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Archaeology Wales Tonyrefail Comprehensive School, Tonyrefail, Rhondda Cynon Taff Level 3 Historic Building Recording By Aurea Izquierdo Zamora BA (Hons) Report No. 1542 Archaeology Wales Limited The Reading Room, Town Hall, Great Oak Street Llanidloes, Powys SY18 6BN Telephone: 01686 440371 E-mail: [email protected] Archaeology Wales Tonyrefail Comprehensive School, Tonyrefail, Rhondda Cynon Taff Level 3 Historic Building Recording Prepared For: Opus International (UK) Consultants Ltd. Edited by: Mark Houliston Authorised by: Mark Houliston Signed: Signed: Position: Managing Director Position: Managing Director Date: 12/1/17 Date: 12/1/17 By By Aurea Izquierdo Zamora BA (Hons) Report No. 1542 January 2017 Archaeology Wales Limited The Reading Room, Town Hall, Llanidloes, SY18 6BN Tel: +44 (0) 1686 440371 Email: [email protected] Web: arch-wales.co.uk CONTENTS Non-Technical Summary ....................................................................................................... 1 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 2 2 Site Description ..................................................................................................................... 2 3 Archaeological and Historical Background ........................................................................... 3 3.1 Tonyrefail Comprehensive School: Map Regression .................................................... 4 4 Building Recording Methodology ......................................................................................... 6 4.1 Aims and Objectives ...................................................................................................... 6 4.2 Scope of Fieldwork ........................................................................................................ 6 5 Tonyrefail Comprehensive School: Building Recording Results .......................................... 7 5.1 Description of External elements ................................................................................... 8 • Frontal (east) façade ....................................................................................... 8 • Girls’ (north) and Boys’ (south) façades ........................................................ 9 • Rear (west) side ............................................................................................ 10 • The Courtyards ............................................................................................. 10 • The Roof ....................................................................................................... 11 5.2 Description of internal elements .................................................................................. 11 • Ground Floor ................................................................................................ 12 • First Floor ..................................................................................................... 14 6 Discussion and Interpretation .............................................................................................. 16 6.1 Reliability of Field Investigation ................................................................................. 16 6.2 Overall Interpretation ................................................................................................... 17 7 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. 18 8 References and Bibliography ............................................................................................... 19 List of Figures Figure 1 Location map, 1:500,000 Figure 2 Location of site, 1:10,000 Figure 3 Location of site, 1:2,000 Figure 4 OS map, c. 1850s edition Figure 5 OS map, c. 1930s edition Figure 6 OS map, c. 1950s edition Figure 7 Original Agreement Documents from 1925 Figure 8 Architects Plan for Heating Installation from 1932 (Ground Floor) Figure 9 Architects Plan for Heating Installation from 1932 (First Floor) Figure 10 Plan of existing ground floor with number and direction of shots taken from exterior Figure 11 Plan of existing rooms within ground floor, phases, plate numbers and shot direction Figure 12 Plan of existing rooms within first floor, phases, plate numbers and shot direction Figure 13 Plan of existing roof and exterior views, plate numbers and shot direction Figure 14 View of existing different types of windows Figure 15 View of existing different types of doors Figure 16 Elevations of Frontal (E) and Rear (W) sides Figure 17 Elevations of Girls’ (N) and Boys’ (S) sides Figure 18 Map with Cadw Listed Buildings within Tonyrefail Community List of Plates Plates 1-41 Exterior views and details of the building Plates 42-103 Interior views of the building, ground floor Plates 104-142 Interior views of the building, first floor Plates 143-150 Views of roof and courtyards Plates 151-161 Views of building and surrounding areas List of Appendices Appendix I Figures Appendix II Plates Appendix III Report of Cadw Listed Buildings within Tonyrefail Community Appendix IV Archaeology Wales Specification Appendix V Archive Cover Sheet Copyright Notice: Archaeology Wales Limited retain copyright of this report under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, and have granted a licence to Opus International (UK) Consultants Ltd. to use and reproduce the material contained within. The Ordnance Survey has granted Archaeology Wales Limited a Copyright Licence (No. 100055111) to reproduce map information; Copyright remains otherwise with the Ordnance Survey. Non-Technical Summary This report results from a Historic Building Recording survey by Archaeology Wales Ltd. (AW) of Tonyrefail Comprehensive School, formerly Tonyrefail Secondary School, at Tonyrefail, Rhondda Cynon Taff, for Opus International Consultants (UK) Ltd. The work was undertaken on the advice of the curatorial division of the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust on behalf of Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council. The proposed development of the site includes the refurbishment and supplementation of the existing Grade II Listed Building (Cadw ref.: 24282). This work has a potentially significant impact on the historic fabric of the building. This Historic Building Recording has been produced to meet a condition for discharge of Planning Application No. 16/0062/34. The Historic Building Recording assesses a full record of the elements of cultural, historic, architectural and artistic interest, by means of descriptive, drawn and photographic records, as required for a Level 3 survey. The development site is located to the southwest of Tonyrefail, a settlement that is likely to date back to at least 11th century. Tonyrefail was originally a rural hamlet, but evolved into an industrial village during the 19th century. The Grade II Listed Building, Tonyrefail Secondary School, was built during 1931-1933 by the County Architect D Pugh Jones. It is currently located on the eastern side of the school complex and is referred to as the ‘lower school’. The ‘middle’ and ‘upper’ schools are comprised of more recent buildings and are located elsewhere within the school complex. The school has a rectangular plan that is divided into two reflected squared blocks, with the girls to the north and the boys to the south. These are arranged around two courtyards, which are divided by an assembly hall, a drama studio and a gymnasium, set along a central axis. The school was built with red bricks in a neo-Georgian style and comprises two storeys, with a portico in the east. It was constructed with a slate-tile roof. An additional modern building, not listed, was built close to the south side of the main building and was formerly linked to it by a corridor. However, this is no longer in use. Tonyrefail Comprehensive School has undergone only minor alterations, with just a few features modernised and altered during its lifetime. The most structurally significant are the incorporation of fire exit metal staircases at the rear of the building, and new internal partitions in some of the larger rooms, both on ground floor and first floor levels. The school has been listed as a particularly fine example of the work undertaken by County Architect D Pugh Jones during the interwar period, with the interior being noted as having particular merit because of its attention to detail. This report summarises the architectural characteristics of the building and provides information on its archaeological and historical background. It includes an applied methodology, the results of the survey, interpretations and pertinent conclusions. 1 1 Introduction This report has been prepared by Archaeology Wales Ltd (AW) in response to a request by Opus International (UK) Ltd. (the ‘client’) to undertake a Level 3 Historic Building Recording survey of the Grade II Listed Building Tonyrefail Comprehensive School (Cadw Ref.: 24282), as a condition, prior to the planned redevelopment of the building and the site (Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council, planning application number 16/0062/34). Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust – Curatorial Division (henceforth GGAT), in its capacity as archaeological advisors to the local planning authority, recommended that Level 3 Historical Building Recording is undertaken prior to any alteration work being undertaken. The work was set as a condition of the planning application decision, which states: ‘No development including structural