Convent or Mercy

Attached seven-bay two-storey convent with gabled double-height end blocks, built c.1870, now disused. Hipped slate roof with rendered chimneystacks and cast-iron rainwater goods. Rendered walls with ashlar limestone quoins and string course between floors. Moulded eaves course. Round-headed opening with ashlar limestone dressings, having one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows to first floor and two-over-one pane windows to ground floor.

Set overlooking the harbour, this convent complex is a dominant presence in the town. Comprising a long central building, flanked by gabled double-height end bays, it is a well detailed and designed building. The limestone dressings and round-headed openings are particularly notable features. Set adjacent to the red brick industrial school and its related outbuildings, the convent complex played a significant role in the local community in the past.