Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

FORBESTOWN SCHOOL, FORMER FEMALE PUBLIC SCHOOLLB16190

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
C
Date Added
11/09/1984
Supplementary Information Updated
14/11/2006
Local Authority
Aberdeenshire
Planning Authority
Aberdeenshire
Parish
Strathdon
National Park
Cairngorms
NGR
NJ 35996 12952
Coordinates
335996, 812952

Description

Possibly 1838, schoolhouse extended later 20th century. Tall Tudor style, single storey, rectangular-plan, former schoolroom with 2 window gable to road (S) and large tripartite windows breaking eaves into gabled dormerheads at W; adjoining 2-storey, 3-bay schoolhouse with stone windowheads breaking eaves and extended at rear. Harled with ashlar margins and quoin strips. Pointed arch windows with raked cills, timber transoms and mullions, and oculus (blocked) to schoolroom.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: schoolroom to W with transomed tripartite windows flanking square headed tripartite at W elevation, 2 transomed bipartite windows (obscured by foliage) at S gable and oculus over lean-to outshot an N gable. Symmetrical S (entrance elevation) to schoolhouse with centre door and flanking windows.

Multi-pane glazing pattern in decoratively-astragalled timber windows to schoolroom; out-of-character top-opening plate glass glazing to schoolhouse. Grey slates and cast iron fanlight. Coped harled and ashlar stacks with cans. Ashlar-coped skews with moulded skewputts.

INTERIOR: some good interior detail retained including schoolroom with hammerbeam roof on stone corbels and boarded dado; schoolhouse with panelled timber doors, timber balusters and granite and marble fireplaces.

Statement of Special Interest

An important component in the small village of Forbestown, the former female public school, an interestingly detailed building, is sited high up on a natural terrace overlooking the River Don. It is thought that the schoolroom may have been used for some time as a Chapel, and as a meeting room for free masons. Confusion regarding the date of the school has arisen as the 1st Ordnance Survey map shows the girls school at the eastern edge of the small row of buildings which constitute Forbestown, but the 2nd edition shows it at the western edge, the position of this building. According to the New Statistical Account 'A new parochial school' together with 'a suitable dwelling-house for the schoolmaster' was built in 1838, with the Forbestown School dated at circa 1830. It is therefore possible that the current building dates from later in the 19th century, and replaces an earlier structure which was 'Built by Sir Charles Forbes with money given for that purpose by an Indian friend in Bombay' (Third Statistical Account).

Category changed from B to C(S) in 2006.

References

Bibliography

New Statistical Account Vol 12 (1840), p547. Information courtesy of owner. I Shepherd RIAS Gordon (1994), p63. Third Statistical Account Aberdeen (1960), p284. 1st and 2nd edition Ordnance Survey maps (1869-70 and 1902-03).

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 12:52