Church Drive, Arnold, Notts.

Image: © David Hallam-Jones Taken: 12 Jan 2014

In 1895 the Arnold School Board commissioned a school for the accommodation of 420 girls comprising a central hall and seven class rooms. The cost was £4,700 and this school was opened in November 1896. It became a senior school in 1908 and older girls who had until been attending a school in High Street began attending here. The architect, William H. Higginbottom, was born in Leeds in 1868 but before he was 1 year old the family moved to Arnold following his father, Anthony's, appointment as the Headmaster of the British School on the site now occupied by the Arnold market. Anthony, it seems, was also something of an amateur draughtsman and his interest prompted his son to study and qualify as an architect and surveyor. William eventually opened an architectural practice with offices at 120 Front street, Arnold and 2, Friar Yard, Friar Lane, Nottingham. Apparently William designed a good many of Arnold's other well-known buildings. Prior to its closure - and conversion into a Business Centre - it was a mixed Primary School. This is a view towards where Church Drive and Church Drive East form the top bar of a T shape, this being the shaft of the T.

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