Pendlebury Wing Manchester Schools for the Deaf and Dumb Old Trafford

MANCHESTER SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB - The new buildings which for some time have been in course of erection at the Deaf and Dumb Schools, Old Trafford are now nearly completed and will be opened on the 18th instant by Lord Egerton of Tatton, the president of the institution. The schools it may be stated, have been established upwards of sixty years, accommodation having been originally provided for 14 pupils. From time to time, as necessity arose, the buildings were enlarged, and the institution is now enabled to maintain within its walls and to educate 165 scholars. Up to the present time the school has given to over 1,300 deaf and dumb children of the poorer classes an education which has enabled them to compete in a great variety of occupations with ordinary artisans.

The object of the extension, which consists substantially of the erection of a new wing, is to provide increased accommodation generally and to enable 50 additional children to be introduced into the institution. A new schoolroom, which will be used chiefly for purposes of general assembly, with arrangements for holding a class at either end has been built, separate classrooms for 150 children being placed on either side of it. The main room is about 90 feet in length. Extra dormitory accommodation is provided for 86 children, while 14 bedrooms for the teaching staff are in close proximity.  Beneath the schoolrooms a spacious gymnasium has been fitted up with every appliance for physical training which forms a prominent feature in the school curriculum. Adjacent to this apartment is a playroom for boys. The whole of these rooms are lofty and well-lighted, the classrooms being particularly bright and cheerful. Two new playgrounds have been formed, the space for these having been taken out of the gardens in rear of the institution. The extensions have considerably affected the old buildings. The old schoolroom has been cut up into several rooms, and other internal alterations have been carried out with a view to the general commodiousness of the institution. It is intended to use the new wing for the carrying out of the oral system of teaching, a building erected in 1860, and accommodating 59 pupils, being set apart for teaching upon the silent system. A new servants’ hall and various offices are also included in the extension. The works have been carried out from plans prepared by Messrs Barker and Ellis, architects, of this city.  …  The main cost of the works will be defrayed out of the bequest of the late Mr John Pendlebury and the wing is to be known as the Pendlebury wing.  [Manchester Guardian 10 September 1886 page 5]

Reference           Manchester Guardian 10 September 1886 page 5