School House

School House, built around 1862, is associated with the former Mount Dinham School and was likely originally the master’s house. It was commissioned by William Gibbs, a wealthy merchant, philanthropist and patron of buildings, and is part of an outstanding Victorian group of buildings in Exeter. The building is constructed of Flemish bond brick with painted stone dressings and a slate roof, featuring a stack with a red brick shaft and brick banding. It is designed in a Tudor style.

The house is situated at the north-west end of the main range of the school, set forward to form an overall U-shaped plan with a matching building to the south-west. The property comprises a roughly rectangular plan with a porch on the north-east side.

The exterior is two storeys high. The front elevation is asymmetrical, with three windows, and the right-hand bay is broken forward and gabled. The main block, which is roofed at right angles, has a gable at its left end. The projecting porch, located in the angle between the two blocks, has a lean-to roof and a quoined Tudor arched outer doorway with a single-light window to the left return. Ground floor windows are three-light and transomed, with quoined jambs. The outer first-floor windows are similarly styled but feature two lights, while a two-light window sits above the porch. The left return has a canted bay on the ground floor with a transomed window, and a three-light window above with a hoodmould.

The interior has not been inspected, but may retain features of interest.

The site was originally purchased by John Dinham to prevent it from being used as a fairground, and the land was presented to the city. William Gibbs then funded the school, along with free cottages for the elderly and St Michael’s Church.