Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB03/16/006 A

Address :
Coleraine Academical Institution 23-33 Castlerock Road Coleraine Co. Londonderry BT51 3LA

Townland:

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
22/06/1977 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
School

Former Use
School

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
12-12

IG Ref:
C8390 3297

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Owner Category

Education Board

Exterior Description And Setting

A symmetrical two-storey-over-basement rendered school with attic, built c.1860 to designs by Isaac Farrell, with later three-storey-over-basement pavilion-style extension (1894) at west; situated to the west side of the River Bann in Coleraine town centre. Original building is rectangular on plan with north/south wings each having projecting end bays; three-storey central entrance tower to front and full-height return to rear. Connected to the 1894 extension at west by a two-storey-over-basement refurbished linking block. Main building (c.1860) has a hipped natural slate roof with blue/black angled tiles to ridges and hips and rendered chimneystacks. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on projecting eaves with timber fascia. Walling is painted smooth render on a contrasting plinth with chamfered plinth and rusticated quoins; smooth rendered platband between ground and first floor; moulded string-course between basement and ground floor and continuous sill course to first floor windows. Windows are 6/6 timber sash with horns and projecting painted sills (unless otherwise stated), all in plain reveals and fronted by metal bars at basement. The principal elevation of the main building faces east and is symmetrically arranged with north and south wings to either side of a central projecting three-storey square tower. Wings are three windows wide at each floor and have projecting end bays. End bays are two windows wide at each floor (that to left has 6/6 windows at first floor with inserted three pane top lights over); blind openings to exposed inner cheeks. Entrance tower has replacement bipartite 4/4 windows at upper floors; replacement double-leaf doors in a moulded architrave with plain frieze and corniced canopy over. Door is accessed by a set of ten stone steps enclosed by plinth walls with stone coping and square piers topped by pointed stone caps. Window to each floor at left and right cheek, except to first floor where there is a blind opening. The south elevation is symmetrically arranged, three openings wide at each floor, having three segmental-headed 1/1 timber sash windows to wall-head dormers at attic and projecting entrance porch at ground floor centre. Porch has a double-leaf two-panelled timber door in a moulded reveal and surmounted by a round-headed timber fanlight; accessed by a set of ten stone steps framed by plinth walls. Window to left cheek of porch at basement. The west (rear) elevation is abutted to right of centre by the refurbished linking block, which connects the three-storey extension (1894), see below. Left end bay has been extended as part of the 2001 refurbishments, incorporating a new modern glass entrance hall at northwest corner; abutted to re-entrant angle at right by the full-height return, having four evenly-spaced windows to each floor at south elevation. The north elevation has two windows at each floor. Three-storey extension (1894) at west has hipped natural slate roof with angled tiles to hips and ridges; circular copper ventilation cowl with finial to centre of ridgeline. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on heavily projecting eaves. Walling is painted smooth render with channelled rustication at ground floor. Upper floors are divided into five bays by giant order pilasters, resting on a moulded string-course between ground and first floor. Windows are multi-paned three-light timber casements; those to upper floor windows have aediculed surrounds with pediments (triangular at second floor, segmental at first floor), pilasters, and corbels under sills. Segmental-headed windows at ground floor are in plain reveals with voussoirs and a continuous sill course; 6/6 timber sash with projecting painted sills to basement. The 1894 extension is south-facing and asymmetrically arranged, with central breakfront, six openings at each floor and a segmental-headed doorcase at ground floor right. Entrance comprises a deeply recessed raised-and-fielded six-panel timber door surmounted by a segmental-headed transom light. Door is flanked by pilasters and surmounted by a plain entablature, accessed via a set of seven stone steps enclosed by smooth rendered plinth walls with coping stones and square piers topped by pointed caps. The west elevation has three blind openings at each floor divided by pilasters at upper floors. Multi-paned three-light window to first floor centre; 6/6 sash windows at basement flank a modern timber sheeted door (accessed via a set of stone steps). The north elevation is divided into three bays by pilasters. Central bay is four windows wide, with fire exits and metal fire escape at upper floors; flanking bays each have a window to each floor (those to left bay are lower). The east elevation is abutted to first floor at right by the two-storey-over-basement linking block. Three blind windows to second floor, two at first floor and one to left at ground floor and basement. The linking block has 6/6 timber sash windows in moulded architraves with flush sills; south elevation has two closely grouped windows at each floor; corner bay at right to re-entrant angle is two openings wide at each floor, with modern timber door to right at basement. The north elevation is two openings wide at each floor; at ground floor right is a modern timber door in a moulded architrave, accessed by a set of concrete steps with metal handrail. Setting: Situated on a large site to the west side of the River Bann in Coleraine town centre, accessed to south from Castlerock Road by a long tarmacadamed avenue. Original building to front of site, with mid-twentieth century school buildings to north and west. Playing fields to south and mature trees to east of main building. To south of main building is a red sandstone pedimented arch (HB03/16/006B) dated 1906 and to designs by Vincent Craig. Main entrance to south at Castlerock Road has modern pebbledash walls with ashlar square gate piers supporting modern metal gates; site is bounded by modern pebbledash walls and modern metal railings supported on concrete piers. Roof: Natural slate Walling: Painted smooth render Windows: Replacement timber sash with horns and three-light multi-paned timber casements RWG: Cast-iron

