Jedburgh Grammar School 1880s block, High Street, Jedburgh, Jedburgh, Scottish Borders

Description

A single and two-storey grammar school, built in 1882-84 to the designs of Henry Hardy and John Rutherford Wight in a Neo-Jacobean style with Gothic details. The building is largely rectangular in plan with a number of projections, including a square-plan bell-tower, positioned off-centre over the entrance door. The walls are constructed of squared, snecked and stugged cream ashlar sandstone with smooth ashlar dressings, chamfered arrises, basecourse and a first floor cill course.

The front (east) elevation is five-bays with the two single-storey right bays advanced. The far left bay of the ground floor has a stepped three-light lancet window with carved stone quatrefoil rosettes in the window heads. The advanced block to the far right comprises a buttressed three-stage bell-tower entrance bay and a double height hall to the left of the tower, with a stepped three-light lancet window breaking the eaves. The bell-tower has an open timber bellcote with decorative timberwork, a pyramidal fishscaled roof and a wrought iron finial.

The south elevation is two storeys, six bays, with a gablet breaking through the eaves in the central bay and a tripartite window at the ground floor. A flat-roof parapetted porch abuts much of the ground floor.

The rear elevation is two storeys with bipartite ground floor windows and single windows in the upper floor. The first floor of the left side is a post war pebble-dashed addition with raised window margins.

The north elevation contains three bays of the single-storey hall block to the left, having bipartite windows in the gabled dormerheads. The right bay is advanced, with a spiral cast iron external stair to the re-entrant angle, accessing the pebble-dashed post-war extension at the first floor.

The windows are largely square-headed, with some bipartite and tripartite lancets and segmental-headed openings with stone mullions. There are gabletted dormers breaking the wallhead. Generally the windows are late-19th century multi-paned timber windows, predominantly sliding sashes but with some fixed lights and casements. There are some replacement timber windows, inserted around 2000. The slated roofs are piended with decorative terracotta ridge tiles, ashlar skews and octagonal timber ventilators.

There are chamfered ashlar gate piers with pointed caps to the entrance on Queen Street (to the east of the school), which are flanked by low stugged ashlar walls with saddleback coping and decorative wrought iron railings.

The interior was seen in 2017. The visible fabric is largely late 20th century replacement with suspended ceilings throughout.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: conservatory to southeast, rear extension and all other separate blocks (Thomson, Rutherford and Social Dining blocks, Sports Centre and technical department).

Statement of Interest

The 1880s block of Jedburgh Grammar School is a notable and relatively early example of a burgh school built in the decade following the Education (Scotland) Act of 1872. It has some good quality Gothic detailing, largely concentrated on the main elevation, including gables breaking the wallhead to create a varied roofline and carved window rosettes. The bell-tower over the main entrance is a distinctive feature. The building itself is of special architectural interest. The survival of both the contemporary gateway to Queen Street and the rector's house (LB35531), make a positive contribute to the setting of the 1880s school. There are a variety of later extensions and additions to the 1880s block, and to the wider site. However, as they are concentrated towards the rear of the 1880s block, their impact on the overall character of the 1880s block is minimised.

Age and Rarity

Jedburgh Grammar School was founded in the 15th century by Bishop Turnbull of Glasgow. The school was first housed in Jedburgh Abbey, from which it may have originated and likely began as a 'sang-school', where boys were chiefly educated in music in exchange for their services in the choir. Over the centuries the school moved between a number of locations, and was held in the vault of the Abbey until around 1747.

The Education (Scotland) Act of 1872, made education compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 13. The Act also placed responsibility for education and the provision of suitable school buildings on locally elected school boards. In response to the Act, sometime after 1872, the burgh of Jedburgh acquired the present site at the foot of the High Street, for the purposes of building a new school.

Built to the designs of Henry Hardy and John Rutherford Wight, the new school building was opened on 21 July 1884. The clerk of works was an Adam Scott and the final cost, which came in under budget, amounted to £5,200. Planned as a court-less quadrangle the Building News (1884) noted that the school was initially built to accommodate 300 pupils. However there were soon plans to add a further two classrooms, thereby increasing its capacity to 500.

As part of the initial phase of construction, houses were also built nearby for the rector and janitor. The rector's house, which is shown on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map (published 1897) and is listed at category C (LB35531), is retained to the northwest of the school, fronting onto The Friar's.

In 1900, the Sessional School, which had been held in Castlegate, was amalgamated with Jedburgh Grammar School and in 1902 the Edinburgh Evening News noted that on 8 April, a newly erected secondary department was opened. The exact location and extent of this additional department is unclear, however, in his 1909 report on the history of Jedburgh Grammar School, George Watson noted that the cost of this new department amounted to £1,400. Due to the popularity of the secondary department, this was expanded by the construction of further additions in 1907. The extensions are not shown on the footprint of the main school building, and therefore may have been first floor additions.

The 3rd Edition Ordnance Survey map (1917) first shows the single-storey block, which abuts to the eastern elevation of the rector's house, indicating it was built between 1897 and 1917. This small building, which has gabled dormers flanking a central canted bay, reputedly functioned as the infant's department and was detached from the main school building. However, this may have originally functioned as the secondary department. Now the music room, this building was modernised and substantially extended during the 1990s, and is excluded from the listing.

