Description

Circa 1845. Single storey, 5-bay symmetrical gothic former school with rhomboidal double-pile plan. Stugged and squared ashlar elevation to street with polished ashlar dressings and details. Random rubble side and rear elevations with droved margins and projecting cills. Base course, cornice at eaves returned at ends, raised margins to pointed-arched windows, sloping cills to street.

N ELEVATION: projecting porch at centre, base course with steps to pointed-arch doorway with moulded reveals, gable to street with stylised bellcote at apex, triangular skew copes with block skewputts, moulded eaves course to sides with round-arched blind lancet in W, new door inserted in E.

E AND W (SIDE) ELEVATIONS: blank double gable ends to M-roof.

S (REAR) ELEVATION: 3-bay, symmetrical, tall windows with lower half of centre window obscured by brick addition.

Grey slate to porch and M-roof with fish-hook ventilators along ridges. Ashlar single flue stacks, coped and angled to square bases, decorative octagonal cans to all except SE stack. Gablet skew copes to gables with block skewputts.

INTERIOR: altered with modern finishes.

Statement of Interest

This building is an interesting survival of its type and has local importance being the only building surviving of a group of 4 buildings originally on this site. This group comprised the 2 free churches, each with their associated schools (their linear arrangement shown on the burgh plan of 1868), demolished for the construction of the Free Church (now Heritage Centre) by James Boucher in 1867. An illustration of the previous churches shows their architecture to be much plainer than the school.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17773558

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

• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2