The Old School and Schoolhouse

Details

BUCKLAND MONACHORUM BUCKLAND MONACHORUM SX 46 NE 3/80 The Old School and School-house 21.3.67

GV II

3 houses, originally school. Dated 1702, altered later in C18 and in C20 which was probably when the school was converted to a house. Rubble walls with granite dressings. Slate roof hipped at front and gabled at rear. 3 rubble stacks: one lateral projecting from the left-hand side, one axial and one at the rear gable end. A deep rectangular plan likely originally to have been one long school room on the ground floor heated by a lateral stack on the left-hand side, probably also heating the room above which was reached by a newel stairs in a projection at the rear on the right side. The groundfloor was divided into 2 rooms later in the C18 to create a schoolhouse at the rear of the school. In the C20 the school was subdivided into 2 cottages, the larger at the front. The right side of the building is against the churchyard. 2 storeys. The main front addition written at end of this report has symmetrical 3 window hipped facade with central single storey porch. On 1st floor the outer 2 windows are tall 2-light granite mullions with transoms and roundheaded lights with recessed spandrels - extremely archaic style for the date. At the centre is a tall C20 casement window with segmental arched head. The ground floor windows to left and right are identical to those above but smaller and without the transoms. The central gabled porch has a 4-centre stone arched doorway moulded, with recessed spandrels, also very archaic for the date; inscribed on a slate plaque above is "Endowed by Lady Modiford in 1702 repaired and re-endowned by Sir Masseh Lopes 1830; small granite cross on the gable above the porch. At either corner of the front is a diagonal buttress. The left-hand side of the building has C19 6-pane sashes to the right either side of the lateral stack. To the left-hand side is the school house which has 2 early-mid C20 casements with diamond leaded panes; the ground floor left-hand window is in a chamfered stone frame. The right-hand window re-uses a mullion lintel. Between them is 4-centred stone arched doorway. Between the ground and 1st floors is a row of what appear to be curved stone corbels - possibly these are the only surviving evidence of some form of 1st floor gallery. At the right side of the school house to the left on the 1st floor is a single chamfered roundheaded light with recessed spandrels. Below it and to the right is a small 4- centred arched granite doorway. To its right is a rectangular stair projection with a square-headed granite window. Interior: of school has a 4-centred granite arched doorway with roll moulding inside the porch. The main room has a granite framed fireplace with basket arch, double roll moulding and recessed spandrels at the top of each side wall is a corbel table of dressed granite supporting a plain wooden beam the purpose of which is unclear. At the back of the original school is a granite 4-centred arched doorway which led into the school house. The original features of this building - both internal and external - are of a surprisingly archaic style for the date of the endownment and it is possible either that the building is an earlier one or that there features have been reused from an earlier buildings. It is noticeable however that public buildings in Devon of the C17 are often in an arhaic style as for example the Grammar School at Plympton.

Listing NGR: SX4898568364

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

92682

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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