Castle School and School house

Cadw's description

Location

Situated just within medieval town gateway, at junction of Castle Street and Bailey Street.

History

1858 British School designed by David Davies of Llanelli, enlarged 1887 by George Morgan for Kidwelly School Board. Original school had boys' entry through front porch, girls' entry through porch in end-wall of rear schoolteacher's house, and one large schoolroom within with small classroom at left end. Schoolteacher's house was part of 1858 design.

Exterior

Squared rubble stone with yellow brick dressings and slate roofs. Single storey. Yellow brick stacks on roof slope to right and on W gable slope. Original building has limestone plinth, W end quoins and coping to shouldered gable. One W window, and four identical windows in S wall with porch between first and second windows. Limestone sills. In 1887 the third window was replaced by a large gable with two tall windows and a cross-wing was added across right end. Porch has coped shouldered gable, yellow-brick Tudor-arched front and grey limestone sides. Ledged door. Original windows have yellow-brick surrounds, cambered heads, 3-light mullion-and-transom glazing with unusual large diamond panes. 1887 window has two very tall cambered-headed small-paned windows with centre mullion and two transoms. Plain bargeboards to gable. Yellow-brick surrounds. Cross-wing has yellow-brick quoins, door with slate pent hood in angle, and triple cambered-headed windows in gable, the centre one larger. Bargeboards to gable. Two-window E wall with side-wall stack.
To rear, facing Bailey Street, is intergrated 2 storey window schoolhouse with exposed masonary including quions to angle and yellow brick dressings. Altered window frames and door. Rendered gabled end.

Reason for designation

Listed a good example of a mid Victorian school built for the British School movement, in opposition to the church-sponsored National Schools. Of group value with the medieval gatehouse.