|
The history of this building from West Wittering is
confusing. It is thought to have been built in the eighteenth century as an
open-ended cart shed & only later (possibly in the 1820s) to have been
converted into a school.
In his will of 1702 Oliver Whitby left an endowment to
provide for ‘the teaching of six poor children of the parish of West
Wittering … to read and to buy them necessary books’. The trustees’
accounts record regular payments to school teachers between 1712 & 1851 but
there is no reference to the charity either leasing or building a school
house during this period. In 1823 it was agreed that the trustees would
increase the number of children receiving schooling either by establishing a
school at Harting or West Wittering or by contributing towards the upkeep of
an existing school. It is possible that the cart shed was adapted for use as
a school at this point, although the trustees’ accounts do not record any
building costs and in fact the amount the charity was spending on schooling
did not increase. The only documentary reference to our building as a school
house is the in the West Wittering tithe apportionment of 1848, which
describes it as a ‘school building & stables’. At this time it was owned
and ‘occupied’ (i.e. used) by Richard Phillips, who also occupied (lived in)
the house on the other side of the road. This suggests that by this date
the school building had gone out of use. In 1849 the trustees of the Oliver
Whitby charity built a new school house near the parish church which opened
in 1851.
The interior of
West
Wittering
School is
furnished with original artefacts.
Suggested Topics
- Unit 11 What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
Workshops Featuring this Building
|
