The Abbeydale Board School

 

An inscribed gate pier at the entrance for boys

The former Meersbrook Bank Board School does not have much architectural merit and, after spending less than 10 minutes taking general photographs of the various elevations that I could see from the public footpaths, I dropped into the Sheaf Valley and, crossing the river, I soon arrived at the former Abbeydale Board School.

 

The Abbeydale Road elevation

I had by now visited 35 of the Sheffield Board Schools, in addition to the Central Schools based at Leopold Street, and this was the last of the schools that I would see - except for the outlying Fulwood Board School – which was designed by C.J. Innocent.

 

A general view looking up Glen Road

 

The school was built in a very plain architectural style in three phases, 1890, 1893-94 and 1895, using the usual Crawshaw Sandstone from Crookes for walling, with presumably Stoke Hall stone from Grindleford in Derbyshire for dressings and coarser local gritstone for the inscribed gate piers.

 

An inscribed gate pier at the entrance for girls

With the school closed for the summer holidays and workmen on site, I took advantage of the open gates on Glen Road to have a quick look at the front elevation of the original school building but, as with very many of Innocent’s later works, there were no signs of his extravagant detailing.

 

A view along the Abbeydale Road elevation

 

I then walked up Glen Road to have a look at a later extension, which was built immediately to the west of the first school building, with a similar plain architectural style and the same combination of sandstones for the walls, dressings and gate piers.

 

A general view along Glen Road

Again, there are no architectural details of any great merit and, moving a little further up Glen Road, the most interesting feature is the apparent absence of a pitched roof on the westernmost building. The school is not listed and lacks a Historic England description, nor is there any reference in Building Schools for Sheffield and, having taken a few general photographs, I continued with my walk along Abbeydale Road.

 

The westernmost building