Carrickmannan Primary School, 77 Carrickmannon Road, Carrickmannan, Ballygowan, Newtownards, Co Down, BT23 6JJ

Single storey, L-shaped, late Victorian school house with steeply pitched roof and general gothic appearance. The school is set to the SW side of the Carrickmannon Road, c.2 miles S of Ballygowan. The entrance is located to the ‘centre’ of the NE façade (next to the intersection of a large gabled projection) and consists of relatively modern double timber doors with glazed panels. The door is surrounded by a sturdy possibly Portland / composite stone surround with a vague Egyptian/Art Deco feel which looks out of place. To the immediate right of this doorway is a large gabled projection. To the SE façade of this projection is an extremely large window with relatively modern frame. The NE facing gable of the projection is buttressed, but is otherwise blank except for recent looking raised lettering (spelling out ‘Carrickmannon P.E. School’- possibly in painted timber). Above this lettering is a small, square recessed panel which apparently once held the inscription ‘Erected by Frederick Temple, Earl of Dufferin 1878’, but a combination of flaking stone and successive layers of paint have largely obscured this. The gable is topped with a buttressed bellcote with gabled head and pointed arch for bell (itself now removed). The bellcote is in basalt rubble with a moulded trefoil to each face of the gable. The NW façade has a large square window to far left (with frame as before). To the right of this is a projecting chimney breast, rising through the eaves line and tapering to a tall square chimney stack in basalt rubble with corbelling. To the immediate right of the chimney breast is a smaller window with frame as before. To the right of this is a large modern glazed double door. Flush with the right edge of the NW façade is the short NW face of a relatively modern single storey, flat roofed, toilet/office extension. This spans the whole of the SW façade and has a series of (mainly) small modern windows and several doorways to both its SW, NW and SE faces. To the SE face (to the ‘back’ of the extension) another chimney breast rises, culminating in a stack as before. To the SE is another large gable with extremely large window as SE façade of projection. There is a small recessed panel to the tympanum with the Dufferin monogram. The entire façade is finished in painted rough cast with a chamfered base. The roof is steeply pitched with Bangor blue slates several courses of which are shaped. Overhang to roof with exposed rafter ends. Cast iron rainwater goods.