Sale of the Old Grammar School building (recently also known as the Elizabethan Gallery)
The Old Grammar School building on the west side of Brook Street has been listed for sale by its owners, Wakefield Council, who have been custodians of this fine, Grade II* listed building since 1979. Built in 1598 to house the recently established Free Grammar School (of 1591), the building has recently stood empty and unused. In past years this society has campaigned to safeguard the building and stands ready to do so again. At the September WHS council meeting the society resolved to request access to the building to undertake an informal survey to ensure its listing (dating to 1979) is up to date. A story on the BBC website carried a quote from a WMDC officer stating that the building required ‘very costly repairs’. We will do what we can to ascertain precisely what these repairs are and what can be done to preserve the heritage of this important Wakefield landmark for the people of the city.
Newspaper articles from 1974 courtesy of the Wakefield Express and the Yorkshire Post