Building Name

Manchester District School for Orphan and Necessitous Children of Warehousemen and Clerks

Date
1865 - 1869
District/Town
Cheadle Hulme, Stockport
County/Country
GMCA, England
Architect
Work
New build
Contractor
Mr Kay of Stockport

LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE OF THE WAREHOUSEMEN AND CLERKS’ SCHOOLS – Yesterday the foundation stone of the new schools erected near Cheadle Hulme by the Manchester Warehousemen and Clerks, Association was laid by Earl Granville, with considerable éclat. The building is from the designs of Mr E Bates of Manchester and London, and will be after the geometrical period of the Gothic style. The front elevation will have a total length of 188 feet and show three gables, one central, and one at the end of each wing. The height will be three storeys, and at the side of the central gable over the principal staircase will be a tower and spire 120 feet high. The chief approach will be by a flight of steps in the centre of the front, and over this will be an oriel window, filled with chaste tracery. The gables will be finished with enriched projecting barge-boards, terminating with ornamental wrought iron finials. The entrance practically divides the internal arrangements of the building, and the large hall forms a handsome approach thereto. The rooms to the right will be appropriated to the girls, and include apartments for matrons, mistresses, and the school classroom. The wing at the extreme end is to be appropriated to the girls’ schoolroom, and will be 52 feet long by 22 feet wide. That part of the building to the left of the vestibule will be appropriated to the boys, and include, besides the boys’ school  - which will be in the left wing and of the same size as the girls’ school – visitors’ and committee rooms. At the rear of the vestibule will be the dining hall, 40 feet long by 24 feet wide. Separate staircases from each of the schoolrooms lead to the dormitories which form the top storey, and the master’s apartments will be in the centre, over the principal entrance. The boys will have two dormitories, one 44 feet by 21 feet and the other 52 feet by 22 feet; the girls’ dormitory will be 52 feet by 22 feet, and the remainder of that side of the building will be appropriated for the matrons and mistresses. The infirmary and linen room will be placed over the dining room. The servants’ rooms will be in the attics. The upper storey will be supplied with lavatories and the usual appliances. The basement will be appropriated to the kitchen, laundries and bread room, and various kinds of stores, and under the boys’ and girls’ schools will be playrooms for use in wet weather. The staircases which lead to the dormitories will also communicate with these playrooms. The building will be of brick made on the spot, with dressings of Darley Dale stone and bands of blue brick. The front which faces the London and North Western Railway will be decorated with stone carving, and its general appearance will be extremely neat, with a nicely broken outline. The tower and spire will be covered with blue Welsh slates in patterns, and the total cost of the structure will be about £10,000. [Manchester Guardian 29 August 1867 page 3]

The Right Honourable Earl Granville KG, Chancellor of the University of London, performed the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone on Wednesday 28 August 1867. The committee wanted as large an audience as possible and to this end persuaded a number of the leading firms to close their warehouses early. Five special trains ran from London Road Station and a siding was built from the main line to the school site for the occasion. A military band was in attendance. The committee also suggested that flags should be raised on the various warehouses and hotels in the city, to give further éclat to the ceremony.

One of our illustrations represents the Manchester Warehousemen and Clerks' Orphan Schools now being erected in the suburbs of Manchester. It is constructed to accommodate about one hundred boys and girls, and is so arranged that it can easily be extended at a trifling cost. The dormitory and school rooms will be well ventilated and lofty. There will be kitchen, scullery, bakery, play rooms, and other conveniences on the basement floor. The walls are constructed of bricks made on the spot, and are formed with a 2in. cavity in the centre of the wall, the inner and outer brickwork being well tied together with galvanized iron cramps. Darley Dale stone dressings are freely introduced, and the front entrance is approached by a handsome flight of stone steps. We believe the total cost will be under £10,000. Earl Granville laid the foundation stone a short time since. Mr Ernest Bates, of London and Manchester, is the architect. [Building News 7 February 1868 page 94]

