St. Clare’s Convent Primary School, High Street, Newry, Co Down, BT34 1HB

St. Clare's Convent Primary School, High Street, Newry

A school complex comprising several blocks of varying ages and architectural character, historically associated with the convent. The complex forms part of an extensive religious compound that also includes a convent and chapel, burial vault, oratory, laundry, and wells.

The school complex consists of five principal components: a main block aligned east-west to the road, a rear return, an annex to the northwest, an annex to the southwest, and a three-storey section incorporated within a four-storey section of the convent block.

The main block rises three storeys high, with the school occupying the first two floors and the convent using the top floor for accommodation. It has a half-hipped natural slate roof and painted and lined cement rendered walls with a contrasting painted base course. The principal elevation faces north towards the street, with its middle section advancing slightly forward. The ground floor contains seven window openings: three 6/6 sliding sashes at left, middle and right, with two narrower 4/4 sashes between them. The first floor has eight openings: two 4/4 sliding sashes at left and right, with single 6/6 windows between the pairs. The second floor displays two 6/6 sashes at left and right, with a single 4/4 sash at the centre. All openings are set in chamfered reveals; those on the ground and first floors have two-centred heads with infilled spandrels between the head opening and stooled window lintels. The east gable contains a skylight within its half-hipped roof. On the rear elevation, a rendered chimney rises from the eaves towards the right-hand end, and the roof pitch includes two skylights. A slightly lower three-storey return abuts the left side. This section has three 6/6 sliding sash windows to the ground floor, with taller sashes to the first floor and shorter sashes to the second floor; all are set within stooled heads with painted granite cills. The right-hand section of this rear elevation comprises a slightly lower hipped block with a ground floor door (featuring a tongue-and-groove sheeted transom over) and 6/6 landing lights positioned between floor levels. The ground floor of this block is abutted by a covered walkway running southward. The west gable has two 6/6 sash windows to both ground and first floors, all with stooled heads. The second floor centre contains a two-centred arched opening with multi-paned and margined sliding sash, with a flat-headed 6/6 sash to its right. A modern metal fire escape is affixed to the left-hand side.

The rear return is a three-storey block with pitched natural slate roof, a chimney on the south gable, half-round gutters, and walls finished to match the main block. Viewed from the south, the gable displays a 6/6 window to each of the three floors, with two narrower 6/6 windows at second floor level; all windows have granite cills. The right and left cheeks each contain a 6/6 sash window aligned vertically across the floors, all with granite cills. The left cheek also has a tongue-and-groove door to the left of the ground floor window.

The northwest annex rises three storeys, with the top floor occupied by the convent and the remaining floors by the school. It has a natural slate roof, hipped with a gablet to the north and verged and gabled to the south, with a chimney rising from the south gable. Half-round metal gutters sit on a projecting plain eaves course, and walls are finished as the main block. The north gable contains two 6/6 sash windows to both ground and first floors, with a smaller 6/6 sash at second floor level. All but the top floor windows are set in two-centred arched openings with stooled infills and chamfered jambs. Two small vents appear between the windows at ground-to-first floor level. The east elevation is six windows wide, with the middle pair advancing slightly. The ground floor contains six windows set in arched openings as in the gable; the middle two windows are narrower. Below the left-hand window (looking west) is a double-leaf three-panel painted door with raised jamb and flat head. The first floor has six sash windows in line with those at ground floor level in identical openings. The second floor contains five 6/6 sashes, diminished in height (one only to the projecting section), all with stooled heads. The south gable is abutted by a modern metal fire escape staircase with door at the top, and at left by part of the southwest annex. This elevation displays miscellaneous sliding sash windows of irregular spacing and size. The west elevation has three 6/6 sliding sashes and two entrance ways to the ground floor. The first floor contains a 6/6 sash above the left and right ground floor windows, a pair of narrow 4/4 sashes at the centre, and a small 2/2 sash at right. The second floor has six 6/6 sashes. All have stooled heads (except ground floor right) and granite cills.

The southwest annex is three storeys high with a semi-basement opening to the west, topped by a flat concrete roof with parapet to the south, east and west (the last sheeted over with profiled metal). Half-round gutters and down pipes run along the east side. Walls are finished as the main block. The east elevation is six openings wide, with four windows and two doors at ground floor level. Both upper floors have a pair of 2/2 sashes at left and 6/6 sashes in the remaining four openings. The south gable displays, at semi-basement level, a door and four windows (three with paired 1/1 sashes, the fourth with a single 1/1 sash). The ground floor contains five openings (four with paired 1/1 sashes, the fifth with a single 1/1 sash). The first and second floors each have a tall narrow 2/2 sash. The west elevation has four windows at semi-basement level (of which three are paired 1/1 sashes) and a door. There are eight windows to the ground floor and nine to the first and second floors; at ground floor level, all but one are 3/3 sashes, and 4/4 to the upper floors. The north gable is blank except for a large opening at ground floor level, with a chimney rising from eaves level at left.

The section within the convent block is four storeys high, with the top two floors used by the convent and the lower two by the school. It has a pitched natural slate roof and painted and lined walls. The ground floor is abutted by an external flat-roofed walkway, with a metal handrail running along the top as there is access to the actual roof from the first floor of an abutting block to the south. Directly above the roofline are five 2/2 top-opening casements. The first floor contains six 6/3 sashes and the second floor has seven 2/2 sashes. The fourth floor is a 1960s addition, lit by eight modern casements. The remaining elevations are abutted by adjoining buildings.

The school was founded with its foundation stone laid in 1866. It replaced an earlier girls' school located elsewhere within the convent complex. Originally, the ground floor served as an infants' school, the first floor as an industrial school, and the top floor for the use of the nuns. The architect was John Bourke of Charlemont Street, Dublin. The building cost £2500 and was completed by Mr B. Maginnis, a Newry contractor, in 1868. The southwest annex was added in 1930.