Grammar School, C16 small stone building. Founded by Rev Thomas Magnus 1529. (1) (2)
The "small" building is only the original school entrance hall (plaque dated 1529), set back from a frontage added in 1817. The main classroom was restored to its original condition in 1914 (when the school moved to new premises) and is now the "Tudor Hall". The complete building has been divided to provide Education offices, Art gallery and Museum. (3)
No change. (4)
Test pit to the immediate north west of the buildings A and G show three phases of wall construction, though none are securely dated. One stone wall may be Medieval, one may be constructed prior to the 18th century, and the third may be 20th c. All have been demolished above ground level. The site is known to have developed in an unplanned manner, with small buildings being built across it as they were required. A major redevelopment in 1914 involved the demolition of several of these small buildings, and it is possible that the exposed walls represent some of them. (5)

Thomas Magnus, who founded the school whose buildings still occupy the site, was a diplomat…in the service of King Henry VIII. Magnus’ bequest of 1529 established a free grammar school, and construction was completed in 1532. The Magnus Charity’s ac-counts…bills provide a picture of the 17th century building: it was some 80' long and 30' wide, having 2 storeys with attics above, and the schoolroom was 42' long, 2 storeys high, and oc-cupying most of the width of the building. A bill of 1640 describes the school building as ‘two chambers towards the south end of the house, two chambers over the school, the high cham-ber towards the north end of the house, a chamber underneath, the school house, a chapel, and the town’s chamber’. A letter concerning extensive repairs to the school building at the beginning of the 1750s describes it as ‘…long neglected, and was at this time greatly out of repair… The school became more popular in the early 19th century, requiring an exten-sion…constructed on the west side of the old building and covering its street frontage in 1817-18: much of it was intended as accommodation for boarding pupils. The extension filled up rapidly – in 1820, there were said to be 30 day boys and 92 boarders, whereas fewer than 20 pupils are recorded in 18th century references. A further extension known as the English School, to the north of the older buildings was completed in 1835 and initially run as a quasi-independent establishment. An article published by the incumbent headmaster in The Public Schools’ Chronicle of 1869 describes the school of his time: all boys were taught in one long room, made by knocking two rooms into one, while the greater part of the original school building was given over to the boarders as dormitories and a playroom (if this last was the Tudor Hall, this period probably accounts for the incised graffiti on the beams). There was a quarter-acre of schoolyard, two open fives courts, and a ‘bath-house’ of which the headmaster was particularly proud. However, by the end of the 19th century, the school was once more becoming run down., and its standard of education was failing to keep up with national expec-tations. A new educational scheme was drawn up in 1886, and it was clear at this time that the extant school buildings were insufficient for its requirements: the scheme included the di-rection that proper accommodation, suitable for not less than 50 boarders and150 day schol-ars, should be found ‘as soon as conveniently may be…either by altering or adding to the pre-sent buildings, or otherwise’. A new chemistry laboratory was built in 1895, a gymnasium in 1896, and the playground was surfaced with asphalt in the same year; in 1899, a physics la-boratory and a carpentry workshop were provided, and a second-floor extension was built on to the English School in 1902 for use as an art room. In spite of these improvements, the school was still not adequate for the demands made on it, and in 1902, the Inspectors of the Board of Education called for it to be completely rebuilt, on a new site… The Tudor Hall ex-tensively restored inside and out following the demolition of the west wing, was maintained as a heritage property, while the Regency school extension, fronting on to Appletongate, became the District Education Office, and the English School became Newark Museum. (6)
The Tudor Hall…originally constructed as a school in 1532, and carries a datestone attesting its foundation by Thomas Magnus. It was extensively restored in 1914, to such an extent that its original arrangement is barely discernible; however, it is the earliest building on the site, and retains some of its original features. Of special note is the chimney stack at the northern end and the partially obscured door with Tudor hood moulding on the west front; the main door is genuine but is no longer in its original position. All of the external fenestration is attributable to the 1914 renovation. …of particular note is the original staircase, which now only survives on the first and second floors at the south end, and the half-timbered gallery and partition, with in situ graffiti. The cellars below this building are exceptionally well-preserved examples of their various periods. (6)
The English School: This building was constructed in 1835 as an adjunct to the school; it was almost immediately extended to the east in a single-storey block, which was subsequently raised to two storeys in 1902, and an entrance vestibule was added onto the west end c.1912. The master’s dais is a unique, albeit relatively recent, feature. The fenestra-tion is largely original and in good condition. The eastern extension…retains several features of note such as a fireplace, a decorated iron bracket, possibly for the school bell, and the pur-pose built roof-light to admit light into the art room (first floor). (6)
Georgian Town House: …a Regency structure, constructed against the west face of the Tudor Hall in 1817-18 and originally intended as accommodation for boarders. The front façade is most significant, having retained its original fenestration largely intact: this is break-fronted and symmetrical with a pedimented central bay. The front doorcase is highly decorative, consisting of moulded pilasters with an open pediment on curved brackets: it has a ‘tear-drop’ fanlight, typical of its period, and has retained its original door and window. An extension containing a staircase has been added on the north-east side. Inside…the rooms retain many original decorative features, including fireplaces, doorcases, dado and skirting in most rooms. The ground floor windows have their shutter boxes intact. The staircase hall is the most im-pressive of the internal features, with its original open well staircase and decorative cornice on the first floor. (6)
Geotechnical Investigation (2011): Nine test pits…to examine the existing footings of the standing buildings. …revealed early 20th century brick footings. Test pits…adjoining the older portion of Building B, revealed stone foundations at depth that appeared to relate to an earlier building on the same alignment as the extant brick building, as TP2 also contained a brick foundation, apparently supplementing the stone structure, that clearly pertained to the extant building. A deep test pit, TP7, excavated on the east side of… the Tudor Hall, revealed a substantial stone structure below the existing stone wall. The structure appeared to be bedded directly on the natural sand and gravels… and was tentatively identified…as representing the founda-tions of an earlier building, although it may well actually be associated with the demolished west wing of Building A itself. The same wall was identified c. 8m to the south, within the existing cellar. (6)

Now part of museum. See M3639 for chantry house.

Listed buildings slides, 4 slides (Photograph). SNT2648.

<1> Throsby J, 1790, Thoroton's History of Notts Vol 1, P 403 (Published document). SNT1345.

<2> Pevsner N, 1951, The Buildings of England: Nottinghamshire, p 113 (Monograph). SNT49.

<3> Harper FR, 1962, Pers Comm (Personal comment). SNT748.

<4> Colquhoun FD, 1972, Pers Comm (Personal comment). SNT581.

<5> A. Lane, 2013, PROPOSED EXTENSION TO BUILDINGS B AND G, MAGNUS BUILDINGS, THE FORMER GRAMMER SCHOOL, APPLETON GATE, NEWARK, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: ARCHAEOLOGICAL TEST PIT REPORT, p. 5 (Unpublished document). SNT5466.

<6> PCAS Archaeology, 2011, Heritage Statement for Former Magnus Grammar School, Appleton Gate, Newark. (Unpublished document). SNT5819.