Entrance Gateway and Walling to Former Christs Hospital Site

Details

HERTFORD

TL3212NE FORE STREET
817-1/17/95 (North side)
10/02/50 Entrance Gateway and walling to
former Christ's Hospital site

GV II

Gateway with piers, gates, footgates and attached walls,
including continuation of wall eastwards along Fore Street
frontage. Late C17/early C18, with C20 replacement elements.
Wrought-iron gates in Portland stone piers, architraves and
copings to red brick, laid to Flemish Bond, with overburnt
headers; continuation of wall in orange-red brickwork, also
Flemish Bond, with buttresses, plat band, and tumbled brick
coping.
Square piers either side of the central gateway have plinths
with torus mouldings, caps with oversailing cornices, above
which are moulded bases, each surmounted by a statue of a
Bluecoat Boy in uniform, fibre-glass replicas of the original
cast-lead statues which were removed in 1986. The piers have
inner responds, with small scroll volutes, to which are
attached wrought-iron gates, with intermediate scrollwork
band, and scrollwork tops with raised centre, on their outer
flank. The piers are joined to the copings of the adjacent
walls by large scrollwork volutes, with brick responds below,
having stone band and plinth block. At left and right are
footgates, with recessed wrought-iron gates with intermediate
scrollwork bands corresponding to those on the main gates, set
in banded architrave surrounds with carved cartouche keyblocks
bearing the City of London arms. The left (west) side of the
wall, which has a plain stone coping, is truncated by The
Lodge (No.131, Fore Street (qv)). To the right it continues
for an additional bay, with a recessed panel, and flush
plinth, and plat band below coping. Beyond this the wall
continues eastward at a lower level for approx 25m.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the gateway is the axial entrance into the
Christ's Hospital site, acquired in 1683. It is recorded that
the statues were set up in 1689, although the piers may have
been rebuilt in their present form in the early C18. The
courtyard beyond was originally flanked by dormitory terraces
at either side with the School Hall placed on the axial
termination at the far end. The original dormitories were
demolished c1900 and replaced by 8 dormitory houses in 1904-6.
These were converted to office use after the school vacated
the site in 1984. The name 'Bluecoat Court' commemorates 301
years occupancy of the site by Christ's Hospital, 1683-1984.


(Turnor L: History of Hertford: Hertford: 1830-: 323-331;
Victoria History of the Counties of England: Hertfordshire:
London: 1902-1912: 491; Hope Bagenal: The Georgian and Post
Georgian Buildings of Hertford: 1929-: 10-11).

Listing NGR: TL3297912720

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

461341

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Doubleday, AH, The Victoria History of the County of Hertford, (1902), 491
Bagenal, H, The Georgian and Post Georgian Buildings of Hertford, (1929), 10-11
Turnor, L, History of Hertford, (1830), 323-331

End of official list entry

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