The Old National School

The Old National School is a building with a complex history, dating back to the late 16th century. It began as a church house, was later converted into a school in 1888, with further extensions in 1899, and finally converted into a private house in the late 20th century. The construction is of coursed rock-faced granite, with the original north wing using granite rubble and large dressed granite quoins. The roof is dry slate, with half-hipped ends featuring brackets to moulded bargeboards; the rear wing has asbestos slates. Gable and lateral stacks have rebuilt brick shafts.

The building’s original layout comprised a small schoolroom (circa 1888) with a porch, an outshut at the left end forming an angle with a rear (north) wing set back at a right angle. This rear wing, originally the church house, originally had a first-floor doorway in the rear gable. The 1899 extension is likely the right-hand wing. Conversion to a private house in the late 20th century involved the removal of the first floor of the original church house and replacement of the roof structure.

The south-west front is asymmetrical. The main schoolroom features two large windows breaking the eave line, each within a half-hipped dormer with a round head. A gabled porch with a deeply chamfered basket arch leads to a lean-to that sits at the junction with the original church house wing. The left side of the church house wing is largely blank, with a small, blocked opening near ground level. The north-east end of the wing, built into a bank, includes a blocked first-floor doorway with granite monolith jambs and a later casement window above. The inner side of the wing, facing a small yard, features large granite masonry with a flight of granite steps leading to the higher ground level at the rear, and rebuilt walls with two large, full-height windows. The south-east end of the main range contains two low, single-storey additions. The interior has been extensively altered in the late 20th century.

Historical records show the rear (north) wing was likely the church house in 1585. It was shown as the church house in a plan attached to the 1888 indenture, when it was presented by Revd J H Parlby and converted into a Board school with extensions in 1899.