Elmgrove Primary School, Beersbridge Road, Belfast, County Antrim, BT5 4RS

Elmgrove Primary School is a two-storey redbrick school complex in Arts & Crafts style, designed by Belfast Corporation Education Committee architect R. S. Wilshere and built in 1933. The building consists of two main blocks arranged around quadrangles and linked by a gabled assembly hall, located on the south side of Beersbridge Road. Modern single-storey flat-roof buildings have been added to the west corners of the blocks. The southeast wing was rebuilt in 1984 following a fire that destroyed the original section.

The roof is pitched with red-clay tiles, swept valleys, angled red-clay ridge tiles and raised verges. Projecting eaves support cast-iron half-round guttering and circular cast-iron downpipes, with decorated hopper and semi-circular clay-tile detail above. Red brick walling is laid in some parts to stretcher-bond and other parts to Flemish-bond, with a projecting plinth course throughout. Window openings are generally square-headed original timber casements with decorative redbrick lintels and sills.

The east elevation features a two-storey multiple-bay wing to the north with a gabled roof and hipped dormers built off the face of the wall to each of ten bays. A two-storey square-plan projecting gate-tower rises at the central bay with a raised parapet and round-arched doorway with red brick hood and splayed jambs. The door opens onto a paved platform with steps and ramp. Original four-part paned timber casement windows with painted sills occupy the first floor, with single paned timber casement windows facing north and south. A painted cast stone plaque sits above the arched door. A projecting single-storey flat roofed corridor with parapet and glazed timber framed double doors runs between the outshots and entrance tower at ground floor level, with clerestorey windows to the main elevation behind the parapet. To the south is a one-and-a-half storey multiple-bay wing flanked by single-storey gabled outshots. A double-height gabled building connects the two wings at the centre of the east elevation, featuring a projecting step-gabled entrance porch with round-arch door opening, moulded red brick hood and splayed jambs. A replacement half-glazed timber door opens onto a single nosed step. A flat roofed corridor links the projecting porch to the side wings with round-arched full storey height timber windows with panelled lower sections and metal framed casement openings to centre. The one-and-a-half storey south wing has a round-arched doorway with red brick hood and splayed jambs to the central bay with a square-headed sheeted timber door opening onto a platform with steps. Each of the single-storey gabled outshots features a three-sided rectangular plan bay window with original paned timber casements.

The west elevation consists of a single-storey six-bay wing to the north flanked by modern single-storey flat-roofed buildings. The north wing has a seven-part window to each bay with original timber casement windows. A double-height gabled building sits at the centre with a projecting single-storey three-sided canted bay and a single-storey flat-roofed outshot to the north side. The wing to the south has a two-storey central part of three bays and two single-storey bays to each side. A projecting two-storey entrance porch with raised parapet and round-arched door opening rises at the central bay, with seven-part timber casement windows to each single-storey bay. The south is flanked by a modern two-storey wing with single-storey flat-roofed blocks.

The north elevation consists of a three-bay building to the east, a three-sided double-height hipped roof canted bay to the middle and a modern single-storey flat-roofed building to the west. Square-headed window openings occupy each bay of the building to the east, with a bay window to the central bay.

The south elevation comprises a modern flat-roofed single-storey building to the west and two single-storey pitched roof buildings of five and three bays to the east with original timber casement windows to each bay.

The quadrangles are organised as cloister garths with gardens surrounded by single-storey flat-roofed corridors on three sides. These corridors feature round-arched full storey height timber windows with panelled lower sections and metal framed casement openings to centre. The north quadrangle is landscaped and used as a school garden; the south is concrete paved and used as a play-area.

The site includes the school complex, a two-storey hipped-roof caretaker's house (listed separately as HB26.05.002 B) to the northwest, and three single-storey flat-roofed modern buildings to the southeast. Concrete paved playing areas occupy the rear with lush landscaping to the east and northeast. The site is enclosed to the north by a low brick wall topped by simple iron railings with rectangular plan piers with plinth and corbelled coping supporting simple metal gates. Tall fencing runs along the south; a tall brick wall topped with fencing encloses the west and southwest, with a hedge to the east.