Historical interest
The school building is especially important in a number of respects:
It has a close connection with Samuel Wilderspin, the "founder" and promoter of infant schooling and one of the foremost British educationalists of the 19th century. Wilderspin is internationally significant as an educationalist and innovator, both for infant schooling and elementary education in general. He had a fundamental impact on educational theory and practice, and also on school layout and design - both of buildings, furnishings and playgrounds.
This school is the most closely associated with Wilderspin in the country. It is unique as the only surviving school in England where Wilderspin was involved with the design and layout. Also where he and his wife and daugther taught for any length of time. He trained teachers and nursery governesses at the school and his schoolroom survives intact. It still has traces of its original fittings, notably the infants’ gallery, which was fitted by Wilderspin for his own use.
The infant school is one of the earliest surviving in England. Taking the building as a whole it represents a classic example of a model medium-sized mixed school. It is one of a few examples of a National School from the period to survive relatively unaltered. It also has very good documentation.
The walled playground survives, together with foundations of the former toilet block. The playground was another of Wilderspin’s innovations. His infant playground in Barton was characteristically larger than those for the older children. It will have contained features such as flower beds, trees and circular swings, traces of which may survive under the later surfacing.
Chronological changes
The architectural changes made to the school over its 134 years in use were relatively minor and in matching style and materials.
The first alteration to the school was made a few weeks after it opened. Such was the demand for infant education in Wilderspin’s new school that the schoolroom had to be extended by fifteen feet as the original building was too small.
The building remains largely unaltered, although there is evidence that the front side entrances were re-modelled in 1858. Later in the century another girls schoolroom was added to the rear between the two arms of the original ‘H’ design. At the same time the original masters house was converted into the boys classroom, and the original girls schoolroom was divided to form the girls and infant classrooms, reflecting development of the school along Wilderspin lines. At the end of the century, cloak rooms were added to the rear of the school.
In 1902-3 partitions were inserted into the girls and boys schoolrooms, whilst a folding partition was erected in the infant room and the infant gallery was removed.
In 1935 the school premises were extended to the East, providing larger playgrounds. A separate craft and domestic science building was erected which was converted to a hall/canteen after a secondary modern school was opened in 1958. The school closed in 1978 and moved to a new building on Marsh Lane in Barton, now known as St. Peter’s CE School.
Detailed description
The school was designed by architect William Hey Dykes of Hull and Wakefield and Samuel Wilderspin in Tudor revival style.
The school has a five-bay front with projecting entrance porch and side wings. It is built in red brick with sandstone dressings around window and door openings. The roof is of Welsh slate with integral air ventilators. The rainwater goods are in cast iron with ornate cast iron hopper-heads to down pipes.
The original porch and railings are in poor condition and are in need of renovation. These features are fundamental.
For a detailed description of the building, see appendix 1 and 2.
A detailed archaeological survey of the building and grounds is currently in progress.