Bluecoats House

Details

HERTFORD

TL3312NW BLUECOAT AVENUE
817-1/18/11 (East side)
10/02/50 Bluecoats House
(Formerly Listed as:
FORE STREET
Headmistress's House, Christ's
Hospital)

GV II

House, now offices. Mid C18 with C18, C19 and C20 alterations
and extensions. Dark red brick laid to Flemish bond, with
stone dressings. Welsh-slated mansard roof.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys, basement and attic front block: original
3-bay frontage, with later 2 bay addition on north
distinguished by shallow break in facade. 5 windows, 2:3,
first floor, four 6-pane sashes, 1 blank at right, with
shallow reveals beneath shallow red brick rubbed arches, and
with painted stone sills; ground floor with 5 recesses with
stone impost bands and rubbed red brick semicircular arches,
with 12-pane sashes with jowled and scalloped blind boxes, 2
left (northern extension) and 2 right, with entrance right of
centre (original left-hand bay of facade). 6-panel door, lower
2 flush, upper 4 glazed with Arts and Crafts leaded-lights,
and leaded fanlight, recessed in architrave surround, with
projecting early C19 trelliswork porch, with segmental-arched
lead roof, and scrollwork tympanum, raised above 5 stone
steps, lowest with curtail tread, and with C19 wrought-iron
handrail. Basement has sash windows with rubbed, or soldier
arches.
South elevation has 5 bay facade with pediments at each end, 2
window ends and 3 bay recessed centre. Ground floor has
projecting C19 red brick bay window with 4-pane sashes in
sides, two 12-pane sashes in front wood cornice and shallow
hipped Welsh slated roof. Large single storey C19 extension,
brown brick with red dressings in centre, 2 triple light sash
windows, projecting buttresses, above which rises a central
red brick chimneystack with oversailing courses and twin
earthenware pots, and a flat roof with parapet having plat
band brick triple-header modillions and stone coping.
Roof: with 5 lead cheeked dormers with 6-pane flush sashes
above cornice with thin modillions, parapeted with stone
coping at left (north), hipped behind brick pediment with plat
band and thin modillions at right, and brick chimneys (south).
INTERIOR: much remodelled c1900 during conversion to provide
Headmistress's accommodation. Hall has early C20 stair, open


well with moulded newel posts with urn, column, and urn
balusters and moulded hardwood handrail. Left-hand room has
early C19 reeded plaster cornice and reeded wooden dado rail,
mid C19 white marble fireplace; late Georgian mahogany
bookcases, with slender gothick tracery in glazed doors,
built-in either side of chimneybreast. Other ground and
first-floor rooms retain Edwardian fireplaces, some with Art
Nouveau foliated ornament, that in ground floor right-hand
room having a wooden surround with console and dentil cornice
supporting shelf, and an overmantel with a mirror, and dentil
cornice above. Cellar stair retains part of flush-panelled
dado, cellars largely reconstructed for modern storage, but
wine cellar with vaulted roof, and red brick and slate staging
survives. Brick lined area at rear outside C18 wood casement
window, with later insertion of cast-iron glazing bars. Early
C19 cast-iron external stair outside rear door.
Large rear extension includes C19 hall, with modern inserted
first floor, with bold coved plaster cornice, with banded
border to ceiling. To the south of this 2 small study rooms,
with diagonally set corner fireplaces with wood surrounds with
coved architraves and bold curved break front to support
cornice and shelf. Rear (east) room former kitchen, with 2
tall multi-pane mullion and transom windows with segmental
heads.
HISTORICAL NOTE: this building was constructed as the
Headmaster's House, immediately south of the original eastern
dormitory terrace. When the latter was demolished c1900, the
building was occupied by the Headmistress. It was extended
with classroom space and a hall during the mid C19. In 1985 it
was converted to office use after the school had moved to
Horsham, Sussex.
(Turnor L: History of Hertford: Hertford: 1830-: 323-331;
Victoria History of the Counties of England: Hertfordshire:
London: 1902-1912: 491; Royal Commission on Historical
Monuments (England): An Inventory of the Historical Monuments
of Hertfordshire: London: 1910-: 113-4; Hope Bagenal: The
Georgian and Post Georgian Buildings of Hertford: 1929-:
10-11; Hertfordshire Countryside: Morrison J: Bluecoats in
Hertfordshire: Letchworth: 1946-1954: 62-3; The Buildings of
England: Pevsner N: Hertfordshire: Harmondsworth: 1977-: 188;
Page FM: History of Hertford: Hertford: 1993-:
58-9,97,122-30,141-4).


Listing NGR: TL3299712747

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

461260

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Doubleday, AH, The Victoria History of the County of Hertford, (1902), 491
Page, F M, History of Hertford, (1993), 141-144
Page, F M, History of Hertford, (1993), 122-130
Page, F M, History of Hertford, (1993), 58-59 97
Bagenal, H, The Georgian and Post Georgian Buildings of Hertford, (1929), 10-11
Pevsner, N, Cherry, B, The Buildings of England: Hertfordshire, (1977), 188
Turnor, L, History of Hertford, (1830), 323-331
Hertfordshire Countryside in Hertfordshire Countryside, (1946-1954), 62-63

Other
Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Hertfordshire, (1910)

End of official list entry

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