Musley Infants School And Associated Railings And Fives Court

WARE 829-1/0/10003 MUSELY HILL MUSELY INFANT'S SCHOOL AND ASSOCIATED RAILINGS AND FIVES COURT II

Infants School, formerly grammar school. 1857, funded by Elizabeth Moore Chuck in honour of her maltster husband, with 1897 addition and minor C20 additions. Red brick with blue brick banding and stone dressings. Gothic Revival style. Main school hall with attached gabled classrooms to north and south. EXTERIOR: Main hall has gable to Musley Hill with central 3 light window framed with quoined stone dressings and blue brick that continues as banding throughout the elevation. Stone coping to gable and stone coped buttresses. Wooden cupola with trefoil detailing to centre of ridge, spire has been truncated. To north, 2 gabled ranges project with similar banding and windows. To south, entrance porch has wooden door with ornate strap hinges within moulded stone architrave under blue brick lintel. Above this, a stone plaque, worn but with legible 1857 date. To right, gable of 1897 addition similarly detailed but with herringbone brick work to tympanum under pointed blue brick arch and with stone date plaque. Two C20 flat-roof additions to rear not of interest. INTERIOR: Main classroom with scissor truss roof and wide stone chamfered fireplace. Two gabled classrooms to north have closely spaced scissor truss roofs. 1897 classroom with arched brace trusses. Pointed and segmental arch door openings with C19 doors throughout. SUBSIDIARY: C19 FIVES COURT to south of school in Flemish bond red brick with grey headers and blue coping tiles. The wall is U-shaped in plan with the rear wall higher and perpendicular side walls sloping to end piers capped with stone slabs. Used for the C19 game of fives, in which a ball is struck by a gloved hand or bat against a wall. This abuts a wall to which the IRON BOUNDARY RAILINGS are attached with square plan iron railings and newels with classical detailing flanking the entrance gates.

1857 grammar school funded by a local benefactor with good mid-C19 exterior detailing and interior fittings, a sympathetic 1897 addition, and associated fives court and iron railings.