Larne and Inver Primary School, 1a Glynn Road, Larne, Co Antrim, BT40 3AY

Larne and Inver Primary School is an inter-war school building dating to 1931, designed by Roland Ingleby Smith, Chief Architect to the Northern Ireland Office of Works, for the Larne Regional Education Committee. It replaced an earlier school on the same site. The building is a two-storey structure with hipped roofs and white-painted roughcast walls. It occupies a prominent position within the town, visible from an elevated dual-carriageway to the north. The main entrance, centrally positioned on a symmetrical north-facing elevation, features double doors with glazed panels, sidelights, and a rectangular fanlight, protected by rectilinear ironwork railings. The building has cast iron guttering and downpipes and is roofed with Bangor blue slates laid in regular courses. A central clock turret rises from the main roofline, featuring a clock face between end pilasters. The front elevation has hipped end bays, each five windows wide. The windows are of a distinctive design with horizontally pivoted iron frames, fixed lower lights to the first floor, and translucent glass to the ground floor, with low-level pivoting windows. The east elevation has a stepped roofline, a block surround incorporating a name panel above a projecting side entrance with a swept lead-covered lean-to roof. A later replacement entrance, originally the ‘boys’ entrance’ according to a panel above a rectangular opening, now features flush double doors. The south elevation is plain, with twelve windows on each floor. The west elevation is similar, with later windows inserted and an entrance labelled ‘girls’. A single-storey link extends to the south side, connecting to a newer extension. The boundary walls are constructed of rubble basalt and include wrought iron gates and railings that resemble those from the 19th century, likely retained from the earlier school. Contemporary newspaper reports indicate the building’s exterior was finished with 'Snowcrete', the windows were of a patent design, the floors were laid with maple, special attention was given to classroom lighting, the walls were lined with ‘Astroplax’, and the total cost was £9549. The school remains in use as a primary school.