King Edward's School

KING EDWARD'S SCHOOL

School, now vacant, on the west side of Broad Street. Built in 1752 to designs by Thomas Jelly; the rear range was raised after 1842. The building was constructed by Jelly, Sainsbury, Brown, Smith and John Ford.

The front range is built in limestone ashlar with a parapeted mansard roof, probably of Welsh slate now coated with sealant. The left and right ranges to the rear are of coursed squared limestone (left side) and limestone rubble (right side), with hipped roofs in Welsh slate and asbestos slate. The building has ashlar chimneys: small ridge and end stacks to the front range, two stacks rising from the left wall of the rear left range, and a large stack rising from the right wall of the rear right range. None of the chimneys now retain pots.

The plan is U-shaped, with the original Master's house fronting the street and two ranges to the rear containing large School Rooms.

The front elevation has two storeys, an attic and basement, arranged in five bays with three bays to the centre breaking forward and crowned with a pediment. The first floor contains five six-over-six sash windows in splayed cyma moulded eared architraves rising from stone sills. The ground floor has four six-over-six sashes in similar architraves with pulvinated friezes and segmental pediments above. Between them is a panelled door with four fielded panels below the rail, recessed in a cyma moulded architrave with a projecting keystone bearing raised 19th-century lettering reading "FOUNDED AD 1552". The door is set within an Ionic doorcase with engaged three-quarter columns and pilasters supporting an entablature with raised lettering to the frieze reading "KING EDWARD'S SCHOOL" and a pediment with a coat of arms carved in relief in the tympanum. The basement has four glazing bar sashes, now largely blocked in splayed reveals. Five single dormers, to left and right with six-over-six sashes in cyma moulded architraves, break through the eaves; the central dormer is not visible behind the pediment. The facade has a moulded plinth, modillion eaves cornice, a balustraded parapet with moulded plinth and coping, and piers which formerly supported busts, now missing. Matching doorcases are attached to the left and right of the facade, each containing a pair of four-fielded panel doors with fixed fielded panels above in semicircular headed openings. The doorcases have rusticated pilasters rising from shallow plinths, moulded imposts, and cyma moulded archivolts with projecting triple keystones supporting pediments on consoles.

The interior was not inspected for listing purposes.

The school was established by foundation in 1552. Council Minutes record Thomas Jelly's plan being approved for use in building the Free School on 11th February 1752, and reference a bed chamber at the New School being divided with water being carried off at the play space under inspection of Mr Palmer on 2nd October 1758. Giovanni Battista Plura carved the arms and five busts for the school in 1752.