Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/06/010

Address :
Avoniel Primary School Avoniel Road Belfast County Antrim BT5 4SF

Townland:
Ballymacarrett

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Survey 2:
A

Date of Listing:
02/03/1994 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
School

Former Use
School

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
Yes

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
130/14

IG Ref:
J3605 7375

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Owner Category

Education Board

Exterior Description And Setting

A two-storey multi-bay modernist school built to the designs of Education Architect Reginald S. Wilshere in 1933. Linear floor plan with single-storey curved wings to the end facades with modern additions to the rear. Located on Avoniel Road off the Beersbridge Road in East Belfast. Hipped pan-tile roof with clay ridge and hip tiles; partially parapetted to the front elevation. Cast-iron rainwater goods with decorative hopper-heads. Red-brick walling laid to Yorkshire (Monk) bond with soldier course eaves and parapet details; projected moulded granite plinth. Vertical timber casement windows with horizontal glazing bars; continuous masonry cill to ground floor. Replacement timber doors to front entrance; classroom doors to front facade have solid lower panel with three upper glazed panels. The front facade faces south and is asymmetrically arranged. The facade appearance is predominated by strong vertical rhythm of fenestration comprising a uniform arrangement of bays. Each bay is made up of three ground and first floor windows with a recessed stacked solider panel between and a centrally located door accessing the play ground at the front. The facade is broken up by a double-height symmetrical entrance bay left of centre resulting in four bays to the left and twelve to the right. The entrance bay comprises double leaf doors centrally located at ground floor; moulded surrounds with a cantilevered step-moulded canopy with three-tiered diminished projected planes over, separated by horizontal glazed strips. Above the canopy is an embedded sandstone carving by George McCann depicting "Education reclining below the tree of knowledge". At first floor level are triplet vertical windows; six panes each. To either side of the fenestration the parapet drops over a double height blank bay with a single square window at ground floor, each displaying a metal screen depicting an elephant. The west elevation is abutted at ground floor level by a single-storey flat-roofed curved block with continuous diminished vertical windows; the north cheek of which is extended comprising a secondary entrance and ancillary accommodation. Five narrow horizontal windows to the first floor. The rear elevation faces north and comprises an asymmetrical double height flat-roofed projection extending the full length of the facade, the general appearance is a uniformly arranged series of glazed double-leaf doors opening up to the external areas; decorative metal grilles with geometric design above with a continuous horizontal window to the first floor. The elevation is abutted right of centre by a replacement assembly hall c.1970 with further single-storey modern extensions to the far ends; of no significant interest. The chimney is located to the far right and has been extended. The east elevation matches the west. The ground floor windows have been boarded up and the entrance to the right, which now operates as the main entrance is accessed by a modern ramp and handrail. The extension to the right is of no interest. Setting: The overall
setting is comprised generally of two-storey residential terraces. The site is accessed via gated piers with metal railings over low wall bounding the site to the west. Playing fields to the south; modern mobile units to the south east. To the west is a single storey flat-roofed unit erected c.1960; of little interest. To the rear of the school is a well maintained enclosed garden area; bounded by a palisade fence, beyond which is Avoneil Leisure Centre. Roofing: Pan-tile Walling: Red brick Windows: Timber casement RWG: Cast-iron

