1889 – Alexandra College, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin

Alexandra College was founded in 1874 at No.6 Earlsfort Terrace. By 1879, a new hall and theatre was constructed alongside. Over time, they acquired several more houses and by 1889 a new building by William Kaye-Parry was constructed next door to the college as Alexandra School. In 1972, the school and college relocated to Dartry and the entire site cleared – by this time, it was almost all of one side of Earlsfort Terrace. The site sat empty for some years before being developed as a hotel and office complex. A building by Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon at No.12 was also demolished at this time.

THE foundation stone of a new school-house in connection with the Alexandra College was laid on Monday last by the Archbishop of Dublin. The site of the building has a frontage of 100 ft . to Earlsfort- terrace. It will be faced with Ruabon pressed red facing bricks, with moulded brick and terracotta dressings, and the roof will be covered with Buttermere green slates. The façades will be relieved by a projecting porch and a bay window, constructed of timber and terracotta, and roofed with Ruabon red tiles. A lofty flèche and finial form an agreeable feature in the elevation, and play an important part in the system of ventilation adopted by the architect. The plan of the building is in the shape of the letter L, and the general internal arrangement consists of a series of class -rooms, four of which are on the ground floor and four on the first floor. These rooms are all approached by corridors 7ft. 6 in. wide, and well lighted. Six of the class- rooms are designed to accommodate 25 pupils each, and the two remaining rooms double that number. Sufficient floor area is provided to admit of each pupil having a separate desk, and the desks are so placed in all the rooms that left-hand light is secured. The wall space behind the teacher’s desk is unbroken by any openings, so that it can be used for lecture diagrams and maps. The fireplaces are arranged in the angles of the rooms. Cloak-room accommodation is provided by means of a series of ventilated presses – one for each student – arranged along the outer walls of the corridor. Each compartment consists of a clothes press, a shelf for boots, with steam. pipe for drying, a seat, and a locker for books. The office and the head mistress’s room, on ground and first floor respectively, are so placed as to completely command all the corridors and thus facilitate supervision.

The music-rooms are placed on the second floor, and are entirely isolated from the class-rooms. The remainder of this floor is devoted to teachers’ and servants’ rooms. A lavatory is situated at the end of the play ground, approached by a corridor, and space has been reserved for future extension and or a gymnasium. The class-rooms are heated by Shorland’s warm air Manchester grates, each of which has a special cold air and two warm air ducts. In addition to this, each room is provided with two fresh air flues, which are built in the walls, and connected with main air flues in the basement, by which means a forced air supply can be provided when required.

The ventilated air is removed through openings in the ceilings connected with foul air ducts built in the walls, and carried to the roof level, and thence by timber trunk flues formed in the roof and connected with the ornamental fleche, which forms the general upcast shaft. By these means the air in the class – rooms will be completely changed three times in every hour without any disagreeable draughts, a matter of great importance in connection with school hygiene.
The contract has been intrusted to Messrs. Wardrop and Sons, and the cost will be about £4,000. The architect is Mr. W. Kaye Parry, M.A. , M.R.I.A.I. , of 42 Dame-street, whose plans were selected in a limited competition.
The Irish Builder, June 15, 1888