Former National School, Tenbury Wells

Former National School, Tenbury Wells

A former National School built in 1855 by architect James Cranston, extended in 1892 by JT Meredith, and again in the 20th century. The building is constructed in brick with stone dressings and some decorative timber framing, beneath a tile roof.

The plan comprises a main school room oriented east-west, with the schoolmaster's house attached to the north and further classrooms to the south. The principal elevation faces east.

Exterior

The building is executed in Gothic Revival style. The main east-facing elevation features three tall gables, each containing large windows of varying detail. The central gable displays a large window of five main lights with cusped, curvilinear tracery and a hoodmould above bearing carved stops, surmounted by a small quatrefoil opening. Diaper pattern brickwork appears above and below the window. At ground floor level there is a central door and a two-light window with carved cusps. The gable itself has deeply-moulded kneelers supporting the copings, with ornately-carved projecting steps and a carved finial at the apex.

The northern return features a door in a moulded surround giving access to the basement, and a window above of four lights in shouldered surrounds.

The schoolmaster's house to the north has a connecting block with a lean-to section at ground floor level featuring applied timber framing, and shouldered-arch windows above at first floor. The tall adjacent gable contains an oriel window at ground floor level, supported on carved brackets, and a further window above in a pointed arch surround; both windows display Decorated Gothic style tracery. Tall chimneys rise above with stone dressings and carved ballflower sections at the corner.

The classroom extension to the south features a tall gable with decorative timber bargeboards and a large central window lighting the classroom, with a single window below. Between this extension and the original building is the main entrance, dating from the 1892 work. This comprises a small projecting porch with a gabletted roof and a pair of windows set behind a carved surround of timber tracery, with the main door positioned to the side.

The west-facing rear elevation contains further large windows in the classroom gables in similar styles to the front. A flat-roofed extension projects between the two main gables. A modern escape door and stair have been inserted in the rear gable of the schoolmaster's house, which also features diaper pattern brickwork and a pointed-arch entrance door on the northern side, with a window above. Between the house and school is a small courtyard with outbuildings and windows with cambered heads to the house. Further large windows light the adjacent classroom, including one which rises to a dormer and appears to be a later alteration.

The southern elevation displays a central gable with timber bargeboards and circular window, with evidence of blocked openings below where a further flat-roofed extension now stands.

Interior

The main entrance opens into a small lobby with a quarry tiled floor and an adjacent basement room, from which a flight of stairs rises to the main floor, opening through a pointed arch door into a long corridor running between the classroom blocks.

To the left lies the 1892 classroom, which has dado height panelling and a glazed tile fire surround. The ceiling is high with moulded ribs supported on thick timber beams and iron rods. Beyond this, the original secondary classrooms also retain some panelling; the ceiling appears to have 20th-century coverings and features a large central beam supported on brackets with chamfered and stopped detailing. Access leads to the single-storey WC extension beyond.

The space beyond the main central corridor to the rear originally appears to have been open but has been roofed over with a lean-to roof of glazing and timber supported on metal brackets, with the rear single-storey extension beyond.

The main classroom runs the full length of the central section and has fireplaces at each end retaining their painted stone surrounds with chamfered edges and pointed arches, with steep hoods above. The floor is partially parquet with some quarry tiles. A timber and glass extendable screen dividing the room appears to be an early 20th-century addition—an Inspector's Report of 1905 recommended it. The room has a modern suspended ceiling; the original ceiling is presumed to survive above and appears to have some chamfered detailing to its timber sections.

The interior of the schoolmaster's house retains some original fire surrounds with chamfered and moulded detailing and cast iron inserts. One surround, featuring glazed tiles and simpler surrounds, appears to be a later addition. The dog-leg stair has pierced splat balusters. Most internal doors have been replaced.