Chorister School

DURHAM AND FRAMWELLGATE THE COLLEGE NZ 2741 NW (South side)

16/86 No. 9 (Chorister School) 6/5/52 (formerly listed as St. Mary's College)

GV I

Prebendal house, now school. Medieval with C17 and C18 alterations. Sandstone rubble with ashlar plinth and dressings, rendered in Parker's Roman cement; roof of graduated Lakeland slate. Gothic revival style. L-plan.

Main house: 3 storeys, 5 windows and end projecting towers. Central Tudor-arched open porch has roll-moulded parapet with raised centre panel containing arms of Bishop Lord Crewe. Panelled double door and Gothic overlight. Ground-floor Tudor-arched and upper square-headed 2-light windows have Gothic tracery and glazing bars in raised, chamfered surrounds under dripmoulds. Lancets in towers also have raised stone surrounds; slits at top of towers. Parapets, battlemented between towers. Hipped roof has end chimneys. At rear an arcade of 3 large round arches, with rounded open triangular lights in spandrels, on round columns, and cusped light at west end, supporting a terrace. Projecting right wing 2 storeys, 4 bays in similar style to main front; then a renewed stone bay under brick gable has a 2-storey, one-bay gabled projection with buttresses, a blocked elliptical brick arch, and large crow-steps with chamfered coping.

Interior: rear stone-vaulted basement has chamfered round arches. C17 stair has closed string, richly-carved newels and brackets, vase-and-twist balusters supporting panelled handrail with high grip. Entrance hall has bolection-moulded plaster panelling; stucco cornices in hall and some rooms and many 2-panelled doors. Part of City wall probably incorporated at right.

Listing NGR: NZ2731142149