Church Hall

BICKINGTON BICKINGTON SX 77 SE 7/24 Church Hall - GV II

Church hall, formerly the church school and schoolmaster's house. Built in 1848; toilets added at rear in late C19 and 1970s. Stone rubble, with dressings of Devonian limestone for the quoins and for the relieving arch of the east window; oolitic limestone for the surrounds of windows and doorways. Late C19 toilet of yellow brick. Asbestos-slated main roof; corrugated-asbestos roof on lean-to at right-hand end. On right-hand gable a stone chimneystack having twin shafts with chamfered outer angles and shaped limestone tops. A similar stack is said to have stood originally on the centre of the ridge. On left-hand gable is the stone base of a former bell turret. Plan consists of the school hall to left and the schoolmaster's house of 2-room plan to right; hall has entrance-porch in front, the entrance to the house being in a lean-to against the right-hand gable-wall. Latterly, at least, the infant school is reported to have occupied the left-hand ground-storey room of the house. Hall is single-storeyed and house 2-storeyed with single-storeyed entrance-porch. Hall has no windows in front wall, simply a small buttress at each end and the entrance porch slightly off-centre. Porch is steeply gabled, its doorway with a 2-centred arch having a blank tablet above it; door is of diagonally-set planks with long wrought-iron strap-hinges having fleurs-de-lis terminals. In left-hand gable-wall is a large window with chamfered surround and straight hood-mould; 3-light wood casement with 2 panes per light. Above it (lighting upper part of hall) is a similar 2-light window, but with the hood-mould removed. The schoolmaster's house, which is slightly taller and is set back a little, is 2 windows wide. Ground-storey windows have chamfered surrounds and straight hood-moulds. Upper-storey windows are steeply pitched dormer gables containing 2-light wood casements with pointed heads to the lights. Windows in both storeys have diamond-shaped leaded panes. Entrance-porch to right has chamfered, shouldered-head doorway; door consists of diagonally-set planks. 2 windows in right-hand side-wall of porch, both having chamfered jambs. Rear wall of hall has on east a large window with chamfered jambs; 3-light mullioned-and- transomed casement with small panes. To the west of it is a window with chamfered jambs and straight hood-mould; 3-light wood casement with 2 panes per light. Rear wall of schoolmasters house has at west end of ground storey a window with chamfered jambs and straight hood-mould; 2 light wood casement with diamond-shaped leaded panes. In upper storey 2 dormer gables matching those at the front. Interior not inspected. Sources: White's Directory of Devonshire, 1878, p.148. Information from Mr R Laskey, the sexton.

Listing NGR: SX7998772656