Ellen Wilkinson High School was housed, until it closed in 2000, in a Grade II* listed building in Ardwick,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, designed in 1879–80 by the prolific Manchester architect

Thomas Worthington Thomas or Tom Worthington may refer to: *Thomas Worthington (Douai) (1549–1627), English Catholic priest and third President of Douai College * Thomas Worthington (Dominican) (1671–1754), English Dominican friar and writer * Thomas Worthington ...

. Formerly known as Nicholls Hospital, the building was funded by Benjamin Nicholls as a memorial to his son, John Ashton Nicholls.Clare Hartwell, ''Pevsner's Architectural Guides: Manchester'' (2001), Yale University Press Nicholls commissioned Worthington to prepare designs in 1867, with instructions that building was only to commence after his own death. It was Worthington's last significant commission in the city. The original usage was as an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

; the Ashton family gave over £100,000 to its construction and endowment. The style is flamboyant Flemish Gothic in red brick with sandstone dressings and steeply-pitched slate roofs. The main range is double-pile with eleven bays and a massive central tower, which shows clear similarities to that of Worthington's City Police Courts at Minshull Street. The tower was originally embellished by Worthington's trade-mark animal carving but the majority were removed in the 20th century. From 1952 to 1967 the building was used as the Nicholls Secondary Boys School. The school later amalgamated with Ardwick High School. Initially the school was known as Nicholls Ardwick High School but was later renamed in honour of

Ellen Wilkinson Ellen Cicely Wilkinson (8 October 1891 – 6 February 1947) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Minister of Education from July 1945 until her death. Earlier in her career, as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jarrow, s ...

, socialist, feminist and first female Minister for Education, who was born in Ardwick. The school achieved renown because of its heavy emphasis on the arts thereby anticipating 'specialist school' status by some decades. In 2000 the building changed use again when Ellen Wilkinson High School was merged into Cedar Mount High School, the old hospital becoming Nicholls Campus of Manchester City College.

References

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Wilkinson High School Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is a part of the Orangeburg County School District. It is home to the Mighty Bruins/Bruinettes and also an International Baccalaureate, Inte ...

Towers in Greater Manchester Grade II* listed buildings in Manchester

1880 establishments in England 2000 disestablishments in England Gothic Revival architecture in Greater Manchester

See also

References