St. Mary's Primary School, Walkley
Location/Address
Cundy Street, Walkley, Sheffield, S6 2WJ
Type
Description
Formerly known as Burgoyne Road School.
[Description from Victorian Society South Yorkshire Group, Building Schools for Sheffield, ALD Design and Print 2021]
Opened in 1881, this was Innocent and Brown's last joint commission (Brown died in 1881). Built for 934 it was extended in 1889 to 1224; at under £11 per place it was one of the most economical of the Boards schools. It was a local authority school until 1975. In 1978 St Mary's Church Primary School moved into the Cundy Street side of the premises, which it still occupies. In the late 1990s [sic; the relevant planning approval was in 2007] the rest was refurbished as apartments.
Both buildings are of cream stone with grey slate roofs and red ridge tiles. The two storey block on Burgoyne Road has 4 arched windows above a stone string course, one arch now extended an entrance to apartments; rectangular windows above, with shouldered stone lintels. A cross-wing extends behind. Another, larger range stretches across the site. Plain in design, it is of 2 and 3 storeys, on the slope of the hill, with the caretaker's house tucked on the lowest level. The window pattern resembles that of the two-storey block with mainly arched windows to the lower floors of the east elevation and the first floor of the end wall. The north, Cundy Street elevation has a double gable with a big arched recessed window in each; between, twin chimney stacks join at the top to form a bellcote, its stonework forming a cross very like that at Langsett Road. A projecting wing at the rear has a diagonally-placed chimney stack; of two storeys, it is built out from the down-slope, over an arched passageway. Beyond it is a single-storey extension block.
The original boundary walls and some inscribed gateposts survive, as do some walls segregating the play areas, and some original railings. An open sided roofed play yard retains its cast iron columns.
Sheffield has one of the best collections outside London of schools of the period. Of about 64 built between 1870 and 1914, 46 survive and 28 of them are still schools. Sheffield School Board was the first in the country to start building a school, although its opening was delayed until January 1873. They are significant, often monumental, structures which were intended to make a social point and did so with great effect. The Board adopted a distinctive approach. Nearly all the schools are of local stone (much of it Stoke Hall), and they are often positioned on rising ground or hilltops for maximum impact, the design requirements imposed from above tailored to the site in a typical Sheffield fashion. They attracted some external criticism for being "costly and magnificent", although after 1881 cost pressures made this less apparent.
C J Innocent was appointed Surveyor and Architect to the Board in 1871, and the partnership of Innocent and Brown built 19 of the first 21 schools. Brown died in 1881, and the Board dispensed with a contracted architect 1881, although Innocent went on to design six more as a freelance. Innocent and Brown published "Illustrations of elementary schools" in 1873, in which they advocated "picturesque grouping of parts rather than … a redundance of ornament or enrichment" and "distinctive external features as should express the purposes and the means of their erection". Their predominant style was "English Domestic Gothic", which may have invited comparison with religious architecture. Their schools exhibit trademark features not generally adopted by other architects, including large window arches often with double or triple windows; herringbone stonework above windows or in gables; slender bell turrets; externally-expressed stair towers; varied roof lines; and the Board arms, school name and date in small letters below a string course or around an apsidal feature.
Statement of Significance
Age
Built 1881, extended 1889.Rarity
School buildings are by their nature only constructed in limited numbers. As one of 46 surviving School Board schools in Sheffield, Burgoyne Road (St. Mary's) is of moderate rarity.Architectural and Artistic Interest
The school is by Innocent and Brown. C J Innocent was a noted Sheffield architect who established his reputation as Surveyor and Architect to the Sheffield School Board, and was also architect of the Montgomery Hall (1884). The school is notable as the last to be built before Brown's death and the Board deciding to dispense with a contracted architect in 1881. It illustrates some features of the Innocent and Brown house style, including the large arched windows and bellcote, but also shows the increasing cost pressures of the time in having very little ornament, even given their aim to avoid "a redundance of ornament" (an exception being the surviving decorative iron ventilation grilles). The use of rock-faced stone is also characteristic of their style, and that of the Sheffield schools in general. The school also demonstrates a use of a steeply-sloping site in a manner very typical of Sheffield, and fully realises the aim of using the topography for maximum impact. The original boundary walls and some inscribed gateposts survive, as do some walls segregating the play areas, and some original railings. An open sided roofed play yard retains its cast iron columns. It is not known how much original interior detail has survived.Group Value
There is very considerable group value with the other 45 surviving Sheffield School Board schools, many of which are listed.Historic Interest
Sheffield School Board was the first in the country to start building a school in response to the 1870 Act, and their buildings are a striking record of the immense social changes of the period, including the universalisation and standardisation of education. The schools are also a highly visible response to the rapidly expanding population and housing area caused by Sheffield's industrial prominence and success.Archaeological Interest
It is not known what potential exists for below ground remains.Landmark Status
This school is an extremely prominent local landmark, being positioned on a sloping site so that it towers above the surrounding terraced housing. It is immediately recognisable as the focus of a community. As a school, it will have had a very significant formative effect on huge numbers of local residents and be an important component in all their personal histories. As it still largely serves as a school, this communal value and impact continues.
.jpg "St%20Marys%20Primary%20School%20Walkey%20(Terry%20Robinson).jpg")
Date Listed
15 Aug 2022
Last Updated
16 Jun 2022
Comments and Feedback
Do you have any questions or more information about this record?
Insert Image
.jpg){kind=link}
Drop file here or click to browse device for file.