Lyceum, Port Sunlight
Encyclopedia
The Lyceum is a building in Bridge Street, Port Sunlight
, Merseyside
, England. Originally built as a school, it is now used for a variety of purposes, including housing a social club. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building.
in 1894–96 and designed by the Chester
firm of architects Douglas & Fordham. It was originally built as the school for the developing community of Port Sunlight and was used as a place of worship until the church was built. It later acquired the name of the Lyceum. As of 2009 it is being used partly as a social centre and partly as architects' offices. There are plans to develop another part of it as a Victorian
classroom to form part of Port Sunlight Museum.
in an irregular plan, and is mainly in one storey. The walls are constructed in red Ruabon
brick with blue brick diapering
and stone dressings. The roofs are of slate
with tiled ridges. From the left, the first bay projects forwards. It has a three-light window, an elliptical-arched doorway and a plain gable
. The second bay is recessed and higher, with three two-light windows and a shaped gable. The third bay is recessed even further, is in two storeys and has a doorway and a shaped gable. The fourth bay is the most substantial, wider and higher than the others, and projecting forwards. It contains three pairs of two-light windows and has a shaped gable in which there is a circular window with star-shaped tracery
. There are finial
s on all the gables. On the right of the main front is a turret
which has a square base and is octagonal above with broaches
at the transition. On the ground floor is a elliptical-headed doorway with a two-light window over it. Above this is a string course, then a clock and a window on alternative faces. Over these is another string course and a parapet
with ball finials. The turret is surmounted by a recessed slate spire with a weather vane
.
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, England. Originally built as a school, it is now used for a variety of purposes, including housing a social club. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II listed building.
History
The Lyceum was built for William LeverWilliam Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme
William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician....
in 1894–96 and designed by the Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
firm of architects Douglas & Fordham. It was originally built as the school for the developing community of Port Sunlight and was used as a place of worship until the church was built. It later acquired the name of the Lyceum. As of 2009 it is being used partly as a social centre and partly as architects' offices. There are plans to develop another part of it as a Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
classroom to form part of Port Sunlight Museum.
Architecture
The main front of the building faces southeast. It has five baysBay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
in an irregular plan, and is mainly in one storey. The walls are constructed in red Ruabon
Ruabon
Ruabon is a village and community in the county borough of Wrexham in Wales.More than 80% of the population of 2,400 were born in Wales with 13.6% speaking Welsh....
brick with blue brick diapering
Diapering
Diaper is any of a wide range of decorative patterns used in a variety of works of art, such as stained glass, heraldic shields, architecture, silverwork etc. Its chief use is in the enlivening of plain surfaces.-Etymology:...
and stone dressings. The roofs are of slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
with tiled ridges. From the left, the first bay projects forwards. It has a three-light window, an elliptical-arched doorway and a plain gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
. The second bay is recessed and higher, with three two-light windows and a shaped gable. The third bay is recessed even further, is in two storeys and has a doorway and a shaped gable. The fourth bay is the most substantial, wider and higher than the others, and projecting forwards. It contains three pairs of two-light windows and has a shaped gable in which there is a circular window with star-shaped tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
. There are finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
s on all the gables. On the right of the main front is a turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
which has a square base and is octagonal above with broaches
Broach spire
A broach spire is a type of spire, a tall pyramidal or conical structure usually on the top of a tower or a turret. A broach spire starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces....
at the transition. On the ground floor is a elliptical-headed doorway with a two-light window over it. Above this is a string course, then a clock and a window on alternative faces. Over these is another string course and a parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
with ball finials. The turret is surmounted by a recessed slate spire with a weather vane
Weather vane
A weather vane is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building....
.