The Sir John Moore Church Of England School

The Sir John Moore Church of England School was built in 1697 and designed by Sir William Wilson. It is constructed of red brick with stone dressings, quoins, string courses, and leaded mullion and transom windows. A stone cornice and brick and stone parapet conceal 20th-century roofing material that replaced lead.

The building comprises a recessed central section of two storeys and five windows, flanked by two side wings of three storeys each, set on a stone plinth and incorporating a basement. An arcade of five round arches with stone dressings runs across the front, having a stone cornice and floor flags. A round arched doorway, approached by five semi-circular stone steps, leads to a round-headed oak door with eight fielded panels in two leaves. Above the doorway are five tall windows with alternating segmental and triangular pediments. The upper floor features five circular windows, the central one containing a clock dial. A pair of tall rectangular brick stacks are axially placed above the inner wall of the wings.

A large central circular wood and leaded-light lantern with a dome and ball finial surmounts the roof, and the clock bell is inscribed with the date I.S. 1585. A wing of similar style, dating from around 1900, extends from the right front. The left front of the building features five windows and a central doorway with a bolection moulded surround, a two-light fanlight above, and a cornice on consoles. A later doorway is located to the left. Access to the doors is provided by a platform and two sets of stone steps, with a stone wall and entry to the basement below.

The rear facade mirrors the front, with the exception of an 18th- and 19th-century red brick one-storey addition of four windows within the recessed central section; the original arcade cornice was re-used. A 19th-century red brick stair turret with original tall windows re-inserted is located to the left. The ground floor incorporates the left arch of the arcade, re-used as a glazed doorway.

The interior features a Great Hall, which is largely plain, but with an oak-panelled dado carved with the names and dates of scholars. A niche on the left wall has a segmental pediment containing the Moore arms within a cartouche. This niche contains a life-sized, hatted statue by Wilson of Sir John Moore in Alderman’s dress, flanked by pilasters ornamented with carvings of the City mace and sword. The pedestal of the statue bears a plaque commemorating Sir John Moore’s founding of the school and its endowment for the education of boys from several parishes, noting that by statutes made in 1706 it was made accessible to all England. Stone bolection moulded doorways are located below the dado, and a 19th-century gallery is present at the right end.