RAMSEY ABBEY SCHOOL

Overview

Heritage Category: Listed Building

Grade: I

List Entry Number: 1156544

Date first listed: 01-May-1951

Date of most recent amendment: 08-Jun-1983

Statutory Address: RAMSEY ABBEY SCHOOL

Location

Statutory Address: RAMSEY ABBEY SCHOOL

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

National Grid Reference: TL2918585041

Details

TL 2885-2985 RAMSEY 12/23 1.5.51 Ramsey Abbey School (Formerly listed as Ramsey Abbey)

I

Formerly a country house built on the site of the Benedictine Monastery. Now a comprehensive school. The surviving 6 bays of the C13 Lady Chapel form the basement of a house built in circa 1600 with a central hall and cross-passage to the west. In 1804-6 Sir John Soane (1753-1837) extended and modernised the house for the Fellowes family by adding a large tower block to the west and a symmetrical north facade.

Edward Blore (1787-1879) refurbished the interior and added the parapets and new south entrance porch with other Elizabethan Revival details to the facades in 1839. The service wing to the west was added shortly after.

Built of ashlar with modern plain tiled roofs with medieval walls and buttresses and Barnack stone.

North Entrance Facade by Soane. Original circa 1600 building extended to west by matching 4-storeyed tower and linked between with new facade of 3 storeys and central round ended entrance lobby. Flanking towers have angle buttresses of 3 stages, wooden mullion and transom windows reducing in height at each floor with cornices and incised line decoration to plain architraves. Six window ranges at first and second floor of diamond leaded lights with stained glass at heads in 2 centred arches and lightly chamfered reveals with incised line details at lable position. Porch with 2 similar windows has a half-glazed double door in a 2 centred moulded arch with an apex mask.

South Garden Facade of 4 storeys includes the basement. Attributed to Blore with original Lady Chapel walls, and buttresses with tabled offsets and shop chamfered angles. Asymmetric plan, unified by pierced parapets similar to garden terrace wall. Skyline broken by small corner turrets, finials, and tall shafted stacks. Tower block to west with staged angle buttresses has a 4-storeyed bay window. Two storey porch approached by balustraded steps continued to form a first floor terrace on either side of the main entrance. Half-glazed double oak panelled door shaped to round-headed arch of Ketton stone, architrave with key block and spandrels. To east, 4-storeyed, gabled, bay window. Windows all with ovolo mullions and transomes, some with labels.

Service Range to West dressed limestone, plain tile roof. Three storeys. West gable with parapet and finial. Corbetted projection at first floor with small parapet gable and finial. Ground floor and first floor ovolo moulded wooden mullioned and transomed windows with small hung sash windows. Second floor hung sash windows have splayed stone mullions and architraves. Two internal ridge stacks with 4 shafts and common ashlar entablatures

Interior : C13 Lady Chapel has an internal wall arcade of moulded trefoiled arches partly damaged and destroyed by later alterations. All the buttresses are visible at this level. The north facing hall window of the Elizabethan house recently uncovered at first floor level. The Soane arcades of the corridors to the north have plain, round-headed arches defined with fine incised lines. The main staircase, library, dining-room buffet recess, and their plastered ceilings are by Blore.

Listing NGR: TL2918585041

Legacy

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

Legacy System number: 54420

Legacy System: LBS

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.