Building record MHG51524 - Old School and Schoolhouse, Balnacra

A single-storey and attic 3-bay schoolhouse and attached 3-bay school room. The architectural details are fully described in the supplementary information which accompanies the statutory list. It is one of the few surviving examples of its type in Ross-shire to substantially retain both its original plan form and internal details. The school was a response to the Education Act of 1872 which required Parish Boards to construct schools in outlying areas. It first opened on 8th October 1875 and closed in 1955. It was designed to accommodate up to 60 pupils but the school's Day Journal records that Inspectors complained that by 1890 it had never had more than 26. The school was constructed by Inverness contractor and mason, John Campbell to a standardised design following the style of Alexander Ross of Inverness. <1>