COLLEGIUM Production • Investigation • Art | Página 31

History
The Church of Saint Nicholas began to be built by the year 1600 and; two other
stages would follow this initial phase. After the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767
from Spain by the Royal Decree of Charles III, the church would lose its func-
tion within the archeological complex erected by the Jesuits, and it would be
separated from the initial property, becoming the Saint Nicholas parish in 1771.
Additional construction works would be carried out until 1775 with the aim to
recondition, segregate and differentiate it from its original function. In 1911, due
to the Parish Agreement, this place ceased to be a parish and was integrated to
the Santo Domingo church, using this space only to celebrate some festivities
such as the one of Saint Victorino. In 1927, the belfry’s bell tower was sold and in
1929, this would be demolished. By mid 20th century, the relics and the existent
altarpieces were relocated and dispersed in order to temporarily use this space
as a barn, warehouse or garage. Once its original function was completely lost, its
vaults began to collapse by the decade of the 80’s due to the lack of maintenance.
Since then, some land cleaning and seeding labors were carried out. In addition,
the repairing, reconstruction and consolidation of some of the most damaged
elements of the building have been carried out by the Junta de Castilla y León,
thanks to a project by the architect Jesús Gascón Bernal.
The Old Jesuit School, just like the Saint Nicholas Church, was seriously affected
by the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767. Afterward, in 1775 the School became to
02.Arévalo
be part of the Royal Patronage under the name of Real Colegio de Santiago. By
the mid of the 19th century, the lack of maintenance and conservation labors of
the buildings, the architectonic complex of the School plummeted and were rebuilt
once again with the salvaged materials from the original construction. Once the
construction works were finished by the end of the 20th century, the complex was
used as Municipal Schools. According to some local testimonies, some of the
spaces of the school were used as judging courts in the 1950’s decade in order to
provisionally harbor prisoners. In 1970, Fernando Barrero Mengottu bought the
Scholl and settled the Instituto de Lenguas y Cultura Españolas “Juan II de Cas-
tilla”. It only functioned until 1985. In 1990, Arévalo’s Council recovered its owner-
ship. Since then, its space has been registered as summer bar (1995-2002), a
Municipal workshop to teach locksmith, welding, and rehearsal room for a local
music group with pictorial penchants.
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