Layd Schoolhouse, Culbidag, Glenariff, Ballymena, Co.Antrim

Layd Schoolhouse, Culbidag, Glenariff

This is a detached, symmetrical three-bay single-storey rendered house dating from 1820, with a single-bay single-storey rear extension. Originally built as a schoolhouse, it retains essential historic character despite alterations and holds social interest for the local community.

The building is L-shaped on plan, facing north-east onto Middlepark Road with an enclosed rear yard, garden to the south and west, and a concrete block wall to the south supporting a cast-iron pedestrian gate. The pitched roof is covered in artificial slate with synthetic ridge tiles. Chimneystacks at either end are rendered replacements. Rainwater goods throughout are replacement uPVC.

The walling is rough-cast cement render with a smooth cement rendered plinth course and corner strips. Window openings are square-headed with replacement concrete sills and replacement 6/6 timber sliding sash windows featuring ogee horns and exposed sash boxes. The rear and extension contain largely uPVC windows. The north-west gabled side elevation is blind.

The three-bay front elevation features a central square-headed door opening with a painted stone lintel bearing incised lettering that reads: "Layd Schoolhouse / Founded / 5th September Anno Domini. 1820 / Samuel Boy?". This incised lintel is of particular architectural interest. The replacement timber door is vertically-sheeted below an upper glazed panel and opens onto a concrete step to the street. The gabled south side elevation contains a single window opening.

The building underwent extensive renovation around 1979, which included restoration of rainwater goods, windows, and roof, along with construction of the single-storey kitchen and bathroom extension to the rear. More recent alterations have also occurred.

Historically, Layd Schoolhouse was founded in September 1820 and first recorded on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1832, which depicted it with its current layout. In the 1830s, the Ordnance Survey Memoirs recorded that Culbidagh School possessed a total of 59 male and female pupils drawn from both Roman Catholic and Protestant backgrounds. The school was supported by the Society of Discountenancing Vice and received partial funding from the parish Rector and from pupils' fees. The presence of two schoolhouses in the neighbouring village of Cushendall, both supported by the National School System, likely necessitated closure of Layd Schoolhouse. By the time of Griffith's Valuation in 1859, the building was no longer utilised as a school but was occupied as a private dwelling. It was valued at £2 and leased by Edward Cuppage, a local landowner of Mount Edwards House, to William Chard. Occupancy changed frequently thereafter until 1898, when Hugh Joseph Flatley, a National School Teacher, took possession. The 1901 census building return confirmed the property was a second-class private dwelling consisting of five rooms with a fowl house as its sole outbuilding, not a schoolhouse. The third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1903 no longer captioned the building as a school. By the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57), the value had risen to £3 and five shillings, with Ms. Mary Crawley recorded as occupant. Around 1969, the building was purchased outright from the Cuppage estate by James McAuley, who leased it to Mr. A. Fusco. By the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72), the rateable value stood at £6. A 1972 description noted it as "a very modest three-bay single-storey whitewashed cottage, with Georgian glazing bars".

The building is street-fronted on the west side of Middlepark Road within a largely residential area.