Viewforth High School Annex Stable & Washhouse, Loughborough Road, Kirkcaldy

U-plan stable block with washhouse to W. Slated, squared and snecked rubble with ashlar skews, coped ashlar stacks, stone mullions and stop-chamfered arrises boarded timber doors and some timber sash and case windows remaining, all blocked.

By 1885 the annexe, formerly known as Eastbank House, was occupied by (and probably built for) John Scott, engineer and shipbuilder of Whitebank Engineering Works, Dunnikier Road and Abden Shipbuilding Yard, Kinghorn. Henry William Hutchison, of East Bridge Flour Mills, purchased Eastbank in 1902 and employed William Williamson to carry out significant alterations including the canted corner at the east elevation, the hall, stair window and NW parlour. Fife County Council purchased the building in 1929.

A variety of initials occur on the monogrammed pediments, 'ESM' (W), 'PR, ES' (S) 'JS, JSK' (E). The small windows in the NW parlour have country scenes and wording "Flowers are lovely, love is flowerlike and friendship is a sheltering tree" and "The morning hour has gold in its hand". William Williamson's 1903 drawing shows an elegant verandah to centre south and the stable block is detailed with washhouse and stair up to laundry at W. (Historic Scotland)

January 2011: External inspection finds a fundamentally sound building, but in need of much maintenance and repair - there are significant areas of broken and missing slates, vegetation growth in gutters, pointing to walls is poor with cope stones missing to rear. Windows are boarded up.

19 September 2012: A member of the public advises Fife Council is considering options for Viewforth School. Fife Today reported in Aug 2012 that the Council was exploring ways to replace the current buildings, rated as being amongst the poorest condition of secondary schools in the area. One option being considered is merging Viewforth with another local school on a new site.

28 May 2014: External inspection finds the building remains in much the same condition as seen previously. Fife Council is understood to be pursuing the construction of a new school to replace Viewforth - of which the annex was formerly part of - on a different site within Kirkcaldy.

4 October 2017: Local planners advise a serious fire has left the adjacent Eastbank House, a former annex to Viewforth School in ruinous condition. The former stable block is not thought to have been affected.

2 August 2018: External inspection finds the building in much the same condition as seen previously. There has been some repair and maintenance of the roof but remains in poor condition overall.

17 January 2020: Listed Building Consent sought for partial demolition of school (BARR ref 6227), installation of replacement roof, installation of windows and doors, internal alterations, complete demolition of former washhouse and stable outbuildings and alterations to boundary walls (ref: 19/03660/LBC).

Full Planning Permission also sought for the erection of 82 dwellings and conversion of former school to form 14 dwellings as well as associated works including: demolition and downtaking of listed buildings; construction of access, roads and parking; drainage; landscaping and erection of walling and fencing (ref: 19/03653/FULL).

Viewforth High School Annex (BARR ref 4938) sits outside of the proposed development and is unaffected by planning applications above.

17 August 2020: Various news sources report on a fire (15/8/2020) at the former Viewforth school complex. Photographs published on Fife Today's website show the fire appears to have been concentrated within a single storey range (which is now a roofless). It is unclear whether the Stables/ Washhouse and Annex buildings have been damaged.

30 April 2021: Listed building consent is being sought for demolition of outbuilding and alterations to boundary walls to create site access, ref: 21/00898/LBC.

3 May 2024: Listed building consent (23/03569/LBC) for full demolition is being sought. Risk level raised to Critical.