Didsbury School of Education
Encyclopedia
The Didsbury College of Education, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury
, Manchester
, England, is a campus of Manchester Metropolitan University
. Originally a "handsome house of 1790", the building was massively expanded for use as a Wesleyan training college in the 19th century and then became a school of education. The college was designated a Grade II* listed building on 25 February 1952.
The original brick house can still be seen from the courtyard at the back of the college. The Wesleyans encased the building in a substantial Grecian frame, the architect being Richard Lane
. The college comprises eleven bays. The Grecian order is from the Tower of the Winds
and can also be seen at 84 Plymouth Grove
, the home of Elizabeth Gaskell
, which is broadly contemporaneous. The building has "sandstone ashlar facades, with rear and courtyard walls of red brick in Flemish bond with sandstone dressings".
The interior contains a fine "entrance hall with [a] screen of reeded columns [and an] elliptical open-well staircase with wrought-iron balustrade".
Didsbury
Didsbury is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre, in the southern half of the Greater Manchester Urban Area...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England, is a campus of Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
. Originally a "handsome house of 1790", the building was massively expanded for use as a Wesleyan training college in the 19th century and then became a school of education. The college was designated a Grade II* listed building on 25 February 1952.
The original brick house can still be seen from the courtyard at the back of the college. The Wesleyans encased the building in a substantial Grecian frame, the architect being Richard Lane
Richard Lane (architect)
Richard Lane was a distinguished English architect of the early and mid 19th century. Born in London and based in Manchester, he was known in great part for his restrained and austere Greek-inspired classicism. He also designed a few buildings – mainly churches – in the Gothic style...
. The college comprises eleven bays. The Grecian order is from the Tower of the Winds
Tower of the Winds
The Tower of the Winds, also called horologion , is an octagonal Pentelic marble clocktower on the Roman agora in Athens. The structure features a combination of sundials, a water clock and a wind vane...
and can also be seen at 84 Plymouth Grove
84 Plymouth Grove, Manchester
84 Plymouth Grove is a Grade II* listed neoclassical villa in Manchester, England, which was the residence of William and Elizabeth Gaskell from 1850 till their deaths in 1884 and 1865 respectively. The Gaskell household continued to occupy the villa after the deaths of Elizabeth and William...
, the home of Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
, which is broadly contemporaneous. The building has "sandstone ashlar facades, with rear and courtyard walls of red brick in Flemish bond with sandstone dressings".
The interior contains a fine "entrance hall with [a] screen of reeded columns [and an] elliptical open-well staircase with wrought-iron balustrade".