Old School, Whittington

The Old School is a red brick building with blue brick diapering, dating to the 18th century. It comprises two schoolrooms set at right angles to each other, with an entrance corridor forming a re-entrant angle. The front, facing the road, has a central, gabled projecting bay. This bay features a two-light window rising into the gable, with a stone surround, a two-centered head, a mullion and transom, and metal-framed lights with octagonal panes. Single-light casements are set on either side of this bay. Flanking the projecting bay are three-light mullioned windows with stone surrounds and flat heads. The brickwork to the sides displays a lattice of blue brick diapering and cross shapes. The south gable end has a three-light window, and to the left of it is a slightly projecting, gabled entrance porch. The porch door has a chamfered stone surround incorporating an inscribed stone which reads ‘R.D. / PRO / F.C.D. / DEDIT’, with a blue brick relieving arch above. The west side features a gable with a three-light window illuminating the smaller classroom, with a recessed C20 extension to the right. The north side has a three-light window on the left and two two-light mullioned windows on the right, divided by a projecting chimney stack with offsets; two further chimneys are behind this. A C20 extension, as referenced in the building’s history, is not of special architectural interest.

The principal schoolroom has three bays, defined by trusses with angle braces connecting to collars. A blocked opening and a blocked doorway, which originally linked to the second classroom, are visible in the western chimney breast. The projecting bay is centrally located on the east side. A metal cage in the north-western corner houses a central heating boiler. The smaller, second classroom has a similar roof but has been subdivided in the 20th century to create storage space and shower rooms.