As a derelict former school on the outskirts of a County Durham village is demolished we dig into our archives to have a look at the building over the years.
Bulldozers have moved in to raze the St Peter's Community School on Main Road in Gainford, between Barnard Castle and Darlington.
The building first opened in 1900 as St Peter's Roman Catholic Orphanage, where it housed orphaned boys up to the age of 13.
Pictured in 1910
After being established as an orphanage, during World War II, the school was used to house inmates evacuated from St Aidan's Approved School while the boys of St Peter's boarded at St Mary's home at Tudhoe.
Between 1948 and 1954 further extensions were constructed at the southeast end of the building.
In 1973 the school changed its name to St Peter's Community School but eventually closed in 1984 due to lack of funding.
Pictured in 2004
After closing it's doors in 1984 the building was sold on the private market and for a period of a little over ten years it was used as a care home for the elderly.
Since the mid-1990s the main building has stood empty and has suffered vandalism and fire damage.
By 1994 the building had undergone a series of demolitions until recently all that remained was the principle building.
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Boarded up in 2007
That has now been pulled down, with workers remaining on the scene completing the last of the demolition.
Fire in March 2016
Demolition of part of building after fire in 2016
Final demolition February 2024
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