Ryhope, Church of England Village School

The former Church of England village school was built in 1898. An attractive and charming building in red brick with a slate roof with ridge tiles. A typical Victorian colliery village school. It is presently disused. The school was initially constructed between 1898-1900, designed to be utilised by 229 children. It had
separate entrances for boys and girls, and initially had the mistress’ school house within the western wing.
The school is a standard example of a colliery village national school, constructed out of red brick with a slate roof. By 1919, mapping shows us that the overall external layout of the school had been established to what we see today. In 1938, plans were submitted to extend the school: further plans were submitted in 1939 but no work took place. Very little alteration has been undertaken on the structure, bar standard repair works and the blocking of a door in the northwestern elevation that was likely the original entrance to the mistress’ school house. However, all of the ‘fixtures and fittings’ such as windows, doors,
down-pipes and guttering have been replaced by modern alternatives. Internally, the structure has seen almost all of its original fixtures removed, with only the chimneys in the western wing still in-situ, though all of the fireplaces themselves throughout the building have been removed. Recorded in 2016 ahead of demolition.