Townhill Primary School, Chisholm Street, Dunfermline

Townhill Primary School, Chisholm Street, Dunfermline

This single-storey rectangular-plan school was designed by Thomas Frame and Sons and completed in 1875, with extensions added by T Hyslop Ure in 1911–12. The building displays a simple Gothic Revival design, with pointed-arched openings on the principal western elevation and mullioned and transomed windows throughout.

The original block is constructed in coursed rockfaced sandstone with droved sandstone ashlar dressings and a base course, while the extension is harled with a brick base course and sandstone ashlar dressings. Openings feature chamfered reveals. The gable end windows are set forward slightly with projecting wall sections stepped outward to either side, each topped by a pointed relieving arch; the gables above contain arrowhead openings. The same arrangement appears on the flush breaking-eaves windows to the east elevation. The gables are coped with roll-moulded finials, except on the principal elevation.

The western principal elevation is more or less symmetrical, with steps leading to entrances on either side of a double central bay. The left entrance has a disabled ramp. Both entrances feature large breaking-eaves gable-headed pointed openings with splayed reveals and moulded skewputts. Each gable is topped with a Greek cross finial set in a circle and a carved roundel at the apex; the left roundel is inscribed 'TOWNHILL PUBLIC SCHOOL 1875' and the right 'PARISH OF DUNFERMLINE SCHOOL BOARD'. The entrances themselves contain replacement glazed doors set back within recesses, flanked by narrow windows set in angled walls. A small narrow window is centred between the two entrances, with flanking windows (the left one mullioned bipartite). A further window sits to the right of the right entrance. Flanking projecting outer bays with finialled gables (upper parts of finials now missing) contain large mullioned and transomed sexpartite windows with raised central lights; the upper lights have foil-moulded lintels.

The east elevation originally comprised six bays. The original block features mullioned tripartite windows to each bay except the two penultimate flanking bays, which have gabled breaking-eaves mullioned and transomed sexpartite windows with raised central lights. The bay to the right of centre is now obscured by a low early 20th-century passageway connecting to the extension.

The north elevation has a slightly projecting gabled bay with a large mullioned and transomed 8-light window to the left, and mullioned tripartite windows set back to the right. The south elevation mirrors this arrangement, with the gabled bay and 8-light window positioned to the right and tripartite windows to the left. A square-plan concreted chimney sits at the junction between the two.

The roof is finished in grey slate with a valley roof and outer wings at right angles; decorative red ridge tiles run along the ridge (missing in parts). A rectangular-plan tiled vent base with round cans sits on the east ridge, though the vent itself is missing. Coped stepped ridge stacks with band courses run along the north and south wings, and a small coped circular-plan stack with band course sits on the valley roof.

The windows throughout comprise multi-pane timber sash and case windows, along with fixed frames featuring top and bottom opening vents.

The interior was not inspected as of 1999.

A sandstone rubble boundary wall with stugged rounded coping surrounds the north, south, and west sides of the original building. Main gateways to the northwest and south are marked by pairs of square-plan partially droved sandstone ashlar gatepiers with bases, chamfered and stopped arrises, and pyramid coping; both have replacement gates. A pedestrian gateway to the north has walls raised to either side.