More information : Croft Infants School was designed by the architect George H. Widdows (1871-1946) and was completed in 1908 It was one of a large number of new schools built to Widdows' designs by Derbyshire County Council in the early 20th centruy. Derbyshire had the greatest percentage increase in population in the country in the 1890s, particularly due to the growth of the coal mining and textile manufacturing communities in the east of the county. Widdows had come to Derbyshire in 1897 as Chief Architectural Assistant to Derby Corporation. Following the 1902 Education Act, responsibility for schools in the county passed to Derbyshire County Council. In 1904 Widdows was appointed architect to the Council's Education Committee. In 1910 he was appointed Chief Architect to the Council, although schools remained his predominant concern. By the time he retired in 1936, he had designed some sixty elementary and seventeen secondary schools.
Widdows was at the forefront of the movement to build schools in which high standards of hygiene were as important as educational provision. The first major conference on school hygiene was held in 1904, and in 1907 the Board of Health brought in legislation which required schools to become subject to regular medical inspections. Widdows worked with his Medical Officer, Sidney Barwise, and two deputy architects, C. A. Edeson and T. Walker, to develop a series of innovative designs introducing high levels of natural daylight and effective cross ventilation in schools. His designs, in a neo-vernacular style, were characterised by open verandah-style corridors linking classrooms with generous full-height windows. His distinctive and influential plan forms were based on a linear module which could be arranged in different configurations to suit the size of school required and the shape of the available site. This was a significant move away from the standard Board School plan introduced by E. R. Robson, with its central assembly hall and classrooms to three sides.
The advances Widdows made in school planning were recognised by his contemporaries. In an article on provincial school building in 1913, The Builder stated that his work 'constitutes a revolution in the planning and arrangement of school buildings... a real advance which places English school architecture without a rival in any European country or the United States.'
The present list description identifies the building as having been completed in 1900. The school is described as follows: 'Junior school. 1900 by G Widdows. Red brick, pebbledashed over sill height with stone, brick and tile dressings. Steeply pitched red plain tile roofs with tall brick vent stacks to rear pitch of roofs. Single storey with attics, X plan with four 4 bays classrooms at 45 degree angles to central 3 bay hall. Front elevation has gabled central hall with stone base to sill level and two stepped, almost full height, buttresses with stone offsets, tile decoration to second stage and tiled gableted tops. These flank central double glazed doors below segmental arch. Similar doors to either side and above a large segment headed 4-light mullion and transomed timber window with tile hoodmould flanked by 2-light timber mullion windows, also with tile hoodmoulds. Diamond tile decoration in gable above. Above to centre of roof ridge is an octagonal cupola with leaded base, louvred arcaded sides and dome top with weathervane. Flanking wings have pairs of 3-light timber mullion and transomed windows with 3-light timber mullioned gabled roof dormers over, to centre and two end bays gabled and with 3-light mullioned and double transomed timber windows below continuous tile dripmould. Diamond tile decoration in gable above. Catslide roofs to ends of gabled bays. Rear wings similar Entrance to rear via low single storey porch with double doors set at angles to corners. Four 3-light windows to front of porch and large hopper heads to gutter decorated with small hearts. George Widdows, who was County Architect to Derbyshire in the early 20th century, was a leading exponent of healthy school buildings, introducing much more light and ventilations into his classrooms '.
The building has already been assessed for listing and is presently listed at Grade II. Recent project work undertaken by English Heritage has confirmed that this building has special interest. However, the date given in the present list description is inaccurate, as the school was not built until 1908. The description has also been updated to include information not available at the time the building was listed, and to make the text compatible with those completed for the thematic assessments. (1)
|