Clifton College School House and Watson's House
Pastoral needs include:
- bringing the building up to date with the expectations of young people in the 21st century - in buildings that were designed as model boarding houses in mid 19th.
Development needs include:
- a doubling of density, in a listed building, within a group of listed buildings, in a designated historic landscape, within a conservation area.
Commercial needs include:
- good value for money over the long term, 'as inexpensive as is compatible with true economy' [Architects brief 1861]
- integrating with current and future maintenance programmes.
Elements :
- reducing ground levels around the base of the building to make the lower ground floor usable.
- removing accretions to the east (boys) courtyard to bring it back to its original U shaped form. Inserting a T shaped building into the remaining form, linking School House with Big School adjacent.
- creating a new accommodation building next to Guthrie Road, originally planned as an assertive 'bookmark' building, now settled behind the original wall, allowing new views of the historic building.
Aims :
- Accessible, pastorally functional, overheard and overlooked community areas with personal private space.
- Legible layout, so that it is always clear where you are within the building.
- Junction between old an new clearly visible.
- Construction reversible.
- Minimal destruction of the original fabric.
What you can do :
- To make a donation to the School House project contact the Clifton College Foundation.
- Drawings: Click here for drawings which you can view and download