Architects

Historical Information

The first school building at Coleraine Academical Institution was erected in 1860; however the first proposals for the Institution were made as early as 1846. The Builder records that in 1853 an architectural competition was held to decide upon the design of the building. The competition was won by Isaac Farrell, a Dublin-based architect and engineer, who was also responsible for the design of Donegall Square East Methodist Church in Belfast (HB26/50/019) but was predominantly known for his work in the southern counties; the Builder also notes that John Boyd of Belfast was placed second in the competition. The foundation stone to Farrell’s two-storey school building was laid on 4th June 1857 and the Academical Institution was completed in 1860; at the time of construction the cost of the building was estimated at £4,000, with a Mr. Samuel Kilpatrick of Coleraine contracted as builder to realise Farrell’s design (Builder, pp 533-654; Irish Builder, p. 22; Dictionary of Irish Architects). The original school building designed by Isaac Farrell and completed in 1860 consists of the plain two-storey building at the south-east corner of the current school complex; the attached multi-gabled block, extending north from the rear of the building, was also constructed at this time, however the adjoining four-storey extension to the west was not constructed until 1894. Upon its completion Coleraine Academical Institution was valued at £55 in the Annual Revisions; the valuer noted that the ground on which the school was constructed was leased by the Worshipful Company of Clothmakers, although the school was administered by its own trustees. Coleraine Academical Institution was established as a boy’s boarding school; in 1877 the school accommodated 50 boarders whilst also admitting day scholars. The Institution provided classes in a variety of subjects including Classics, Mathematics, English, French and Art (Ulster Town Directory – 1877-80). The value of the school was increased to £100 by 1883 after a number of new offices were added to the original building; in 1880 a free-standing school infirmary, valued at £10, was added to the school grounds, however this has been demolished. The next major change to the Institution was the erection of the four-storey wing to the west of the Farrell’s original building in 1894. The additional wing was first proposed in 1876 when Robert Young was approached to prepare plans; however in December 1880 the contract was given to the Belfast-based firm, Young & Mackenzie. The new wing, which was originally known as the ‘Old Boy’s Wing,’ was not opened until 1894 and the construction work resulted in an increase in the value of the site to £150 (Dictionary of Irish Architects). By 1901 the Institution’s expansion increased its total accommodation to around 100 boarders; however the 1901 Census notes that only 58 pupils boarded at the site. The census building return described Coleraine Academical Institution as a first class structure consisting of sixty rooms spread between its different wings. In 1906 the sandstone memorial arch was added to the entrance of the school’s playing fields to commemorate the life of Maud Houston, the wife of T. G. Houston who was the second principal of the Institution (see HB03/16/006B). There was no further major alteration to the Institution until 1929 when, due to its instability, the top floor of Young & Mackenzie’s 1894 wing was removed; the renovation work that followed resulted in the installation of a hipped roof, the overhaul of the façade and the loss of the wing’s original character. Due to the alteration work and minor changes to the school complex over the preceding three decades, the total rateable value of Coleraine Academical Institution was increased to £167 by the cancellation of the Annual Revisions in 1930. Under the First General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland (1935), the value of the school, schoolmaster’s house (erected in 1896 but now demolished) and the school infirmary were combined into a single rateable value which was set at £365. Due to the outbreak of the Second World War there was no further valuation of the Institution carried out for over two decades, although in the aftermath of the conflict a number of extension projects were carried out. In 1956-57 Crofton G. Dalzell designed the modern block to the west of the original buildings, which consisted of additional classrooms, a dining hall and a new assembly hall. A plaque records that the extension was officially opened in September 1958 by Air Marshall Sir. George R. Beamish, the President of the schools’ Old Boys’ Association. The extension work cost £85,000 and was only the first phase in a series of expansions over the following two decades (Irish Builder, p. 473). By the cancellation of the second revaluation in 1972, the value of the school had been increased to £8,560; the construction work carried out since the 1950s resulted in the current layout of the school complex. Bob Curran states that ‘today, Coleraine Inst is one of the most prestigious educational establishments in the province, a reputation built up over a period of almost 150 years.’ The Institution was first proposed as early as 1846, however, due to the development of the Irish Famine, the project was shelved until the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers granted the current plot of land in 1853 (Curran). Coleraine Academical Institution was constructed to provide education to the gentry of the middle classes, for which there was no suitable establishment within 30 miles; Mullin records an 1851 article (originally published in the Coleraine Chronicle) which expressed the need for such a higher institution: ‘we are aware that one or two private schools exist and that the teachers of some of them are men exceedingly well fitted to impart instruction, but these do not come within the scope of our observations’ (Mullin, p. 101). Isaac Farrell’s original design consisted of dining and common halls, two schoolrooms, a museum, a science laboratory and a schoolmaster’s house, estimated to cost £2,000. The Institutions trustees deemed this cost too high, resulting in Farrell altering his original plan to the current design. The foundation stone of the building was laid on 4th June 1857 by Charles J. Knox, the Agent to the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers. Despite the alteration of the plans on the grounds of cutting cost, the completed school cost £3,895, almost double the original estimate; in 1858 the Rev. James Huey wrote that the school facilities (seemingly expanded on the Farrell’s original design) would consist of ‘a large school room, library and reading room, four classrooms, three large dormitories for 40 boarders, assistant master’s rooms, with an infirmary and observatory in the central tower and south wing forming the headmasters house.’ Coleraine Academical Institution was officially inaugurated in July 1860 when the school was first opened to boarders. Over the following decades a number of additions were made to the original block. In 1876 additional classrooms and offices were added to the original building on its western side, this was followed by the installation of the medical infirmary in 1880 and the addition of a gymnasium in 1882 (Mullin, pp 101-102). The most significant addition, however, was the erection of the ‘Old Boys Wing’ in 1894; the erection of this four-storey wing cost £4,000. Girvan states that the wing was originally ‘monumentally classical in style; the ground floor with banded rustication; first and second floors windows pedimented and framed by giant pilasters; the top floor surmounted by a balustrade and with the end bays treated like top-heavy pavilions [while] a massive baroque false gable with a hole in the middle (for a clock?) crowned the façade.’ Photographs which depict the original appearance of the 1894 wing show that the removal of the top floor and the alteration to the façade has changed its character. Rowan states that the wing (which he described as a ‘Genoese palazzo’ and ‘a Tuscan giant order’) could have been more suitably repaired; ‘with a little more care it would have been possible to reduce the block and yet leave it with something of the style of an Artisan Mannerist house. What has been done here merely spoils an attractive older design’ (Girvan, pp 25-26; Rowan, p. 207). The mass building project of the 1950-70s was facilitated by the purchase of the adjoining Model School in 1959 and the purchase of 30 acres of land to the north side of the original school building in 1964. Aside from the construction of additional classrooms and facilities, the boarding capacity of the Institution was increased to accommodate up to 320 boarders (Mullin, p. 102). Coleraine Academical Institution was listed in 1977; Girvan, writing in 1972, described Isaac Farrell’s original school building in the following terms: ‘It is eleven bays long, two storeys high with basement; two bays at each end and the central bay projects; the central bay has an attic storey capped by a hipped roof which formerly had a finial. All the windows are Georgian-glazed, except for the central bay which has coupled round-headed sashes. The building is rendered; all corners have quoins’ (Girvan, p. 25). Coleraine Academical Institution continues to be utilised as a Secondary School for the education of boys, the boarding feature of the school came to an end in 1990 when the boarding department closed. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/5/7/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1849-50 2. PRONI OS/6/5/7/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1904 3. PRONI OS/6/5/7/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1923 4. PRONI OS/6/5/7/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1949 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/9A-P – Annual Revisions 1859-1931 6. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/3 – First General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland 1935 7. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/1-3 – Second General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland 1956-1972 8. Builder, Vol. 11 (22 Oct 1853); Vol. 15 (20 Jun 1857) 9. Irish Builder, Vol. 1 (1 Feb 1859) 10. Census of Ireland (1911) 11. Ulster Town Directories (1860-1918) 12. First Survey Image – HB03/16/006 (1973) 13. Ordnance Survey map – 13-12 (c. 1970) Secondary Sources 1. Curran, B., ‘Coleraine and the Causeway Coast: An illustrated history and companion’ Donaghadee: Cottage Publications, 1995. 2. Girvan, W. D., ‘Historic Buildings in Coleraine and Portstewart’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972. 3. Mullin, T. H. ‘Coleraine in modern times’ Belfast: Century Services, 1979. 4. Rowan, A., ‘The buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ Yale: Yale University Press, 1979. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie 2. Coleraine Academical institution website - http://www.coleraineai.com//school-history.aspx

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

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

Historic Interest

V. Authorship X. Local Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance

Evaluation

A symmetrical two-storey-over-basement rendered school with attic, built c.1860 to designs by Isaac Farrell, with later three-storey-over-basement pavilion-style extension (1894) at west; situated to the west side of the River Bann in Coleraine town centre. The original building displays proportions and detailing typical of the period, with central entrance tower flanked by side wings. The building is significantly enhanced by the later addition to west, a pavilion-style extension of a lively design with some fine classical-style detailing. Sensitively refurbished in recent years, much of the original character has been retained or restored. Situated on a large prominent site in Coleraine town centre, the building remains an important landmark in the town and is a good example of a late-Victorian school building. A red sandstone pedimented arch (HB03/16/006B) to designs by Vincent Craig at the southern end of the school adds to the historic interest of the site. Of significant architectural and historic interest, Coleraine Academical Institute makes an important contribution to the architectural character of Coleraine.

General Comments

Listing Criteria R - Age; S - Authenticity and T - Historic importance also apply.

Date of Survey

07 December 2012