Tyne and Wear HER(13489): Jarrow, Field Terrace, Jarrow School - Details
13489
S Tyneside
Jarrow, Field Terrace, Jarrow School
Jarrow
NZ36SW
Education
School
Secondary School
Modern
C20
Demolished Building
Jarrow Secondary School was designed by Fred Rennoldson of South Shields, who also designed the Grade 2 listed Council Offices in Jarrow. The school opened on 5 October 1911 at a cost of £25,000. The headmaster was A.R. Stevens. It could accommodate 125 girls and 125 boys. 50% of the places were free in order to accommodate the children of local shipyard workers. In 1945 the school became Jarrow Grammar School. A continuous roof light was added to the main range between 1938 and the 1950s. Two prominent chimneys have since been removed. A large extension was built to the east in the late 1950s. In 1967 the school became known as Springfield Secondary School. An additional bay was added to the rear east wing. Former pupils include Jack Cunningham, politician, Stephen Hepburn, the present Jarrow MP and Alan Price, musician. Teaching staff included Claude Robinson, author, who was involved in the Jarrow March, and James Mitchell, television playwright. The school site is bounded by low brick walls with stone coping (railings removed). Entrance gates are flanked by tall brick pillars. There is a two-storey range facing north, a single-storey east wing and a two-storey west wing. The rear courtyard is occupied by extensions and temporary classrooms. The school is of Tudor Gothic design. It is built in red brick with ashlar dressings under pitched slate roofs with prominent chimney stacks. There is a central entrance with an arched portico. The main elevation has mullioned and transom windows and a castellated tower. This is flanked by a plainer section with gables and end chimneys, fixed paned and sliding sash windows. Inside the main range retains its double height assembly hall lit by large windows in the north wall, alternating with pilasters. There are similar openings in the south wall in two tiers, which allow viewing into the hall from adjacent corridors. Those at the first floor have wooden balustrades. The hall has a plaster ceiling supported on large decorative corbels, pierced by later rectangular light wells. The library has simple plasterwork, a tiled fireplace and a rear stair to the hall's east gallery. The headmaster's room has a plain cornice. The decorative scheme is largely painted plaster and glazed tile. A corridor runs the full length of the range giving access to classrooms, science laboratories and stores. The girls entrance was to the east end, the boys to the west. The first floor plan echoes the ground floor. Jarrow School was put forward for listing in 2009 but was not added to the list. English Heritage's listing advice report concludes that although Jarrow School is well-built with a well-proportioned main elevation and a good combination of red brick and ashlar dressings; overall there is a sense of formulaic, which combined with the innate austerity, represents a fairly typical example of such schools of this date. The school was demolished in March 2010 but was recorded beforehand.
3279
6428
NZ32796428
English Heritage (Listing) Advice Report, 18 Jan 2010; S. Davies, 1989, The Evolution of a Jarrow Senior School in Durham County Local History Society Bulletin 43; A. White, undated, 'A Brief History of English Grammar' in Halls of Learning or Chambers of Torture? A light hearted look at some of the schools of South Tyneside; Ian Farmer Associates, 2007; Jarrow School, Field Terrace, Jarrow - Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment; The Archaeological Practice Ltd, 2009, Jarrow School - Historic Buildings Record