Headlands School

Cadw's description

Location

At bend in road near junction with John Street. Aligned roughly NE-SW with entrance front facing NW.

History

Built 1868 as 'Penarth Hotel' by Taff Vale Railway Company; cost ú27,000. Similarities with Marine Buildings (Dock Road) suggest possibly same (unknown) architect involved. Bought and presented to National Children's Home by widow of Major J A Gibbs in memory of her husband who was killed during First World War (official opening July 1921). Building was a nautical training school known as the J A Gibbs Home; subsequently renamed The Headlands School.

Exterior

Four storeys over basement; seven bays. Two attached parallel blocks with lower block to left (NE). Grey stone (rusticated basement), bathstone dressings, quoins, copings, some banding and quoins in Radyr stone and red brick, course of blue bricks below cornice. Slate roof; prominent chimneys in red brick with yellow brick banding on bases of blue-grey bricks. Attic storey has alternating single windows under triangular pediments and paired windows under segmental pediments with ball finials; cast iron grilles with 'TVR' monogram. Beneath cornice, second floor has seven windows with bathstone architraves. First floor has tall windows; outer windows have square heads and cornices, central five bays alternate triangular and segmental pediments; red brick banding above pediments; cast-iron balconies to odd-numbered bays; central window has balcony over ground floor porch; red brick banding over pediments and cornices.
On ground floor, central porch with Corinthian pillars (cornucopiae in spandrels, heraldic shield over), double panelled doors. Porch flanked by paired round-headed windows, then segmental-headed windows, then paired round-headed windows; red brick band course continues above windows.
To L, two storey block (3 bays) in matching materials (upper storey added circa 1930). Upper storey has three square headed windows; ground floor (former ballroom) has group of three round-headed windows as in main block, but with blue brick aprons.
Elevation to R two gables; broader R gable has projecting chimney; doors and windows in similar mode to main elevations. Two storey porch (ground floor partially obscured by later additions and fire escape), round-headed first floor windows, camber-headed windows and door on ground floor.
Elevation to L has first floor French door (iron balcony) flanked by sashes. Ground floor five bays, round headed windows (central pierced stone balcony). Four segmentally-headed windows to basement.
At rear, five bays, three to R set back with in attic storey, central two-light widow with segmental pediment flanked by single light windows with triangular pediments. Three windows to second floor with stone architraves. Central bays of first and ground floors have semi hexagonal bay (square-headed windows on first floor and segmental heads on ground floor). Bay flanked on first floor by tall windows with architraves and on ground floor by paired round headed windows. Projecting section to L has at attic level, two-light widow with segmental pediment, and to R pair of small segmental-headed windows. On second floor, to L, single and to R paired square-headed windows.
On first floor, to L two storey semi-hexagonal bay; to R paired square-headed windows. On ground floor, bay to L and paired round-headed windows. In return to R, door with segmental head (Taff Vale Railway arms over). Two storey block to R of main block with windows as front.