Number 2 And Attached Wall School House And Attached Wall The Old School

This is a former school complex, located on the north side of Polesworth High Street. The front range, known as The Old School, was entirely rebuilt in 1818. The rear ranges, numbered 1 and 2, date from the early to mid-19th century. The entire structure is built of Flemish bond chequer brick, with sandstone ashlar dressings. The roofs are covered in plain tiles and feature stone-coped gable parapets and brick stacks.

The layout is arranged around a courtyard. The design is in the Tudor style. The Old School is a symmetrical building of one tall storey and 2-1-2 bays. It has alternating quoins and a moulded cornice. The central section features octagonal angle turrets with panelled tops and shaped cupolas topped with ball finials. A chamfered Tudor-arched doorway is fitted with studded double doors and a hood mould. Above the doorway is a moulded panel containing a coat of arms and the inscription ‘SCHOLA PAUPERUM -PUELLARUM,’ accompanied by the inscription ‘SOLI DEO GLORIA’. A moulded cornice and parapet complete the front facade. The central gable is flanked by obelisks, set on projecting pedestals supported by corbels, and incorporates a stone clock face and ball finial. Other bays have three-light chamfered stone mullioned and transomed windows with hood moulds. Sections of a former brick parapet, which were removed, remain at the corners, showing the original obelisks on pedestals. A large central octagonal cupola has keyed round arches, a moulded entablature, and a lead ogee roof with a weathervane. The rear of The Old School, facing the courtyard, features a blocked Tudor-arched doorway, with a late 20th-century casement window inserted above, along with a two-light mullioned window. Lower Tudor-arched doorways, with studded ribbed doors, are situated between the first and second bays, and the third and fourth bays. Further three-light mullioned and transomed windows are present. The interior has not been inspected.

Buildings numbered 1 and 2, set at right angles, are linked by a stone-coped brick wall approximately 2.5 metres high with a studded door accessing Station Road. Numbers 1 and 2 are identical in design. They are two storeys high, with a five-window range. Their front elevations feature alternating quoins and moulded cornices. A projecting chamfered Tudor-arched doorway is topped with a moulded cornice, and houses a studded ribbed door. Recessed three-light chamfered stone mullioned windows are present. The roofs have shallow-pitched coped gable parapets with kneelers, brick ridge details, and square end stacks with shafts. Smaller, single-storey ranges are set back. Number 1 contains a straight-flight staircase with stick balusters. The courtyard is enclosed by a brick wall with two Tudor-arched doorways that link Numbers 1 and 2. The school was founded by Sir Francis Nethersole in 1638, and an original school building was erected in 1655.