St Joseph's (Maintained) College

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached two-storey redbrick school, built c.1959. Quadrangular on plan facing west with a central courtyard and located on the east side of Ravenhill Road within its own extensive grounds and set back from the road.

The front west range has a flat bitumen or felt-lined roof while the remaining three ranges have hipped terracotta tiled roofs with terracotta ridge tiles. Cast-iron rainwater goods throughout including box hoppers and square profile downpipes with decorative brackets. Redbrick walling laid in stretcher bond and a projecting plinth course built in pre-cast rock-faced concrete block. Square-headed window openings throughout with mostly original multi-pane steel casement windows, concrete sills and projecting concrete surrounds.

West range comprises a central double-height assembly hall with a two-storey bowed entrance projection to the south and a further two-storey secondary entrance bay to the north. To the north of the secondary entrance bay is an advanced double-height gym hall. The bowed principal entrance bay is clad in green tiles with a series of black tiled double-height piers rising to a semi-circular concrete overhang. Replacement 9-pane uPVC windows to the first floor and an open portico to the ground floor with terrazzo floor and three recessed square-headed door openings with double-leaf timber glazed doors having brass handles. The principal entrance bay is abutted by a single-storey over partial basement flat-roofed section to the south with the assembly hall to the north. The assembly hall has an assymetrical arrangement of five double-height window openings and steel windows set within a concrete frame, each window flanked by pre-cast rock-faced concrete piers. The north end of the assembly hall is a blank brick wall with three blind concrete oculi. The secondary entrance bay is three windows wide and recessed back from the remainder of the elevation with cement render walling to the recessed ground floor having a central recessed entrance with terrazzo floor, double-leaf timber glazed doors and surround, opening onto four concret steps and flanked by a pair of fluted concrete columns. The gym has a series of five double-height steel windows to both south and north elevations, as per assembly hall and a blank brick west elevation abutted by a lower projection, each having three decorative square concrete panels. To the east end of the north elevation is an entrance with concrete hood supported on painted projecting walls and housing double-leaf timber part-glazed doors. A single-storey flat-roofed section abutts the north end of the west range with a further entrance. The east rear elevation is two-storeys with a further single-storey section containing a central entrance bay with concrete canopy and two square-headed door openings with double-leaf part-glazed hardwood doors opening into the central courtyard.

North range comprises a two-storey redbrick wing with paired window openings to each floor set in a concrete frame divided by pre-cast rock-faced concrete block piers. The south elevation is abutted by an aluminium framed green house to the courtyard.

East range projects beyond the south range and comprises a pair of two-storey redbrick blocks, as per north range, with a central gable-fronted breakfront extension, added c.1990. The west elevation of the east range is abutted by a two-storey flat-roofed section, competely glazed to the ground floor with replacement uPVC windows and series of diminutive opes to the first floor, also with replacement uPVC windows, all opening onto the central courtyard. To the southeast corner is a later redbrick lift tower with pyramidal tiled roof.

South range detailed as per east and north ranges and abutted to the west end by a flat-roofed two-storey block connected to the single-storey over basement section which in turn abutts the principal front entrance bay.

Setting:
Set within its own extensive grounds shared with Equinas Grammar School to the rear and located on the east side of Ravenhill Road. Set back from the road, the school has extensive bitmac parking and playing areas to the front and to the south enclosed to the road by trees and wire fence. Accessed via short bitmac avenue continuing along its south elevation to the rear, there are several redbrick single-storey later buildings and a two-storey pre-fabricated block.

Roof Flat bitumen or felt-lined / Hipped terracotta tiled
RWG Cast-iron
Walling Redbrick
Windows Steel casement

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Detached two-storey redbrick school, built c.1959. Quadrangular on plan facing west with a central courtyard and located on the east side of Ravenhill Road within its own extensive grounds and set back from the road. An extensive school complex employing many modernist architectural devices and details however it has been much altered with innapproriate modern extensions and does not meet the critera for listing.