Description

Early to earlier 19th century 2-storey 3-bay L-plan former school with Gothic schoolroom wing to rear. Squared and snecked stugged cream sandstone with droved dressings. Polygonal stacks, 18-pane glazing. Part roofless and in poor condition (2005).

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: symmetrical with central 2-leaf 4-panel timber door with simple 4-pane rectangular fanlight above. Later low brick wall forms L-shape at entrance. To left, single storey single bay section.

N ELEVATION: dominated by large single storey projecting Gothic wing with pointed arch windows terminating in a broad gable with tripartite Gothic window, the outer lights narrower.

Some windows boarded up, predominantly timber sash and case windows with 18-pane glazing. No slates extant. Paired diagonally-set gablehead stacks.

INTERIOR: not seen (2005).

Statement of Interest

This well-detailed and good quality building is located just to the South of Morningside itself. It appears on the 1st edition map as a School but is not annotated as this by the 2nd edition map of 1892-7. It is likely that it was built in response to the 1832 Education Act when a good many schools were constructed across the country. This area of Lanarkshire was largely industrial at the time and the school may have had a connection with the nearby Chapel Colliery. Presumably the schoolhouse with accommodation for the schoolmaster or mistress was contained in the house and the schoolroom in the Gothic wing to the rear.

The quality of the detailing sets this building apart - from the polygonal stacks to the unusual 18-pane glazing. The use of the Gothic style for the schoolroom to the rear is an interesting and unusual feature. It might also suggest a church link in the provision of the school.

Currently (2005) the building is in poor repair with no slates to the schoolhouse and little remaining of the roof timbers and vegetation growing in the schoolroom.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing

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

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  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
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  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)