Description

SD 88 SE BUCKDEN OUGHTERSHAW

2/48 Former school
and chapel

- II

School and chapel, now house. Dated 1856. Probably by John Ruskin for
Charles Woodd, in memory of his wife Lydia Wilson Woodd. Coursed limestone
and gritstone blocks in contrasting bands, graduated stone slate roof. A
rectangular single-storey building with 3 windows on the south side and an
entrance bay on the east end. East end: a massive round arch of 2 orders,
with imposts and dripmoulding, provides a full-height porch. Within is a
shouldered-arched board double door with large strap hinges decorated with
elaborate leaf motifs. Flanking attached columns support the arch with
contrasting coloured voussoirs and the tympanum below has a chi-rho symbol
in relief and inscription: "LYDIA WILSON WOODD AT PAU 16 JUNE 1856 AGED
32". South side: 3 windows composed of paired round-headed lights with
colonette. A bellcot with corbelled cover to right. Moulded stone
guttering on plain brackets; shaped kneelers and gable coping with cross
finials. West end: a 3-light window as south front, circular plaque with
4-petal motif to gable. The south and east walls are decorated with
fossiliferous marble plaques of diamond, shield and circular shapes.
Interior not inspected at resurvey. The building post-dates the
publication of Ruskin's "The Stones of Venice" (1851 and 53). Ruskin made
frequent visits to the north of England in the later 1850's and was
aquainted with the Woodd family of Oughtershaw Hall. The family archives
include letters from Ruskin regarding the school. In his "Stones of
Venice", Ruskin emphasised the horizontal layering of masonry and the link
with geology and advocated bold chamfers and outlines, with deep recessed
openings. All these features are displayed in the school at Oughtershaw.
R. Dixon and S. Muthesius, Victorian Architecture, 1978, p201.
A. B. Woodd, personal communication.

Listing NGR: SD8705581486

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26603071

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)