Icknield Street School

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Icknield Street School (grid reference SP057882), near the Hockley Flyover, north of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, England, is a good example of a Birmingham board school.

Designed in 1883 by J.H. Chamberlain of Martin & Chamberlain, the main architects for the Birmingham School Board, it has been St Chad's Roman Catholic Annexe and is now an Ashram Centre. Standard VII classes for girls began in 1885. However, these classes closed in 1898 at the opening of the George Dixon Higher Grade Board School. In 1886, it was expanded and again so in 1894. It converted into a modern secondary school in 1945 and by 1960, it had 950 pupils.

The Chamberlain schools were designed for hygiene, light, fresh air and beauty. Typically in red brick and terracotta, gabled, with steep roofs, free planning and towered to provide ventilation. The tower was typically placed over the staircase to draw air through the school. There were terracotta plaques, glazed tiles, ornamental ironwork, tall windows, and stained glass. The arched ironwork of this school is visible where the roof is missing.

It is a Grade II* listed building. The headmaster's house (303 Icknield Street), on the site, is separately Grade II* listed.

[edit] Sources

• John Ruskin and Victorian Architecture, Michael W Brooks, 1989
• Pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham, Andy Foster, 2005, ISBN 0-300-10731-5
• A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7: The City of Birmingham, 1964
• Images of England - photograph and details of school from listed building text
• Images of England - photograph and details of headmaster's house from listed building text

[edit] External sites

• Digital Ladywood (photographs of Birmingham) - old photograph of inside of school - when in website, search for Icknield Street School
• This building is on the English Heritage - Buildings at Risk Register - link to entry (Buildings at Risk Register article) - school
• This building is on the English Heritage - Buildings at Risk Register - link to entry (Buildings at Risk Register article) - master's house

Buildings in Birmingham, England  Highrise (In height order): BT Tower | Beetham Tower | Chamberlain Clock Tower | Alpha Tower | Orion Building | The Rotunda | NatWest Tower | Five Ways Tower | Centre City Tower | Hyatt Regency Hotel | 1 Snow Hill Plaza | Quayside Tower | Colmore Gate | The McLaren Building | Metropolitan House | Edgbaston House | Post & Mail Building | Jury's Inn Birmingham   Notable lowrise: 1-7 Constitution Hill | 17 & 19 Newhall Street | Birmingham Assay Office | Baskerville House | Central Library | Council House | Curzon Street railway station | Great Western Arcade | ICC | The Mailbox | Methodist Central Hall | Millennium Point | The Old Crown | Paradise Forum | Birmingham Proof House | Sarehole Mill | Symphony Hall | Town Hall | Victoria Law Courts   Major railway stations: Moor Street station | New Street station | Snow Hill station    Major complexes: Brindleyplace | Bull Ring, Birmingham | Pallasades Shopping Centre    Sports venues: Alexander Stadium | Edgbaston Cricket Ground | NIA | St. Andrews | Villa Park    Lists of buildings: List of tallest buildings and structures in Birmingham | List of Birmingham board schools | Listed buildings in Birmingham

Coordinates: 52.49168° N 1.91748° W