High School For Boys And Attached Forecourt Walls, Gate Piers And Railings

High school for boys, built in 1894 and opened in 1897. It is constructed of limestone brought to course, with limestone dressings, brick window jambs and arches, and has steep slate roofs with moulded entablatures to the parapets. The parapets are set back between coped gables, flanked by tall brick stacks with moulded entablatures acting as acroteria. The building has a large U-shaped plan and an articulated front.

The external appearance is of three storeys over a basement, with a symmetrical six-bay front, featuring entrance bays on the left and right. The original windows remain, with larger windows being sashes with overlights. Original panelled doors are also present. The elevation features alternate gabled bays with a 1:2:2:3:2:2:1 window arrangement, with multiple windows grouped closely or in pairs, most having segmental heads. Round arches lead to ordered doorways in the gabled bays. A two-storey panel is on the upper floor of the entrance bays, and on the second floor of the third and fifth bays. Openings in the entrance bays are positioned mid-floor. Moulded impost strings are visible at doorways, along with a mid-floor string above the squat windows above the doorway. A moulded entablature is under the first-floor windows of the central five bays, with an inscription reading “SUTTON HIGH SCHOOL FOR BOYS” across the central three bays, and a mid-floor string between the upper floors in the central five bays. Other elevations share similar but generally simpler features.

The interior has not been inspected, but may be as unaltered as the exterior.

Attached limestone forecourt walls are surmounted by original wrought-iron railings with turned cast-iron finials. Short walls flank the entrance bridge, leading to square piers with moulded caps. Similar piers are used to divide bays along the front.

The design is distinguished, following the style used for London Board schools.