Description

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 08/03/2013

TQ3204NW
577-1/35/281
31/03/99

BRIGHTON
FINSBURY ROAD
(North West side)
Finsbury Road Board School

II

Board school. 1881. Thomas Simpson. Brown and red
brick in English garden wall bond; dressings and ornament in
soft red brick and concrete. Roof of slate turnerised; cupola
of wood with a metal roof.
STYLE: Arts and Crafts Free style.
EXTERIOR: the building is divided into 2 distinct sections
corresponding to the infants' and upper schools. The latter,
to the right, is the larger of the 2: 2 storeys over basement;
a 2-and-a-half-storey cross-wing at either end, forming a
roughly symmetrical composition. 10-window range. The infants'
school has one storey over a basement with a
2-and-a-half-storey cross-wing to the left. 11-window range to
ground floor.
The most prominent features of the upper school elevation are
the gabled cross-wings which project slightly. Each has
floor-to-ceiling windows on the ground and first floors, the
window dressings are variously cut, scrolled and keyed; above
the first-floor windows is a gabled aedicule formed from
bricks of contrasting colours; all the tympana are ornamented
with terracotta panels. The first-floor windows in fifth- and
8-window ranges are of similar dimensions to the high windows
in the cross-wings and each finishes in hipped dormer. Brick
dentil cornice to all sections. Stack to inner corner of each
cross-wing roof, which is hipped. The cupola is centred
between the cross-wings on the roof ridge: square in plan, its
first stage is lead sheathed and the second is timber-framed;
the roof has a leaded ogee cap. There remain in good condition
to all the roofs, the original ornamental ridge tiles and
ventilators; the hipped dormers have metal finials.
The infants' school to the left is asymmetrically massed. The
gabled cross-wing to the south has tall windows framed by
heavy brick piers; between them, on the first floor, is a thin
brick pilaster which intersects the cornice, above which is
the most elaborate gable in the whole elevation: 2
round-arched windows set in a composite gable, the tympanum
ornamented with a terracotta panel. Nearest the join with the
larger block is a gabled bay of 2 windows topped by a high
triangular pediment; the aedicule in this gable contains a
stone plaque inscribed with the following words: "School Board
for Brighton and Preston. U. D. Finsbury Road School. Erected
AD 1881. Marriage Wallis Chairman. J. Carden, Jr., Clerk". 2
ground-floor windows in the range between the gables are
taller than the rest and project above the eaves to finish in
a broad hipped dormer.
The rear elevation is noteworthy. To the south is a
flat-arched entrance decorated with terracotta panels and a
panel inscribed "Infants" in late C19 lettering. To the larger
block a stair tower with an entrance, now partly blocked,
inscribed "Girls". Several dormers similar to those on the
main elevation. Stacks to rear wall.

Listing NGR: TQ3201304849

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26660697

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

• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments