2 Raby Terrace, Darlington: Historic Building Recording

Historic Building Recording comprising photographic, descriptive and illustrated record. The building was first constructed likely in 1819, as a custom-built British and Foreign School, funded by the Quaker Pease family. The school was housed in the building until circa 1886, when it moved to new premises in Beaumont Street, and the building was converted to housing. It seems that at this time the western elevation of the building was reduced in size and rebuilt into the form we see today - certainly by 1898 the western elevation bore no resemblance to that mapped in 1855. Its use as housing was short lived, as by 1914 the building was in use as a cookery school. By this time the southern elevation had also been remodelled, as the adjoining building had been demolished and a new alley established along the building's southern side. In 1921, the Royal British Legion Darlington Branch was formed and took up residence in the building. By 1939, the British Legion had demolished much of the northern range around the eastern courtyard and rebuilt it in the form we see today, and by the time the 1955 Ordnance Survey map was produced, the building was labelled as belonging to the British Legion Club. The Club closed its doors at Raby Terrace in the late 1970s, with the building taken over by St. Mary's Associated Club in 2012. In turn, the Club was a victim of Covid-19 lockdown, and closed in 2020. The building has remained derelict and closed since. However on September 19th 2024, the police raided the premises and found a substantial cannabis farm inside. While the plants themselves were removed, the associated equipment and paraphernalia was left in-situ. Instruction to undertake the recording was given by Darlington Borough Council on the 20th September 2024, with this report holding the record of the subsequent project.