St. Peter’s Council School, Bath Street, Hereford

HEREFORD NEW SCHOOL - This block of buildings was opened by the Mayor on Friday, the 22nd inst. The school, which was won in competition by Mr. Noel Barker (of the firm of Messrs. Lingen Barker, & Son, of London and Bristol), has been carried out under the personal supervision of the architect. The plan, which is on the central hall system, provides accommodation for 400 boys; ultimately two other schools for girls and infants are to be built. The architect has adopted means for securing sunny classrooms (seven in number), and left lighting for the scholars, and arranged that all the class¬ rooms are entered from the central hall and are under the direct supervision of the head teacher, he being enabled to see from his desk into every classroom by means of “ inspection ” windows. A head teacher’s room in proximity to his desk in the central hall, and an assistant teacher’s room, with storerooms to each, has been provided. There are two principal entrances and an emergency exit at the further end, which also communicates with the head teacher’s room. Four of the classrooms are separated by Stone’s patent folding partitions. The ventilation is on the “natural system.” A golden-brown glazed brick dado is put everywhere, the walls above where not “blackboard” surface, being “adamant,” with blue distemper. The flooring is of pitch pine wood blocks, except in the corridors, which are granolithic. The building is of local red brick and faced with pressed brick, and relieved with buff terra-cotta bands, the dressings being also of terra-cotta. The roof is covered with brindled Broseley tiles. A thorough system of low-pressure heating has been supplied, the contract being let to Messrs. King & Co., of Liverpool. The sanitary fittings have been supplied by Messrs Twyfords and Company. The builders were Messrs. Wilks and Son, of Hereford. [Builder 30 September 1905 page 348]

COUNCIL SCHOOL, HEREFORD - The new St. Peter’s Council School, in Bath-street, Hereford, was opened on the 22nd ult. It has been planned on the central hall system, and the whole building is of the hipped roof description, the central hall, besides having side windows, being gabled to allow for the proper lighting and ventilating of the classrooms. All the roofs are roofed with brindled Broseley tiles. The sizes of the respective rooms in feet are :—Central hall, 50 by 30 ; three classrooms, 25 by 25 ; two classrooms, 29 by 20 ; two classrooms, 25 by 20. The teachers’ rooms are 14 by 10. The flooring of the whole building is of pitch-pine wood blocks, with raised galleries for the back-row seats in the classrooms. Granolithic has been used in the paving of the outer porches, etc. The heating chamber is below the assistant masters’ room, and was put in by Messrs. John King, Ltd., of Liverpool. The new school has seating accommodation for 400 boys. The walls are formed of a glazed brick brown - tinted dado, above which they are plastered with Adamant plaster. All round the rooms at a convenient height the walls are treated to form a continuous and permanent. blackboard. All the classrooms and assembly hall are ceiled to the collars. The walls are coloured with French grey. The lighting of the building will be provided by incandescent light. Provision has been made for cloak and cap room, all the pegs being numbered from one to 200 in both the senior and junior divisions of the school, Compo-board partitions for economy of space have been used here. There are two other rooms—the headmaster’s room with an adjoining store-room, and an assistant master’s room, together with another storeroom. The desks are of the dual form and of pitch-pine. The brick work is of local fancy bricks, the windows, with mullions, heads and sills, and the string courses being of a biscuit-coloured terra-cotta. There is a playground, tar paved, surrounded on the one side by an unclimbable iron fence, on two other sides by walls, and in front by an ornamental iron railing on a dwarf brick wall. Another addition is an open play shed covered with Broseley tiles. Twyford’s latrines have been adopted. Altogether the structure, with its furnishings, will cost about £6,000. Mr. E. W. Wilkes, builder, Hereford, carried out the work from plans prepared by Mr. Noel Barker, architect. [Builder 7 October 1905 page 372]

Reference    Builder 30 September 1905 page 348
Reference    Builder 7 October 1905 page 372