North Queensferry Primary School, Brock Street, North Queensferry, Inverkeithing, Fife

Entry Name: North Queensferry Primary School, Brock Street, North Queensferry

Listing Name: North Queensferry, Brock Street, Whinney Knowe, North Queensferry Primary School Including Nursery and Kitchen Block, Playsheds, Boundary Walls, Gatepiers, and Railings

Listing Date: 19 December 2002

Category: B

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 396545

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB49038

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200396545

Location: Inverkeithing

County: Fife

Electoral Ward: Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay

Parish: Inverkeithing

Traditional County: Fife

Tagged with: School building

Description

Andrew Scobie and Son, 1912-14. 2-storey butterfly-plan school; modern single storey flat-roofed extensions to N and W corridors. Coursed and squared red sandstone to front; render to sides and rear (sides and assembly hall painted red); ashlar dressings; raised margins; ashlar cill courses; painted stone cills to rear. Bellcast roofs; overhanging bracketed eaves; stylised timber ventilators to central block and to assembly hall.

SE (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: central advanced symmetrical 3-bay block with slightly advanced pavilion end-blocks to N and W connected by 2 lower entrance blocks with asymmetrical fenestration. Central gable-ended advanced block: 3 large ground floor windows (window to centre segmental-arched and keystoned); 3 1st floor windows above (window to centre slightly higher with keystone and open segmental pediment and blank raised square cartouche above; timber ventilator with open segmental-arched and keystoned side panels, finial; sunk basement door to boiler room to right return. 1st floor window to left return. Lower asymmetrical boys entrance block to right: central railed stair leading to 2-leaf timber door; splayed segmentally arched and keystoned porch, moulded cornice and entablature, broad course with central raised letters 'BOYS'; bipartite piended dormer window above breaking eaves. 4-light canted window to left at ground floor at angle, small window to left; 1st floor flat-roofed dormer window above breaking eaves. Slightly advanced 3-bay end-block to right: 3 large ground floor windows (window to centre segmental-arched and keystoned); 3 1st floor windows centred above (window to centre higher, with piended dormer breaking eaves). Girls blocks to left of central block near identical to those to right.

NW (REAR) ELEVATION: central polygonal piended and buttressed single storey canted rectangular-plan hall projecting NW with 6 large windows breaking overhanging bellcast eaves to left and right; bipartite window to far NW end; timber ventilator with open side panels, finial. Hall flanked by 2-leaf timber boarded doors with multi-paned fanlights leading to 2-storey advanced flat-roofed corridor run adjoining rear of rear facing classroom blocks with regular window fenestration. Single storey flat-roofed extension to corridors at N and W ends forming lavatories and storage space. 1st floor breaking eaves window to N end pavilion block.

24-, 20-, 16-, 12-, 8-pane timber sash and case windows with horns. Pitched and piended bellcast roofs; grey slates; raised flat-headed skews to central advanced block; coped ashlar ridge stacks to connecting entrance blocks.

INTERIOR: cream faience tiles with green coloured banding to dado height along ground and 1st floor corridors and stairs; pine dado rails. Scrolled consoles to archways; dentilled cornice to corridors; stone staircases; original coat hooks to cloak room. Plate glass fronted classroom key box. Original chalkboards with architraves to classrooms; tongue and groove wainscoting. Hammerbeam roof with arched base and moulded ashlar corbels to assembly hall (false ceiling in place); 2, 2-leaf glazed doors with multi-paned fan lights flanking large square margin-paned window opening onto inner corridor.

NURSERY and KITCHEN BLOCKS: 2 adjoining piended single storey 5-bay rectangular-plan blocks, piended ventilators. Predominantly 9-pane timber windows. Grey slates; bracketed overhanging eaves.

PLAYSHEDS: 2 pitched and piended rectangular-plan open sheds with cast-iron Doric columns to front (shed to W truncated); door opening to gable end. Rendered with painted ashlar dressings; grey slates.

BOUNDARY WALLS, GATEPIERS and RAILINGS: low coped coursed boundary walls; original railings to S with pierced floral design (replacement railings to E). Red sandstone ashlar square-plan gatepiers to S and E, raised panels, dentilled and moulded bellcast caps; cast-iron gates with pierced floral design. Higher coped random rubble wall to N with yellow sandstone square-plan coped gatepiers.

Statement of Interest

This building reflects the new thinking in school design shortly after the turn of the century when Scottish School Boards turned to the Open Air School concept originated by the Germans circa 1904. According to the new principals, modified by the Scottish climate, school buildings were to be of single classroom width with large windows facing S. The form and plan of the North Queensferry Primary School adheres closely to these tenets. This school has been little altered since it was first built and its original interior fixtures and fittings are almost completely intact.

External Links

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