Halifax High School

Details

679/0/10307
26-APR-05

HALIFAX
OXFORD ROAD
Halifax High School

II

School, 1882 with additions in 1894 and 1977, designed by Richard Horsfall, in coursed dressed stone with slate roofs, over two storeys plus basement.
PLAN: Ground floor, built on a site sloping from west to east, north-south axial central corridor with classrooms to either side, 1894 block at 45 degree angle to south, joined by octagonal staircase tower. First floor assembly hall, end staircases, basement covered playground now enclosed.
EXTERIOR: Main facade to east: lower ground floor 12 bay covered playground with arches now blocked, each bay with small-paned metal framed window, string course and batter to ground floor, ground floor has four bays each with 2-over-6 mullioned and transomed window defined by pilasters and topped by full dormer with round window, separated by pairs of transomed 4-light windows, single windows at each end. The top light of each window has decorative leading and swivel opening. To each end of main block, a three storey block with boys and girls entrances, each floor with central 8-light window as in main block, flanked by 4-light as in main block. Above top (first) floor, full dormer similar to those on main block, in hipped roof. Between these two, a continuous row of wooden framed clerestorey windows above roof of ground floor, with four evenly spaced half-dormers. At each end of building, 2-storey (ground and lower ground) block which at north end forms main entrance and at south end links to 1894 extension. North entrance block: ground floor door approached up a flight of 6 steps, door flanked and topped by windows, divided by decorative pilasters, dormer above as on main front, three windows to each side as on main front, small windows to lower ground floor, hipped roof, 3-over-9 mullioned and transomed window to each side.
Other facades match with addition to rear of boiler house, caretaker's house etc, and links to a C20 set of buildings, not of special interest. To south, link to 1894 wing which is three storey with linking octagonal staircase tower, four bays then two-bay return towards north-east. Overall style similar to the original, with hipped roofs over grouped windows and dormers to end block and outer side, but rather plainer.
INTERIOR: Ground floor: main entrance at north end leading to central corridor running full length of building with classrooms on either side. Mainly original doors, some with original door furniture. Classrooms were originally subdivided to form a cloakroom and storage area with a separate door; most of the doors survive, few of the subdivisions. Original stairs towards each end leading up and down, with wooden handrail and iron balusters. First floor has a classroom at each end and an assembly hall that takes all the space between. Lit by clerestory windows form each side with panelling below and open trusses to roof above. Basement has a further teaching room at each end, former covered playground, now enclosed to form toilet areas. At south end, the former caretaker's quarters, now unused and with one partition wall removed. Also at south end, link to 1894 block containing classrooms along one side of a corridor on ground and lower ground floors, and science laboratories on first floor. Linking corridor to C20 buildings on west side replaces former girls toilet area. All glazing original, and layout little changed.
HISTORY: Built in 1882 in response to the 1870 Education Act, by the Halifax School Board, as a Secondary School. It was initially conceived as a boys school, but the plans were extended to include a girls school before it was built. It cost £6,000, rather more than the initial estimate of £2,000-£2,500. Girls and boys inhabited opposite ends of the building, divided by a glass partition across the central corridor, with separate entrances and playgrounds. Pupils were charged 9d a week, extra for practical chemistry. The popularity of the school made a new wing necessary, built in 1894, to accommodate more boys. In 1895 the school was made free to Halifax children, but in 1900 a court case determined that the 1870 Act covered only elementary education. The Halifax School Board had to meet the costs of the school until the 1902 Education Act introduced universal secondary education.
The Halifax High School is of special architectural interest as a carefully-designed late C19 Board School, one of a small number intended to provide secondary education. The complex made maximum use of its sloping site and was executed with confidence, resulting in a building which has continued largely in its original form for over 120 years .

Legacy

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