The Beneficial School

The Beneficial School is a school building, now functioning as a training centre, constructed in 1784 and extended in 1836, with restoration taking place in the late 20th century. It is built of red brick in Flemish bond, with the ground floor front finished in stucco and a Welsh slated roof.

The building stands three storeys high and features three bays, with the centre bay being wider. The ground floor has a horizontal rusticated appearance, with a centrally located recessed two-leaf door that has 12 fielded panels beneath a large fanlight. The fanlight is adorned with radial looped glazing bars. Flanking the door are engaged Doric columns that support a broken entablature and a broken pediment. On either side of the entrance are 6-pane sash windows set beneath rusticated flat arches.

On the first floor, there is a prominent Venetian window that spans both the first and second floors. This window features a full-width outer arch light, a centre 15-pane unequal sash, and a 3-pane round-headed light above, all set under a round stuccoed arch. The flanking 8-pane sashes are complemented by pilasters that have fluting and leaf decorations. The broken entablature above includes a frieze with flukes and paterae, while the sill is supported by consoles aligned with the pilasters. The outer sides of the first floor have 12-pane sashes beneath flat gauged brick arches.

The building's pediment and cornice are finished with facing brick dentils and stone capping, and there is a tablet inscribed with the history of the building: "This building was erected in 1784 by the Beneficial Society for their Free School for Boys established 1755 and enlarged 1836 for the purpose of adding a Girls School to the Institution."

The left return, or west elevation, consists of 22 bays, with the seven bays on the right representing the original extent of the school before the extension. The right return, or east elevation, has been rebuilt. The interior has not been inspected.