Tonyrefail School

Tonyrefail School

School in neo-Georgian style, constructed of red brick with prominent stone dressings under hipped slate roofs, with brick stacks. The building has a two-storey, square plan with ranges around two courtyards divided by an assembly hall.

The eastern front, facing the main approach, is symmetrical with advanced central and end bays. The eaves cornice is dentilled, with a sill band at ground floor level and a plinth with chamfered stone coping. The advanced bays have shallow buttresses flanking central openings, small gablets above with chamfered stone copings, and grey stone bands marking the eaves level. The front elevation has eight windows on each storey, each an eight-over-eight-pane horned sash with an eight-pane ventilating light above. Lower storey windows have gauged brick heads; upper storey windows rise to the eaves. Two ridge stacks are symmetrically placed to either side of the central bay.

The central entrance has Tuscan columns in-antis with ringed capitals and bases supporting an entablature. The entablature reads "Tonyrefail / Secondary School". A recessed moulded stone doorcase with cornice supported on scrolled brackets with foliate bosses and egg and dart moulding contains double panelled half-glazed doors and a mosaic floor. The inscription "Ned Dysc Heb Foes" appears below. Above is a tripartite window in the same style as elsewhere with a ribbon bearing the Glamorgan shield, GCC and the date 1931. Stone tablets fixed to the flanking buttresses, inscribed in English and Welsh, record the opening of the school on 18th September 1933. Beyond the buttresses are multi-pane cross windows to each storey and raised brick banding to the angles. The end bays have a sash window to each storey.

The northern side has two narrow advanced entrance bays on left and right in similar style to the front. Each has a plain stone doorcase with cut-away top angles and the inscription "Merched", containing double panelled partly glazed doors. Above each doorway is an inset stairlight with corbelled stone sill, a twelve-over-sixteen-pane horned sash with ventilating light above, under a gablet. A large ridge stack is positioned on the left. The elevation between the bays is eight-window, four-window to the left, and three-window to the right. The bottom right window is partly infilled with brick and two ventilating lights have been replaced with plain glazing.

The southern side mirrors the northern side, except that the entrances were for boys and there is no stack. The right doorway now leads to temporary buildings housing science laboratories.

The western rear consists of three blocks with hipped roofs. In the centre is a single-storey gymnasium, slightly advanced, with swept eaves. It has six windows of tall eight-over-twelve-pane horned sashes with ventilating lights above. The flanking blocks are two-storey and eight-window, continuations of the side elevations, with lean-tos at ground floor level. The arrangement of openings varies slightly, reflecting different teaching rooms for boys and girls. The girls block is three-window, then five-window. The boys block is four-window and four-window, with a brick eaves stack between them from the former metalwork room foundry. Low lean-tos with pitched roofs flank the elevation to each end, each containing a planked door and shallow three-light window (these were storage sheds for groundsmen). To their inner sides are flat roofed single storey blocks, each four-window, then three-window. Open metal fire-escape staircases, original features, lead from the roofs of these bays from doorways under first floor windows, though these were replaced in the late 20th century.

Internally, the school is divided by the assembly hall, a single-storey five-window range of yellow brick under a slate roof with red brick beneath a flat stone sill band. Other detail includes a flat stone impost band, wide boarded eaves and multi-pane cross-windows.

The courtyard elevations are two-storey, consisting of low red brick walls with chamfered stone copings on which cast iron columns support the gallery. Lower storey columns have been encased in uPVC, with uPVC glazed infill between them and double doors in original positions. Upper storey iron columns with ringed capitals are exposed, along with open metal balustrading of plain uprights with a central panel of diagonal members to each section. Above the balustrading is uPVC glazing.

Inner double doors lead to the entrance hall, which has a three-bay panelled ceiling divided by moulded cross beams. The beam between the second and third bays is supported by two Tuscan columns forming a screen, beyond which a corridor runs north and south. Straight ahead are two identical round-headed doorways leading into the assembly hall, containing double panelled half-glazed doors with overlights in moulded wooden surrounds with panelled soffits. Small pane glazing with armorial stained glass (the Glamorgan shield) features in the doors and coloured margin glazing appears elsewhere. Doors to rooms and to corridors off the entrance hall are in a similar style, with flat heads and armorial stained glass. These rooms had an administrative function and included the head teacher's office. A coloured mosaic floor with a circular motif in the centre bearing the Glamorgan shield is complemented by coloured mosaic dado and deep ceiling cornice.

The assembly hall has a five-bay segmental-vaulted ceiling with recessed panelling, beneath which late 20th century theatre lighting is attached. At the western end is a stage with proscenium, pilasters supporting a dentilled entablature and triangular pediment. The stage front is panelled, with panelled doors to its sides. Wide pilasters between windows and dentilled ceiling cornice, which is a continuation of the entablature, with panelled dado below. Original iron radiators and blockwork floor complete the space.

Corridors leading off the entrance hall surround the courtyards and were originally open. The side walls are of yellow brick above a stone sill band with red brick below. Detail includes panelled doors (some double, some half-glazed), and windows in a similar style to the exterior. The rooms nearest the entrance hall were staff rooms and retain small fireplaces with wooden surrounds, and cream tiled dado with grey frieze. Beyond them are classrooms with coloured glazed dado tiling, blockwork floors, panelled boarded ceilings, picture rail and original radiators. The staircases adjacent to the eastern side entrances are of stone dog-leg design with plain iron balustrading and moulded wooden handrails.

On the western side, the gymnasium is in the centre and is also accessible from the assembly hall. It has a panelled boarded ceiling and retains much original equipment including parallel bars. Flanking the gymnasium are cloakrooms, girls to the north and boys to the south, with glazed brown tiling, beyond which are the toilets. Both cloakrooms and toilets retain many original fittings and detail.

The upper storey is similar to that below with yellow brick side walls and half-glazed panelled doors, but many rooms are larger. They include a library with wooden panelling in the north-east corner, science laboratories to the east, art rooms to the north, a needlework room to the north-west and a metalwork room to the south-west.