Ashley Road Primary School, 45 Ashley Road, Aberdeen

Ashley Road Primary School, 45 Ashley Road, Aberdeen

A two-storey school with attic and basement, built in 1887 by Jenkins & Marr. The building comprises a 12-bay rectangular plan and has been substantially altered: internally remodelled by J A O Allan in 1934, further remodelled with new toilets by C Keith in 1979, and extended with a single-storey addition to the south-west in 2000.

The main structure is constructed in rough-faced grey granite ashlar with finely finished dressings, except to the south-west elevation which is in Aberdeen bond. The design features a base course, moulded ground and first floor cill courses, a dividing band course, lintel cornice to the first floor, and eaves course and cornice. Detailing includes panelled aprons, pilastered round-arched openings to the ground floor, pilastered bays to the first floor, and oculus dormers with Renaissance detailing to the attic floor. The roof is piended grey slate with lead ridges and finials to apexes, coped ridge stacks with octagonal cans, and cast-iron rainwater goods. Windows have been replaced.

The north-east principal elevation is symmetrical with 12 bays arranged 3-6-3, with central bays recessed and a 6-light rectangular dormer rising from the eaves at attic floor level, flanked by single dormers to the left and right.

The north-west elevation is near-symmetrical with 9 bays arranged 3-3-3, featuring recessed central bays with a pilastered doorpiece corniced with block pediment. The doorway is pilastered round-arched with keystone motif and replacement timber door with fanlight. Windows flank this door to left and right, with regular fenestration to the first floor and a central dormer to the attic floor flanked by a modern rectangular bipartite dormer. To the right, regular fenestration extends across ground and first floors with a dormer to the centre bay of the attic floor. To the left, a doorway rises to form a round-arched window to the centre bay, flanked by single windows, with regular fenestration to the first floor and a modern tripartite rectangular dormer to the attic floor.

The south-west elevation is symmetrical with 12 bays and simple regular fenestration to each floor, with the attic floor breaking the eaves. A modern addition is advanced from the centre bay at ground floor.

The south-east elevation mirrors the north-west elevation in its near-symmetrical arrangement and detailing, also with 9 bays arranged 3-3-3.

The interior features a three-storey open galleried hall at the centre with decorative iron railings to balconies. Some original tiling survives with anthemion and palmette frieze. Doorways are pilastered and corniced with panelling below dados. Various later remodellings have been undertaken.

An ancillary structure to the south-west, now in use as a nursery, is a two-storey, 8-bay rectangular-plan building in coursed granite with a louvred timber ventilator to the roof apex. A small lodge to the north-east of the school is single-storey, constructed in tooled granite with finely finished cill and eaves course and rough-faced base course, with replacement windows.

The boundary features a two-leaf iron vehicular gate to the north-east with square-plan finely finished gatepiers, corniced necks and pyramidal caps. A pedestrian gate flanks to the right, with low quadrant walls to left and right bearing looped iron railings enclosing garden ground. High coped rubble walls with simple square-plan gatepiers enclose the remainder of the boundary.