OPENING OF THE WAREHOUSEMEN AND CLERKS’ SCHOOLS – On Saturday afternoon the new building at Cheadle Hulme, in which a gratuitous education will be afforded to the children of deceased warehousemen and clerks, was formally opened by the Earl of Ellesmere, in the presence of a large company. The site, measuring five acres, adjoins the London and North Western Railway, which the building faces. The building is of three storeys, and is brick faced with stone. Its appearance from the railway is that of a plain substantial structure, well suited for its purpose, and neatly finished, though without any display of ornament. It is adapted for the accommodation of 120 children, and has cost, including the land and furniture, about £13,000. Its present inmates number 50, viz 34 boys and 16 girls who were brought from Ardwick on Wednesday. The architect was Mr Ernest Bates, and the builder Mr Kay of Stockport.[Manchester Guardian 9 August 1869 page 3]

THE WAREHOUSEMEN AND CLERKS’ SCHOOLS – The new building at Cheadle Hulme, which was opened on Saturday, is of Gothic design, and built of red bricks, made on the ground, with Darley Dale stone dressings. It consists of three storeys, a basement which is on a level with the ground, main and dormitory floors. It is planned in the form of a parallelogram with a wing projecting from it at the back, opposite the principal entrance. The main floor is approached by two flights of steps to the chief entrance and opens to  a large hall opposite which is the dining room, capable of holding one hundred children; behind this is a room which at present is used as a serving-room, but in case of future extension of the building it is intended to be added to the dining room. From the hall a corridor runs right and left from end to end of the building, terminating with staircases leading to the children’s dormitories. In the corridor in the right wing, which is the side set apart for the girls, are the principal stairs, matron’s sitting room, matron’s store room, mistresses sitting room, schoolroom and children’s staircase. Over these rooms are the girls’ dormitories, lavatory, matron’s mistresses and master’s bedrooms. In the corresponding half of the building, or left wing, which is set apart for the boys, and leading out of the corridor, are the committee, visitors’, and master’s rooms, school and class rooms, and staircase. Over these are the lavatory and two large dormitories. The rooms in the basement under the main floor are appropriated respectively to the boys and girls, each having a lavatory, boot-room and play-room, to be used in wet weather. The larder and servants’ hall are placed under the main entrance. Under the dining room are the kitchen, scullery, bread room, wash-house and laundry; and over it are the infirmaries, a division being run down the centre separating the boys from the girls. In each infirmary are a bathroom and conveniences, convalescent room and dormitory, capable of holding six beds. There is a lift communicating between the kitchen and these rooms which is also available for the dining room. Sleeping accommodation is provided in the attics for the servants. The principal portion of the building is heated by warm water, from an apparatus which is placed on the basement, behind the laundry, at the back of the main building. As only a few of the bedrooms and sitting-rooms occupied by the officers of the institution have fire places, hot and cold water are laid in the children’s lavatories, both in the basement and dormitory floors, the water being supplied by the Stockport Water Company. Gas is supplied throughout the building. The corridors and hall on the main floor are elaborately tiled. Behind each wing and separated by the dining room, are the children’s play grounds, which are well sheltered and capacious. Between them, and behind the dining room, it is intended to erect a large swimming bath to be used by the children, the foundations of which are already put in. In addition to these playgrounds, a skating ground and cricket field are provided for the boys. The building throughout has been so arranged that all communication (except by the matron) between the boys and girls is cut off. No more ornamentation has been employed, either in the exterior or interior, further than would give expression and importance to an institution of this character; and with reference to the internal arrangements, every possible consideration has been given to its utilitarian requirements. The architect is Mr Ernest Bates of this city. [Manchester Guardian 10 August 1869 page 7]


Reference    Manchester Guardian 27 May 1867 Page 3 (Contracts)
Reference    Manchester Guardian 23 August 1867 page 1 – classified ad
Reference    Manchester Guardian 29 August 1867 page 3 – foundation stone
Reference    The Builder 1867 :669.
Reference    Building News 7 February 1868 page 94 and illustration
Reference    Manchester Guardian 9 August 1869 page 3 - opening
Reference    Manchester Guardian 10 August 1869 page 7
Reference    Pevsner Cheshire. Page 129