page_title: Thomas Simpson (architect)
section_title: Schools
hierarchical_section_title: Thomas Simpson (architect) / Works / Schools
caption_attribution_description: Elm Grove Primary School, Elm Grove, Brighton, City of Brighton and Hove, England. Built as a Board School in 1893 by Thomas Simpson. Now part of City College Brighton &amp; Hove.
context_page_description: Thomas Simpson was a British architect associated with the seaside town of Brighton. As architect to the Brighton and Preston School Board and the equivalent institution in neighbouring Hove, he designed "a distinguished group of board schools" during the late 19th century, when the provision of mass education was greatly extended. Many of these schools survive and some have listed status. He also worked on five Nonconformist chapels for various Christian denominations, using a wide variety of materials and architectural styles. He was the father of Sir John William Simpson and Gilbert Murray Simpson, who both became architects.
context_section_description: Thomas Simpson's main source of work for more than 30 years was the Brighton School Board (later the Brighton and Preston School Board) and its equivalent in neighbouring Hove.  There was no nationally coordinated scheme of primary-level education until the Elementary Education Act 1870 was passed; this empowered local councils to form school boards with elected members and funded by rates.  Brighton's population was growing rapidly at the time, and many new schools were needed.  Simpson was appointed architect and surveyor to the Brighton School Board in 1871 and held the same positions with the Hove School Board from 1876.  His remit in Brighton was extended from 1878 when the borough's Board merged with that of the neighbouring parish of Preston to form the Brighton and Preston School Board.
  Simpson designed and built a series of "distinguished" board schools in a variety of styles between 1870 and 1903, some (from 1890) in partnership with his son Gilbert.  His other son John William Simpson may have been involved in some designs as well.  Several have Grade II listed status: Finsbury Road Board School (1881) in Hanover, Connaught Road School (1884) in Hove, Ditchling Road Board School (1890), Stanford Road School in Prestonville (1893) and St Luke's School in Queen's Park (1900–03).  Also attributed to Simpson is the 1887 rebuild of the Central Infants School on Upper Gloucester Street in North Laine (opened as a National School in 1826 and now converted into flats).  His other surviving buildings, not all still in use as schools, are at Fairlight Place near Lewes Road (1870), Freshfield Place in Queen's Park (1880), Preston Road near Preston Park (1880) and Elm Grove (1893).  Several other examples of his buildings have been demolished, most recently at Circus Street in Carlton Hill (1883), demolished in 2017 as part of a major redevelopment scheme.   Also designed by Simpson as part of the St Luke's School complex were a municipal swimming pool and a school caretaker's house, both of which are also Grade II-listed.
caption: Elm Grove Board School at Elm Grove, Brighton (1893)
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