Fellside Estates

Borough House, Banbury

Victorian Technical College provides character office space

There are currently a couple of suites available at Borough House. For more information, please contact Clive Thompson at Berry Morris on 01295 273555 or visit the Borough House website.

Acquired in 2004, this Victorian Technical College offers a wealth of interesting architectural detail. Fellside Estates has completed an extensive programme of refurbishment, which not only reveals the full architectural merit of this building but also provides a high standard of internal facilities for today's office occupier.

Originally The Banbury Municipal Technical College, the building still retains many of its original features and through the renovation work, many more were revealed. The sympathetic renovation and refurbishment has provided better space for new tenants and an improved working environment for existing ones. Suite 15 is the most impressive example; the suspended ceilings have been removed to open up the roof space and reinstate the original space and Victorian windows. A mezzanine has been installed to provide more floor space.

Substantial funds were invested to upgrade the mechanical and electrical installations within the building, including significant upgrading of the power supply for both the occupiers' needs and lighting demands.

Elsewhere in the building the courtyard has been landscaped with a seating area available for use by all tenants. A disabled lift has been installed to ensure access to all floors. Personalised post boxes have been installed for secure mail delivery to each tenant. New internal directional signage at all floor levels completes the picture.

Historic Victorian Technical College updated

Over 100 years of local investment

The Victorians placed great emphasis on the importance of learning and education and during the late 19th century, schools and institutes sprang up all over the country. These institutes particularly concentrated on the study of sciences and technology where rapid discoveries and developments were occurring.

Banbury was no different. In 1884 the flourishing Banbury Mechanics Institute moved into a brand new building on Marlborough Road, now the Banbury Library. A few years later, a number of influential town residents decided that Banbury needed a technical school and commissioned a new building next door to the Institute.

In 1893, the building that is now Borough House, opened as the Banbury Municipal Technical and Secondary School and Institute, including the School of Science and Art. The new building cleverly incorporated the original Institute building, matching its Elizabethan style architecture using red brick with Hornton stone facings, giving the impression of one large imposing building.

The benefactor for both buildings was Sir Bernard Samuelson, a wealthy local philanthropist and educationalist. He was a firm believer in the importance of education and was convinced that Britain lagged behind its industrial rivals due to lack of education of its workforce.

The governors of the new school intended "to provide on moderate terms a sound modern education which shall fit pupils for commercial, industrial and agricultural pursuits, while at the same time making provision for those intending to follow a professional career". To gain a place at the school, scholars had to be at least 13 years old and had to pass an entrance exam. Pupils were expected to study a wide range of mathematical and scientific subjects but also had lessons in freehand drawing and art, English grammar and composition, history, geography and French. Older students were also expected to learn German, book-keeping, short-hand and typing.

Some reminders of the building's previous use can still be seen today, including signs for the Art Master's office and general classrooms upstairs. The large room to the left of the main entrance was originally the Headmaster's office, while the rooms on the right hand side were a lecture theatre for 160 people and a committee room. The basement provided a carpentry workshop, dark rooms and a fully operational smithy complete with anvil, furnace and moulds. The first floor rooms were all used as classrooms, with the second floor containing a chemistry lab and rooms for mechanics, wood carving, art and modelling.

It is estimated that the building cost £7,500 to build in 1893. Many of the original features survive including the mosaic tiled floors, stained glass in the upper windows, the oriel window, the Horton stone details on the exterior of the building and the floating turrets on the corners of the building.

As the school grew in size, pressure on space meant that in 1930 it moved to larger premises in Easington. On the school's departure, the Banbury Borough Council took over the building to use it as its headquarters and in 1974, local authority reorganisation lead to the building being transferred to Cherwell District Council, which retained the ground floor, letting out surplus space in the building. Today the building is used by a wide variety of local businesses and organisations.

The Mechanics Institute closed in 1945, much lamented by the Banbury Guardian which blamed the increasing popularity of sport, the wireless and the cinema for its demise.