Heritage Statement and Design & Access Statement
Clerkenwell Parochial School Amwell Street, Islington, ec1
Application for Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent
David Gibson Architects February 2014
26 February 2014 Ref.: 0997/140226.it
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Location and Context
Clerkenwell Parochial Church of England Primary School is located in the southern part of the London Borough of Islington within the New River Conservation Area. The school building and the attached former Caretaker’s House are Listed Grade II (see attached ‘list’ description – appendix A). Clerkenwell Parochial is one of the oldest extant school houses in London. If the school is to continue to run effectively and successfully, it must update itself and its surroundings, but without detracting from its charm, identity or historic character.
History
Clerkenwell Parochial School moved to its present site in 1828 for the education of the children in the New River Company and Lloyd Baker estates, then still under construction. The new school building, in a Tudor style and St. Mark's church, in a plain Gothic style, both by William Chadwell Mylne, the New River Company's architect, were precursors of the more vigorously eclectic revivalist styles, which were to become fashionable by the middle of the century.
The Listing
The school was ’Listed' in September 1972, as a ‘building of special architectural or historical interest' under Section 54 of Chapter 78 the Town and Country Planning Act 1971. The listing is at Grade II. There are now nearly 4000 Listed Buildings in Islington, of which all but a handful are Grade II, but many regard this as one of the most important because of its early date, because of its significance in the development of the historic Clerkenwell estates and because it is an unusually well-preserved pre-School Board school, retaining intact most of its original features and early adaptations - one of the few surviving in London.
Extent of London Borough of Islington's Conservation Area 2 (CA2): New River Conservation Area with the site shown in red
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Background to Islington School Rolls
Islington Council’s recently produced ‘Primary and Secondary School Roll Projections Report 2013’ (July 2013) confirms that there has been a stark increase in births in Islington over the last decade, in particular over the last few years. This trend is expected to continue over the coming years. Clerkenwell Parochial School is located in above demographic report’s ‘Planning Area 4’ at the south of the borough. This is the area which is the most adversely affected within the borough, so that very soon, the shortfall of primary places could be approaching 400 in south Islington. For this reason the school has agreed, with encouragement by Islington Council, to take in an additional class for the bulge year starting September 2014.
This application for Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent is for a proposed small extension at first floor mezzanine level to the rear of the school. The extension is to provide the school with about 30 sqm of additional teaching space (1 no. group study room, 2 no. one-to-one study rooms) required to help to facilitate the teaching of the expected larger numbers of pupils at the school.
Design and Layout Proposal
The proposal is for an extension at first floor mezzanine level to the rear of the southern outer bay of the school building, formerly the side-hall entrance for the ‘Girls School’. The extension is proposed as an infill between the main school building to the north and the former Caretaker’s house, now in use as staff rooms and storage space, to the south. The infill will be set back from the existing rear elevation to give the original returns visual superiority. The new infill volume will be located above the existing modern ground floor rear extension containing the girls and boys lavatories. Part of the extension will be located over the rear entrance to the school playground forming a protective external space similar to the current monopitched glazed roof in this location. The extension will remain substantially lower than the eaves lines of both the main school building and the former Caretaker’s House and will therefore be subordinate to its existing historic surrounding.
The new classrooms will be accessed from the existing staircase landing and mezzanine floor corridor and will be at the same floor level. The connection from the existing building into the new study rooms requires the provision of door openings. These will be formed in the locations of the existing windows removing as little as possible of
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the existing walls of the Listed Building and retaining the location of the original openings. Two of the three door openings required are to be formed from the former Caretaker’s House as these walls and window openings are considered to be of a more recent date and of lesser significance than the window openings from the original school building. All windows which are to be replaced are modern uPVC neo-replicas of negative historic value.
Aerial view from west showing the Clerkenwell Parochial School rear elevation
Aerial view from south showing the infill gap between school building and former Caretaker’s House to its south
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The external appearance is to be modern and distinct from the historic host building. The infill volume will have a flat parapet roof and vertically aligned zinc cladding panels to its rear wall. Natural lighting and ventilation are to be provided through openable rooflights to the internal study rooms and through a horizontal window to the outer group study room, placed at high level to avoid any overlooking between the residential block of flats to the rear of the school and the new study room.
Rear Elevation Existing
Rear Elevation Proposed
Access
There will be no alterations of access to this listed building. No change is proposed to the existing arrangements for the following:
Access to the highway Access to public transport Access for pedestrians Access for cycling Parking provision Emergency and access services
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APPENDIX A
List Entry Summary
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Name: CLERKENWELL CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL
List entry Number: 1195458
Location: 25, AMWELL STREET, CLERKENWELL, CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL, AMWELL STREET
County: Greater London Authority
District: London Borough of Islington
Grade: II
Date first listed: 29-Sep-1972
Date of most recent amendment: Not applicable to this List entry.
List Entry
ISLINGTON AMWELL STREET (West side) No.25 and Clerkenwell Church of England Primary School
TQ 3182 NW 635-1/68/28 29/09/72 GV II
Formerly known as: Clerkenwell Parochial School AMWELL STREET. Parochial (Church of England) school. On west side of slope of hill approaching Claremont Square from the south. 1828-1830. By William Chadwell Mylne, Surveyor for the New River Estate. Yellow stock brick set in Flemish bond with stucco dressings; roof obscured by parapet, brick stacks. Tudor Gothic style. Side-hall entrances to outer bays. Two storeys; 11 bays arranged 1:1:7:1:1. Symmetrical facade with recessed centre; projecting flanking bays and recessed end entrance bays. Steps rise to segmental pointed arched entrances surmounted by louvred quatrefoils: stucco panelled storey bands above inscriptions 'GIRLS SCHOOL' to left and 'BOYS SCHOOL' to right; archivolts and hood-moulds to doorways; original panelled door to 'BOYS SCHOOL'. Hood-moulds to mostly replacement pivoting sashes throughout. Nine-light sashes to recessed centre with continuous sill bands, ground-floor sashes taller. Flanking bays with narrower sashes: round-arched set in square-headed openings to ground floor and taller of 21-panes, to 1st floor. Sill and inscribed storey bands beneath 1st floor 12-pane sashes to entrance bays. Stucco band and stone coping to parapets. Attached School Keeper's house (No 25) set back at left (south) end: 2 storeys; 2 bays. Clerkenwell Parochial School was founded in 1700 but has only been in its present location since 1830. (Richardson, J: Islington Past A Visual History of Islington: London: 1988-: 63).
Listing NGR: TQ3118982756
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