A Victorian school building described as a ‘building of romance and fantasy’ risks ruin without vital repairs worth £1.5 million.
The grand old Kennington Boys’ School, overlooking Myatt’s Field Park in Brixton, is famous for its ‘splendid architecture’ and being a major hospital during WWI.
The Victorian Society has named it among the ten most endangered buildings after Lambeth Council suggested it could not afford the £1.5 million fixes.
The council has said it will search for other ways of funding the pricey renovation.
James Hughes, director of the Victorian Society, said: “London has a rich heritage of Victorian and Edwardian schools, and this example by the prolific T. J. Bailey is especially splendid.
“Aptly described as a building of ‘romance and fantasy’, its sweeping spirelets, towers, dormers and Dutch gables combine to entertaining, kaleidoscopic effect.
“This is a building of enormous historic and architectural significance, and is a landmark in the Minet conservation area in a pleasant and desirable part of London, within striking distance of the centre of town.
“It is one, too, of enormous potential for reuse, which the local authority must make an absolute priority.”
During WWI, the 127-year-old building served as the 1st London General Hospital alongside the adjacent St Gabriel’s teacher training college.
Acclaimed writer Vera Brittain, author of Testament of Youth, was a nurse there. The author’s brother, who was injured in the Battle of the Somme, was among the thousands of soldiers treated on the site.
After the war, the building was renamed the Kennington Boys’ School and later, the Charles Edward Brooke Girls’ School.
In 2012, the building became vacant after the girls’ school was relocated to nearby premises.
The building has been on the Historic England at Risk Register since 2016, when its condition was recorded as poor.
Its condition has deteriorated to “Very Bad”, according to the 2023 Historic England Heritage at Risk Register.
A survey commissioned by Lambeth council, in March 2016, found water ingress had caused significant internal damage.
Remedial work was reportedly set for 2023 but no action has been taken.
A Lambeth Council spokesman said: “The building was handed to the council three years ago in a very poor condition, and in need of very extensive restoration work.
“The council initially looked at a temporary fix, including mending the roof, but even just this would have cost £1.5million.
“Considering the cost of this work and pressures on our budget we are now looking at the feasibility of securing funding for the much needed renovation, and will consult with the local community before any decisions about its future use are taken.”
A petition has been launched appealing to the council to repair the building and put it to new use: https://www.change.org/SaveCormontRoadSchoolSE5