2-979-076 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Portable School, 1857. 'The whole is constructed of timber, and capable of holding 100 children. A composition has been applied to the exterior, which renders it quite weatherproof. It is well warmed, with one cwt. of coals per week, by a new kind of stove; which, together with the whole building, was designed by Mr. F. Smalman Smith, architect, Stourbridge, and was made by Mr. Ault for the sum of £60, including a belfry and shutters. Such a school-room would be very useful where a site or funds are difficult to obtain, or where the ground is undermined, or the population fluctuating. This school-room has been provided to accommodato a mixed school, in a newly-built district, for which a permanent building will be erected as soon as the title of the site can be made clear, when it will be removed to another part of the parish, to serve the purpose of a Ragged School'. From "Illustrated London News", 1857.