Proposed Board School and Caretaker’s House Upper Lloyd Street, Manchester

A special meeting of Moss Side School Board was held on Wednesday evening to select the plans and designs for the proposed new schools to be erected by the Board in Upper Lloyd Street. Five architects had been invited to send it competitive designs and these were submitted for consideration. The Clerk read the remarks of the assessor upon each set of plans, and it was resolved after some discussion, that the plans marked No 6 be accepted, subject to the small scheme not costing more than £6,200. The successful competitors are Messrs Woodhouse and Willoughby. The complete scheme is estimated to accommodate 1,038 scholars, at a cost of about £9,500. For the present, however, the board propose omitting some portion of the work, the accommodation being for 534 scholars, at an expenditure of about £6,000. The chosen design is planned on the latest pattern of the “central hall passage system,” having the several classrooms completely under supervision by the arrangement of glazed folding partitions. Provision is also made for teachers’ retiring rooms, cloakrooms, manual instruction room, and cookery room, the latter two being in the basement and directly approached from the boys’ and girls’ entrances respectively. Separate entrances are provided for boys, girls and infants and there will be playground accommodation for each. [Manchester Guardian 11 January 1895 page 8]

Moss Side School Board invite tenders for the erection of their new Board School and Caretaker’s House in Upper Lloyd Street. Plans and specifications may be seen and forms of tender and bills of quantities obtained on or after 6 May next at the offices of the architects, Messrs Woodhouse and Willoughby 100 King Street, Manchester. Tenders to be returned by 16 May 1895 [Manchester Guardian Saturday 27 April 1895 Page 4]

(On 22 June 1895 a new scheme was tendered by Potts Son and Pickup. Reasons for the dismissal of Woodhouse and Willoughby are unclear but it would appear that the latter practice was responsible for the scheme as built)

Reference    Manchester Guardian 11 January 1895 page 8 - Woodhouse and Willoughby
Reference    Builder 19 January 1895 page 45
Reference    Manchester Guardian Saturday 27 April 1895. Page 4 (contracts)
Reference    Samantha F Barnes: Manchester Board Schools  page 127-128