Greasley Beauvale D H Lawrence Infant School

Greasley Beauvale D H Lawrence Infant School

A board school built in 1877-8 by R. C. Sutton of Nottingham, with extensions added in the 1880s. The building is constructed in Staffordshire red brick with dressings of Matlock stone and a clay tile roof.

The building has an distinctive arrow-shaped plan with three wings radiating from a corner entrance block. The Mill Road wing originally housed the boys' school, the Beauvale wing was for girls, and the wing diagonally positioned between the two housed the infants.

The principal elevation faces the corner of Mill Road and Beauvale. A two-storey gabled corner block contains the main entrance door, flanked by narrow glazing-barred windows. Above the door is a stone plaque with a relief of an open book surmounted by a crown, inscribed 'GREASLEY BOARD SCHOOLS. ERECTED 1878'. The first floor has three tall glazing-barred windows with stone sills. The gable is decorated with moulded brickwork, stone copings and a floriated stone finial. The side elevations feature a dentilated eaves course and a roof of alternating bands of red and brown tiles, with a circular stair turret to the rear right. Curved single-storey link blocks flanking the main entrance block each have three glazing-barred windows and a door. Stone plaques above these doors are inscribed 'GIRLS' and 'BOYS' respectively.

Three double-height single-storey wings with gable roofs and cross-gables are attached to the corner blocks. These wings have dentilated eases courses, stone copings and sills, and floriated stone finials. The girls' wing has a square wooden bellcote with pyramidal roof and floriated iron finial. Much of the fenestration in the three wings dates from the twentieth century, though original windows with glazing bars and small panes survive, notably in the end gables of the boys' wing. The infants' wing to the rear has a roof of alternating red and brown tiles and is accompanied by a play shed of 1889 with open sides to the playground. A small modern single-storey block between the infants' and girls' wings now serves as the school entrance.

Inside, glazed partitions between classrooms survive, particularly in the former girls' wing. Other features include four-panelled doors, parquet flooring, ventilation grilles in ceilings, and a fireplace with moulded timber surround in the infants' wing. Internal curved walls mirror the outer curve of the corner entrance. A spiral staircase turret in the inner hall leads to the former committee room of the school board, now a storeroom.

Red brick walls from the 1880s survive on Mill Lane and the east side of the playground. Stone walls and railings on the main corner front are later additions.

History

The 1870 Education Act empowered school boards to finance new school buildings by local rate levy. Greasley School Board was established in May 1876, comprising local dignitaries and miners. Beauvale was the first school the board erected. The site was identified in June 1876, and architect R. C. Sutton was commissioned in February 1877 to produce plans, the board voting against a design competition as the school was urgently needed. Construction cost £6,000, and the school opened in January 1878 with accommodation for 550 children. The 1880 Education Act made school attendance compulsory for children up to age ten. By 1882, Beauvale School was so overcrowded that the adjacent Methodist chapel housed overflow pupils. An extension by R. C. Sutton was added to the boys' wing in 1883-4, providing room for 100 additional boys. The girls' and infants' wings were extended in 1889 by S. Taylor of Nuthall, adding accommodation for 200 more children. The Ordnance Survey map of 1880 shows the school in its original form, while the 1900 map depicts it with all three wings extended.

The internationally renowned writer D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930), born in Eastwood, attended Beauvale School. He began his education in the infants' school in 1889, then returned to the boys' school from 1893 to 1898. He won Eastwood's first scholarship place to Nottingham High School and later studied at University College, Nottingham.