Description

BARROW IN FURNESS

SD16NE ABBEY ROAD 708-1/5/15 (North West side) 06/05/76 College of Further Education annexe including front railings and piers

GV II

Technical school with attached front railings, now college annexe. 1900-1903. By Woodhouse and Willoughby. For Barrow Corporation. Contractor W Gradwell and Co. Red brick with buff terracotta banding and dressings; graduated slate roof. Asymmetrical centre with gable of 2 storeys and attic on left of 4-stage tower; reflected pair of 2-storey, 5-bay side wings with railings across their fronts. Centre breaks forward: main entrance on right has Gibbs surround under cartouche marked 'TECHNICAL SCHOOL'; flanking Ionic columns on plinths support large brackets to segmentally-arched cornice. Ground floor to left has moulded plinth and foundation stone beneath 4 casements in shouldered architraves linked by banding; double keystones; continuous cornice. 1st floor: corbelled, balustraded balcony beneath large central window of 3 lights with 2 transoms, stained glass and keyed elliptical arch; flanking this are Ionic pilasters with strapwork and cross-windows with balustraded aprons. Tower to right has spaced terracotta quoins and transomed window. Entablature above the 3-light window has continuous cornice. Attic storey: terracotta gable on left has 4-light mullioned window flanked by pilasters and scrolled supporters; semi-octagonal turret with obelisk finial on left; dentilled cornice beneath round-arched pediment with Borough Arms in tympanum. Banded and corniced stacks on ridge to rear. 3rd stage of tower on right has banded diagonal pilasters set on cartouches; 3-light mullioned window recessed beneath keyed elliptical arch; cornice. Top stage: corner pedestals with obelisks; octagonal cupola with round-arched openings within Ionic colonnade; rounded dome with scroll finials. Left sidewing: offset buttresses between bays; sill band to mullioned and transomed windows having casements with glazing bars and lintels with arched panels; central windows have wider, round-arched middle light; continuous cornice. 1st floor: terracotta bands, no windows; outer buttresses end in scrolls, central 2 rise as Ionic pilasters to flank a terracotta panel set on Lombard frieze with shells; panel depicts The Arts: 6 robed females (one enthroned) with motto 'ARS LONGA VITA BREVIS'. Terracotta entablature with modillioned cornice; '1901' on rain-water heads. Above the panel is a round-arched gable with cartouche and obelisks. Continuous skylight; coped gable on left has scrolled kneelers and arched apex; terracotta ridges. Right side wing is similar; its panel depicts aspects of technology and has motto 'Labor Omnia Vincit'; no gable above and no skylights. Left return: broad gable of side-wing then set forward on left is a 1-storey block with terracotta doorway marked 'STUDENTS ENTRANCE'. INTERIOR: entrance lobby has mosaic floor and terracotta friezes with cartouches, drapes and C-scrolls; ornate double doors with panels below arched lights with cornices. Stairhall: glazed brick and with arcading; stone staircase with wrought-iron balustrade. Plaque on landing records details of the opening on 25.8.1903. Front railings: piers each have plinth, bands, cornice and obelisk on scrolled supports; iron railings with square bars and twin top rails. An extra panel beyond right side wing; railings return to face Bath Street on left. Foundation stone laid 26.5.1900 (for photograph of ceremony see Trescatheric). (Trescatheric B: Barrow in Furness in Old Picture Postcards: Netherlands: 1982-: 29).

Listing NGR: SD1971669537

External Links

• Nan Tait Centre at Wikipedia
• Wikidata IDs Q26580629 Q6962230

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)