Former School and Chapel is a Grade II listed building in the Yorkshire Dales National Park local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 May 1989. House.
Former School and Chapel
- WRENN ID
- turning-crypt-meadow
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Yorkshire Dales National Park
- Constituency
- Skipton and Ripon MP: Sir Julian Smith (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 4 May 1989
- Type
- House
- Address
- Former School and Chapel, Buckden, North Yorkshire
- OS grid reference
- SD 870 814
- Coordinates
- 54.22893, -2.20007
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The former school and chapel, now a house, was built in 1856, likely designed by John Ruskin for Charles Woodd in memory of his wife Lydia Wilson Woodd. The building features coursed limestone and gritstone blocks arranged in contrasting bands, topped with a graduated stone slate roof. It is a rectangular single-storey structure with three windows on the south side and an entrance bay on the east end.
The east end showcases a massive round arch with two orders, complete with imposts and drip moulding, creating a full-height porch. Inside, there is a shouldered-arched double door made of boards, equipped with large strap hinges adorned with elaborate leaf motifs. Attached columns flank the arch, featuring contrasting coloured voussoirs, while the tympanum below displays a chi-rho symbol in relief along with the inscription: "LYDIA WILSON WOODD AT PAU 16 JUNE 1856 AGED 32".
On the south side, the three windows consist of paired round-headed lights supported by colonettes. To the right, there is a bellcot with a corbelled cover. The building also has moulded stone guttering on plain brackets, shaped kneelers, and gable coping topped with cross finials. The west end features a three-light window similar to those on the south front, along with a circular plaque displaying a four-petal motif on the gable.
The south and east walls are decorated with fossiliferous marble plaques in diamond, shield, and circular shapes. The interior was not inspected during the resurvey. This building was constructed after the publication of Ruskin's "The Stones of Venice" in 1851 and 1853. Ruskin frequently visited northern England in the late 1850s and was acquainted with the Woodd family of Oughtershaw Hall. The family archives contain letters from Ruskin about the school. In "The Stones of Venice," Ruskin emphasized the horizontal layering of masonry and its geological connections, advocating for bold chamfers and outlines, along with deep recessed openings, all of which are evident in the school at Oughtershaw.
Local climate
Former School and Chapel sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,240 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 93% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 90% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 64 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 99% of listed buildings. Of these, 41 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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