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- May 28, 2015
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History
Simpson Street School is a Grade II listed building that was constructed by the local council between 1904 and 1905. It opened on 1st May 1905 and was, apparently, originally known as Deptford Terrace Council School, Junior Department, and later Deptford Terrace Junior Mixed School. Whether this is true or not is another matter because Deptford Terrace is a completely different street to the north of the school building. It is reported that Deptford closed on 26th Match 1929; however, Simpson Street Council School, Junior Boys Department opened on the same site one week later. The school remained an all-boys school until 11th January 1943, when it was amalgamated with the Girls Department to form Simpson Street Council School, Junior Mixed Department. The school eventually closed on 21st July 1967 as a larger one was built nearby.
Although the precise date is unknown, at some point in its history Simpson Street School fell into the hands of Sunderland Artist’s Group. Subsequently, it was ‘redeveloped’ into a number of workshops and used by artists for a number of years. There is little evidence to reveal why the artist’s group left the premises; it could be surmised that the group no longer exists as their website no longer works, or that they simply moved to a new site and renamed themselves. Whatever the reason, it appears that the building has been left to deteriorate gradually over a period of time. The fate of the old Simpson Street School is currently unknown.
Our Version of Events
Having just purchased a new car, we decided to take it for a spin. And what better way to break a car in than to take it on its first explore. We chose the Simpson School site for two reasons: it was close by, and, based on what we’d seen from Dave’s report, it looked like a decent little wander that wouldn’t take up too much time. We planned to have a get-together later in the evening, so we didn’t want to waste too much valuable drinking time.
Finding the place was easy, as the name is a bit of a giveaway. Actually accessing it, though, was even easier! It only took several seconds before we were stood inside a building that had a very arty feel to it. However, this was slightly problematic, as we weren’t sure if the place was actually abandoned at first. After all, artist workshops tend to have that general derelict feel to them. Anyway, we found ourselves in room that was filled with stuff, and some of the junk looked like it had been placed there relatively recently. Fortunately, our initial doubts didn’t last too long, once we ventured downstairs. Apart from the first two rooms, the rest of the building teased our nostrils with the familiar smell of decay.
On the whole, there wasn’t a great deal to see. A lot of the rooms have interesting bits and bobs in them, but nothing you wouldn’t expect to find in an old art college type of place. A few of the old art projects were perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the explore, along with some of the framed photographs we found. In terms of it being an ideal little explore if you happen to be passing, then, it’s spot on. It should take you about twenty minutes to cover the whole lot. That means you’ll have plenty of time afterwards to spend in the pub.
Explored with MKD and The Hurricane.
Simpson Street School is a Grade II listed building that was constructed by the local council between 1904 and 1905. It opened on 1st May 1905 and was, apparently, originally known as Deptford Terrace Council School, Junior Department, and later Deptford Terrace Junior Mixed School. Whether this is true or not is another matter because Deptford Terrace is a completely different street to the north of the school building. It is reported that Deptford closed on 26th Match 1929; however, Simpson Street Council School, Junior Boys Department opened on the same site one week later. The school remained an all-boys school until 11th January 1943, when it was amalgamated with the Girls Department to form Simpson Street Council School, Junior Mixed Department. The school eventually closed on 21st July 1967 as a larger one was built nearby.
Although the precise date is unknown, at some point in its history Simpson Street School fell into the hands of Sunderland Artist’s Group. Subsequently, it was ‘redeveloped’ into a number of workshops and used by artists for a number of years. There is little evidence to reveal why the artist’s group left the premises; it could be surmised that the group no longer exists as their website no longer works, or that they simply moved to a new site and renamed themselves. Whatever the reason, it appears that the building has been left to deteriorate gradually over a period of time. The fate of the old Simpson Street School is currently unknown.
Our Version of Events
Having just purchased a new car, we decided to take it for a spin. And what better way to break a car in than to take it on its first explore. We chose the Simpson School site for two reasons: it was close by, and, based on what we’d seen from Dave’s report, it looked like a decent little wander that wouldn’t take up too much time. We planned to have a get-together later in the evening, so we didn’t want to waste too much valuable drinking time.
Finding the place was easy, as the name is a bit of a giveaway. Actually accessing it, though, was even easier! It only took several seconds before we were stood inside a building that had a very arty feel to it. However, this was slightly problematic, as we weren’t sure if the place was actually abandoned at first. After all, artist workshops tend to have that general derelict feel to them. Anyway, we found ourselves in room that was filled with stuff, and some of the junk looked like it had been placed there relatively recently. Fortunately, our initial doubts didn’t last too long, once we ventured downstairs. Apart from the first two rooms, the rest of the building teased our nostrils with the familiar smell of decay.
On the whole, there wasn’t a great deal to see. A lot of the rooms have interesting bits and bobs in them, but nothing you wouldn’t expect to find in an old art college type of place. A few of the old art projects were perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the explore, along with some of the framed photographs we found. In terms of it being an ideal little explore if you happen to be passing, then, it’s spot on. It should take you about twenty minutes to cover the whole lot. That means you’ll have plenty of time afterwards to spend in the pub.
Explored with MKD and The Hurricane.
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