76 Bryansford Road, Fofannybane, near Kilcoo, Newcastle, Co Down

The site represents a former schoolhouse, dating from approximately 1820 to 1839. Located near Kilcoo, Newcastle, County Down, it is now occupied by a new dwelling constructed on the same footprint, which visually echoes the earlier building.

The original schoolhouse, described in an early survey, was a harled building with plain dressings around twelve-pane sash windows, one on each side of a projecting porch featuring a semicircular Georgian glazed light. It had bargeboards on the east gable and carved details on the porch. A reduced-height return was also present. The current dwelling maintains a similar height and roof pitch to the original, and incorporates a similar porch, although it is longer and has a larger return. While initially believed to be an extension of the original, the wall thicknesses and several other details suggest a recent rebuild, confirmed by local accounts of the original building’s demolition around 1994.

The schoolhouse is depicted on the Ordnance Survey map of 1834, although not mentioned in contemporary Ordnance Survey Memoirs. It was also marked on the 1859 map and appears to have functioned as a school until the early 20th century. Later, it was converted into a private dwelling. Documentary evidence includes Ordnance Survey maps from 1834 and 1859, Valuation Office records from around 1836 and 1863, and the Second (Griffith’s) Valuation records of 1863.