Wirksworth County Infants School And Attached Railings And Walls

This is an 1851-52 school building designed by H.I. Stevens of Derby, constructed as Wirksworth County Infants School. It is built of coursed squared and tooled sandstone with ashlar dressings and has plain tile roofs with coped gables, kneelers, and finials.

The school follows an irregular plan with three main elements, with gables facing south. The Tudor style is expressed through stone mullion and transom windows. The west front, facing Harrison Drive/Cromford Road, is a single-storey range with a projecting porch to the left; the wall to the road is blank except for a quatrefoil window with a curved hood-mould. Several stacks exist, mainly truncated, except for a tall, moulded stone stack on the central south front element. The boundary wall extends from the corners, to the left, and the railings extend to the right. Returns feature doors within moulded Tudor arch surrounds, alongside six two-light windows to the right, and two four-light windows at either end. The south front, facing Cemetery Lane, is a U-plan with a truncated projecting stack. A tablet inscribed "This School Erected A.D. 1851" is set in the gable. The return front has a door with a similar surround, a two-light dormer above, and a single-light window with lattice glazing. This section also contains a basement, with a canted bay window on a high plinth and a two-light window above. To the return are single-light windows with lattice glazing and a projecting porch with a door in a similar surround, leading to a third tall, single-storey element which has a four-light window facing south, and three-light windows and a projecting porch to the east. The north front of this element is blank, while other windows and a door with a similar surround are present on the higher central element. A boundary wall extends from the road porch to the left, constructed of coursed squared stone with triangular coping, and features a small outbuilding on the north side. The railings, with knob finials, extend to the right, featuring two sets of stone gatepiers and continue round the south front, where the wall continues round the perimeter.

The interior has not been inspected.

The school, along with its attached railings and walls, is designated at Grade II as a fine and largely unaltered example of a school from the period, designed by a significant local architect.