Development project

Find out all about our plans for the Old Schoolhouse site

To make our vision to transform this old Victorian primary school into a hub for our vibrant community a reality, we’re beginning our development journey. The existing building is made up of a small sports hall and a mixture of smaller and larger classrooms and offices set over two floors. The building hasn’t been used for a few years and volunteers from the church have been hard at work over the last year making the inside habitable and usable. The next stage is to transform the site! We love the connection to the history of the area that the original features bring and we’re keen to make the most of them in our design.

We’ve appointed local architects MEB Design and Riach Architects to support us in our development project. They have done an excellent job at translating our vision into design principles and have been through a number of design iterations in consultation with the local community. Our big plan is to keep the original building and transform it internally to give us flexible spaces for different groups to use. The new hall, built on the side of the existing building, will give us a larger space to hold meetings. And we’re designing some homes for key workers and families to help with the housing needs of the area. The design will be in keeping with the local area and, at the same time, be contemporary and fresh: both reflecting a sense of place and building a legacy for the next 135 years…and more!

A new home for Magdalen Road Church

We’ve outgrown our small chapel on Magdalen Road and have been meeting for the last 15 years in a local school hall. Having recently sold the chapel, The Old Schoolhouse is now our new home, with many of our midweek activities taking place inside and our church office based permanently there. We are excited to have this fresh new meeting space for youth groups, mums and toddlers groups, film club ‘Reel Life’ and much, much more.

Work, Connect, Grow

We’re envisioning a hub of local businesses, social enterprises and charities to make the Old Schoolhouse their East Oxford home. With a mixture of open plan collaborative spaces and private cosy areas to focus, it’ll be a place to connect and grow as part of a vibrant and diverse community.

A place to meet

With a variety of spaces to use, from a large hall to cosy spaces for a quiet chat, the Old Schoolhouse will be a place to meet whether it’s for a weekly exercise class, counselling or a one-off special occasion.

New homes

One of the conditions of the sale for this site in the heart of East Oxford was to provide two new homes for key workers. We’re designing a mix of key worker homes and homes for families on the Essex Street side of the site to create some much needed housing. We’re working with a specialist residential architect who are working on designs that are in keeping with the Victorian terrace housing of the area with a contemporary streak.

Sustainability

At the heart of our design is a sense of creating something now that can be used for generations to come. We’re aiming to have a light footprint with a low carbon, green design and encourage green transport to and from the Old Schoolhouse.  This is extra important to us as we look to be good stewards of creation. Both Magdalen Road Church and the school building have been in the area for 135 years – we’re planning for the next 135, and beyond.

Neighbourly

We’re part of the community and serving the community around us is core to what we want to achieve. Ultimately, we want the Old Schoolhouse to be used by the great diversity of people we see in East Oxford so we want them to be involved in the creation of our new space. Early on we carried out a detailed community survey that informed our vision, and now we’re ready to share our designs with the local community. Click on the “Community Consultation” tab at the top of the page to see the latest plans.

Welcoming

We want to welcome people from all places and backgrounds into the Old Schoolhouse – a place where all feel at home that reflects East Oxford. It will have an open and welcoming feel, tied to the heritage of the building and creating modern and light spaces for people to work, visit, connect and grow.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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History

The Old Schoolhouse was built in 1896 to house several small infant and junior schools that had been opened by missionaries in the middle of the 1800s, including SS Mary and John School (once also known as the Robin Hood School or St Mary’s Road School). It was soon extended in 1899 and was led by John Irving as Headmaster from April 1895 until he retired in 1932 with the main building called the ‘Irving Building’. The school building was only vacated by SSMJ Church of England Primary School in 2016 after they moved their years 1 and 2 classes to join years 3-6 on one larger site at the end of Bedford Street.

The trustees and PCC of SSMJ then put the building up for sale, keen to ensure the building would continue to serve the local East Oxford community and so included a requirement for ‘community benefit’ in the conditions of sale.

”I am delighted that we have been able to pass this historic building on to a church that is also committed to and embedded in the East Oxford community. Magdalen Road Church, like the Hertford Street building, became part of the local landscape at a similar time in the nineteenth century. It was always important to us as the local parish church that the site continued to be used for the benefit of all members of the local community and especially those who find themselves on the margins. Magdalen Road Church’s bid not only met our core concerns for keyworker housing and for excellent relationships with Comper School but also sought to engage with charities who were supporting those in need.

Father Phil RitchieVicar of SS Mary & John