Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/24/001 C

Address :
St Dominic's Grammar School for Girls 135-137 Falls Rd Belfast Co.Antrim BT12 6AE

Townland:

---

Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
25/09/1987 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

---

OS Map No:
130-13

IG Ref:
J3200 7370

---

Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

A four-story with attic gabled eight bay red brick and collegiate sandstone school building in Byzantine style dating from 1897 to designs by John O'Shea and E. & J. Byrne. Originally L-plan form facing South with a three story hipped return to rear NE and later hipped return to the western end of the rear facade. A recent single story flat roofed five bay extension connects the returns at lower ground floor level and modern school buildings project from the rear NW. In 1926 the original building was extended North from the western gable to designs by Patrick Gregory in a complementary style. The building is located within its own grounds on a site forming part of St. Dominic's Grammar School for girls, to the corner of the Falls Road and Cavendish Street. The site includes a similar four-story with attic gabled Dominican Convent to the East (HB26/24/001A), built in 1868-70 to designs by architect John O'Neill, attached to which is also a later Chapel building (HB26/24/001B), dating from 1926 to designs by Patrick Gregory. These four storey blocks are connected by the main entrance porch. Hipped natural slate roof has two narrow bands of green slate on southern side and gabled roof projections, which is absent at the rear (North). Black clay roll top ridge tiles throughout. Moulded kneelers to each gable and cross at apex. Moulded dentilated cornice and corbelled brackets support replacement cast iron guttering that discharges to replacement circular cast iron downpipes. Principal elevation: The principal elevation faces S and is symmetrical with a four-bay wide central section flanked by two-bay wide shallow projecting side gables. A centralised sandstone niche with projecting pitched sandstone hood houses a statue of St Dominic at GF level supported by a plinth from LGF. Lower GF is built of rock-faced random-coursed Giffnock Sandstone masonry and the upper floors are of red brick walling laid to Flemish bond with red, buff and blue polychrome brick dressings. Square-headed windows to lower GF have dressed Scrabo Sandstone stop-chamfered surrounds and 1/1 panes to sash windows complete with window horns, projecting sills and decorative external ironwork. Rounded-arch windows to GF and FF have alternating gauged red brick and ashlar sandstone voussoirs to form polychromatic arches above topped by blue brick header course, continuous projecting stone sills and rounded-arch timber casement windows. Decorative carving to stone string to impost level at GF. Segmental-arch windows to SF; single crowning rose window with stone coping and leaded diamond glazing to attic level of each gabled projection. The main access from the principal elevation is via a flight of stone steps located E of the main building that lead to a two storey porch, that connects the building to the Dominican Convent. Porch is topped by an arcaded stone balustrade with corbelled coping and decorative cornice. Gabled cut sandstone surround, topped by a cross, houses rounded arch door opening flanked by engaged Corinthian columns. Squared-headed double leaf timber panelled door, with leaded stained glass fan light above, opens onto stone steps flanked by dwarf stone walling. Quatrefoil datestone above door opening displays: 'ST DM AD 1897'. Round-headed windows flank doorway projection at GF level with square headed windows to LGF. East elevation: The four bay wide East elevation is abutted by the main entrance porch which connects the building on its E to the Dominican Convent and NE to the Chapel building. North elevation: Seven-bay facade with two bay original NE return and single bay later return to NW. A later single story flat roofed extension connects the two returns at LGF. At LGF level modern buildings extend from the West and continue to the North and SW. Generally timber casement windows to facade with rounded-arch windows to GF, square headed to FF and segmental-arched windows SF. Original NE return has original square-headed double hung timber sash windows to GF, with rounded arch sash windows to FF and SF. Single storey LGF extension and later return at NW have square-headed uPVC windows. West elevation: West elevation is abutted by 1926 L-shaped extension to the West and South by Patrick Gregory having a GF built of rock-faced random-coursed stone masonry. Furthermore recent school buildings extend from this previous extension to the West, South and NW. Profile of hipped roof at West of original building is largely unaffected by later extensions. Setting: The building is situated within private school grounds with tarmaced driveways accessed from the Falls Road through a set of tall square-section stone pillars in rock-faced basalt with projecting plinth and moulded sandstone pyramidal coping. Replacement metal gates to gateway. Rock-faced random coursed basalt wall with irregular stone coping forms eastern boundary, along Falls Road, with mature trees to interior
setting. Raised north eastern section of boundary walling houses two separate foot gates providing access from Falls Road; both having rounded-arched door openings with stop-chamfered dressed stone toothed quoins and voussoirs, with replacement gates and metal screens. Site includes a four-story with attic gabled former Dominican Convent building (HB26.24.001A) to E, Chapel (HB.26.24.00B) attached to former Convent, modern school buildings (of little interest) to W, NW & S and modern convent to E (of little interest). Materials Roof: Natural slate RWG: Replacement cast iron Walling: Random coursed, rock-faced stone walling to LGF at S & E, red brick walling above with stone and blue brick dressings Windows: Double hung timber sash, timber casement and uPVC casement windows

