Diocesan Church Centre

The Diocesan Church Centre in Carlisle was originally built as a grammar school in 1832, with extensions added in 1851. It was constructed for the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle Cathedral using coursed red sandstone ashlar on a chamfered plinth, and features a graduated Welsh slate roof that is partly hipped, along with a 19th-century red sandstone gable chimney stack. The building is a single-storey structure with a single-bay original school section, followed by a single-bay extension and a four-bay extension, all aligned in a row.

The car-park facade shows the oldest part on the left, which includes a large five-light stone mullioned window with a curved head and hoodmould. Both this section and the 1832 extension have facing gables, with the latter featuring a three-light cross-mullioned window. The 1851 extension has a 20th-century door on the left within the original lean-to porch, which is dated on a carved ribbon above the entrance. The further bays are set back and include two-light stone mullioned windows, with a 20th-century door in a 20th-century surround on the right. The left return wall has 20th-century mullioned windows designed to match the 19th-century ones. The west walls facade includes stone-mullioned windows, with those on the right being from the 20th century.

The interior has not been inspected. Historically, the grammar school was of royal foundation and part of the Cathedral grounds, located on the site of the former malt kiln of the Priory of St Mary. It became the Choir School of the Cathedral when a new grammar school was built in 1883. The building was threatened with demolition in 1977 but was converted for its current use shortly thereafter. A plan from 1827 in the Cumbria County Record Office indicates that the original 1806 grammar school was demolished to allow for the 1832 rebuilding. The building is included for its group value and historical interest.