The Old School, Paxton

The Old School, Paxton, dated 1873, is a single storey, picturesque former school building with later additions and alterations. It forms an L-shaped plan with a lower gabled projection to the south-east, gabled porches to the south-west and north-west, and single storey flat-roofed additions at the rear.

The principal range is constructed of squared and snecked tooled cream sandstone with ashlar dressings (droved in part), while the rear features tooled rubble and dry-dashed flat-roofed additions. The building is distinguished by its overhanging timber bracketed eaves with decorative traceried bargeboards. Stugged rusticated quoins and long and short surrounds frame the openings, which feature sandstone mullions and projecting cills. The south-west elevation includes shouldered-arched openings in square-headed windows.

The south-west entrance elevation features a gabled porch with a pointed-arched boarded timber door and keystoned surround. The principal range contains a large bipartite window centred in the gable end, with a sandstone panel embossed 'J.M.H & D.M.H 1873' above. Additional bipartite windows are positioned in the recessed left section. The south-east side elevation comprises a gabled projection with bipartite windows, and a two-bay wing with large windows in both bays, followed by a four-bay flat-roofed addition. The north-west side elevation displays a principal gable end with a gabled porch containing a pointed-arched boarded timber door and keystoned surround, and a circular window centred in the gablehead.

Windows comprise three- and four-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows, with six-pane timber windows to the rear wing and modern glazing to later additions. The roof features red tile and grey slate fishscale banding with decorative brattishing (missing in part). A square-plan bellcote on the principal ridge contains trefoil-headed openings and a tapering spire, with the bell in place. Sandstone ridge stacks display quatrefoil panels and circular motifs in their copes, though cans are predominantly missing.

The school was closed in 1972 and converted to a private residence. It was commissioned and funded by David Milne Home of Paxton and his wife Jane, and designed to replace an earlier, much smaller school to the north-west. The building represents an exceptional and imaginative school design, a unique consequence of the 1872 Education Act. Features of particular note include the traceried bargeboards, fishscale roof and original bellcote.