Architects

Wilshere, R S

Historical Information

The Northern Ireland Ministry of Education files record that the Belfast Education Committee (established under the 1923 Education Act) was anxious to obtain a site in Ballymacarrett for the construction of a new Primary Elementary School as early as 1929; this school was designed to replace a number of smaller schools in the area including Ledley Memorial, Frankfort Street, St. Clements and Beersbridge Rd. The fifth edition of the Ordnance Survey map (1931) records that the school and its playing fields were constructed on a site to the south-west of the former Belfast Ropeworks; the committee purchased the four acre site from the company for £2,300. The estimated cost of construction was £23,898, whilst the building itself was estimated at £14,865 and designed to accommodate 800 pupils, allowing 10 square feet of space for each pupil (PRONI). The Irish Builder records that Avoniel Primary School was designed by Reginald Sharman Wilshere (1888-1961), a Belfast based English architect who was appointed architect to the Belfast Corporation Education Committee in 1926 and designed 26 new schools before the outbreak of the Second World War; the Irish Builder wrote that ‘Wilshere’s own idea is that if the children of a district have no beauty in their daily surroundings, they need beauty all the more in their schools;’ his typical technique was to construct large schools along quadrangles with corridors open to the air. Avoniel does not follow this design but it does incorporate a number of sculpted panels of elephants and other carved figures, the most prominent of which is situated above the main entrance to the school and depicts a scholar reading beneath the tree of knowledge. Construction of Avoniel Primary School was carried out between 1933 and 1935 with William Logan & Sons contracted as the builders whilst the carved panel above the entrance was designed by George McCann and the wrought-iron elephant window grilles were by Musgrave & Co. (Irish Builder, Vol. 75, 8 April 1933, p. 77; Vol. 77, 5 October, p. 917-8; quote: Vol. 74, 16 March 1932, p. 284; Dictionary of Irish Architects; Larmour, p. 84). There is no datestone at Avoniel indicating the exact date the school was opened, however The Northern Whig records that the school was opened in August 1935 by the Belfast Lord Mayor Sir Crawford McCullough and the Northern Ireland Prime Minister Lord Craigavon. The Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland valued the school at £1,440; this was reduced to £1,152 under the 1957 Rent and Valuation Act. The original heating system was installed by J. J. & R. McClosky for £800 while the lighting system was added by James McCaughey £353; however in 1968 the building was fitted with modern electrical installations and renovated increasing the value of the school to £1,200, at which it remained by the end of the revaluation in 1972 (PRONI; Electrical Times, p. 195). Field research found that other changes to the school included the addition of a single-storey flat roof extension to the west side of the school in c. 1960, and the construction of the replacement assembly hall and single-storey extensions c. 1970. Avoniel Primary School has continued to operate for over 75 years and was listed in 1994. Larmour suggests that Reginald Wilshere’s schools including Avoniel and Nettlefield Primary School (HB26/06/011) were ‘the first modern schools to be built anywhere in Ireland’ (Larmour, p. 84). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey map 1834 2. PRONI OS/6/3/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1858 3. PRONI OS/6/3/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1902 4. PRONI OS/6/3/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1920-21 5. PRONI OS/6/3/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1931 6. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/30 – Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1956-1972 7. PRONI ED/13/1/1254 – Ministry of Education Files: Proposed new public elementary school at Avoniel Road, Belfast (1929-1935) 8. Irish Builder, Vol. 75, 8 April 1933; Vol. 77, 5 October; Vol. 74, 16 March 1932 9. Northern Whig (13 Aug 1935) 10. Electrical Times, Vol. 153 (1968) Secondary Sources 1. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1987. 2. First Survey Record – HB26/06/010 (1991). Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance V. Authorship W. Northern Ireland/International Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

A two-storey multi-bay school built to the designs of Education Architect Reginald S. Wilshere in 1933. Erected at a time of educational reform, the external appearance and internal layout of the school are of significant interest and makes for an interesting composition, displaying high quality design initiative, exemplified in the distinct style and proportions of this period. The external fabric and character has remained substantially unaltered, the proportions and style of the front façade are a good example of its kind. Internally some of the classrooms have undergone modification reflecting changing educational needs; however a significant amount of original fabric and detailing survives, along with the layout, which is vital to the interest of the building. Set within a mainly residential area, original railings over low wall bound the site to the west. There is group value with the nearby Nettlefield Primary School (HB26/06/011) also to designs of Architect Reginald S. Wilshere and the other schools designed by Wilshere in Belfast. Of significant historical interest and architectural interest, the building is an important local landmark in the area and in the wider context of Northern Ireland.

General Comments

Date of Survey

31 March 2011