Former Queen Elizabeth Old Grammar School And Adjoining Schoolmaster'S House

The Former Queen Elizabeth Old Grammar School and the adjoining schoolmaster's house is a significant historical building located on Boarshaw Road in Middleton. The grammar school was established in 1586, with the schoolmaster's house added between 1835 and 1839. The school is constructed of squared rubble, while the house is made of brick, both featuring graduated stone slate roofs.

The main hall of the school is open to the roof, with first-floor chambers at each end that served as living quarters for the master and an usher. Each chamber has a small stair wing that projects from the rear. The two-storey master's house is attached at the back of the right stair wing. The building has a near-symmetrical façade, highlighted by a central Tudor-arched door, a projecting plinth, and stone quoins.

The schoolroom is illuminated by two 5-light double-chamfered stone mullion and transom windows at the front and rear, along with two 4-light mullion windows. The first-floor chambers feature smaller 3-light mullion windows. All windows retain their leaded casements, and a hoodmould runs around the entire building. The gable chimney stacks are made of dressed stone and have cornices, with a 4-light window on each floor of each gable. The projecting stair wings are gabled and each has a Tudor-arched door.

The master's house includes four horizontally sliding sash windows on two elevations and a door located in the rear gable at first-floor level. Inside, the structure features through purlins with wind braces supported by collar and tie-beam roof trusses. A later gallery connects the two chambers. This building is an important early example of a type of structure that had little architectural precedent.