Former St Joseph's Convent Chapel & School, Co Armagh, BT67 9JW

Former St Joseph's Convent Chapel & School, Lurgan

A two-storey Romanesque style convent chapel with painted stucco facade, constructed in 1877 to designs by architects Mortimer Thompson and Timothy Hevey. The building is located on an elevated site on Edward Street in Lurgan, just west of the main junction with Church Place and the town centre, in an area of mixed-use commercial buildings.

The chapel is rectangular in plan with a double-pitched roof and semi-circular apse to the south. It is attached to the former St Joseph's Convent School complex. The roof is covered in natural welsh slate with a painted timber rooflight along the ridge. Rainwater goods are cast metal, painted. The walls are finished in smooth painted plaster, with ruled and lined detailing to the apse. Windows are painted timber or stained timber.

The northwest front elevation comprises a square tower to the left and the main gable of the church to the right. The tower is three storeys with a plain deep plinth at ground level, moulded string courses at floor levels, and plain pilasters framing the corners. It is topped by a pyramidal roof in welsh slate with moulded cornice and corbels at the eaves supporting ogee guttering.

The main entrance is at ground level of the tower, accessed via three modern replacement steps with tiled treads and painted metal railings. The doorway consists of a round-headed arched opening slightly recessed, with concentric arched moulding and moulded archivolt above, a keystone, and a moulded impost course. The door is varnished timber, double leaf with timber panelling and a stained glass fanlight.

At first floor level of the tower are a pair of centrally located round-headed arched window openings with moulded archivolts and impost details matching the main doorway. A string course at cill level is supported by small pairs of moulded corbels below each window. The windows are painted timber with plain and georgian wired glass and opening vents at the base.

The third level of the tower features a blind arcade in stucco with a trio of arches detailed in similar style to the other openings.

The front gable is two storeys with a double pitched roof, framed by plain pilasters at the sides, a plain deep plinth at ground level, and an open-bed style pediment moulding at the roof. String courses at first floor and cill levels match those on the tower. At ground level, the gable consists of a blind arcade with a trio of arches. A round-headed arched opening is located within the middle arch, with circular openings in each flanking arch. All three openings contain stained glass windows. The archivolts and impost level feature decorative stucco work similar to the tower.

At first floor level is the main church window, a large centrally located round-headed arched opening with stained glass sections framed in painted masonry. The tracery is geometrical in style, featuring a cruciform motif with five round-headed arched lights below. A plain crucifix is affixed to the gable wall above the window. The roof is parapeted at the gable with a plaster finial at the apex. Continuous rooflights run along each side of the ridge.

On the northeast side elevation, the chapel abuts the former St Joseph's school building, now part of St Ronan's College, Lurgan. The tower on this side is four storeys, with a solid stone base at lower ground level continuous with the front steps. A single round-headed arched window with stained glass is centrally located at ground level with simple keystone and plain cill detailing. Blind openings occur at first and second floor levels: a single arched opening at first floor and a blind arcade of three arches at second floor. Plaster and roof detailing match the northwest elevation.

The southwest side elevation abuts the former St Joseph's convent, now Mount Zion House (a local charitable organisation).

The southeast rear elevation consists of a two-storey semi-circular apse with painted smooth plaster walls ruled and lined. The apse is lit by five windows: a small pair of round-headed arched windows with stained glass and plain cill at ground level, centrally located; and three similar but larger windows evenly spaced at first floor level. The apse walls abut Mount Zion House to the southwest and St Ronan's College to the northeast. The eaves are detailed with an ogee gutter, and the conical roof is covered in natural slate with a cruciform metal finial at the apex.

The chapel sits on an elevated site with the main entrance accessed via a raised concrete terrace. External steps with sloping grassed banks adjoin the entrance. The steps have stone walls, masonry treads, and modern railings. A carpark in tarmacadam is located to the front of the complex.

A substantial boundary wall and railings enclose the site to the northwest along Edward Street. The wall is coursed stone with cement mortar; the railings, possibly later, are painted cast metal with plain uprights and cruciform motifs at intervals. Vehicular access along Edward Street exists at each end of the site. An arched gateway in painted metal at the eastern access bears cast lettering reading 'Mount Zion House', possibly a later addition.

To the rear of the chapel is a simple lawned courtyard with tarmac pathways, bounded to the southwest by Mount Zion House and to the northeast by St Ronan's College. Some modern buildings forming part of the Mount Zion House complex are located to the southeast of the courtyard.