Bedales Memorial Library, Lupton Hall And Corridor

Bedales Memorial Library, Lupton Hall and Corridor is a hall/theatre and library built in 1911 and 1922, respectively, by Ernest Gimson. They form an L-shaped block, originally intended as part of a larger scheme comprising unbuilt laboratories and a gymnasium around a quadrangle. The buildings are linked to the main school block by an open corridor.

The hall is constructed of handmade local bricks in English bond, with plain window openings. The end gables feature kneelers and large circular openings. A semi-circular projection houses a staircase. The roof is tiled, with four triangular ventilating gablets below the ridge and glazed gables on each side. Small, regularly placed windows are a defining characteristic, along with a doorway sheltered by a hood adjacent to the staircase. A narthex masking the west gable below the circular window contains three semi-circular windows. Attached to the south side of the narthex is an open corridor, sheltering a flight of steps and continuing at a right angle to connect with the main block, incorporating a central carriage opening.

The hall’s interior has six bays separated by prominent roof trusses, incorporating king posts, collars, arch braces and crucks resting on short brick piers. The library shows Elizabethan style detailing, with two-storeyed elevations, a deep parapet, weathered lintel bands, and triple-light windows. A projecting porch with a gable above an arched doorway, approached by steps, is a notable feature. The library’s interior is characterised by a barn-like timber frame of seven bays and two-storeyed aisles, employing a massive framework including king posts, arch braces to tie-beams and wall-plates, and wide floorboards. Contemporary furnishings complete the interior.

The corridor has a tile roof supported by trusses, echoing the design of the buildings with crucks on tie-beams and verticals (arched on the inside) resting on a brick wall. The wider roadway section is capped with a taller, hipped roof.