Downey House School

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Symmetrical detached two-storey rendered school, built c.1933, with single-storey flat-roofed extensions added to the south and west c.1960. Originally H-shaped on plan facing north and set within its own extensive grounds to the south of Pirrie Park Gardens and accessed via a long avenue.

Hipped terracotta tiled roof with terracotta ridge tiles and timber louvred dormer to front and rear pitches containing a clock. Two redbrick chimneystacks to the east side elevation with a central wall-head dormer. Cast-iron guttering to overhanging boarded eaves with exposed rafter feet and decorative cast-iron hoppers and cast-iron downpipes with decorative iron brackets. Painted rough-cast rendered walling with redbrick plinth course. Square-headed window openings with timber casement windows (largely replaced) and timber sills.

Symmetrical front elevation with advanced two-storey sections to either end and lean-to glazed timber-frame entrance hall spanning the space between. Mostly replacement uPVC or timber casement windows and plastic sills throughout, with an original 18-pane timber casement retained to the ground floor of the west projection. Pair of large timber fixed-pane stairhall windows to the west projection with timber sills.

Symmetrical east side elevaion with central wall-head dormer and segmental-headed window with replacement timber windows. This elevation is also abutted by steel fire escape.

Symmetrical south rear elevation abutted by flat-roofed single-storey extension.

Symmetrical west side elevation as per east elevation and abutted by flat-roofed extension, in turn connected to a large redbrick single-storey wing, built c.1960.

Setting:
Set within its own extensive grounds to the south of Pirrie Park Gardens and accessed via a long avenue the school is surrounded by extensive lawned play and pitch areas with some mature trees. To the northeast is a two-storey rendered ground-keeper's house, built c.1933, in a similar style to the school. To the southeast is a modern single-storey redbrick block built c.2010.

Roof Terracotta tiled
RWG Cast-iron
Walling Rough-cast render
Windows Timber casement / uPVC

Historical information

The pavilions were built in 1957, probably to designs by Valentine Smyth. (Marshall)

Methodist College was opened in August 1868 on a site close to the then Queen’s College but it was not until 1932 that Pirrie Park was purchased for the school both as playing fields and as a site for a preparatory school. Pirrie Park had been the property of Harland & Wolff who used it as a recreation ground for their workers but owing to the depressed state of the shipbuilding industry at the time, they were anxious to sell. The main pavilion in the park, which Harland and Wolff had erected at a cost of £7,000, was converted into the Preparatory School.

In the 1950s under the headship of AHR Ball, Methodist College underwent an extensive building and extension programme and a number of new buildings, to designs by Valentine Smyth of Smyth & Cowser were opened in 1954. Downey House was also extended and a need was identified for new changing-rooms for games, as the existing accommodation was inadequate. Two completely new pavilions were built, one for boys’ rugby and one for girls’ hockey which were formally opened in 1957. It is likely that Valentine Smyth was also the architect of these buildings. (Marshall)

The pavilions are first shown, captioned, on the OS map edition dating from the 1960s/70s. Valuation records do not record the building of the pavilions themselves but all structures on the site were included in the valuation of £700 for the period 1933-57.

References:

Primary Sources

1. OS Map 147 – 1960s/70s
2. VAL/3/C/3/16 – First General Revaluation 1936-57
3. VAL/4/B/7/24 – Second General Revaluation 1956-72

Secondary Sources

1. Marshall, R “Methodist College Belfast, The First Hundred Years” Belfast: Methodist College, 1968

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Symmetrical detached two-storey rendered school, built c.1933, with single-storey flat-roofed extensions added to the south and west c.1960. Originally H-shaped on plan facing north and set within its own extensive grounds to the south of Pirrie Park Gardens and accessed via a long avenue. The building has lost most of its original character due to replacement fenestration and cumulative alterations. It does not meet the criteria for listing.