Description

John Milne, 1875-6 with large 1938 addition predominantly to E. 2-storey simple Gothic school with octagonal tower with lucarnes on alternate faces (now part-obscured by later addition). Squared and snecked bull-faced sandstone with ashlar dressings. Continuous hoodmould to ground floor, hoodmoulds to some 1st floor windows, stone mullioned windows.

1938 addition: 2-storey mostly regular long elevation to E. Predominantly squared and snecked bull-faced sandstone to base course, harled above. Cill courses, eaves course, large windows.

W (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: to left, advanced single bay gable, to right deeply recessed 2-bay section with entrance door. To far right, single bay gable, to left slightly recessed single bay section with shallow gabled porch with rounded trefoil doorway. To either side of W elevation deeply recessed gables of later addition.

E ELEVATION: 12-bay with single bay gable to left with central dormer breaking eaves.

N ELEVATION: 3-bay section with triple gable dormers breaking eaves, ground floor partly obscured by later addition, to left later addition.

S ELEVATION: 3-bay section with triple gable dormers breaking eaves, to right later addition. 8-pane timber sash and case windows with horns to original building. Predominantly 24-pane metal-framed windows to later addition with pivot openings to top, hoppers to bottom. Graded grey slates with fishscale banding to tower, near-central decorative flêche to W elevation. Iron cresting to tower. Near-central gable stack to W elevation.

INTERIOR: plain but not substantially altered.

RAILINGS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: to W, low squared and snecked rubble wall with gabled coping surmounted by simple hooped railings interspersed by shallow wide piers stepped to either side forming entrances to N and S, wider entrance to far S plainer. To N, high rubble wall with semicircular rubble coping, near-central opening now blocked. To E, large break in wall to N. To S, predominantly high rubble wall with gabled coping.

Statement of Interest

An impressive townscape feature in Tayport, with the tower visible across the Tay, this school is a good example of the work of John Milne. Milne (1822-1904) trained with both John Henderson and David Bryce before setting up his own practice in St Andrews. Historical photographs in Old Tayport show a small change to the entrance to the N of the W elevation. By 1926 the small site chosen for the school was criticised and more room was needed. In 1938 the large addition to the rear of the school was completed. Despite masking the E elevation of the earlier building, it provides an impressive elevation in its own right with views over the Tay. Originally providing both primary and secondary education, the school ceased being a secondary school in 1967.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17805864

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)