Ewart Institute, York Street, Newton Stewart

The Ewart Institute, located on York Street in Newton Stewart, is a Gothic school building constructed between 1862 and 1864, with significant additions made to the rear in 1927. Originally established as a Ragged School, it was converted for residential use in 1990. The building features a long, asymmetrical main elevation with six bays and a single-storey wing to the left. The exterior is characterized by bull-faced walling with polished cream sandstone margins and quoins.

To the left, there are two taller gabled bays that rise to two storeys with attics, while to the right, three two-storey bays include a central projecting square window on the single-storey section. The extreme right bay is highlighted by a four-stage octagonal clock tower. All windows are bipartite, featuring a six-pane glazing pattern in sash and case style at the ground level, with the first-floor windows of the two-storey section adorned with trefoiled heads and simple bipartite designs in the projecting bays. The building has end skews and is topped with graded slate roofs.

The clock tower is an octagonal structure with Gothic detailing, including string courses that separate the diminishing stages. The third stage features trefoil-headed lancets with diamond-pane glazing, while the fourth stage displays a clock face and is capped with a pierced and embattled parapet.

At the west end of the school, there is a tall single-storey buttressed wing that serves as a chapel or hall, with porches projecting from each side. A tripartite window is located in the gable wall, and a small bellcote sits at the apex. The roof is very steeply pitched and covered with high-quality graded slates. To the rear, there are large two-storey additions with piend roofs, harled walling, and four-light sash and case windows.