沙頭角鏡蓉書屋Kang Yung Study Hall, Sha Tau Kok

歷史背景Historical background

鏡蓉書屋位於沙頭角上禾坑，由客家人禾坑李氏興建，是香港少數專為教學的書室。書屋始建於清初，原是一所只收五至十名族中子弟的私塾，乾隆年間（一七三六至一七九五年）大規模擴建，同治十一年（一八七二年）重修，相傳「鏡蓉書屋」之名亦於該年題上門額。建築為兩進兩層、中隔天井的長方形屋舍，外牆用青磚，內部分隔以泥磚和夯土築成，設計簡單實用；地下為課室和教員室，閣樓供寄宿學生居住。書屋培育生員成績顯著，吸引大埔、沙田、荃灣學生；後改為鄉村小學，一九八六年停辦，一九九三年完成修復，一九九一年列為法定古蹟。

Kang Yung Study Hall in Sheung Wo Hang, Sha Tau Kok, is one of the few study halls in Hong Kong built purely for teaching. First set up in the early Qing dynasty as a private school for five to ten clan pupils by the Hakka Li clan, it was expanded during the Qianlong reign (1736–1795) and renovated in 1872, when the name is believed to have been given. It is a two-hall, two-storey building with a central courtyard, grey-brick walls and internal partitions of mud-brick and rammed earth; classrooms were on the ground floor and boarders lived in the cocklofts. Renowned for training candidates for the civil examinations, it later became a village primary school, closing in 1986. It was restored in 1993 and declared a monument in 1991.

香港紀事館編輯整理；來源：Compiled by Hong Kong Story; sources: 古物古蹟辦事處AMO紀事館古蹟頁Monument page