Architects

Historical Information

St Mary’s Dominican Convent in Belfast was built in 1868-70 on a 2-acre site owned by John Hamill off the Falls Road that not had previously been occupied by any buildings. It was built to designs by O’Neill & Byrne (specifically John O’Neill) and Larmour (p. 39) described its style as ‘Belfast Byzantine’. On 22 March 1870, seven nuns of the Order of St Dominic came to the new convent from the parent house at Cabra, County Dublin. They did so at the invitation of the bishop, Dr Dorrian. These nuns engaged in teaching girls through day and evening classes. The day school opened on 25 April 1870 with four pupils. The boarding school opened four days later with a solitary pupil. O’Laverty (pp 440-41) noted that the convent was ‘beautifully situated’, and that when the proposed new wing was built ‘it will form one of the most imposing buildings in Belfast’. The building can be first identified in the Valuation Revision Books in 1882 when it was denoted simply a Convent with a valuation of £113. In 1897 John O’Shea with E. & J. Byrne designed an additional wing to the west in a similar style to the original block. Its construction resulted in the valuation of the buildings rising to £283. A comment in the Valuation Revision Book noted that £6,700 had been expended on this work. The Valuation Revision Book for 1906-15 has a value of £400 on the buildings which was revised (no date given) to £372. In 1926 the original block was extended to the north by Patrick (Padraic) Gregory in a corresponding style. The Valuation Revision Books shows that the value of the buildings was increased from £372 to £529 in 1929. Gregory also designed the chapel which was built by Felix G. O’Hare and opened on 5 October 1930. The chapel is really two chapels – one for the community and the other adjoining it at the sanctuary for the boarders at the school. The mosaic floor of the sanctuary in the Celtic style was by Oppenheimer & Co. of Manchester. Messrs Clarke of Dublin were responsible for the rose window. In 1935, Gregory added the baldachino. The First Survey card includes a helpful ground plan showing when the different parts of the convent were built. Recently, a new block for the Dominican community was added to the east of the existing buildings by Samuel Stevenson & Sons. The school has expanded over the years. In the 1950s St Margaret’s Wing was added, followed by St Thomas’ Building in the 1960s and St Ita’s and St Raymond’s in the decade after that. The first phase of a new building was completed in the spring of 2008. References Public Record Office of Northern Ireland Valuation Revision Books, 1882-96 – VAL/12/B/43/E/8 Valuation Revision Books, 1897-05 – VAL/12/B/43/D/18 Valuation Revision Books, 1906-15 – VAL/12/B/43/J/3 Valuation Revision Books, 1915-30 – VAL/12/B/43/J/6 Ordnance Survey 6-inch map, 1857 – OS/6/1/60/2 Ordnance Survey 6-inch map, 1904 – OS/6/1/60/3 Ordnance Survey 1:1056 map, 1905 – OS/8/30/5/66 Ordnance Survey 6-inch map, 1920-39 – OS/6/1/60/4 Published sources Paul Larmour, Belfast: an illustrated architectural guide (Belfast, 1987) Ambrose Macaulay, Patrick Dorrian: Bishop of Down and Connor, 1865-1885 (Dublin, 1987) Northern Ireland Environment Agency First Survey Record – HB/26/24/001 Online sources Natural Stone Database: www.stonedatabase.com Dictionary of Irish Architects: www.dia.ie School website: www.stdominics.org.uk

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

A substantial late-Victorian four-storey with attic gabled school, built in 1897 in collegiate Byzantine style to designs by John O’Shea and E. & J. Byrne. Striking red brick exterior enhanced by polychrome accents to window surrounds and sandstone detailing to lower ground floor. Impressive raised entrance porch in two-storey abutment that connects the school with the adjacent convent. Some loss of interior details due to modernisation of school building, however many fine original details also survive. The building forms an integral part of a distinct complex to the North of the school grounds, having group value with St Dominic’s Convent (HB26.24.001 A) and Chapel (HB26.24.001 B); together they contribute important historic interest and social significance. Stone walling and gate pillars located along the boundary to the Falls Road, with two pedestrian gates nearer to the Chapel and Convent enhance the overall quality and add further character to the group of buildings.

General Comments

Date of Survey

06 October 2014