High School, Dovecot Park, Selkirk, Selkirk, Scottish Borders

Entry Name: High School, Dovecot Park, Selkirk

Listing Name: High School Lane, Old High School with Boundary Walls, Gatepiers and Outbuildings

Listing Date: 11 December 1996

Category: C

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 390363

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB43759

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200390363

Location: Selkirk

County: Scottish Borders

Town: Selkirk

Electoral Ward: Selkirkshire

Traditional County: Selkirkshire

Tagged with: Dovecote

Description

Dated 1896 with later alterations and additions. Single storey, 3-bay school building with single storey (of same period) outbuildings positioned to SW. Squared and snecked whinstone with red sandstone rough-hewn ashlar with polished ashlar mullions and transoms.

NW ELEVATION: bipartite window to centre. Outer bays slightly advanced and gabled. Tripartite transomed window in bay to left with entrance now to outer right section; flush red sandstone arched lintel above. Bipartite transomed window to centre of bay to right flanked by windows; flush red sandstone lintel arch above bipartite.

NE ELEVATION: 3-bay. Bay to centre advanced and gabled with 2 bipartite and transomed windows with datestone to gablehead. Bipartite window to each flaking bay.

9-pane upper and 4 or 6-pane lower timber sash and case window to each and to each section of multi-partite windows. Slate roof with red sandstone coped stacks; terracotta cresting and decorative slate-hung pyramidal-capped ventilator to ridge of outer right of NW and to centre of NE.

INTERIOR: not seen, 1995.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATEPIERS: rubble whinstone with rubble coping. Square-plan red sandstone gatepiers to N of school with bull-faced bands and coping.

OUTBUILDINGS: of various dates. Later 19th century outbuildings to SW (not attached to building). Single storey range, running NE-SW, and attached to SW by building to perpendicular. Whinstone rubble with red sandstone dressings; harled to part of NW elevation to NE-SW range.

2 sets of double doors to NW elevation of NE-SW range with door to outer right; door to left of range to perpendicular. Slate roof to each-piended to NE-SW range with terracotta cresting; gambrel with terracotta cresting to perpendicular range with metal ventilator to ridge; glazed panels to roof. Later further outbuildings (see Notes).

Statement of Interest

The school is a good example of the building type, retaining its original fenestration and roofing. Modern steps and a disabled ramp have been added, giving admission to the door in bay to left of NW elevation. The school, first opened in 1897, providing 40 secondary-education fee-paying places for children. There was also a small preparatory school. Due to the change in statutory school- leaving age, firstly in 1918 (raised to 14 years), in 1945 (to 15 years) and in 1972 (to 16 years), school accommodation had to be rearranged. In 1918, the entry to the High remained competitive and those who failed the admission exams had to stay on at the Primary school at Knowepark. In 1945, there was a merging of the education for the older children at Knowepark and at the High School and further accommodation was provided in prefabricated buildings near to the High School. Moves were afoot to concentrate the secondary education for Selkirk at one site, in 1948. A site was found and bought at Byethorn, near to the High School and the first stage of the building of the new High School was completed in 1959, being finally completed (to provide accommodation for 600 pupils) in 1973. The High School building is now used for primary school education.

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.