Stoke-on-Trent City Council plans £2.9m revamp for former mansion
Parts of master potter Josiah Spode II's former mansion are set to be turned back into classrooms for the primary school next door in a £2.9m scheme. The Willows Primary School, which has expanded, will use the first and second floors of The Mount in Penkhull, Stoke-on-Trent, which has been unoccupied for seven years. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has submitted plans to refurbish The Mount, which is Grade II listed and dates back to 1803. The primary school, which already uses part of the ground floor of the building, needs extra space after expanding from two to three-form entry.
The work would mean a portable building it uses could be removed. The potter's former home, which requires extensive repairs, was last used as The Mount Education Centre, which closed in 2018. Under the council's plans, three first-floor classrooms would be refurbished and brought back into use.Proposals also include overhauling the original timber sash windows, repairs to the four Victorian towers and reinstating a lead covering to the main Georgian dome roof. Some modern additions, including a glazed corridor and external fire escapes, would be removed.
The application said the aim was to retain and repair "the existing historic fabric and its architectural detail and to maintain and enhance its heritage value and long-term sustainability as a school as part of a group of architecturally significant education buildings".Historians say Josiah Spode II built The Mount on the hill overlooking Stoke and the Spode factory, which he took over from his father. He moved into the building with family members and lived in the mansion until his death in 1827. The Mount was extended when it was converted into a school for deaf and blind children later in the 19th Century. City council planners are considering applications for planning permission and listed building consent and if approved, the work is expected to start in July.
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