Hillsborough Nursery, First And Middle Schools And Walls, Railings And Outbuildings

Hillsborough Nursery, First and Middle Schools, along with associated walls, railings, and outbuildings, were built in 1884. Later additions and alterations occurred in the late 19th century and the 20th century, designed by Wilson & Masters for the Ecclesfield School Board. The buildings are constructed of coursed squared stone with ashlar dressings and slate roofs, and are in a Gothic Revival style.

The front facing Parkside Road consists of three symmetrical blocks linked by corridors added in the late 20th century. The facade has a seven-, eight-, and eight-window arrangement. Gable windows feature cross casements with stone mullions and stepped heads, set within pointed arched recesses. The left block has four coped brick ridge stacks and a square wooden bell turret topped with a swept pyramidal spire, finial, and small gabled lucarnes. The central gable has a three-light window flanked by two two-light stone mullioned casements. Beyond this is a projecting cross-wing gable with a four-light window. The central block has a double gable with two three-light windows flanked by two two-light stone mullioned casements, followed by a slightly projecting cross-wing gable also with a four-light window. The right block has four coped brick ridge stacks. The central portion has two two-light mullioned casements, flanked by gabled through-eaves dormers with three-light windows. Beyond this are single two-light mullioned casements, then flush cross-wing gables with four-light windows. The interior of the buildings was not inspected.

Attached to the main buildings is a stone boundary wall with square stone piers topped with cross-gabled ashlar caps. Along Parkside Road, a spiked wrought-iron railing sits atop a chamfered stone plinth, along with four pairs of gate piers with matching gates. A higher section of wall along Middlewood Road features gabled stone coping and rounded corners. A gateway and a smaller gateway are situated along Catch Bar Lane. The wall to the right of the gateway has gabled coping, while a left section features stepped slab coping, adjacent to outbuildings with hipped and lean-to roofs.

The design and layout of this building share striking similarities with other schools built by the Sheffield School Board in the preceding decade, likely due to published illustrations of these schools by the architects Innocent & Brown in 1874.