School refurbishment celebrated in Lower Kilwarlin
A Praise and Thanksgiving Service was held in St James’s Parish Church, Lower Kilwarlin on Sunday evening 18 March to mark the completion of a £25,000 facelift of the former St James’s Primary School.
The 167 year old school has just been refurbished with the addition of a kitchen and disabled toilets and is in use as a church hall.
A recent article in the Ulster Star records that St James’s Primary School opened in 1845 and served the local community for over a century and a half before closing for the last time in 2003. It amalgamated with St John’s and Maze Primary Schools to form Meadow Bridge Primary.
Church Warden and former Chairman of the Board of Governors, Tom Martin, said that since 2003 the school had been mainly used for Sunday School events, but they wanted it to be used by the wider community. In order to encourage that, work began to refurbish the building last July and disabled toilets were built and a classroom was transformed into a modern kitchen.
Mr Martin said, “We did not change it structurally on the outside. We wanted to keep it intact as there is a lot of history behind the school, but the interior has been re–done. The work is mainly completed apart from one or two minor things. It is still used as a Sunday School but we would like to see it being used by others.”
Bailiesmills Accordion Band played items during the service and supper was served afterwards in the former school.