Building record MAB35080 - WELLBRAEHEAD SCHOOL

School, built in circa 1878 and significantly extended in 1908, now disused.

School, built in circa 1878 and significantly extended in 1908, now disused. It is also named 'Wellbrae School'. It is first shown on the 2nd edition OS map as a rectangular building with projecting bays at the ends of the north and south elevations. Current maps show it has been extended to the south-west, roughly doubling the size of the building. The first phase of the school stood behind a terrace of houses which lined Wellbraehead, and was accessed by an alleyway to the east. When the second phase of building took place, three of the houses on the road were demolished to create room for the extension and a larger playground to the south. However, some of the houses were retained, accounting for the way in which the second phase is wrapped closely around buildings to the east of the school plot. The first phase of the building to the north is single-storey with a U-plan north elevation with hood-moulded, round-arched louvred openings to the gables and a small later lean-to addition. The second phase of the building adjoins to the south and extends further west than the first phase. It is also single-storey, with Scots Baronial and Arts and Crafts detailing. The principal elevation is to the south, with projecting gabled wings a flanking thee-bay section with a central gable. The building is mostly constructed from stugged squared Sandstone, with bull-faced snecked rubble to the south elevation. There are stugged quoins and margins to the first phase, with smooth ashlar quoins and tabbed window margins and dressings to the second phase. The windows feature stone mullions. Most of the gables from the second phase have a moulded string course and vertical moulding intersecting the gable apex. The west elevation features gabled porch and a single-storey round tower with a finialled conical roof forming the main entrance in the north-west re-entrant angle. It had predominantly pitched graded slate roofs (now mostly collapsed) with stone moulded skews and several round and square ridge ventilators. It closed as a school in 2008, and part of the building was used by the Forfar Community Church. A level 2 standing building survey was carried out by Headland Archaeology in 2012 prior to conversion to residential flats. No significant architectural features were recorded within the building as these had been masked by modern fixtures and fittings. A fire on 22 October 2016 gutted the interior and collapsed most of the roof.

Period Notes
built in circa 1878 and significantly extended in 1908. Listed on 23/11/2004.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2012, WELLBRAE SCHOOL, FORFAR, ANGUS: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORKS: HISTORIC BUILDING RECORDING LEVEL 2, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB4399.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2012, WELLBRAEHEAD PRIMARY SCHOOL, FORFAR: HISTORIC BUILDING RECORDING, SBS report (Bibliographic reference). SAB4393.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2013, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 13, 2012, p.30 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5487.

Author unknown, n.d., STV NEWS WEBSITE, 24/10/2016 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1755.

Record last edited

Mar 4 2020 4:29PM