The School, New Lanark

The School in New Lanark, built in 1817, is a two-storey building with a basement and three additional storeys at the rear. It has a rectangular plan and features a piend roof. Originally constructed as a school, it now serves as an Education Centre. The building has a symmetrical design with an advanced, pedimented central section comprising three bays. It is made of squared, coursed brown sandstone, accented with stugged and droved cream ashlar dressings, and polished ashlar around the door architrave. There is a band course above the basement on the front and side elevations, along with a blocking course and long and short quoins. The windows are regularly spaced, featuring raised, tabbed margins and projecting cills. The entrance has steps leading to a timber panelled door set in a deep cavetto-moulded architrave topped with a simple bracketed cornice, and there is a blind oval oculus in the pediment with a capping block above.

The building has 16-pane windows on the top floor and basement, and 20-pane windows on the first floor, all in timber sash and case style, with some blind windows. The roof is covered with Scottish slate, and there are cast-iron rainwater goods with hoppers. Circular ties are present on the east and west elevations, and plain railings enclose the basement area.

Inside, the layout is symmetrical. A cantilevered stone staircase, with worn steps now protected by glass, features simple iron balusters and a handrail. The top floor has musicians' galleries in the east and west rooms, supported by slim cast-iron clustered columns, which are also found in other areas of the building. Some original wood panelling and plasterwork remain, along with remnants of the original heating system, which includes slots in the walls for warm air to exhale.