Music Centre, aka Ballymoney Performing Arts Centre, 23 Charles Street, Ballymoney, BT53 6DX, Co Antrim

Music Centre (Ballymoney Performing Arts Centre)

A two-storey Edwardian red-brick school building constructed in 1905–06 to designs by architect James A. Hanna as a technical school, with a significant extension added in 1914 designed by Hobart & Heron. The building is located on Charles Street in Ballymoney, just north of the town centre, set back slightly from the street within its own landscaped grounds surfaced in tarmacadam and bordered by mature trees.

The building is rectangular in plan with a pitched roof and was originally arranged on a T-Plan with a single centrally located projecting gable to the main south-west elevation; a second gable projection was added as part of the 1914 extension to the south-east. The structure features single-storey flat-roofed projections at the south-west corner and to the rear.

All external walls are constructed of smooth red clay brick laid predominantly in stretcher bond to the original 1905 building, with some English garden wall bond to the later extensions. There is no plinth at the base, but a brick string course runs at first-floor level. Window openings are a mixture of square-headed and round-headed forms, some with reconstituted stone surrounds; all window cills are reconstituted stone. A cast-metal box profile gutter on brick dentils runs at the eaves, with most downpipes in cast metal. The roof is asbestos slate with plain ridge tiles.

The south-west front elevation is the principal façade, facing the street. It comprises two large, symmetrical two-storey gabled projections with an entrance bay between them and a small flat-roofed porch projection to the north-west corner. Each gable contains a large square-headed sexpartite window at ground level with a rounded-profile reconstituted stone head and squared reveals. At first-floor level, each gable is dominated by a large Palladian-style window flanked by two round-headed arched windows. The Palladian window has a reconstituted stone surround with moulded architraves and keystone details; the arched windows have plain soldier-course headers. Each gable is parapeted with a roll-top terracotta coping and corbelled brick kneelers. The gable apex is decorated with a pair of brick pilasters mounted on foliate terracotta and reconstituted stone corbels, brick pinnacles, and a terracotta panel with foliate terracotta tiles. The side walls of both gabled projections are plain red brick.

The entrance bay at ground level has a door opening to the left and a window to the right, both with window heads matching the gable style. The window is bipartite with two opening lights at the top. The door is segmental arch-headed, constructed in boarded painted timber with its original knob, and has a tripartite glazed overlight. To the right of the doorway stands a single brick pilaster on a foliate terracotta and reconstituted stone corbel, matching the gable decoration. At first-floor level, three evenly spaced square-headed openings with brick soldier heads contain windows with opening lights at the top. The north-west corner porch has a door to the right, similar in style to the entrance door, and a tri-partite window to the left matching the ground-level gable windows. The porch has a parapeted roof stepped over the doorway and framed with a decorative brick pilaster similar to the gable. A decorative cast-metal downpipe with hopper stands to the left of the window. To the left of the roof is one tall red-brick chimney in two stages with a moulded reconstituted stone capping and clay pots; a second similar chimney was likely removed during the 1914 extension and remodelling works. Prior to listing, the ground-floor window bay to the right-hand side was partially boarded up.

The rear (north-east) elevation features a large two-storey gable to the right-hand side, a large two-storey projecting gable to the left-hand side, and a narrow two-storey bay in the middle. Both gables have plain clipped verges; the right-hand gable has sprocketed eaves. Two single-storey flat-roofed toilet blocks are attached: a large one connected to the north corner and a smaller one attached to the gabled projection on its north-west face. The right-hand gable has a large square-headed tripartite central window with plain reconstituted stone surround, flanked by two square-headed openings. At ground level, a smaller square-headed opening in the centre is flanked by two larger segmental arch-headed windows; the centre window has a reconstituted stone surround and the arched windows have brick soldier heads. The left-hand projecting gable is similar to the right but contains only a central window at first-floor level and two openings at ground level: a square-headed door to the right and a segmental arch-headed window off-centre. The central narrow bay has two openings at first-floor level—one long vertical stair window and one standard window, both square-headed with soldier-course heads—and two small windows of similar detail at lower level above the toilet block roof, also square-headed with soldier-course heads. Windows at the time of survey were generally boarded with timber, appearing to be painted timber single-glazed with top opening lights; the lower openings were partially obscured. The toilet blocks have plain square-headed windows. The larger toilet block has reconstituted stone window heads and fascia; the smaller block has brick heads and a painted timber fascia. External steps with a painted metal guarding rail, leading to a basement door, are located at the right-hand side of the small toilet block.

The north-west side elevation comprises a two-storey projecting gable to the left-hand side with the side wall of the single-storey porch projection attached to the right. The gable has one tripartite window at ground level and a Palladian-style window at first-floor level. Gable copings and kneelers are similar in detail to the south-west elevation but without the decorative brick and terracotta wall details. Windows are similar to the south-west elevation; ground-level windows were boarded with timber at the time of survey.

The south-east side elevation is two-storey with a gable at the centre. The gabled section contains a Palladian-style window at first-floor level with detail similar to the other gables. The ground floor has six evenly spaced square-headed openings with brick soldier heads: a door to the left and five windows. A continuous brick hood mould and string course runs above the openings. There is one tall red-brick chimney with moulded reconstituted stone capping and six clay pots. Openings were boarded with timber at the time of survey.

Windows throughout the building are generally single-glazed painted timber, with some casements featuring hoppers and some sliding-sash windows. Rainwater goods are generally cast metal, with some replacement uPVC elements.

The building stands within its own grounds bordered by mature trees along the south-west boundary. Original entrance gates, railings, piers, and low walling line the south-east boundary to Charles Street. These boundary elements are constructed of red brick with reconstituted stone mouldings and caps on the piers and moulded brick coping on the walls. The railings are decorative wrought iron, with replacement timber fencing now positioned on top of the low walling. A linear range of single-storey outbuildings stands on the north-east boundary: one with concrete-block walling and corrugated asbestos roof, and one with boarded timber walling and asbestos slate roof.