(November 2017)
After disappointingly not being able to find a way into north street arcade (any help on this would be greatly appreciated), we decided to back track to a school we had passed in the car previously.
St Comgalls school, divis street closed in 1988, having opened in 1932.
Years ago the St Peter's parish would have had a population of 27,000 people, so this school was the centre of a large and vibrant community. The school was also a place where social events like ceilidhs and fairs would have taken place whilst the conflict was raging on the streets outside (you can still see the bullet holes on the walls from then).
Entry and exit to the grounds of the school requires quite a bit of climbing. The school itself is heavily boarded up with steel plates covering all doors and most windows. We made our way into the basement which was upleasently damp, dark and mouldy. Naturally we didnt spend much time here but found some interesting objects such as a wheel chair. Once up the first flight of stairs the air immediately becomes far cleaner and the natural daylight allows you to see without a torch. The school is arranged around a cental, open, sqaured courtyard. Although not much remains in terms of school supplies the blackboards and stunning architecture still made it worth the visit. The second floor is nearly exactly the same as the first except above the main entance (which was inaccessible) there is an assembly hall. The school appears to have suffered from fire damage across the years but this actually helped to make some of my shots more interesting with peeling paint and wall paper etc.
According to belfast live 'St Comgall’s school on Divis Street will be transformed from a rundown eyesore to an “international visitor centre” and community hub under ambitious plans being driven by the Falls Community Council.' The courtyard will be covered with a glass roof to create an area for social events in the shadow of St Peter’s Cathedral. Funding of £7 million has already been secured for the project.
There are many original features, however, that are going to be kept and since it’s a grade B1 listed building the exterior must be kept as it is.
We also found out after our visit that apparently- paranormal investigators label the primary school the "most haunted building in Belfast" after staking it out for more than three years.
In a video taken recently by Team PSII, the group claims footsteps can be heard as well as repeated strains of 'get out'.
They also say they were able to capture images of a man standing in a corridor of the school and another of a child in a white dress.
I have to say we did hear footsteps once we first entered the building which made us stop and listen for other people. However we quickly forgot about those and continued making our way through the building. As skeptics of the paranormal we put the footsteps down to a noise simply made by the old building but l'll leave it up to yourselves to form your own opinions
.
Basement
Staffroom/ Canteen?
Kitchen
Boiler/generator room?
Wheelchair etc in basement
1st floor
View of St Paul's from courtyard
Up to second floor
Assembly hall
Absolutely no idea how this inflated balloon got here, boarded windows and a hard access and we didn't put it there?
Thanks for looking!
After disappointingly not being able to find a way into north street arcade (any help on this would be greatly appreciated), we decided to back track to a school we had passed in the car previously.
St Comgalls school, divis street closed in 1988, having opened in 1932.
Years ago the St Peter's parish would have had a population of 27,000 people, so this school was the centre of a large and vibrant community. The school was also a place where social events like ceilidhs and fairs would have taken place whilst the conflict was raging on the streets outside (you can still see the bullet holes on the walls from then).
Entry and exit to the grounds of the school requires quite a bit of climbing. The school itself is heavily boarded up with steel plates covering all doors and most windows. We made our way into the basement which was upleasently damp, dark and mouldy. Naturally we didnt spend much time here but found some interesting objects such as a wheel chair. Once up the first flight of stairs the air immediately becomes far cleaner and the natural daylight allows you to see without a torch. The school is arranged around a cental, open, sqaured courtyard. Although not much remains in terms of school supplies the blackboards and stunning architecture still made it worth the visit. The second floor is nearly exactly the same as the first except above the main entance (which was inaccessible) there is an assembly hall. The school appears to have suffered from fire damage across the years but this actually helped to make some of my shots more interesting with peeling paint and wall paper etc.
According to belfast live 'St Comgall’s school on Divis Street will be transformed from a rundown eyesore to an “international visitor centre” and community hub under ambitious plans being driven by the Falls Community Council.' The courtyard will be covered with a glass roof to create an area for social events in the shadow of St Peter’s Cathedral. Funding of £7 million has already been secured for the project.
There are many original features, however, that are going to be kept and since it’s a grade B1 listed building the exterior must be kept as it is.
We also found out after our visit that apparently- paranormal investigators label the primary school the "most haunted building in Belfast" after staking it out for more than three years.
In a video taken recently by Team PSII, the group claims footsteps can be heard as well as repeated strains of 'get out'.
I have to say we did hear footsteps once we first entered the building which made us stop and listen for other people. However we quickly forgot about those and continued making our way through the building. As skeptics of the paranormal we put the footsteps down to a noise simply made by the old building but l'll leave it up to yourselves to form your own opinions
.
1st floor
Up to second floor
Absolutely no idea how this inflated balloon got here, boarded windows and a hard access and we didn't put it there?
Thanks for looking!
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