No 3 Boarding House Orchards

DARTINGTON DARTINGTON HALL SX86SW No 3 Boarding House 2/143 (Orchards)

GV II

Boarding house at Dartington School. 1935-4 by W E Lescaze of Howe and Lescaze of America, assisted by R Hening. Rendered brick with plain concrete coping to the parapet concealing flat roof. 2 small rendered stacks on the roof. Plan: overall rectangular plan with a projection to the right of the east front. The entrance towards the right (north) end leads to the stairs at the back and a longitudinal passage to the left, off which there are kindergarten classroom and playroom, dining/playroom, kitchen and cloakroom and at the right-hand end the housefather's flat and bicycle repair room. The first floor is carried over a covered playground at the left (south) end; a longitudinal spine corridor gives access to the childrens' bedsitting rooms, bathrooms, lavatories and trunk room etc, and at the right-hand end the housemothers' flat with access to a balcony across the front. International Modern Style. Exterior: 2 storeys. East front: Right-hand projects with a recessed entrance park in the angle. The rest of the ground storey is advanced with a balustrade above of steel tube and mesh. The first floor which is therefore set back behind the ground storey projects at the left end over a covered area and is supported on 3 slender steel posts. The band of ground storey windows continues around the left end under the first floor projection. The first horizontal band of windows is continuous, each light separated by a concrete pier. The rear (west) elevation ha symmetrically disposed band of windows and a rectangular stair window towards the left. There is a low integral wall around part of the covered area on the south end, its concrete coping continued as the cill to the ground floor windows on the east elevation. Original steel windows frames throughout. There is a later steel fire escape on the south end. Interior not inspected. Orchards was the third of 3 similar board houses to be built at Dartington School by Lescaze, cf No 1 (Blacklers) and No 2 (chimmels). Source: Architects drawings in the Dartington Hall archive.

Listing NGR: SX8013263007