Sunnybrook (formerly The School House), Tidmarsh, West Berkshire

Description

278/0/10016

TIDMARSH
THE STREET
Sunnybrook (formerly The School House)

08-APR-08

II
Sunnybrook, detached house formerly known as The School House, late 1850s with mid-C20 additions and alterations. School built under the patronage of John Hopkins Esq. of Tidmarsh House, architect unknown.

MATERIALS: Red brick with vitrified brick diaper work decoration, stone dressings, tiled roofs. Carved stone plaque depicting the Hopkins coat of arms.

PLAN: Two-storey detached house (the upper floor inserted as originally a single-storey school hall) with pitched roof and large porch to the north. Attached outbuildings to the south-east of 1940s date. Subterranean air-raid shelter to east. Single-storey extension to north-east is part historic and part 1960s bathroom addition. 1960s bay window added to south.

EXTERIOR: Main elevation to the west facing 'The Street', the main road through the village. Central dormer with decorative barge boards above the carved stone arms of the Hopkins family. Windows to this elevation are stone mullions with leaded lights. Vitrified brick diaper work. Roof tiled in stripes of fish scale and squared tiles, as is the porch roof (the rear slope of the main roof is in plain tiles). North elevation dominated by the decorative porch which is timber framed and glazed with herringbone brick nogging. North gable first floor window not original; ditto south gable: 1970s steel casement to first floor and 1960s brick bay window to ground. North and south gables also decorated in diaper work. Rear central projecting chimney stack with two diagonal pots. Attached outbuildings (a workshop and bicycle shed) to the south-east and remains of a partly subterranean air-raid shelter to east are not of special interest. Single-storey attached extension with a pitched tiled roof to north-east.

INTERIOR: Main entrance to the west, through a late C20 door inserted into the porch, leading into L-shaped kitchen in the northern part of the building. Substantial timber door surround to south of hall, probably the original entrance to the school hall. Ground floor: L-shaped kitchen to north and bathroom extension; central dining room (now a bedroom) and large living room to the south with early 1960s fireplace and bay window. Stairs up to the first floor along the west wall where there are three bedrooms and exposed simple roof trusses from the original school hall.

HISTORY: The building is believed to date to the late 1850s and was constructed as a school for the village under the patronage of John Hopkins Esq. of Tidmarsh House. The Hopkins arms are displayed on the main, west elevation of the building. There appears to have been a school here prior to the construction of the present building. Historic maps from the late C19 and early C20 show the building as a 'School (Boys & Girls)' on the 1st edition of 1879, 'School' in 1899 and 'Sunday School' in 1912. It is understood that the school proper closed in approximately 1905. The building was sold in May 1937 when it is described as 'The Village Club Room: a substantial building of brick with a tiled roof approached through an entrance porch which admits to a large hall with a trussed roof, leaded glass windows an tiled floor. Adjoining are an outside coalhouse and E.C. [earth closet] with a good area of ground.' The coalhouse and earth closet are now part of the kitchen. Following this sale the former school was converted into a dwelling with an upper floor inserted. The subterranean air-raid shelter dates to the Second World War and the attached outbuildings are understood to be 1940s in date. Subsequent additions and alterations were made in the 1960s and 70s. All C20 additions and interiors are not of special interest.

SOURCES: Billings Directory & Gazeteer, 1854, entry for Tidmarsh Berkshire
Maidenhatch & Tidmarsh Estates Auction Catalogue for sale on May 26th 1937

REASON FOR DESIGNATION:
Sunnybrook, now a detached house but formerly a school of 1850s date, is designated for the following principal reasons:
* A former school which is early in date, pre-dating the Education Act of 1870, and founded by a local benefactor whose coat of arms is displayed as a carved stone plaque on the exterior.
* A school which employs good quality materials and craftsmanship externally and which is highly decorative on its public elevations despite its modest scale.
* Although converted to a house in the mid-C20, the simple, single, school hall form with an ancillary porch and coal house/earth closet can still be appreciated.
* Group value with the adjacent listed toll house to the south.

Reasons for Listing

Sunnybrook, now a detached house but formerly a school of 1850s date, is recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* A former school which is early in date, pre-dating the Education Act of 1870, and founded by a local benefactor whose coat of arms is displayed as a carved stone plaque on the exterior.
* A school which employs good quality materials and craftsmanship externally and which is highly decorative on its public elevations despite its modest scale.
* Although converted to a house in the mid-C20, the simple, single, school hall form with an ancillary porch and coal house/earth closet can still be appreciated.
* Group value with the adjacent listed toll house to the south.

External Links

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