The Chetwynd Centre Formerly King Edwards VI School

The Chetwynd Centre, formerly King Edward VI School

A grammar school, now educational centre, built between 1860 and 1862 with substantial later additions. A rear extension was added in 1888. The chapel was remodelled in 1904–05, and a new library, assembly hall and classroom range were built in 1928 by the Staffordshire Education Committee architects. Minor 20th-century alterations and additions followed. The original building and the alterations of 1904 were largely funded by the Salt family of Stafford.

The buildings are constructed of red brick with ashlar and gault brick dressings, topped with banded plain tile roofs, crested ridge tiles, and clustered ridge stacks with octagonal flues. The architecture is Gothic Revival in style. The main block, chapel and ancillary buildings form a complex arranged in an L-plan, comprising a main block with chapel at the south end, a cloister and outbuilding to the rear fronting Newport Road, a library to the north in the same line, an octagonal assembly hall at the junction with Friar Lane, and a classroom block running southwards.

The main block is two storeys with attics, spanning six to six bays. It has a gabled entrance bay to the left with a pointed arched door and window above. To the left of this are single windows on each floor; to the right are two windows per floor, with those on the ground floor divided by buttresses. Ground floor windows contain three lights, first floor windows two lights. Five gabled dormers feature two pointed arched lights each. An octagonal corner tower rises three stages on the right, with slit lights and a clock, topped with a leaded spire and weathervane. The rear elevation displays four flat-headed cross-mullioned windows (two to the right now covered by a late 20th-century addition), above which is a four-light pointed arched window flanked to the left by three-light windows and to the right by two smaller windows. Six dormers sit above these.

The former chapel occupies the right portion, comprises six bays, and was raised to two storeys in 1904. An off-centre gabled stair tower with buttresses stands prominently, featuring a trefoil opening on the ground floor and a two-light window above. Three windows appear on each floor to the left, two of which sit in gabled through-eaves dormers above. Two windows occupy each floor to the right. Ground floor windows are flat-arched cross casements; first floor windows feature two lights with pointed arches. The south gable contains a three-light cross-mullion window, with above it a three-light pointed arched window with plate tracery. The rear elevation features an attached single-storey cloister with seven pointed arches and a three-bay single-storey addition dated 1888. Six large flat-headed through-eaves dormers rise above.

The 1928 additions are constructed mainly in brown brick with ashlar dressings and plain tile roofs. The library range spans two storeys and four bays, with a canted entrance bay to the left, two storeys tall, with a gable behind the parapet. A Tudor arched doorway with mullioned overlight leads in; above sits a canted oriel window of five lights with a traceried parapet. To the right, each floor features a flat-headed cross-mullioned window of three lights, flanked by similar windows of two lights, all beneath a parapet.

The octagonal assembly hall features a plinth, string course, buttresses and coped parapet with figures in niches beneath flat gables. A porch with an elaborate Tudor arched doorway with panelled parapet carries the date and a central crest under a flat gable, flanked by octagonal piers. On each side sit two pointed arched windows of five lights with panel tracery. A single-bay two-storey link to the classroom range includes a two-light window on each floor.

The classroom range extends two storeys across twenty bays. A central gabled entrance bay with a Classical style doorcase is flanked by plain ranges with gabled end bays displaying triple windows. Most windows are original six-over-six sashes. The rear elevation features an external walkway with concrete columns at ground floor level and cast iron columns above, now glazed in.

The interior of the main block retains cornices and original moulded doorcases and doors in several rooms. One original Tudor arched stone fireplace remains visible. Original dogleg wooden stairs with turned balusters are present, though the lower flight was renewed in the late 20th century. Attic rooms are plain. The 1904 alteration includes an arch-braced principal rafter roof with ties, probably the former chapel roof. The 1928 entrance lobby features elliptical arched doorways. The assembly hall displays half-height panelling and exposed brickwork, with a domed ceiling containing a central foliage panel and original light fitting. An internal porch with double doors and clock is fitted. Windows feature stained glass panels.