The Old School - Billesdon, Leicestershire - Former Schools on Waymarking.com

"n 1650 the present old school building was erected by William Sharpe of Rolleston as a free school for the parish. Several bequests were made to the school between its foundation and 1837, when the Charity Commissioners reported that they amounted to £180, the interest from which, £12, was used for the payment of the schoolmaster. The then vicar, Dr. Thomas, supported the school from his private means to a considerable extent, and the rest of its funds came from the fees of the 18 paying pupils who paid between 7s. 6d. and 10s. a year. The costs of stationery were defrayed by the parents of the children. In 1837 there were 22 free pupils in addition to those paying fees.

In 1853 the poor condition of the building caused the vicar to raise subscriptions for its repair, and the money was used in 1856 to repair the school and purchase a harmonium. The architect called in to survey the building in 1853 was William Parsons of Leicester who had himself been educated at Billesdon; he advised the rebuilding of the school, but this was evidently not done. In 1855 the Leicestershire Archaeological Society was in some apprehension lest the building should be demolished. The old school remained in use until 1876 when the children were transferred to the new National school.

In 1895 a dispute arose between the vicar and the parish council over the rights of each to the old school building. The vicar claimed that since its foundation the school had been under the control of the vicars of Billesdon and cited several 18thcentury instances of the building being repaired by the churchwardens out of the funds of the church. The parish council made strenuous efforts to deny this, saying that the building had been erected by William Sharpe for the use of the parish in general and that the vicar had no right to say who should and who should not be able to use it. The school had always been used for vestry meetings and for many years it served as the Sunday school. The vicar also allowed it to be used for general religious, benevolent, or charitable purposes. His claim that the Vicar of Billesdon was ex officio controller of the school was endorsed by the Charity Commissioners in 1908, when a new Scheme was issued for the management of the school building and its assets. A committee of trustees was set up, including the vicar and elected representatives, to manage both the building and the assets of the school. The money which belonged to the school, stock valued at £329 1s. 2d., was to be used in the first place for repairs to the fabric. If any residue remained of the interest it could be used for the purchase of a school library. In 1959 the old school was again being used by the schoolchildren as an extra classroom, the National school proving too small to accommodate larger classes.

The old school is a one-story ironstone building with a slate roof, which replaced the old thatch in 1856. It has three three-light windows and a squareheaded door facing the road. The stone windows are square-headed with label mouldings, the lights round-headed. The long axis of the building is north-west to south-east and a curious feature is the existence of four sundials, one on each face. In 1958 the structure was restored with the help of the Historic Buildings Council under the direction of the Ministry of Works."

SOURCE - (visit link)

Address: Old School Room Church Street Billesdon, Leicestershire England LE7 9AE Web Site: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
To post a log, you may include a photo of yourself at the former school, or a photo of the school, but it is NOT necessary. Please indicate the number of people who visited the waymark with you.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.