North Queensferry Primary School, Brock Street, North Queensferry

North Queensferry Primary School, Brock Street, North Queensferry

A 2-storey butterfly-plan school designed by Andrew Scobie and Son and built between 1912 and 1914. Modern single-storey flat-roofed extensions have been added to the north and west corridors.

The principal (south-east) elevation presents a carefully composed symmetrical composition. At its centre stands an advanced 3-bay block with a gable end. The ground floor features three large windows, the central window having a segmental arch and keystone. On the first floor are three windows, with the central window set slightly higher and crowned with a keystone and open segmental pediment above a blank raised square cartouche. A timber ventilator with open segmental-arched and keystoned side panels and a finial sits above. A sunk basement door to the boiler room appears to the right return, with a first-floor window to the left return.

Flanking this central block are slightly advanced pavilion end-blocks to the north and west, connected by two lower entrance blocks with asymmetrical fenestration. The boys' entrance block to the right features a central railed stair leading to a 2-leaf timber door beneath a splayed segmentally arched and keystoned porch with moulded cornice and entablature. A broad course carries the raised letters 'BOYS'. A bipartite piended dormer window breaks the eaves above. To the left at ground floor is a 4-light canted window set at an angle, with a small window beside it; a first-floor flat-roofed dormer breaks the eaves above. The 3-bay end-block to the right has three large segmental-arched and keystoned ground-floor windows with three centred first-floor windows above, the central window set higher with a piended dormer breaking the eaves. The girls' blocks to the left of the central block mirror those to the right.

The front elevation is constructed of coursed and squared red sandstone with ashlar dressings, raised margins, and ashlar cill courses. The painted stone cills to the rear are complemented by bellcast roofs with overhanging bracketed eaves and stylised timber ventilators to both the central block and assembly hall.

The north-west (rear) elevation is dominated by a central polygonal piended and buttressed single-storey canted rectangular-plan assembly hall projecting to the north-west. Six large windows break the overhanging bellcast eaves to left and right, with a bipartite window to the far north-west end. A timber ventilator with open side panels and finial rises from the roof. The hall is flanked by two 2-leaf timber boarded doors with multi-paned fanlights leading to a 2-storey advanced flat-roofed corridor run adjoining the rear of the rear-facing classroom blocks, which feature regular window fenestration. Single-storey flat-roofed extensions to the corridors at the north and west ends contain lavatories and storage space. A first-floor breaking-eaves window appears to the north end of the pavilion block.

The sides and rear are rendered, with the sides and assembly hall painted red. Windows throughout are 24-, 20-, 16-, 12-, and 8-pane timber sash and case windows with horns. The pitched and piended bellcast roofs are finished in grey slates, with raised flat-headed skews to the central advanced block and coped ashlar ridge stacks to the connecting entrance blocks.

The interior preserves exceptional period detail. The ground and first-floor corridors and stairs are lined with cream faience tiles with green coloured banding to dado height, complemented by pine dado rails. Scrolled consoles ornament archways, and dentilled cornices run along the corridors. Original stone staircases, coat hooks to the cloak room, and a plate-glass-fronted classroom key box survive. Original chalkboards with architraves remain in the classrooms, along with tongue and groove wainscoting.

The assembly hall features a hammerbeam roof with an arched base and moulded ashlar corbels, though a false ceiling has been inserted. Two 2-leaf glazed doors with multi-paned fanlights flank a large square margin-paned window opening onto the inner corridor.

Two adjoining piended single-storey 5-bay rectangular-plan blocks serve as the nursery and kitchen blocks, with piended ventilators and predominantly 9-pane timber windows. They are finished in grey slates with bracketed overhanging eaves.

Two open playsheds with pitched and piended rectangular plans are supported by cast-iron Doric columns to the front (the western shed truncated), with door openings to the gable ends. Both are rendered with painted ashlar dressings and finished in grey slates.

The boundary treatment comprises low coped coursed walls with original cast-iron railings to the south featuring a pierced floral design (replaced railings to the east). Red sandstone ashlar square-plan gatepiers to the south and east carry raised panels, dentilled and moulded bellcast caps, and cast-iron gates with pierced floral design. A higher coped random rubble wall to the north is topped with yellow sandstone square-plan coped gatepiers.