More information : This school is being assessed for listing as part of an English Heritage thematic survey of the surviving schools designed by George Widdows in Derbyshire in 1906-1936. George H. Widdows (1871-1946) is nationally acknowledged as a leading and influential designer of schools in the early 20th century. He was appointed as architect to Derbyshire County Council's Education Committee in 1904, and in 1910 became Chief Architect to the Council. By the time he retired in 1936, he had designed some sixty elementary and seventeen secondary schools. Nine of these have already been listed.
Widdows responded to concerns about health and hygiene in schools by developing a series of revolutionary plan forms which introduced cross ventilation and natural daylight. His schools are characterised by open verandah corridors and large expanses of glazing, including hopper and pivot windows. There are four characteristic plans for the elementary schools built to his designs before 1914. The earliest was the 'marching corridor' type; only five schools were built to this experimental and rather expensive plan. The second type was linear in form, with a larger classroom at each end and often a freestanding hall with linking corridor to the rear. The third type was the most dramatic, a butterfly-shaped plan with pairs of classrooms leading from the corners of a central hall. The fourth type was designed for irregularly-shaped sites and had a corner hall, octagonal in plan. Widdows' designs for elementary schools in the inter-war period were often based on a collegiate system of quadrangle plans. His secondary schools were larger ensembles and tend to have a greater architectural presence. Assessment of these schools takes into account architectural quality and the extent to which the surviving fabric represents Widdows' design innovation in a national context.
New Bolsover Primary School was said to have been built in 1935 as a senior girls' school, however it appears on the OS map of 1918 and is clearly a pre-WWI school. It is constructed of red brick, with a clay tile roof. The plan is U-shaped. There have been a number of large extensions built to the rear. The exterior is extremely plain, with uniform cross-gables and two tall stacks. The school does not appear to have any verandah corridors. The windows have been comprehensively replaced with UPVC.
This school is not typical of the work of George Widdows; the plan form does not conform to any of his pre-WWI types, and there are no verandah corridors. The exterior lacks any distinctive architectural quality. Considering the dullness of the design, it is questionable whether this school is by Widdows at all. It has suffered from considerable extensions, and the loss of all the window joinery is significant. This school does not have special architectural or historic interest on a national level and does not fulfil the criteria for listing. (1)
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