Hampsthwaite Village School
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William Grainge writing in 1871 ("Harrogate and the Forest of Knaresborough") tells us . . . .
"The" national school was built by public subscription, in 1861. It is an elegant and substantial building of stone, in the Elizabethan style of architecture; comprising schoolroom, with classroom, and master's house attached. In order to make this establishment of permanent benefit to the parish, the late Bilton Josephus Wilson endowed it with the interest of £1,500, on the 25th January, 1865. The memory of such actions ought to go down to posterity in everlasting letters."
[See the entry for
Thimbleby House in Church Lane for further comment about Bilton J. Wilson]
The Conservation Area document says the school. . . . .
"is typical of its era with tall high-level windows and a steeply pitched roof. Its gabled porch echoes that of the Church and the railings are a dominant feature of the village green".
The original site of the school was enlarged in August of 1931 when Helen Dorothea Jowett (of Hollins Hall) donated to the school's trustees additional land which extended the site up to the Cockhill Beck effectively doubling the school grounds.
The school has clearly played an important part in the life of the village since the middle of the 19th century and it is hoped that this article will be extensively enlarged as a result of further researches currently in hand. Meanwhile we have the insight into past school life provided by extracts from Book One "Villagers' Reminiscences" which may be read by
clicking here.
. . . . . an engraving of the school dated 1861 . . . . .
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See also
Hampsthwaite CE Primary School photos in the Galleries section of this web site
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