Dewsbury's most iconic building has
been reinvented.
Source: Article by Ali Turner Leeds-List 29th October 2020
Kirklees College has transformed Dewsbury’s Grade
II-listed Pioneer House into a new specialist centre where you can study
degree-level courses on everything from business and computing to counselling
and early years education.
140 years after it
first opened, Pioneer House will return in a new guise, as a higher education
centre.
Pioneer House is one of Dewsbury’s most iconic
landmarks. Built by the local co-operative in 1878, it was a hub of activity
for over 100 years, but for the last decade, it’s stood empty. Now the Grade
II-listed building has been given new purpose, as Kirklees College comes to the
end of an ambitious £16 million restoration project. Their new Pioneer Higher Skills
Centre will
bring this incredible building back to life and create new opportunities for
locals to develop the skills they need to succeed.
Protecting history for future generations
We have the co-operative movement to thank for
Pioneer House. In 1874, local branches came together to form the Dewsbury
Pioneers Industrial Society. Four years later, they commissioned Henry Holtom
and George Arthur Fox, the architects behind Dewsbury Town Hall, to design
their headquarters. The result was an incredibly grand building that housed
shops, offices and reading rooms, as well as a library and a 1,500-seat
theatre.
In the years that followed, the theatre became a
cinema, a bingo hall and a snooker club. Shops came and went, joined now by
restaurants and cafes, but the building itself remained popular until the
1980s, when changing shopping habits took their toll. In 2005, it was bought by
The Stayton Group, with ambitious plans for a mixed-use development, but they
never came to pass, and in 2011, Kirklees Council issued a compulsory purchase
order to protect the building for future generations.
And that’s exactly what they did. They secured
investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund and launched the Dewsbury Townscape
Heritage Initiative. It caught the attention of Kirklees College who were able
to get funding from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership to transform
the building into their new skills centre. Not only have they protected the
building for future generations, but it will now be used to educate them.
Education was very important to the co-operatives, so in a way, the building
has now come full circle and returned to its original purpose.
A state-of-the-art college in a historic building
Pioneer Higher Skills Centre is the ultimate
juxtaposition of old and new, with original features, awe-inspiring grandeur
and state-of-the-art facilities, all under one roof – they’re even installing a
new Antony Gormley sculpture on the roof that will become new focal point in
Dewsbury. From the painstakingly restored beams and stonework to the terrazzo
floors, Minton tiles and vaulted ceilings, they’ve retained as much of the
history and character of the building as possible. But at the same time,
they’ve transformed the space, creating a modern working environment that’s
more akin to a university than a college.
Everything is bespoke. Traditional classrooms and
computer rooms come kitted out with Promethean Boards and interactive TVs that
teachers and students can connect to in seconds, but they also have a dedicated
space for work-based learning where students can get hands-on experience and
develop practical skills. Retractable walls create flexible spaces where double
classrooms can be split in two for group work, presentations and events, while
carefully placed breakout spaces give students somewhere to study and socialise
between classes.
The original theatre has been sectioned off to
create the computer suites, science labs, and the building’s crowning glory,
the Learning Resource Centre. They’ve retained the original vaulted ceilings,
installed bespoke bookshelves and added formal seating areas where students can
work. The mezzanine has been transformed into an archive for the art and design
students, making the most of every little bit of space.
Degree-level courses on your doorstep
When Pioneer Higher Skills Centre opens on 23rd
November 2020, it will offer a wide range of courses, both full and part-time,
so you can fit your studies around your life. Work your way up from Access to
Diploma courses, which are the equivalent of A-levels and BTECs, to Foundation
Degrees and Higher National Diplomas, which equate to one-third of a degree.
Taught by industry-experienced tutors and designed to equip students for real
working environments, it will help people get a quality education locally and
for a lower price than at a university.
One of the most exciting things about Kirklees
College is their vocational approach and it’s made even better by their
state-of-the-art facilities. Business and Computing students will benefit from
dedicated computer rooms, but that’s just the beginning. They have a Build Room
where you can get hands-on experience by taking apart and rebuilding computers,
as well as a CISCO Suite where you can learn about networking and cybersecurity
through visualisations and practical learning on a live network.
Art & Design students will benefit from their
own dedicated space on the ground floor, complete with original pillars and
exposed stonework. It’s set up for both wet and dry trades, so you can do
anything from art to textiles, ceramics and graphic design. They even have a
dedicated darkroom in the basement for budding photographers. Meanwhile, Hair
and Beauty students will find themselves working in the old Roberto’s
restaurant, where the original doors, stained glass windows and wooden
panelling add character to super-realistic hairdressers, barbers and beauty
rooms, each of which has its own distinct personality. And Counselling students
will have equally realistic, private treatment rooms where they can practise in
a true-to-life environment.
The future of education in Dewsbury
Pioneer House is an iconic landmark, so seeing it
restored and back in use is a huge confidence boost for Dewsbury, but it’s more
than that. Once open, the new Pioneer Higher Skills Centre will create
opportunities for local people to develop their skills and get a quality
education, so this historic building will once again leave a lasting impression
on people’s lives.
