Saint Osyth Road Infants School (EHER 81234)

St Osyth Road Infants School was a former Board School built in 1893 to a design by TH Baker. It is constructed of red brick with slate gable roofs adorned with 8 timber and lead cupolas and a larger bell turret. The school is L-shaped in plan and is single storey with an off centre hall from which corridors lead to separate entrances for boys and girls. Although there have been some late 19th and 20th century alterations some of the original doors remain and the plan-form appears largely unaltered. The school closed in 1990 and is now used as an adult education centre. The school was assessed for listing in 1997 and 2010 but failed to meet the required criteria.

Information from NRHE data transfer. Clacton was a hamlet in the Domesday Book of 1086 and remained a small, principally agricultural village near to the sea until in 1864 railway engineer and entrepreneur Peter Bruff bought land to establish a seaside resort. The town grew rapidly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Map evidence of 1876 shows the site of the school as open fields, but by 1893 the school, road infrastructure and rows of terraced housing had been constructed. The building appears little altered, although there has been some infill construction at the rear, a small extension at the front and ramps introduced to ensure disabled access. However, some classroom windows appear to be of a later date and there has been some limited interior remodelling and replacement of doors in the later 20th century. The school apparently closed in the 1990s, and is currently used as an adult education centre. A former Board School of 1893, by T H Baker. Red brick laid in English bond with slate gable roofs adorned with 8 timber and lead cupolas and a larger bell turret. 'L' shaped in plan, single storey with an off centre hall from which corridors lead to separate entrances for boys and girls. All elevations have gables with pebble-dash treatment, semi-circular brick detailing and dentil cornices. All windows have stone lintels and cills; the larger classroom windows are casements with wide glazing bars, probably of 20th century date whilst some original sash windows are evident on the side and rear elevations. Each range has projecting gables at both or one end and are surmounted by the small decorative cupolas of which there are eight in total. The principal range aligned east-west is adorned by the central bell-turret and adjoined to the north-south range by a smaller entrance lobby at the north-east corner marked for girls with the boys entrance at the west elevation. Both are marked by diminutive Dutch gables with that over the boys entrance containing a small roundel with the words 'Board School' in the apex. Classrooms are located on either side of the corridors and hall and have plain interiors. The Headmasters' room is adjacent to the boys' entrance at the west and has a plain cornice. The hall and corridors have a late 19th century timber floor laid in herringbone pattern and moulded plaster dado rails. The exposed ribs of the roof structure in the hall are supported on simple corbels. Some of the original doors remain and the plan-form appears largely unaltered. Former St Osyth Road Infant School was considered for listing in 1997, but assessed as having insufficient architectural quality to be recommended for designation, a view endorsed by the Secretary of State. For buildings which date from after 1840 progressively greater selection is necessary when considering designation. After 1870, when Board Schools and state funding for school buildings were introduced, a greater number were constructed and in addition to architectural quality, planning and date, preservation and intactness are important considerations. The St Osyth Road school is one of the later Board Schools built and although largely intact with the exception of the replacement of some windows has a robust, but unremarkable treatment. Although the cupolas and gables add some interest to the roof-line and elevations, overall the building falls short of the architectural quality required for schools of this date. Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that it is unusual or innovative in its plan-form and although the former school has local interest, from a national perspective it does not have sufficient quality in design or craftsmanship to merit designation. The former St Osyth Road school does not possess sufficient special architectural interest to fulfil the listing criteria for buildings of this type and date. <1>