Beech Hall School

Beech Hall School

This is a house, now converted to a school, dating from around 1800, with significant additions and alterations made circa 1855–60 for Thomas Wardell, and further late 19th and mid-20th century changes. The building is constructed of brick with painted stucco to the main fronts and painted brick elsewhere, featuring ashlar dressings. The roofs are of Welsh slate and stone slate, hipped with six rendered and coped ridge stacks. The design includes a plinth, first floor bands, and impost bands throughout.

The windows are predominantly plain sashes with pointed arched heads, moulded surrounds, and keystones. First floor windows are smaller, with some featuring aprons and volutes. The building is of two storeys with a regular fenestration of six by nine windows across its principal elevations.

The entrance front is the most elaborate, dominated by a central bay with a porch of mid-19th century date. The porch contains a rusticated round arched doorway set beneath a segmental pediment with urn finials. On either side of this bay sits a single window, with three windows above. To the right stands a canted bay window of two storeys, containing three windows on each floor. To the left is a single storey bay window, also of mid-19th century date, with rebated round corners, a Venetian window, and a pierced balustrade featuring piers and ball finials, with two windows above it. A mid-20th century addition of two storeys extends to the right of the entrance front, containing three by four windows with a flat roof.

The left return, forming the garden front, features a central section with five windows on each floor, flanked by canted bay windows of two storeys, each with three windows on each floor. To the left is a rusticated porch of mid-19th century date with a cornice and round arched openings, with two windows above. At the rear corner stands a square bay window of two storeys with a cornice and two windows on each floor.

The rear elevation displays to the right a single stuccoed bay with one window on each floor, and to the left a painted brick section with paired ground floor windows and a single window above. A mid-19th century addition in the rear courtyard comprises a square bay window with three lights and stone mullions, topped with a hipped roof.

The service wing dates from around 1800 and is arranged in an L-plan across two storeys. It is topped with two coped stone ridge stacks and a similar side wall stack, now truncated. The first floor contains 6/6 and one 8/8 sash windows. The left return features a central 6/6 sash stair window and two first floor windows, with the right-hand window also a 6/6 sash.

Interior

The porch contains a half-glazed 19th century inner door with sidelights and overlights, all featuring etched glass. The entrance hall displays an enriched cornice, borders, and ceiling boss, with two doorways fitted with eared architraved and Gothic panelled doors.

The room to the right has an enriched cornice and ceiling boss, with a later 19th century fireplace and a Gothic panelled cupboard door with eared architrave. The room to the left features an enriched cornice and Gothic panelled window recesses with shutters, together with an early 20th century fireplace.

The stairwell contains a coffered panelled ceiling with an enriched central roundel and boss. An open-well cantilever wooden staircase with 19th century cast iron balusters and ramped, scrolled handrail rises through the space. A three-light stair window with Ionic columns and cornice contains stained glass dating to circa 1860. Plaster panelling runs along the wall beneath the stairs.

The ground floor library features an early 19th century cornice, ceiling border, and central ornament, together with two round arched blank recesses. The adjoining room has an incomplete enriched cornice and an early 20th century fireplace. The dining room displays an elaborate cornice and panelled dado with an early 20th century fireplace. The rear stairwell holds a mid-19th century dogleg staircase with carved newels and turned balusters, whilst adjoining rooms feature cornices and early 20th century fireplaces.

On the first floor, a wooden fireplace of circa 1800 with Gothic ornament and cornice survives. Other first floor rooms have cornices, some incomplete, with doorcases featuring eared architraves.

The service wing retains a dogleg service stair of circa 1800 with turned newels, ramped handrail, and stick balusters. On the first floor is a mid-19th century white marble fireplace with a register grate.