Reasons for Designation
* special architectural interest as a mature school design on a monumental scale by TJ Bailey, distinguished by its rich-detailing in buff terracotta;
* the school survives very well and there have been very few alterations;
* Huts 1-4 in the playground are the best surviving examples on the site of a paired arrangement of relatively rare temporary classrooms erected here in the early C20;
* the site illustrates the contrast between the architectural exuberance of Edwardian board school design and the early use of functional, flexible structures to accommodate pupils;
Details
786/0/10187 GRANGEHILL ROAD
24-JAN-08 Gordon School and Huts 1-4 in the sout
h west corner of the playground
GV II
Board school, 1904, by TJ Bailey for London School Board and four World War I temporary huts in the playground, both with minor later alterations.
SCHOOL EXTERIOR: Three storey red brick building with buff terracotta dressings and gabled and mansard roofs of tile. It has tall brick chimneys and white-painted timber sash windows (all of which are sympathetic replacements of the originals). There are separate entrances for boys, girls and infants with terracotta surrounds and inscribed lintels; the stairs and railings leading up to the entrances on the west elevation are original, those on the east elevation, the canopy and ramp are late C20. The elevation to the east has a projecting and sharply pedimented centre and wings, the centre having channelled terracotta quoins and small windows set back with two high arches. An ornamental round window at second-storey level on the left-hand wing has below it a terracotta cartouche with the legend 'Erected Anno Domini 1904'. The west front has a central range with widely spaced windows for the halls and a raised mansard roof above. Slightly lower links join this to gabled and pedimented wings, that to the left with a second oculus and cartouche. The position of the two staircases, flanking the hall, is identified by terracotta cladding, semi-circular windows with terracotta voussoirs and balustraded parapets. The north and south fronts are much shorter and simpler.
SCHOOL INTERIOR: The interior is largely unchanged and retains its original plan, glazed lights above the doors between the hall/corridors and the classrooms, and brick-lined stairs. There is a hall and eight classrooms on each floor and these are largely in their original use, although there has been some subdivision of the third floor hall and some classrooms. There is a fourth floor attic storey containing what are likely to have been drawing classrooms.
HUTS: In the playground are Huts 1-4, corrugated iron clad huts with timber framing, which are included in the listing. Huts 1-4 were originally arranged in pairs, linked by a corridor at the southern end, but they are now linked as a four through the extension of this corridor. Huts 1 and 2 have tall sash timber windows partly in a dormer and the others have timber windows below the eaves line. Several of the huts have had doors inserted into the gabled ends. Inside the huts are mainly large open spaces with timber plank clad walls and metal roof trusses; some have been subdivided to create extra rooms at one end.
HISTORY: Gordon School opened in 1904, educating infants, boys and girls of primary school age on the ground, first and second floors respectively. The school was built to the designs by Thomas Jerram Bailey (1843-1910), the architect to the London School Board in this period. By the early C20, Bailey's buildings were typically very large, often of three storeys, with a symmetrical composition which included turrets or towers containing staircases and gabled elevations. Some buildings - such as the Gordon School - show how Bailey's style moved towards the Baroque idiom in the Edwardian period.
Further accommodation was added shortly after the school was built in the form of several corrugated iron huts in the playground. The date of the huts is unclear, but Huts 1 and 2, located at the south-western boundary of the playground, certainly predate 1916 when they appear on the Ordnance Survey map. Records in the London Metropolitan Archives reveal that huts were moved to the Gordon School site in 1916 to provide school places for children from the nearby estate at Well Hall, built by the Government for munitions workers from 1915. Although the other playground huts only appear on the 1949-50 Ordnance Survey map, the similarity to Huts 1 and 2 in their construction and plan suggests that they were also moved here in 1916. The London County Council Education Committee minutes record that places for an extra 665 children were provided at the Gordon School huts and those at a second school nearby; this certainly suggests that more than two huts were erected on the site during World War I.
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The Gordon School and four of the World War I huts in the playground should be listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* special architectural interest as a mature school design on a monumental scale by TJ Bailey;
* the school is distinguished by its rich-detailing in buff terracotta which includes Wrenaissance-influenced round windows and two foundation plaques;
* the school survives very well and there have been very few alterations;
* Huts 1-4 in the playground are the best surviving examples on the site of a paired arrangement of relatively rare temporary classrooms built in the early C20.
* the site illustrates the contrast between the architectural exuberance of Edwardian board school design and the early use of functional, flexible structures to accommodate pupils.
