School House

CLYST HYDON ST 00 SW 2/22 School House - GV II

House, maybe the site of the church house and thereafter a school, 3 almhouses and schoolmistress house. Mid C17 (maybe older in parts) modernised circa 1960. Plastered cob on stone rubble footings; stone rubble stacks topped with C19 and C20 brick; thatch roof. Plan and development: 3-room plan house facing east and backing onto the churchyard. The centre room has a front lateral stack and the left and right rooms have end stacks. The historic development of the house is impossible to determine since the internal structure is all covered by C20 plaster. The large projecting right (northern) stack is late C17 but the other 2 maybe late C19 or C20. A C20 straight flight staircase rises between the centre and left rooms. The house is 2 storeys. Exterior: balanced but not symmetrical 4-window front of C20 casements with glazing bars. There are 2 front doorways and both contain C20 part-glazed doors and the one left of centre has a C20 gabled porch. The roof is hipped each end. Some of the rear windows have old oak frames, maybe as early as the late C17. The large northern stack has weathered offsets which are protected by massive slates. Interior: is largely the result of thorough late C19 and C20 modernisations. The only feature exposed is the large kitchen fireplace to the north room; it is built of late C17 local brick with a deeply chamfered oak lintel. Elsewhere all the structural carpentry is covered with plaster and the roof is inaccessible. Great care should be taken here during any modernisations lest C17 or earlier features are disturbed. The position of the house suggests that it is the site of the church house. According to the owner it was the village school up to 1868. It was then converted to 3 1-room plan almshouses and in the 1890's they were converted to the school mistress's house. School House is one of a very good group of attractive listed buildings in the vicinity of the Church of St Andrew (q.v).

Listing NGR: ST0357401680