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Summary

Description

James Davidson, dated 1906. Single-storey, 13-bay (arranged 3-7-3), roughly square plan primary school with Renaissance detailing, on ground sloping to S (principal elevation); mid-20th century flat-roofed lavatory extensions to W (side) and N (rear). Squared and snecked, tooled pink sandstone rubble; ashlar dressings. Deep, splayed, bull-faced basecourse to S; moulded eaves course. Pedimented gables. Cast-iron fleche railings to S boundary wall; geometric cast-iron balustrading to principal entrances. Many original interior details remaining.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: symmetrical. Central, slightly advanced, pedimented bay with flanking carved finials and panelled dies, tripartite window with segmental pediment above with carved date inscribed: ?1906?; flanking single and tripartite windows; entrance doors with bull-faced masonry staircases to penultimate bays; wide pedimented gabled slightly advanced outer bays, scrolled gablet breaking pediments with small keystoned aedicules; flanking finials and panelled dies; central keystoned segmental window and flanking single windows, segmental pediments directly above windows inscribed: 'GARTHSHERRIE PUBLIC SCHOOL'.

E ELEVATION: 7 bays. Single window to far left; bipartite windows to all other bays.

N (REAR) ELEVATION: 10 bays with piended pavilion end bays; flat-roofed lavatory extension projecting from re-entrant angle. Low coped masonry wall bisecting elevation on N-S axis.

W ELEVATION: 8 bays, unevenly spaced single and bipartite windows; flat-roofed lavatory extension projecting from central bay.

Predominantly 5-pane metal-framed windows; painted metal fire doors. Pitched and piended roofs; concrete tiles.

INTERIOR: original layout remains generally intact with original glazed and etched classroom dividing walls as well as glazed inner walls of classrooms. Prominent moulded doorways with cornices and segmental pediments; many original panel doors with etched glazed upper panels. Large, central timber pitched-roof assembly hall with rolled steel joist support construction; triple arched gabled ends supported by pilastered piers. Moulded and segmental pedimented chalk boards to each classroom. Pseudo-Art Nouveau chimneypiece to front office.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATEPIERS: stepped, low coped snecked tooled rubble wall to S with original cast-iron fleche railings; 2 pairs of square-plan stop-chamfered gatepiers to S with corniced and finialled caps. High coped rubble walls to E, W and N.

Statement of Special Interest

Gartsherrie Primary School is located in a prominent position on Gartsherrie Road (an important artery to the N of Coatbridge). The setting of the school is further enhanced by the original boundary walls and cast-iron railings which remain in their original configuration. Gartsherrie Primary School is of standard plan for the time (central hall with surrounding classrooms), but demonstrates fine architectural detailing (to the interior as well as the exterior) common to the work of James Davidson (1848-1923). Davidson was one of Coatbridge's most prolific and successful architects, designing many schools for the Old Monklands School Board between 1892 and 1914. His career as a school designer possibly stemmed from his ambitious design for Coatbridge Technical College of 1890. All of his schools present high quality finishes and demonstrate good compositions and fine architectural detailing (interior and exterior), mostly in the Free-Renaissance idiom but also presenting some of the flair found in contemporary urban architecture of Glasgow. Davidson's schools include Calderbank Public School, 1892; School, Bargeddie Primary 1894 (see separate listing); Greenhill Primary School, 1902 (see separate listing); and the largest primary, Langloan Primary School, 1914. Other prominent Coatbridge buildings by Davidson include Airdrie Savings Bank, 1920 (see separate listing); Ross Street Hall; Glenboig Union Fireclay Co; Broomknoll Parish Church. However he is best known for his design (along with J D Swanston) for the King's Theatre in Edinburgh, 1905-1906 (see separate listing). Perhaps some of Davidson's success in gaining public commissions came through his role as councillor, magistrate and later as Provost of Coatbridge during1909-12; however, his prominence did not preclude his skill as a competent and often inventive architect.

No longer in use as a school (2012).

References

Bibliography

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