Primary School, Betson Street, Markinch, Markinch, Fife

Entry Name: Primary School, Betson Street, Markinch

Listing Name: Betson Street, Primary School with Boundary Walls, Gatepiers, Gates and Railings

Listing Date: 1 March 1996

Category: B

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 389247

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB42941

Building Class: Cultural

Also known as: Markinch, Betson Street, Primary School

ID on this website: 200389247

Location: Markinch

County: Fife

Town: Markinch

Electoral Ward: Glenrothes North, Leslie and Markinch

Traditional County: Fife

Tagged with: School building

Description

1949. 2-storey and attic and single storey late Modern Movement school. Harl and red brick; concrete and brick mullions.

E (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 4-bay, banded windows, 3 symmetrical bays with irregular bay to outer left. Bays 2 and 4 advanced flanking wide 3rd bay; bays 2, 3 and 4 with brick aprons and band of paterae at ground and bay 3 with coat-of-arms at centre between floors. Attic floor recessed over bay 3 with 2 glazed port-holes behind decorative steel parapet.

S ELEVATION: ground sloping to W. Cantilevered canopy to right over deep-set 2-leaf timber swing door in small-pane screen with 3 vertically aligned glazed roundels to each leaf, adjacent small window to right and lettering ?GIRLS? to outer right; glazed port-hole over door and band of 14 windows to left at both floors.

N ELEVATION: on ground falling to W. 3-storey harled bay to left with large window at ground and 1st floor to left, canopied door (as detailed above) to right with lettering ?BOYS? on return to right and glazed port-hole above; narrower recessed attic floor with window. Slightly advanced single storey stepped red brick wing adjoining to W with window across full width, steps up to door in penultimate bay to right with further window beyond and metal fire escape across stepped back section. Recessed, glazed face of hall visible over flat-roofed wing with service tower to outer right.

W ELEVATION: narrow 3-sided courtyard at centre entered below link passage with 3 glazed port-holes and steps up to 2-leaf timber door in re-entrant angle at ground right (variety of glazing to each face overlooking courtyard).

Advanced red brick face to right of centre with roller door at centre (basement level) below full-height harled stack. Further red brick face to left of centre with service doors behind brick pillars at basement level, 3 glazed port-holes at ground floor and full width window at 1st floor.

Mainly 3-, 6- and 9-pane glazing patterns in pivot-hung metal-framed windows with glass bricks to W stair wall. Cast-iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers.

INTERIOR: nautical theme continued internally with port-holes in doors and steps up to semicircular poop-deck in hall. Art Deco staircase lit by glass bricks on outer wall.

BOUNDARY WALLS, GATEPIERS, GATES AND RAILINGS: low coped red brick boundary walls with square gatepiers, decorative steel gates and railings.

Statement of Interest

Gifford?s description as "Lightweight Scandinavian modern, by Fife County Council, 1949. Classrooms behind by George Sandilands, 1929" throws some light upon the late use of Art Deco interiors. The current headmistress believes the plans were drawn in the 1930's but not executed until 1949.

External Links

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