The King's School: The Point of Contrast Provides a Sense of Connection

The The King's School, Canterbury is exploring improvements to the former Blackfriars Refectory, a Grade I listed Scheduled Ancient Monument dating from 1236–1260, used by the school’s art department since 1983. The building is in places deteriorating and no longer sufficient for the department’s expanded needs, particularly for sculpture and additional teaching space.

The school has also acquired Beerling Hall, a former 14th-century guest house (c.1350), historically part of the same monastic complex and located across the River Stour. Both buildings are significant surviving fragments of the medieval Blackfriars monastery, second in importance locally only to Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustine's Abbey. Under single ownership for the first time since 1538, there is an opportunity to reconnect the two sites into a cohesive third monastic campus.

The proposal is to transform the joined site into a distinctive “Arts Hub” — a centre of excellence for the arts with a strong identity rooted in its historic context. The scheme must include facilities for drawing, painting, printmaking, textiles, ceramics, sculpture, photography, digital graphics, a small art library, wet room, external stone carving area, storage, and support spaces.

The project must also incorporate public-facing functions to generate revenue, such as exhibition spaces, workshops, performances, and partnerships with local cultural organisations, potentially using Beerling Hall’s outdoor space.

A key challenge will be balancing pupil safeguarding and public access through secure circulation strategies (e.g., separating buildings by function, term-time vs holiday access, or controlled link connections). While historic conservation is important, the school encourages ambitious and creative architectural responses that respect the site’s 800-year history.