Tonaghmore Primary School, 4 Drumnavaddy Road, Banbridge, Co Down, BT25 1JT

Tonaghmore Primary School is a symmetrical red-brick gabled double-height former school building dated 1862, located on the west side of Drumnavaddy Road northeast of Banbridge. It represents one of the earliest surviving examples of a rural school and is a well-preserved and increasingly rare example of a school in its original setting, built to the standard plan-form adopted under the National School System introduced in 1831.

The building has a rectangular plan with single-storey gabled entrance porches, added later, to the north and south gables. The pitched natural slate roof features blue and black angled ridge tiles, plain bargeboards, and red-brick chimneystacks to the gables. Plastic rainwater goods are fitted to the overhanging timber eaves with cast-iron down-pipes. The walling is English garden wall-bonded red-brick with yellow-brick quoins and dressings, set on a cement-rendered plinth.

Windows are round-headed 2/2 margin-paned timber-framed sashes with exposed boxes in alternate yellow-brick surrounds with projecting granite sills. Large timber casement windows are present to the rear. The principal elevation faces east and is three windows wide with even spacing. Beneath the eaves is a modern plastic plaque reading "TONAGHMORE PRIMARY SCHOOL". The south gable features a yellow-brick diamond motif and a slate plaque inscribed "TONAGHMORE NATIONAL SCHOOL A.D. 1862". The south entrance porch, abutting at left, has a modern six-panelled timber door and casement window to its right cheek. The west rear elevation has two large casement windows. The north entrance porch, abutting at right, has a modern metal-sheeted door with ramped access and a timber casement window to its right cheek.

The school is situated in an unspoiled rural location fronting a country road on the outskirts of Banbridge. A gravel yard lies to the rear, accessed to the north via modern timber gates. The road boundary is defined by modern timber fencing over slender round-headed masonry piers.

Historically, Tonaghmore Primary School was the third schoolhouse built in the townland. The first school appeared on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833, located to the north of the current structure along Drumnavaddy Road. A second schoolhouse was constructed by 1860 on the site of the current building, arranged at right angles to the existing structure. The current building was constructed in 1862, replacing the second schoolhouse, and first appeared on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1903–1918 in its current configuration. The first schoolhouse was demolished in the late 19th century.

Griffith's Valuation of 1861 records that both schoolhouses were jointly valued at £4 and let by Hugh Lindsay. The second schoolhouse was noted as being constructed of brick and mortar with a slate roof, measuring 28 by 18 feet and accommodating 42 children. The school was originally established around 1829 and was initially connected with the Church Education Society, but by 1858 had ceased its connection with the established church and was administered under the National School System.

An inspection in 1924 found the building in good repair, though no descriptive details were recorded. The school continued to operate as a rural primary school until at least 1969, although modern extensions and modifications had been made by that time, altering its original Victorian character. The building is now vacant but has been well maintained and remains in good condition. Much of the historic fabric is intact and the character is largely unchanged, with only the entrance porches being later additions.