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1856), pp.491-93
19 W McComb, ‘Guide to Belfast and adjoining districts…’ (Belfast 1861), pp.160-162.
20 PRONI OS/6/3/43/3 OS maps 1st rev.1859, Co Down sheet 43
21 PRONI Second (Griffith’s) valuation records, Kilcoo (1863) [in print]
22 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1856), pp.491-93
23 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1870)
24 Alexander Knox, ‘History of Co. Down’ (Dublin 1875).
25 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886), pp.137-139.
26 UFTM W.A. Green collection WAG 1, 564, 565 Photographs of Tollymore Park etc. c.1900

Secondary sources
1 EHS Records of the first survey of buildings of historical and architectural interest in Tollymore ward (1972-)
2 P.J. Rankin, ‘Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in the Mourne area of South Down’, (Belfast UAHS 1975), p.8.
3 F. Hamond and T. Porter, ‘A tour of the Mournes’ (Belfast ?1991)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Single storey, hipped and gabled former school house of c.1823, with porch to front and large return to rear, now converted to a dwelling. Externally the building has largely retained its school house appearance.