Former Newtownstewart County Primary School, 2 Main Street, Newtownstewart, Co. Tyrone, BT78 4AA

Former Newtownstewart County Primary School

A multi-bay single-storey stone schoolhouse dated 1860, located on the north side of Main Street, Newtownstewart. The building is Grade B2 listed and situated within a conservation area.

The schoolhouse is T-shaped in plan, aligned east-west with a return to the north. It is constructed of snecked dressed stone over a splayed plinth. The pitched roof is natural slate with angled blue-black clay ridge tiles, and features a dressed stone chimneystack with a decorated cornice and chimneycap. Painted timber bargeboards and replacement ogee-profiled cast iron gutters frame the eaves, with modern patent roof lights inserted into the south pitch.

The principal north elevation is abutted by the T-plan return to centre, with three windows to the right and two windows to the left, plus a door at the right end. The exposed north gable is blank. The left (east) cheek displays six windows, while the right (west) cheek has five windows with a door at the left end. The east gable features three round-headed windows with flush stone surrounds and continuous sills, the centre window being heightened; a segmental arch-headed date plaque is inscribed "NEWTOWNSTEWART / MINOR MODEL / NATIONAL SCHOOL / 1860."

The rear south elevation contains a stone chimneybreast to the left and a buttress to the right, with two shortened clearstorey windows at each end and five windows at the centre. The west gable is blank. Windows throughout are square-headed powder-coated metal casements with flush sandstone surrounds and sills. Doors are painted timber with raised-and-fielded six-panel design.

The building is situated on an elevated site near the junction of Main Street and Dublin Road. The north boundary is defined by a stone rubble wall with painted decorative cast iron railings. Lawned grounds to the east are enclosed by modern galvanised railings. Immediately adjacent are the terrace at 4 Main Street to the north and St. Eugene's Church of Ireland Church to the south, with its churchyard boundary wall elevated parallel to the schoolhouse's south elevation.

Historical Background

The school was established in 1860 through the influence of the Ardstraw Parish Rector, Reverend Dr. James McIvor, and opened on 1 July 1861 as a Minor Model School beside the Church in Newtownstewart. By 1862, it was recorded in the Ordnance Survey Revisions fieldbook as a 'Model School and garden', leased from the Representatives of Daniel Baird and occupied by the Commissioners of Education, valued at £12 with an additional £1 for the garden. The school became an outstanding success, attracting pupils from a wide area. Each July, the school opened to local 'Friends of Education' for annual examinations of pupils; in 1874, the Tyrone Constitution reported over 200 attendees at what was described as "a high gala day of great importance." The school closed in 1975 and was converted to a library. A small extension visible on town plans of 1898 and 1908 no longer survives, as does a porch on the north-western elevation shown on the 1974–5 Ordnance Survey map.

Current Condition

The building has undergone modernisation, with original windows and internal features lost, though it retains good proportions and fine masonry craftsmanship. The cast-iron railings remain ornate. Now refurbished for continued use as a library, the former schoolhouse retains social importance to the community and is of local historical interest. The listing encompasses the schoolhouse, walling, and railings.