Abbey School

Abbey School is a house, dating from the 1840s to the 1850s, originally used as a preparatory school and later as a school. It is constructed of rubble faced with Roman cement, with slate roofs. The building is in a Picturesque style, featuring castellated detailing.

The building’s plan involves rooms arranged around a central stairhall, although the north service wing has been removed. The two-storey exterior has a plinth, cornice, angle buttresses, a first-floor sill band, drip moulds, and a crenellated parapet. The front entrance, facing onto Fore Street, has three bays, with plate-glass sashes on the ground floor. A projecting porch with an octagonal corner turret features a 4-centred arched doorway with side lights. First-floor windows are 12-pane sashes. The parapet is ornamented by a small crow-stopped gable displaying a coat of arms. The garden front has three bays, with tripartite windows flanking a canted bay, the central window being a French door. It also features crow-stepped gables. The original east front, five bays wide with two crow-stepped gables, is now partly obscured by a two-storey wing built in the 1920s, which joins the original building through the centre windows, incorporating plate-glass sashes below 12-pane sashes. The north front has been rendered and obscures the remains of the demolished service wing.

Inside, the central stairhall features a mahogany Imperial staircase with two turned balusters to each step, scrolled tread ends, curtails, a balustraded landing, and a roof light. Original grey or pink marble fireplaces and mahogany 6-panel doors are retained throughout. The south-west reception room has a mahogany fireplace with barley sugar columns and an elaborate plaster frieze.