The Former Grammar School Buildings At Richmond School

The former Grammar School buildings at Richmond School date from the mid-19th century and were designed by G.T. Andrews in the Gothic Revival style, with subsequent additions made in 1865-7 by Austin & Johnson. The building is constructed of stone with a stone slate roof. The original building comprises a two-storey hall above an open arcade, now enclosed. It has three arched windows to the south, separated by buttresses, and a large stained glass window to the east. Above these are three arched two-light windows. A short wing projects to the south at the west end, featuring an angular bay at first floor supported by a buttress and arches below. Cloakrooms and a staircase are located at the west end.

The second phase of construction, in a similar Gothic style, is a two-storey hall set at right angles to the first. This section incorporates a large gothic arched window to the south, six arched two-light windows to the west, and a partly blocked arched window to the north. Plain arched windows are located below on the ground floor, facing east, south, and west. A bell tower connects the two wings on the north side.

Later additions, from 1937-56, consist of a single-storey extension to the east, built in matching materials but in a plainer style, with six tall, narrow windows with small panes to the south and one to the north. Other north-facing windows are truncated by the slope of the ground. Further 20th-century extensions on the north side are single-storey with flat roofs, constructed in matching stone with metal-framed windows.

The interior features a former cloister with a central square pillar with chamfered corners. The hall above retains lower portions of a hammer beam roof visible beneath a false polystyrene-tiled ceiling. The stairwell has iron railings and wrought ironwork at the top, alongside round-arched stone pillars that form the entrance to the upper floor. The stairwell windows on the north side have square heads shaped to fit alongside the stair. An arched entrance leads to the second hall, more elaborate than the entrance to the first hall, with carved stone busts on either side. The second hall displays an exposed hammer beam roof. Classrooms on the ground floor retain their original windows. Early alterations occurred at the foot of the stairwell in the 19th century when the new wing was added, adjusting the ground floor arrangements.