High School, Academy Road, Stirling

High School, Academy Road, Stirling

This former high school complex consists of two main building phases: the original school of 1854–6 by J W H & J M Hay of Liverpool with sculptor Handyside Ritchie, and the MacLaren Extension of 1887–90 by James Marjoribanks MacLaren (London), completed by Robert Watson. A primary school extension was added to the southwest in 1905 by McLuckie & Walker. The entire complex was converted to a hotel in 1990.

Original and Primary Schools

The original school is single and two-storey, comprising 12 bays with a three-bay extension, built in Gothic style. It features a vaulted pend tower and cloister elements around a courtyard. Construction is stugged squared and snecked whinstone rubble with contrasting ashlar dressings, deep chamfered base course and eaves course. Coped and battered buttresses, hoodmoulds, moulded arrises, stone transoms and mullions provide architectural detail throughout.

The northwest principal elevation is symmetrical. A central square-plan tower dominates (described below). To the left of centre, a bay contains a six-light transomed tripartite window and small slate-hung timber dormer window with decorative bargeboarding and thistle finial. Bays two to six have a lower eaves line, with a battered chimney breast at the centre featuring a ropework-moulded panel breaking the eaves into a truncated stack with shield detail. Flanking bays contain four-light transomed bipartite windows breaking the eaves into dormerheads with shield detail on the tympanum. An advanced gabled bay at the outer left has two four-light transomed bipartite windows at ground floor and a hoodmoulded six-light raised-centre tripartite window in the gablehead. The bays to the right of centre mirror those to the left except the advanced gabled bay has three similarly detailed windows at ground floor.

The three-bay primary school extension lies to the right. Its slightly advanced centre bay has rounded angles, an altered tripartite window at ground floor, corbelled transomed bipartite window at first floor, and corbelled mock parapet above with arrowslit at centre and pyramidal roof. The return to the left features steps up to a deeply concave moulded doorpiece with cusping below a semicircular pediment inscribed 'PRIMARY HIGH SCHOOL' and dated 'MCMVIII' below a monogrammed shield; it has a two-leaf panelled timber door. The recessed bay to the left has four-part windows at ground and first floors with richly carved dividing panels bearing scholastic emblems, and an elaborate cartouche at centre above breaking the eaves to a recessed attic floor with semicircular-pedimented bipartite window and small window to right. The tall gabled bay to the right of centre has two four-light transomed bipartite windows at each floor.

The tower has a deeply moulded, keystoned and hoodmoulded four-centred pend arch with two-leaf boarded timber gates with scrollwork iron hinges. Above is a two-storey oriel window with a panel below the first floor cill inscribed 'ANNO DOMINI 1854' and a large circular stone panel between six-light transomed tripartite windows at first and second floors. A cavetto cornice above gives way to sculpture of children. Each face above the second floor has a narrow timber-louvered opening below stepped continuous hoodmould and clock face with flanking moulded pilasters breaking the eaves into an attenuated finialled dormerhead. A pyramidal roof tops the tower with a small corbelled turret at each angle.

The southwest elevation, on ground falling steeply to the south, has asymmetrical fenestration. A late 17th century inscribed panel commemorating Robert Spittal and bearing the date 1530 is built into the wall at outer left, with a gabled bay at outer right.

The southeast courtyard elevation is symmetrical, 11 bays. The three centre bays have a moulded four-centred arch flanked by four-light transomed bipartite windows and three timber dormers in a steeply pitched roof, with the tower projecting at centre. Lower, similarly arched arcaded outer bays (now glazed) have dividing buttresses, a deep blocking course and tiny triangular air vents close to the roof ridge with pagoda-style ridge ventilators (one to each side).

The northeast courtyard elevation has three arcaded centre bays (glazed) with tall transomed bipartite windows above breaking the eaves into finialled dormerheads. A taller bay at outer right has a small window at ground floor and four-light transomed bipartite above, with the north range adjoining beyond. A lower recessed extension lies at outer left.

The primary school extension has a variety of elements including a rounded angle at outer left and a polygonal belfry rising from a recessed and partly obscured gabled bay.

Mainly three-pane and plate glass glazing patterns in timber windows. Some eight-pane glazing pattern in timber sash and case windows retained to the primary school extension. Grey slates. Coped ashlar stacks (some truncated), ashlar coped stepped skews with moulded skewputts and cast-iron downpipes with hoppers dated 1854.

