Langham Tower (Sunderland High School)

Heritage listing

Details SUNDERLAND NZ3956SE RYHOPE ROAD 920-1/22/191 (East side) 10/11/78 Langham Tower (Sunderland High School) GV II (Formerly Listed as Langham Tower (Sunderland Polytechnic) (Formerly Listed as:RYHOPE ROAD (East side) Langham Tower (College of Education)) Villa; training college in 1922, part of polytechnic in 1975. 1889-91 by William Milburn for William Adamson, trader in ships' provisions and oil and son of W Adamson, shipbuilder. Eclectic style with C16 motifs in mixture of half timber framing with plaster nogging, some pargeted, ashlar porch, and brick with ashlar and terracotta dressings, the brick bright red and hard with dark grey mortar; roof of plain tiles with terracotta cresting, cast-iron finials, and brick chimneys. Irregular plan. EXTERIOR: 2 tall storeys with attics and turrets; 4x5 bays. 3-bay front to Burdon Road has battlemented entrance tower with timber-framed set-back top storey; ashlar ground floor of tower has multi-moulded open Tudor arch on 2 orders of Shap granite nookshafts framing steps up to porch, with side benches and carved decoration, to panelled door flanked by windows with etched and bevelled glass; stone oriel above has sill and eaves bands; impost band to geometric tracery of 3-light mullion window above with elliptical head; corbel table supports battlements. Steeply-roofed cottage-like structure above has diagonal bracing to posts and similar detail in gable with deep eaves and exposed purlins and rafters. 2-storey range from which tower projects has varied brick and timber detail, the latter jettied and decorated in the style of NW England, and big stepped chimney stack projecting between two right bays decorated with ashlar and long terracotta panel; steeply-pitched roof on pargetted coving runs parallel to front. Right retur

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.