Survey Data
Reg No
16301167
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Previous Name
The French School
Original Use
House
Historical Use
School
In Use As
Apartment/flat (purpose-built)
Date
1865 - 1870
Coordinates
326827, 218437
Date Recorded
01/07/2003
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Terraced multiple-bay three-storey former houses, built 1868. This was converted to a school in c.1870 and is now in use as apartments. The house has an irregular but roughly L-plan. The house is finished in red brick with straw coloured brick dressings in typical Ruskinian Gothic style. Doors are recessed within Gothic arched porches; that to the western most house is set within a lean-to porch. Window openings have shallow Gothic openings with typically two over two timber sash flat-headed frames. To the eastern most houses there are first floor oriel windows which are supported on brackets. The hipped roof is finished with natural slate and cast-iron rainwater goods. The building is slightly set back from the pavement; the garden is now in use for car parking.
Appraisal
Prominently sited at the junction of Sidmonton Place and Novara Avenue this Ruskinian Gothic style former terrace introduces a mildly Venetian appearance to the streetscape. Despite two changes of use this building has retained much of its original charm and character. This is now an increasingly rare example of the genre.