School the Grove Building

The Grove Building is a school constructed in 1899, featuring squared and coursed limestone with hard red brick dressings and a plain tile roof. The building has an L-shaped plan that extends to Barton Lane. The front, which faces the church, is one storey with an attic at the left end and showcases three Flemish gables; the left gable is wider and has a semi-circular termination. It includes a total of six windows arranged as 1+5.

The left side features a large oculus with glazing bars in the gable above a recessed door that has some glazing, alongside two small 2-light casements, all set within a brick panel and topped with segmental heads. A brick buttress is located in one offset, followed by alternating 2-light casements with transoms and lofty 2-light casements with two transoms, all with glazing bars and small square panes, leading to the face gables. A further brick buttress is positioned at the extreme right. The building exhibits brick or terracotta dressings, including a cill band and decorative tops to the gables, and has a broad roof with a panelled brick stack at the far left.

The return to Barton Lane features a high gable with a pointed crown, two large 2-light, 2-transom windows at the front, followed by a long wing that includes a panelled door with a fanlight in an arched opening, three small vertical casements, and a 2-light window with a transom. There is also a wing with two gables that have concave swept cappings, windows at the front, and a large stack that is flush with the eaves. A lead-covered pyramidal ventilator is situated near the junction with the front block.

The interior appears largely unchanged since its construction, featuring a glazed brick dado and roof trusses that are now ceiled at tie level. This building is a vigorous and assured example of architecture from the turn of the century, built at the expense of Miss Julia Chafyn Grove at a cost of over £2,400. The left-hand gable facing Barton Lane includes a square panel with the inscription 'The Grove Buildings; 1899'. This school replaced or augmented the adjacent National School.