Combe Down Junior School, With Piers And Railings

Combe Down Junior School, built in 1840, was enlarged in 1887 and again around 1900. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar with slate roofs. The original west-facing front range comprised a schoolmaster's house on the ground and first floors, with a school room above on the second floor. In 1887, a single-story schoolroom wing was added to the east (rear) side, now used as an assembly hall. Around 1900, further schoolrooms were built on the south side of the rear wing. The architectural style is a simplified Gothic.

The three-story front range has a two-window west front. The first floor features two large windows, each with a group of four cusped lancets. Similar, but two- and three-light windows, are set within asymmetrical gables on the second floor. The lower ground floor has replacement windows, a doorway with a shouldered head at the centre, and a garage door to the right. Gable ends have two-light lancets at the second floor. A conical metal ventilator sits on the ridge, and deep, plain stacks are present on each coped verge. The north side has stone mullion windows, and a wide coped gable above a stepped four-light cusped lancet, with a small quatrefoil and cropped stack. A stone plaque commemorates Reverend William Batchellor, who "changed this life for immortality" on January 31, 1856. A further roof vent is visible, and a porch with a small coped gable over a plank door with a shouldered lintel is located at the far left. The south side, dating back to around 1900, features a gable-ended roof elevation dedicated to Reverend William Batchellor. The south return from the main front has a splayed corner with a projecting gabled unit on three storeys, incorporating sashes and a window with a four-centred head and an iron armature in sixteen panes, above a two-light lancet with cusping.

The second-floor school room in the original west front range is open to the roof, although the hammer beam trusses are now boxed in. A dogleg staircase features stick balusters and turned newels. The school room/assembly hall in the rear wing is divided by folding sliding partitions and open to the roof, with a cross-gabled section at the centre. At the west end, a short curved length of retaining wall with a rounded curb carries two panels of spear-head railings and two square ashlar piers, protecting the lower ground floor area. This provides an unusual design feature. The building is still in use as a school.