Former Capel Dewi School

Cadw's description

Location

At the south side of the B4300 in the village of Capel Dewi, freestanding in a large stone-walled playground with iron gates.

History

A school built in consequence of the 1870 Education Act. The east entrance was for girls and the west entrance for boys. The main part of the building was a single classroom for juniors, and the crosswing facing the street was for infants. Walls dividing the boys' and girls' playgrounds are shown on the 1905 map. The school is now a village hall under the Community Council.

Exterior

Slightly asymmetrical single-storey building in informally coursed rockfaced local sandstone with local limestone dressings. The dressings include quoins, the plinth offset course, and window and door openings. The windows throughout are a dominant feature of the design, of mullion and transom type in limestone-dressed openings, each light more or less square and divided into four panes. The plan is T shaped, consisting of a larger and a smaller classroom, with a porch at each side of the crosswing. The girls' porch at left is in the angle, the boys' porch at right is against the gable wall. Slate roof with ornamental crest ridge tiles and decorative timber bargeboards.
The front elevation features the gable of the forward crosswing and the porches. Three-lancet crosswing window in a plate of limestone, under a broad pointed arch. Timber transoms divide the lancets into two or three lights. Side of the girls' porch at left: small square 4-pane window. Front of the boys' porch at right: deep door recess with pointed arch. Ledged, framed, braced and battened Gothic porch door.
The left elevation has a triple lancet window similar to the front elevation, and a similar girls' porch entrance. The right elevation has a high level circular window in the gable, divided into nine lights by paired mullions and transoms. The rear elevation is of three nearly square windows each with a mullion and a transom.

Interior

The porches are paved in black and red quarry tiles, and some original coathooks survive. Large plain main classroom of three bays, with ceiling at collar-beam level, the trusses partly exposed. Smaller classroom of two bays, with some original dado remaining. Built-in original wall cupboards in both classrooms. Interior doors of four or six panels with chamfered frames.

Reason for designation

Listed as a well-preserved and good example of an 1870-Education-Act village school.