Archbishop Courtenay Primary School, ⏐ Grade II Listed Building ⏐ Conservation ⏐ Alteration
The original building is Grade II Listed Victorian former primary school just south of the centre of Maidstone. In 2014, the northern half of the building was refurbished and repurposed as Townsend Montessori Nursery, providing high-quality nursery care and education for children from 3 months to 5 years old. The whole building was too large for the nursery school activities, and so an alternative use was required for the southern half of the former school buildings to ensure future preservation. The existing buildings were in poor condition due to years of under maintenance and so the cost of refurbishment was considerable, and so any new use for the building had to be financially viable and have a long-term future. The most economically viable option was conversion to residential use, but the cost benefit analysis showed that the conversion of the school buildings alone would be insufficient to make the scheme viable. The scheme was therefore extended to include a row of new houses located in the former playground to the south.
The scheme was developed, with the conversion of the former school into five separate residential units, with three new properties in the former playground. The two most southerly new build house were designed as a pair of semi-detached properties in a style similar to the existing Victorian villas along the road, and the third property was designed in a style to match that of the school buildings themselves. This approach fits politely into the established street scene.
