Monument MPM1923 - Bell School Façade

Surviving neoclassical façade to the Port Beck Institution/Bell School built in 1812. The façade has been incorporated into the rear elevation of the modern Sainsbury's supermarket building.

Surviving façade to the Port Beck Institution/Bell School built in 1812 which has been incorporated into the rear elevation of the modern Sainsbury's supermarket building. The façade is of the neoclassical style with a triangular pediment and has been constructed using buff bricks. Grooves in the brickwork are said to have been made by pupils sharpening their slate pencils. The southern section of façade consists of a length of wall with an arch and gate. This may be of a slightly later date than the main section of façade. The façade is one of a few remaining examples of early National Schools in the country. The original building was used as a school between 1812 and 1968 and had several different names.

An inscription situated in the pediment reads:

ENLARGED 1894
PORTSEA
INSTITUTION
MDCCCXII
FAÇADE RESTORED 1988

The Port Beck Institution opened in 1812 when it received a grant from the National Society. It was later renamed The Bell School after Canon Andrew Bell, and closed in the 1850s. The school was refurbished and reopened c1894 by Father Dolling of St Agatha's Church as St Agatha's School, and was forced to close during the Second World War as a result of bomb damage. It reopened in 1947 as St Luke's Girls School and finally closed in 1968. The façade was restored in 1988.

Sherwood, Cynthia, ?, Monuments of Portsmouth (Index). SPM372.