Riverside School

The Riverside School, formerly Farncombe Street School Board School, was built in 1874 by MP Manning of Gale and Manning. It is a brick building in English bond with stone dressings, and has slate roofs. The design is in the Gothic Revival style. The school is three storeys high over a basement, with a ten-window range on the front; it is complemented by a single-storey wing of three windows to the north and a single-storey wing of one window to the south. The plan is shallow in a U-shape with a central projection to the rear.

The end bays, each containing two windows, terminate in steeply-pitched gables. From the first floor to the gable, there is a pointed-arch recess for the windows, with a quatrefoil pierced in the tympanum above. A pointed-arched loggia is located between the projecting bays on the ground floor, with a pointed-arch entrance inscribed in Gothic script to either side - the left entrance marked for “Infants and Girls”. Flat-arched windows are situated behind the loggia. A stone storey band above the loggia is inscribed: "School Board for London Farncombe Street School 1874". The windows in the projecting wings are segmental-arched with two lights. All windows generally feature stone mullions and transoms, with flat arches unless otherwise noted. First-floor windows in the end wings have two lights, while the intermediary ranges have two-light windows set in segmental-arched recesses. A stone storey band is located between the first and second floors. The top storey features four four-light windows, two in the intermediary range, which finish in gabled dormers. All gables have kneelers, stone coping, and tripartite light slits. The south wing has a four-light window set in a pointed-arched recess, with a cinquefoil pierced in the tympanum. There are railings to the loggia and basement area.

The rear elevation features gabled bays, recessed single-window range bays, and a central projection of four windows. The windows in the projecting block are segmental-arched and two-light, serving the halls. A high hipped and gableted roof is present, with a wooden cupola and metal cap on the ridge; a decorative weather vane stands atop the cupola. The interior has not been inspected.

Riverside School is an early and notable example of work commissioned by the London School Board from private practice architects. Its ecclesiastical style was superseded by the more practical designs of the Board's architect, ER Robson. Robson's earlier designs in the Borough include the Southwark Park School, Southwark Park Road, the Flint Street Schools, Flint Street, and the Bellenden Road Schools, Bellenden Road, all designed before 1879.