Description

GLOUCESTER

SO8318SW SOUTHGATE STREET
844-1/12/259 (East side)
23/01/52 No.31A
St Mary de Crypt Grammar School

GV II*

Grammar school, now church meeting room and Sunday School.
1539. Grammar School founded by Joan Cooke and in 1540
entrusted to the Corporation of the City, in 1862 sold to the
Parish of St Mary de Crypt. Restored 1862 by Medland and
Maberley, further restoration 1880.
MATERIALS: ashlar, at rear is red brick with stone details,
ashlar stack with circular brick shaft added to front and a
brick lateral ridge stack with two tall, diagonal shafts to
left; at rear three C19 gabled dormers; slate roof.
PLAN: range parallel with street, of four bays and a wider bay
at north end incorporating a carriageway leading to St Mary's
Lane; the south end of range abuts the nave of the Church of
St Mary de Crypt (qv); the entrance doorway to the former
school-room within the carriage way on in the cross wall on
the right hand side.
EXTERIOR: two storeys and attic, the bays of the range defined
by buttresses with weathered offsets. Crowning string course
below the eaves, the buttress in the centre of the four bays
to the right from first-floor level supports a wider
chimney-stack with moulded corbelling on each side of buttress
and capped by weathered offsets; the wider left-hand end bay
has carriageway entrance with continuous moulding to jambs and
Tudor arch, the arch framed by a hoodmould with diamond stops
on the sides, and in the spandrels armorial shields.
In each of the four bays to the left a three-light stone
mullioned window with arched lights with a flat hoodmould
returned on the sides with diamond stops; on the first floor
above the archway to left a canted oriel window supported on a
moulded corbel base, string course at sill level, and
weathered head, three arched lights to the front and a single
arched light to each side, on the front of the oriel a stone
panel carved with coat of arms of King Henry VIII; in each of
four bays to left are C19 three-light windows with details
similar to ground-floor windows, all replacing sashes inserted
in C18.
At rear, facing churchyard, the east wall of red brick has
ashlar buttresses with offsets, moulded stone carriageway arch
to right; in each bay to left a stone-mullioned three-light
window on each floor, above the carriageway arch a two-light

window, and to right lighting the stairs a single-light
window, all with details similar to windows on the street
front; above the north bay to left a timber-framed gabled
dormer with barge boards and pair of casements, to left two
triangular dormers with fixed lights.
INTERIOR: within the carriageway a timber-framed partition to
left with doorway to stairs up to room above, originally the
schoolmasters' room, and entrance doorway on right in a stone
rectangular frame with moulded stone jambs and Tudor arch; in
the four bays to right the former school-room believed to have
been originally full height, and probably divided in C17 into
lower and upper rooms by insertion of floor with exposed
transverse and central lateral beams supported by three timber
posts; at the north end of lower room early C17 panelling; on
the first floor similar chamfered beams and vestiges of C16
ashlar fireplace with adjacent spiral stair behind modern
coverings. 5-bay tenoned single-purlin roof: cambered tie
beams with plain chamfer, vestiges of wind braces to lower
tiers, mostly double raking strut trusses with collar; coupled
rafters at ridge.
Building used by the Sunday School founded by Robert Raikes.
The brickwork is notable for being an early example of its use
in this region.

Listing NGR: SO8308118439

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17537725

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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