St John's School, Croft Road, Oban, Oban, Argyll and Bute

Entry Name: St John's School, Croft Road, Oban

Listing Name: Croft Road, First Steps Nursery (Former St John's School), Including Playsheds, Boundary Walls and Gatepiers

Listing Date: 10 March 2003

Category: C

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 396701

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB49139

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200396701

Location: Oban

County: Argyll and Bute

Town: Oban

Electoral Ward: Oban North and Lorn

Traditional County: Argyllshire

Tagged with: Architectural structure

Description

Dated 1888; later additions and alterations. Single storey with attic, rectangular-plan former Episcopal primary school with 3-bay projection to NW; single storey 20th century addition adjoined to SE. Principal block: squared and snecked tooled granite to NW (bull-faced to NE and SW); pointed rubble to SE. Bull-faced quoins in part; long and short bull-faced surrounds to openings; granite mullions; chamfered cills. Overhanging timber bracketed eaves; timber bargeboards. Harled addition to SE. Single storey, L-plan outbuildings (former playsheds) to NE and SE.

NW (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 6-bay. 3-bay projection off-set to left; gabled bay breaking eaves at centre with central timber panelled door; plate glass fanlight; flanking pilasters and side-lights; dated panel centred in gablehead; flanking small bipartite windows; gabled dormer to right. Bipartite window in bay recessed to outer left; single window in bay recessed to right; tripartite window in bay to outer right.

NE and SW (SIDE) ELEVATIONS: principal block with central 5-light glazing row (stepped, tripartite upper light). Modern flat-roofed addition linking gabled block recessed to NE.

SE (REAR) ELEVATION: plain elevation to principal block. Projecting single storey gabled block adjoined at centre. Predominantly plate glass timber sash and case windows; modern glazing to SW. Grey slate roof with terracotta ridging; conical-capped ridge vents. Coped ridge stack above entrance; stepped wallhead stack breaking eaves to side; decorative circular cans throughout.

INTERIOR: 2 classrooms to N and S with boarded timber dado panelling; false ceilings; fireplace to S. Timber panelled doors.

PLAYSHED TO NE: single storey, L-plan part-whitewased granite rubble block. Store to N; shed with cast-iron column suport to S. Grey slate piended roof; rooflight. PLAYSHED TO SE: single storey, L-plan, granite rubble block. Store to S; part-blocked store with cast-iron column support.

BOUNDARY WALLS and GATEPIERS: arched rubble coping to rubble walls enclosing site and irregular-plan former play ground; modern railings above in part. Square-plan gatepiers; 4-stage, tiered square-plan caps; 2-leaf 20th century iron gates. Square-plan, bull-faced granite gatepiers flanking pedestrian entrance to NW with 4-stage, tiered square-plan caps.

Statement of Interest

Formerly St John's Episcopal Primary School, opened on 20 October 1888, offering places for 106 pupils. Founded in 1872, the school was originally in the centre of Oban. (St John's The Evangelist Episcopal church was founded in Oban in 1863). Converted to a private nursery in the late 20th century, much of the original detailing remains in place, the pilastered entrance, coped stacks and tiered gatepiers being particularly notable.

The playshed to NE now incorporates an office to its N section. The former school is situated within picturesque late 19th century villa development. Croft Road is marked as 'Longistan Road' on the 1899 OS map.

External Links

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.