In 1926 the specialist school designers Reid and Forbes designed a detached, E-plan block to the northwest of the site, at the junction between Pleasance and The Friar's. Costing between £9,000 and £10,000 the block was harled and had hipped slate roofs. This block was replaced in the 2000s by the substantial single- and two-storey Thompson block, which is excluded from the listing.

On the Pleasance on the opposite side of the road is an Art Deco E-plan block by Reid and Forbes, which was built in 1935 as a primary school. Built at a cost of £10,300 the block was constructed of harled brick walls with synthetic stone facings. The building was used by the Grammar School for Social Dining purposes (2017) and is excluded from the listing.

Around the mid-20th century an additional storey was added over the single-storey block to the rear of the main school building. This addition has pebble-dashed walls and raised window margins. Sometime after 1938, the porch to the north elevation, which mirrored that which exists to the south elevation, was removed.

During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a number of additional blocks were constructed on the site, all of which are excluded from the listing. These comprise the Games Hall of 1974, the Rutherford building, which is detached to the north of the main school, and the Thompson building, which replaced the 1926 block and abuts to the former Infant's School. The main school building was also extended during this period with a two-storey addition constructed to the west and a lean-to conservatory erected on the southeastern corner. Internally the building layout and fabric appears to have been partially altered.

School buildings dating from the late 19th century are not a rare building type, as following the Education (Scotland) Act of 1872, every burgh was constructing new schools. The 1880s block of Jedburgh Grammar School is a relatively early example of a school built in the years after the Act was implemented. Other nearby schools from this period included the Burgh Primary in Galashiels (LB50230) which is listed category C, and Armadale Primary and Infant Schools (LB48978), listed category C.

There are later extensions and additions to Jedburgh Grammar School but the 1880s block and its associated gateway is of interest, as it retains much of the original external appearance and has good-quality detailing (see Architectural and Historical Interest below).

Architectural or Historic Interest

Interior

The interior of the 1880s block has been comprehensively refurbished and is not of interest in listing terms.

Little late 19th century fabric was visible, although ceilings and cornices may be retained behind later suspended ceilings. There is a lower portion of a pointed arch within the entrance corridor of the 1880s block, however this is plain and not an exceptional feature for a school of this period.

Plan form

The school was designed as a courtless quadrangle, and this plan form is standard for this type of school and period. The plan remains largely discernable but has been partially altered, particularly to the central rear of the plan where the stairhall was formerly located.

Technological excellence or innovation, material or design quality

The late 19th century form of the exterior is clearly visible and is largely characterised by the gothic style detailing and the varied, broken roofline. With its fishscaled pyramidal roof and carved open timberwork, the distinctive bell-tower over the main entrance is of particular interest. There are some other features of merit, particularly on the main elevations, such as the gablets and the carved window rosettes. The various later additions to the rear and southeast are not considered to have a significantly adverse impact on the overall character of the 1880s school building.

The architectural firm of Hardy and Wight was formed in Edinburgh during the mid 1870s. Jedburgh Grammar School represents one of the few secular buildings designed by the practice, as the vast majority of their work was ecclesiastical. This is reflected in the detailing of the school building, and is particularly evident in the lancet windows, carved rosettes and fishscaled bell-tower.

The renowned Edinburgh-based partnership of Reid and Forbes emerged during the mid 1920s, from the firm of Fairlie, Reid and Forbes who were responsible for the Northfield Housing Scheme in Edinburgh. The practice specialised in school design, and had strong connections with the Borders and the Roman Catholic Church. In terms of plan form and architectural character, the Art Deco former primary school is a modernist school building by the renowned Scottish architectural practice, Reid and Forbes. This practice were prolific in modern movement school design during the 1930s. However, the former primary school (now the Social Dining block, 2017) is not a notable example of its building type, or of the work of this practice. Chirnside Primary School of 1937, which is listed at category A (LB6620), Niddrie Marischal School of 1935, which is listed at category B (LB49459) and Kelso Academy of 1935, which is listed at category B (LB35712) are all contemporary schools, designed by Reid and Forbes. These are better examples of the school designs characteristic of this period of educational reform, which was influenced by the German open-air school movement.

Setting

Located within a conservation area, Jedburgh Grammar school is set back from one of the main residential streets, with St John the Evangelist Church to the north and Trinity Church to the south. The original access gates survive between a row of two-storey terraced houses, which predate the school. The retention of this and the associated rector's house to the northwest is of interest, contributing to both the setting and to our understanding of how schools functioned during the late 19th century.

The immediate setting of the school has changed considerably from when the school was built, because of the various extensions and additions in recent decades. The 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey (1897) map shows that apart from the school, the rector's house and St John the Evangelist Church, the area to the north was largely unoccupied, comprising the site of the former medieval Maison Dieu. Although some small development of the site had occurred by the 3rd Edition Ordnance Survey map (1917), by the Ordnance Survey map of 1938 development of additional school buildings had taken place to the north and northwest.

Regional variations

There are no known regional variations.

Close Historical Associations

There are no known associations with a person or event of national importance at present (2017).

Statutory address, category of listing changed from B to C and listed building record revised in 2017. Previously listed as High Street, Jedburgh Grammar School with Primary School Boundary Walls, Railings and Gatepiers.

Listed building record updated in 2021.

External Links

Historic Environment Scotland Listing
Wikidata IDs Q17837516 Q56635847

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.