1910 – Britannia School, St. James, Winnipeg

Built in 1910, the original six-room brick and stone school was officially opened in January1911. Later expanded to designs by the same architect in 1912 at a cost of a further $85,000. Expanded again in 1961 by the addition of classrooms and an auditorium by Smith Carter Searle and Associates. Closed in June 1979, and later demolished. Replaced by the nearby Stevenson-Britannia School.

“The building illustrated is being erected in St. James, a rapidly growing suburb of Winnipeg. It was designed by Architect E.D. Tuttle, of Winnipeg, who has made school and public buildings a study and has been very successful in combining good design with economy.

The building is placed 90 feet from the street and faces the west ; it has a frontage of 93 feet 6 inches and a depth of 73 feet, and is two storeys and basement in height. The lot being over 600 feet long, the building is placed in the centre, and thus presents a good perspective.

The exterior of the building will have a pleasant effect, with the stonework carried to the bottom of the windows on the first floor. Above this the building will he of pressed buff brick with white panels. As this building will eventually become a city scbool, particular attention has been paid to the requirements of the Board of Education. The classrooms are so arranged that all light is admitted at the left side of the pupils. The general layout of the building is such that four additional rooms may be added at a future time when required, by replacing the windows in the halls with doors. The design is for a six-room school, and when the additional four rooms are added they will not interfere with the general arrangement of the halls and the new rooms will have all the advantages of the first six.

The halls are large and amply lighted. There are three well located entrances and two convenient stairways. The basement contains play rooms for the pupils; the boys are divided from the girls by doors hung on an overhead track and so arranged that they can be shoved around as indicated, thus joining the two play rooms, making a large assembly room. There are two commodious store rooms for seats, storm sash, etc.

The heating and ventilating system is that known as the gravity system, with three Pease-Waldon furnaces placed close to vertical stacks, and so arranged that they are all fed from one room, which is entirely surrounded with fireproof walls, as well as fireproof ceilings and floors extending over all the furnaces, thus affording a good fire protection. In addition to this, there will be placed in the furnace room one automatic fire alarm, which will be connected to electric bells in each classroom.

On the first floor are three classrooms with cloak rooms, teachers’ toilet and cloak rooms, and principal’s office. On the second floor are three classrooms with their cloak rooms, library and store rooms.
The contract for the entire work has been let to Messrs. Hodgins & Thompson, of Winnipeg.”
Engineering and Contract Record, July 6 1910

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