Board School, Derby Street,. Rochdale

ROCHDALE BOARD SCHOOL —The School Board offered premiums for the best designs for schools to accommodate 500 children, at a cost not exceeding £10. per scholar. There were thirty-eight competitive designs sent in, and from these, after many sittings, the Board selected two. The design which has secured the first premium, and which is to be adopted for the school, is that marked "Utility," and is by Messrs. Mangnall and Littlewoods, of Manchester. In this design the mixed school for boys and girls is situated on the south side of the site in Derby-street, and is 54 ft. 6 in. long, by 22 ft. wide, and 20 ft. high, with accommodation for 120 scholars, allowing 10 ft. of floor-space for each scholar. Directly communicating with the schoolroom are four class-rooms, two of which will accommodate 55, and the others 35 scholars each, allowing 10 ft. of floor-space for each scholar. Three of the classrooms will have large openings, and be fitted with a revolving partition, communicating with the school-room, so that the master will have visual control over these rooms, al- though in the school. Hat and cloak rooms and lavatories are provided for each sex in immediate connexion with the entrances, which are separate for each sex. The infant school is situated at the north end of the site, in Derby-street, the principal approach being from this end. The school is 44 ft. long, 22 ft. wide, and 20 ft. high, accommodating 120 children, allowing 8 ft. of floor-space for each child. The elevations, it is stated, will be faced with stock bricks, with masonry sparingly introduced where most required to throw off the water. Red terra-cotta ornamentation is also proposed to be introduced. [Builder 19 February 1881 page 229]

NEW BOARD SCHOOLS, ROCHDALE - The Rochdale School Board, in January last, advertised for competition drawings for the erection of new schools to accommodate 500 children, and the appeal was responded to by about thirty-eight architects. The committee, after consideration, selected the design with the motto "Utility," by Messrs Mangnall and Littlewoods, architects, Manchester, who were instructed to procure estimates and carry the work out. The contract has been let to Messrs. Peters & Son, builders, Rochdale, and the amount will be under £5,000, including fittings and architects' commission. We give view and plan. The mixed school for boys and girls is situated at the south end of the site in Derby-street, and is 60 ft. in length by 20 ft. in width, and 20 ft. in height, and accommodates 120 scholars, allowing 10 ft. of floor space for each scholar. Directly communicating with the school-room are four class-rooms, two of which will accommodate fifty-five, and the other two thirty-fire scholars each, allowing 10 ft. of floor space for each scholar. Hat and cloak rooms and lavatories are provided for each sex in immediate connexion with the entrances. The infants' school is situated at the north end of the site in Derby-street, the principal approach being from this end. The school is 48 ft. in length, by 20 ft. in width, and 20 ft. in height, accommodating 120 children allowing 8 ft. of floor space for each. Two class-rooms, each accommodating forty children, communicate directly with the school-room. A white- glazed brick dado, 4 ft. high, will go round each school-room and class-room, which will have a pale green tinted band of another colour at the top and bottom. The ceilings to each school will be splayed on each side. The roof principals, being exposed to view, are in pitch-pine, varnished. The boys' and girls' latrines are situated ad- joining to the west boundary wall, and will be on the dry-earth closet system, properly ventilated. The infants' latrines are situated near to the back school-entrance, and are approached by a covered passage. The schools and class-rooms are to be heated by hot-water pipes. A louvered ventilating - shaft is fixed on the roof over each school, and communicates with openings in the ceiling regulated by doors which open and close with pulley and cord. Fresh air is introduced every few feet along the walls of each school, at a height of about 7 ft. above the floor, by means of Sherringham's ventilators, and foul air is to be let out at the ceiling level through Boyle's talc ventilators. The windows are also adapted for the free admission of fresh air by the simple plan of hanging the top part to fall inwardly (regulated by cord and pulley), and the lower part, being sashes, afford means of cleaning. The elevations are faced with stock bricks, with masonry sparingly introduced where most required to throw off the water, namely, to stringcourses and Bills and the upper part of cornices; the rest of the ornamental work will be executed in red terra-cotta. The roofs will be covered with green Welsh slates fixed to yellow pine sawn battens. The ridges are of red Staffordshire crested tiles. The internal joiner's work, such as doors, etc., is to be of pitch pine, varnished. [The Builder 27 August 1881 page 266]

Reference    Builder 19 February 1881 page 229
Reference    Manchester Guardian Saturday 12 March 1881 (Contracts)
Reference    Builder 27 August 1881 Description Page 266. Plan and Perspective- Page 272, 273