Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB24/01/157

Address :
Former school house Meeting House Street Portaferry Co Down BT22 1LD

Townland:
Ballyphilip

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Hall

Former Use
School

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
206/12

IG Ref:
J5956 5084

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Owner Category

Church - Presbyterian

Exterior Description And Setting

Single storey school house, of 1849, originally rectangular in shape, but renovated and extended in 1890 when the front porch and rear extension were added. The building is now used as a church hall. The property is set on the NE side of Meetinghouse Street, just to the E of Portaferry town centre. Front SW elevation is symmetrical with a central projecting porch. The SE face is blank while the SW face has a single window with a modern (transomed) three pane window and moulded cement surround with key stone. The NE face has the main front door which has a similar moulding. To the left and right of the projecting porch are three windows as before. Cill course, now neatly repaired. Quoins set on pilaster-like narrow projecting pier. Projecting pier also between second and third windows. Similar lined piers also on corners of front projecting porch. Gable above porch with moulded cement name plate. Moulded verge to raised centre roof feature. Bracket decoration to simple eaves course. Eaves course on porch. Cills on front elevation originally sandstone and now linked with a smooth cement course. Rear NE elevation Plain sheeted timber door to far left with square sliding sash and high level window above. Similar window to right of this. [Projecting bay] This projecting bay has two extensions to either side, a large lean to extension to the left and a much smaller porch extension to the right. The left extension appears to be more recent and has a corrugated iron roof.. The main projection and the smaller right hand porch extension both have Bangor blue slated roofs and are older (c.1890). (Left extension) Plain sheeted timber door . Three light window to right of door with horizontal mullions with left and right casement lights side hung. (Main gable) Main gable of projecting bay blank. (Right porch extension) Plain sheeted double timber doors with fanlight. Entire rear elevation finished in rough cast render. Rear return to SE has steel three pane window (as in north east elevation) to the far left. Two single light windows with top openers to the right. Small window with single pane. All stone cills. Cast iron gutters and down spouts. North west elevation- [Projecting bay] Two windows with paired single modern timber transomed windows sharing a stone cill. Plaque to right of windows. Gable of small lean to porch blank. [Main building] Gable of building blank, but with quoins and projecting boxed in verge. The roof of all the main sections are gabled and covered with Bangor blue slates. Yellow brick chimneys to both gables of main building and in centre of main projecting bay. Finished in pebbledash render with decorative window bands, quoins and plinth. Much renovated nineteenth century ‘Master’s house’ within school yard to NW. Low random rubble wall with brick piers and cement cope stone, now whitewashed. Wall encloses concrete school yard

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

This building was originally a school house, built in 1849. The school originally had 34 pupils and not long after its construction was described as ‘built of stone, brick and lime plastered, ceiled battoned and floored...lighted by 14 windows and well ventilated. It is not yet divided and is 60 ft long, 26 ft wide and 12 ft high at the side walls’. Numbers gradually increased so that the school was extended with the addition of another classroom at the rear in 1890, the gift of a Miss Margaret Warnock. Other renovations to the front facade appear to have been carried out at this time also. The school was merged with Ballyphilip Parochial National School in 1934. The building now belongs to the Portaferry Presbyterian Church and is used for meetings of the church elders, Sunday school etc. References- Primary sources 1 PRONI ED/16/(p.53) Extract from the ‘Application of the Commissioners of Education for aid towards payment of teachers’ salary, supply of books etc. For Portaferry School No.2 in the Town of Portaferry’. 2 PRONI OS/6/3/32/2 Ordnance Survey maps, 1st Revision, 1860, Down sheet 32 3 PRONI OS/6/3/32/3 Ordnance Survey maps, 2nd ed., 1899-1900, Down sheet 32 Secondary sources 1 Amy Anderson and Joy Lyttle, 'Portaferry Presbyterian Church 1642-1992' (Portaferry 1992), pp.44-45 2 Amy Anderson, "Some aspects of Education in the Portaferry area Part III", in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.8' (1984), pp.2-4

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Single storey school house, of 1849, originally rectangular in shape, but renovated and extended in 1890 when the front porch and rear extension were added. The building is now used as a church hall, and it of limited architectural interest..

General Comments

Date of Survey

19 June 1997