Comber Primary School

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Comber Primary school is situated at the S end of the Darragh Road, on a rise to the N of the town centre. It is a large single storey modern style building constructed in 1938 to designs by W. Taggart.

The facade is in brown brick with a Bangor blue slated hipped roof with overhang. The large windows were originally metal but have now been replaced by PVC, though the frame style may be in keeping with the original.

There are two main wings to the N and to the S, both linked by three evenly spaced corridors.

The S wing contains a central entrance bay consisting of a large semicircular arch with stepped parapet with concrete urns. This arch leads into a shallow porch within which is a wall (faced in a sandstone-like composite material), which contains the entrance doorway with sidelights, fanlights and flanking windows. At either end of the front wing are recessed bays each with a smaller semicircular arched entrance with timber panelled double doors (the entrance to the W originally to the girls’ school and that to the E originally leading to the boys’). To the W end of the front wing a large classroom block has been added in recent times (c.1985), which though slightly different in design (and in a red brick) does not jar to a great extent.

The N wing has a large projecting assembly hall section to its N facade which has a hipped roof but which appears to have been extended slightly to the N with the addition of a flat roofed portion. Between the corridors linking both wings are paved ‘courtyards’, with shubbery, wooden ‘picnic’-like benches etc.

To the front of the school is a slightly sloping lawn with tarmac yards to the rear.

Wall and railings to S and E appear to be original.

Historical information

This school was built to designs by W. Taggart and opened in November 1938. The classroom extension to the west was added c.1985.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Large primary school in the modern style built in 1938 to designs by W. Taggart, with brown brick facade, hipped roof and distinctive semicircular entrance.