St Joseph’s Convent Primary School, Edward Street, Newry, Co Down, BT35 6AN

St Joseph's Convent Primary School is a confident public building from the 1920s, designed by architect Frank R.A. Conway of Belfast and built by Copland of Newry in 1926. It exemplifies early twentieth-century Beaux-Arts principles expressed through a symmetrical composition that blends Classical and International style influences with Dutch Arts and Crafts detailing. The building remains substantially intact both internally and externally, including its boundary walls and railings.

The school occupies a corner site between Edward Street and Catherine Street. Its plan comprises two main blocks—a rectangular classroom block running south to north and a rectangular entrance block—plus two subsidiary blocks: a link block of inverted T plan and a toilet block also of T plan. The classroom block is positioned to the south running west to east, abutted to its north by the link block, which in turn abuts the south side of the entrance block. The toilet block abuts the north side of the entrance block.

Both main blocks feature pitched natural slate roofs with overhanging eaves supported on moulded timber brackets with boxed soffits. The cast iron rainwater goods are ogee-moulded with circular downpipes. The subsidiary blocks have flat in-situ cast concrete roofs behind parapet walls. All walls are constructed in rustic red brick laid in English garden bond, set on a moulded stepped ashlar granite basecourse. Windows throughout are plastic replacements (dating to circa 1995 and installed to the original glazing pattern), though the originals were steel-framed. Windows have soldier-coursed brick heads and projecting granite cills.

The classroom block is finished with decorative pseudo-quoins at each corner, formed by recessing a course of three bricks every fifth course. A string course of three alternate recessed brick courses runs between ground and first floor levels. The south elevation, which faces Edward Street, is divided equally into three bays reflecting internal divisions and marked by two downpipes. Attached plastic letters reading "St. Joseph's Convent Primary School" sit between ground and first floor on this elevation. The central bay contains three four-by-five windows on each floor. The left and right bays are identical, each with a central eight-by-five window flanked by two three-by-five windows. The west and east gables are without openings save for louvred timber vents to the attic. A large bronze louvred vent with a roof swept up to a spiked finial sits on the classroom block, and each gable is capped with a chamfered concrete coping.

The north elevation of the classroom block is largely concealed by the link block. The link block's inverted T plan has its north and south elevations abutting the main blocks. On its west elevation, the right third is advanced forward at the join with the classroom block and contains a four-by-five window to ground floor and a four-by-three window to first floor; the cheek is blank. The left two-thirds contains a six-by-five window to ground floor and a six-by-three window to first floor, with walls that have been rebuilt and lack a soldier course head. The east elevation's left third is advanced forward at the join with the classroom block and is without openings. This raised section's cheek has two four-by-five windows to ground floor and two four-by-three windows to first floor. The first floor window on the right has been removed and replaced with a pair of modern painted timber and glazed escape doors leading to a metal fire stair. The remaining section of the east wall contains a six-by-five window to ground floor and a six-by-three window to first floor; the wall has been rebuilt and the window lacks a soldier course head. Windows to this elevation are stained timber.

The T-planned toilet block sits to the north of the entrance block. Its south wall abuts the entrance block. The north wall features a central six-panelled stop-end chamfered door with a three-by-two transom over, and a three-by-three window to the first floor directly above. The right three-quarters of the east elevation is advanced and contains three two-by-five windows to ground floor and three two-by-three windows to first floor; the cheek is blank. A single-storey service block abuts this ground floor bay. The remaining quarter of the east elevation, at the join with the entrance block, has a high three-by-two window to ground floor (with the service block roof serving as cill) and a three-by-three window to first floor. A tall chimney rises alongside the toilet block wall and terminates above its roof with a concrete coping.

The service block has a flat in-situ concrete roof behind a parapet. Its north and east walls are brick; the east wall has a small glazed louvred window and the north wall a sheeted door.

The boundary treatment reflects the building's formal character. Gates and railings enclose the playground on all sides. Those fronting Catherine Street are plain, while those along Edward Street are ornate and symmetrically designed. The Edward Street railings feature ashlar-dressed rustic brick piers with shallow pyramidal heads, with the basecourse continuing as the base of the railings. The railings themselves are plainly spiked, linked by wrought iron open urns atop piers. A recessed central pair of gates follows the same design. A modern spiked layer has been attached along the top of the railings. These railings were made by Messrs James McCullough of Belfast. The rear playground is sheltered by a large structure with a segmental-headed corrugated metal roof supported by steel beams, with tongue-and-groove sheeted eaves cut to a point for decorative effect.

Extensions were undertaken in the 1930s. The building was first noted in the valuation revision book of 1930 as a "public elementary school" and continues in use as a school.