Beautifully restored in 2021, this exclusive development is home to eight exceptionally designed loft apartments in Sunderland, available for short-term stays, perfect for corporate accommodation or a weekend escape.
Simpson Street Apartments are a 10 minute walk from Sunderland City Centre. The apartments are located on the edge of Riverside Sunderland urban quarter, one of the UK’s most ambitious regeneration projects. In walking distance are scores of cafés, bars, restaurants, the city’s incredible Empire Theatre, Old Fire Station and Auditorium, Stadium of Light and the Bridges Shopping Centre. Within walking distance is Sunderland Royal Hospital and the University of Sunderland.
Simpson Street School, designed by Architect J W Rounthwaite, first opened in 1867 as Deptford Yard Church of England School, consisting of boys and infant departments. It was known as The Laing Church of England, later becoming Simpson Street Boys Board School. Over the years, it had various guises as a school.
A separate Simpson Street Girls Board School was created in 1884 after Sunderland School Board took control of the building. In 1904, responsibility passed from School Boards to Local Education Authorities and the schools became Simpson Street Boys and Girls Council Schools. The school then re-opened in 1905 as Deptford Terrace Council School, Junior Department, later Deptford Terrace Junior Mixed School. It closed in March 1929 and a new school opened on the same site, on 1st April 1929 - Simpson Street Council School, Junior Boys Department.
In January 1943, the school amalgamated with the Girls Department to form Simpson Street Council School, Junior Mixed Department, which was later redesignated a County Primary School. On 1st January 1958, this school merged with the Infants Department.
The school bell rang for the final time in July 1961, to make way for an industrial development. In 1994, the Victorian building was protected with a Grade II listed status. It subsequently fell into disrepair whilst in use as artist studios, suffering from vandalism and arson attacks.
Building Design Northern Ltd (BDN) bought the building in 2020, in a bid to give a new lease of life to an important part of Sunderland’s heritage.
Shortly before BDN’s purchase of the building, The Old School suffered an arson attack, subsequently causing severe roof damage. The fire was concentrated around the central stair, which was essentially destroyed in its entirety. Following a successful planning application, in 2020, renovations began to repair the fire damage, and fully renovate and transform the former derelict Victorian school.
The renovations of the Old School, Simpson Street have created contemporary spaces to live, work and enjoy. Building Design Northern utilise a third of the building, as their company headquarters, with the rest of the building making up the 8 luxury apartments. As many original features as possible have been retained to sympathetically restore the building, in keeping with its character, whilst also fully modernising the Grade II listed property.