Richard Lyttle Memorial School, 42 Church Road, Moneyreagh, County Down, BT23 6BA, ** See General Comments **

Richard Lyttle Memorial School

This building at 42 Church Road, Moneyreagh, served as a school from 1908 to 1961. It was built and officially opened on 30 May 1908 as the Lyttle Memorial School, erected by public subscription in memory of Reverend Richard Lyttle, who was minister of Moneyreagh from 1889 to 1905.

Reverend Lyttle was born in 1866 and died at the age of 39 in England while returning from a conference in Switzerland. Beyond his pastoral duties, he worked extensively for tenant farmers' rights and land reform, advocating for tenant farmers to own the land they had worked. He was a strong supporter of home rule and championed equal rights for women, arguing that women were the more industrious half of humanity and that countries denying them their rights lost a great force for good. His funeral cortege from Belfast docks to Moneyreagh was lined with onlookers of every denomination and creed, paying tribute to a man regarded as remarkable and ahead of his time.

The school was opened to all children on a broadly non-sectarian basis, irrespective of class or creed, as a fitting memorial to the values Reverend Lyttle championed. A red granite or marble inscription on the building reads: "Moneyreagh National School 1908. Erected by public subscription in memory of Richard Lyttle minister of Moneyreagh 1889 – 1905. A beautiful life consecrated to noble ends. He gave his best to God, his country and fellow men."

In the 1960s, the building was altered for use as a community and church hall. During this alteration, the frontal appearance of what had been an attractive modern building was significantly changed.