Dumbarton Academy
The Dumbarton Academy is a secondary school in the Scottish town of Dumbarton in West Dunbartonshire. The former school building was added to the Scottish lists of monuments in the B category in 1981. In 1995, this advancement in the highest category A.
History
Dumbarton was raised in 1222, was created a Royal Burgh. The earliest mention of the school dates back to 1486, making the Dumbarton Academy is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. The school was financed not only through school fees, but also received municipal funding. So in the 1860s were only three shillings per quarter to be paid for the teaching of reading, which is also poorer classes allowed to attend school. The full education, the reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, Latin, French, Greek and mathematics involved, hit with 22 shillings per quarter to book. At this time visited 108 male and 46 female students the facility.
Since wealthy parents their children, probably also if the poor spatial situation, sent to the course as far as Glasgow to school, a new school building was built in the 1860s. After a first draft Gildards Thomas was awarded the contract, the whiskey producer James Smith, who resided outside in Overtoun House, was strong for a draft of Glasgow's architectural offices Melvin & Leiper, for whose benefit ultimately decided made . After the foundation stone was laid in June 1865, the building was finally completed in 1867. 1882 a fire destroyed parts of the building, which was restored and reopened the following year. In 1914 the school moved into a new building, although the primary school still remained until 1921 in the building. A modern new building was completed in 2013 for 15.5 million pounds, in which the school will move to completion of interior finishes.
Description of the listed period building
The two-story, neo-Gothic building is located on Church Street in the south of Dumbarton ( range: 55 ° 56 ' 49 "N, 4 ° 34 ' 2" W55.947055555556 - 4.5671111111111 ). After the departure of the school, the building was used as a police station and an administration building of the electricity supplier. 1976 broke there is a fire and the building has since been a ruin. 1992 requested the city's demolition, which was rejected two years later. In the early 1990s the building fabric has been described as well. However, since no changes were made in the following years, the condition became worse. 1991 saw the entry into the endangered historic monuments in Scotland register. To prevent the complete collapse of the facade, a partial demolition was requested, which was finally approved and implemented.
The roadside facade is symmetrical. Central projecting a on a square, four-story tower with the entrance area. From the outside, it is accessible via three ogival portals. In the upper floors further pointed arch and twin lancet windows are installed. The tower closes with a rose window on the top floor, octagonal corner towers and battlements reinforcement.