Former School Adjacent to St Marks Church of Ireland, Ligoniel Road, Belfast, Co. Antrim, BT14 8DN

Former School Adjacent to St Marks Church of Ireland, Ligoniel Road, Belfast

A single-storey Gothic style former national school, built in 1874–75 to designs by an unknown architect and constructed by local builder John Davidson. The building occupies an elevated site to the north of Ligoniel Road, adjacent to St Mark's Church of Ireland.

The structure employs a cruciform plan set on a north-south axis with the crossing positioned towards the southern side. Extending from the south-western arm of the cross is a four-bay gabled block with pitched roof running north parallel to the main body of the building, representing a possible early extension. A more recent flat-roofed extension, opened in 1969, abuts the north elevation. Two additional small flat-roofed extensions of similar date are located to the south-west and south-east sides of the crossing.

The main building is constructed of randomly-coursed, rock-faced basalt walling with red sandstone dressings and quoins. The northern extensions employ squared and pitched rock-faced reconstituted stone, while the south-western and south-eastern extensions use coursed reconstituted stone walling.

The pitched and gabled roof to the main building is covered in natural slate with angled black clay ridge tiles, raised stone verges and moulded kneelers. Later 1960s extensions have flat roofs. Rectangular-section chimneys with dentilated cornices and buff clay chimney pots crown each gable of the cruciform plan and the northern gable of the four-bay block. At the crossing point of the roof sits a lead-capped timber cupola with dentilated cornice and pointed-arch openings, surmounted by a metal weathervane.

The principal (east) elevation consists of three pointed-arch lancet windows with timber sashes and a recessed square-headed door opening to the south with timber-sheeted door. An attached monopitch main entrance porch features a pointed-arch door opening with original sheeted door. To the north, three recessed bays contain replacement timber casement windows. A flat-roofed extension opened in 1969 adjoins the north gable, and a quatrefoil tablet decorates this gable.

The southern elevation features a central projecting double-height gable with three blocked pointed-arch lancet windows possessing red sandstone bevelled surrounds and cills. Small square-headed louvered openings occupy ground level. The gable is crowned by a chimney and bears an inscription reading 'St Mark's National Schools'. This projecting gable is flanked by the two flat-roofed extensions. The south-east extension contains a square-headed doorway and a single two-part square-headed window; the south-west extension has two square-headed two-part windows.

The western facade features a projecting gable with three original pointed-arch lancet sash windows complete with window horns, and a chimney above. The four-bay gabled section extends from the northern side of this gabled projection. A pointed-arch doorway on the southern gable of this section is housed within a small attached gabled porch.

The north elevation is largely obscured by the main 1969 flat-roofed extension. Where the original gable rises above this extension, original lancet windows are blocked with clay brick and concrete block.

Rainwater goods consist of a mixture of original circular-section cast iron downpipes with some replacement uPVC. Replacement uPVC ogee guttering discharges to these pipes. The 1960s extensions have cast iron downpipes and hoppers.

The site is bounded by randomly-coursed basalt walling with mature trees and established hedging to the interior. Walling directly south of the school building is topped by hooped circular-section iron railings. Access and grounds are shared with St Mark's Church and Rectory.