Old School Court

Old School Court is a house, originating from the early 17th century, but largely rebuilt in the 18th century. It was later used as King's Lynn High School for Girls from 1902 to 1979, and converted into flats between 1982 and 1986. The brick facade is rendered and scored to appear as ashlar, with plain tile roofs. Rusticated quoins appear throughout the structure. The building is two storeys and a dormer attic, arranged in five bays, with the central bay projecting to contain a passage to the rear. The main entrance features double doors within a panelled doorcase. There is a sash window above the entrance, and two similar sashes on each floor to the right and left of the central bay, except for the ground floor window on the left which contains plate glass. All windows are set within thin moulded surrounds. A modillion timber eaves cornice sits below the gabled roof. The central bay’s gabled roof terminates in a shouldered gable end with a doorway leading to a balcony, adorned with iron railings. There are two gabled dormers on each side of the main roof, each featuring sash windows with glazing bars. Internal gable-end stacks are present on the left side of the building, a rendered 17th-century stack to the right of the centre, and a small central stack. The north gable wall is of late 20th-century construction, with the exception of a short section retaining a late 18th-century platband. A passageway through a porch has a stone arch at the main wall line and another marking the western exit. The rear of the building includes an enriched copper ogee verandah supported by two octagonal iron posts. A two-storey mid-19th century block runs westward from the south end, featuring sash windows with glazing bars and gauged skewback arches. The interior’s main staircase, dating to circa 1790, has an open string with two turned balusters per tread and a wreathed handrail. A first-floor front room in this section features a late 18th-century marble fireplace with an oak leaf trail on the sides and a floral frieze below the mantle, along with a floral plaster cornice and acanthus rose. The remainder of the rooms within this block were not inspected.