Whilst travelling through Crewe earlier this year with my exploring friend we took a wrong turn and immediately spotted what looked like a nice big derelict Victorian school. However the sheer volume of people on the residential streets that surround the school on all sides meant the extremely public quite awkward access wasn't the best course of action to take on a busy Saturday afternoon. Nevertheless I pencilled it in on my location map after finding out what it was.
Fast forward a month or so and me and the same friend decide to hit it early in the morning when much fewer people would be awake or about. Getting in was as awkward as we thought but once over the wall the building was wide open.
I'd never seen photos from it prior to this, in fact I don't think it had been covered before but needless to say I was very pleasantly surprised as it was a total crapshoot as to whether it'd be worth it or not. It's my favourite Victorian school I've done, the outside was especially beautiful but me being me I forgot to take an external shot as normal so you'll have to make do with a nicked one from Google.
The school was built in 1875 following the 1870 Education Act, and was extended in a similar style shortly afterwards. There was a small modern extension built within the last couple of decades. The building is large for a Victorian primary school and holds some special architectural features such as a couple of beautiful rose windows. Inside it is almost unchanged since construction with the high vaulted ceilings on the upper floor and original tiling (painted over
) on the lower floor. It closed in 2008 when the school moved into a new building, and between 2008 and 2010 was taken over by South Cheshire College as a temporary site whilst their new college was being built. Since 2010 it has lain empty, but recently was sold with conversion into apartments seemingly on the horizon if the large banner outside was to be believed.
Thanks for looking
Fast forward a month or so and me and the same friend decide to hit it early in the morning when much fewer people would be awake or about. Getting in was as awkward as we thought but once over the wall the building was wide open.
I'd never seen photos from it prior to this, in fact I don't think it had been covered before but needless to say I was very pleasantly surprised as it was a total crapshoot as to whether it'd be worth it or not. It's my favourite Victorian school I've done, the outside was especially beautiful but me being me I forgot to take an external shot as normal so you'll have to make do with a nicked one from Google.
The school was built in 1875 following the 1870 Education Act, and was extended in a similar style shortly afterwards. There was a small modern extension built within the last couple of decades. The building is large for a Victorian primary school and holds some special architectural features such as a couple of beautiful rose windows. Inside it is almost unchanged since construction with the high vaulted ceilings on the upper floor and original tiling (painted over
) on the lower floor. It closed in 2008 when the school moved into a new building, and between 2008 and 2010 was taken over by South Cheshire College as a temporary site whilst their new college was being built. Since 2010 it has lain empty, but recently was sold with conversion into apartments seemingly on the horizon if the large banner outside was to be believed.
Thanks for looking
