Elm Park 1626-1954: Country House to Preparatory School

Elm Park near Killylea, County Armagh, occupies an important place in twentieth-century educational history in Northern Ireland. In 1920 Seth Smith and Willoughby Weaving acquired the house and grounds known as Elm Park and established a preparatory school for boys aged between seven and fourteen. During the Second World War over 60 boys attended the school, but a decline in numbers after 1945 resulted in its closure in 1954. Many of its former pupils went on to play important roles in the world