Melville Centre

Heritage listing

Reason for designation: Included for its special interest as a well preserved late C19 school which has retained its character, is the design of a noted local architect and which has group value with the other listed buildings in Pen-y-pound. History: Built in 1898 and designed by E A Johnson. It replaced the Grammar School in St. Johns Street now the Masonic Lodge (qv) where it had been since its foundation in 1543. The school building was extended to the north in 1904, and were given three new classrooms, a gymnasium and a library in 1926 (not included in the listing). It was closed as a school in c1970 and has now become a Drama Centre. Exterior: Built of coursed rock-faced red sandstone rubble with yellow ashlar dressings, natural slate roofs with tile cresting and stone stacks. Main range running north-south with the central entrance flanked by the Hall on the south and two Schoolrooms on the north, these all with ridges at right angles. Tudor Gothic style befitting the founder. Single storey, with the main rooms open to the roof. The main elevation has twelve windows with the first five from the left in the 1904 extension. This is 3 + 2 with stepped buttresses, the second window has 3-lights, the others 2-lights, all with mullion-and-transom and cusped heads. The Schoolrooms have paired gables with panelling, each gable with a large 4-centred 4-light window, continuous dripmould. The four entrance bays are recessed, canted bay for the Master s Study, 2 + 2 + 2 lights, then 3-light windows flanking the entrance. This has flanking octagonal turrets, a recessed porch with a 4-centred head and four lights above, pepper-pot tops to turrets and central gable. Finally the Hall gable is taller and has a large 5-light window as before. Steeply pitched roofs with many fine

From Cadw under OGL v3.