The interior retains some boarded timber dadoes. The MacLaren Room has a decorative cornice and hammerbeam roof. Classrooms in the north range were converted to small conference rooms. The west range was converted to a gymnasium and swimming pool.

MacLaren Extension

James Marjoribanks MacLaren (London) designed this extension in 1887–90, which was completed by Robert Watson and converted to a hotel in 1990. It is three-storey with a two-storey courtyard, nine bays with three additional bays (the original Academy Street building), rectangular-plan, forming the northeast side of the courtyard, on ground falling steeply to the southeast. Built in late Scots Gothic/early Renaissance style of outstanding merit with a copper-domed observatory tower, it incorporates a late 16th to early 17th century doorpiece. Construction is squared and snecked whinstone rubble with sandstone dressings to first and second floors over stugged ashlar ground floor. Moulded dividing courses and a decorative eaves course, corbels, deeply chamfered arrises, stone transoms and mullions characterise the design.

The southeast tower is three-stage, square-plan with an engaged round tower to the west angle (described below) and a lower tower with caphouse to the northwest. The first stage southeast has a 16th century arch with diamond-faceted pilasters, strapwork capitals, carved voussoirs and drop-keystone with decorative wrought-iron gates, set into an elaborate doorway with carved zodiac panels flanking a cusped basket arch with two small windows between two further carved panels and inscribed 'HIGH SCHOOL' '1888'. The southwest elevation has a window to left and banded stonework higher up with a small bipartite window at centre. The second stage southeast elevation has two transomed bipartite windows to each of three floors. The southwest elevation has a small bipartite window at third floor. The third stage has a crenellated parapet on foliated carved corbels to each elevation, and the fourth stage has a green-domed revolving observatory.

The round west tower has a blind rubble first stage to the southeast elevation; the second stage has a six-light transomed bipartite window at first floor, three-light transomed window at second floor and two-light transomed window at third floor. A polygonal stage above has a small window to southeast, crenellated parapet incorporated into that of the square tower, and a polygonal caphouse.

The northeast Spittal Street elevation comprises nine bays to the left with the tower at outer left. An eight-light canted oriel window at first and second floors at outer right has a carved frieze to the first floor windowhead, thistle detail over the centre of the second floor windowhead and glazed trefoil in a recessed carved pediment breaking the eaves above. Bays two to eight at first and second floors have regular fenestration, with first floor windows transomed and mullioned; bays three, four and five at second floor have oversize four-light transomed windows with carved windowheads breaking the eaves into elaborately carved and finialled semicircular dormerheads with flanking decorative animal gargoyles; bays beyond to right have shallow bipartite windows, with a richly carved panel between bays five and six. A canted corner at outer left (adjoining the recessed tower) has a sculpted female figure in a large decorative niche.

The bays at outer right (the original building) have a slightly recessed tower to left with narrow lights at first and second floor and a polygonal belfry with finialled stone slab roof; two windows flanking a chimney breast at first and second floors of the bays at centre and right.

The southwest courtyard elevation is two-storey, seven bays, with a swept-roof and the tower adjoining at outer right. A slightly advanced full-height entrance bay to right of centre has steps up to a deeply moulded doorway with stepped hoodmould below a roll-moulded cornice, large sundial between floors and small tripartite window with plain frieze breaking the eaves into a segmental pediment with blind panel. Two flanking bays have two closely-set bipartite windows to each floor (small windows to first floor). The penultimate bay to left is gabled, slightly advanced and canted with a tripartite window to each floor, corbelled mock crenellated parapet over the first floor window and glazed trefoil in the gablehead. The bay at outer left has a tripartite window at ground floor and small bipartite at first floor. The adjoining altered original building lies beyond to the left.

Multi-pane leaded glazing to the southwest; four- and six-pane glazing patterns with some coloured leaded upper lights to the southeast. Grey slates. Coped ashlar stacks with cans and cast-iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers.

The interior has dentilled cornice, boarded dadoes and dado rails, vertical panelled timber doors with four-pane fanlights. Four-centre arch stone fireplaces with carved spandrels to the Reception and Scholars Restaurant, and a timber-balustered dog-leg staircase to Rizzios Restaurant.