School

Village close to the northern edge of the county town so that it has effectively become a suburb.



Above: despite its appearance this is not an Anglican parish church. It was constructed in the medieval period as a church, and the tower dates from this period. However in 1620 it was purchased by a Merchant Adventurer (the venture capitalists of their day) and turned into a grammar school administered by a charitable trust supported by grants of land (which provided an income to run the school.



Above: the school originally met inside the nave of the old church. In the 1860s purpose-built schoolrooms were constructed (access is through the open green door on the left) and this part of the school became an assembly room and chapel. So good was the quality of education that the school attracted pupils from all over the country.



Above: the school lasted until the 1970s when it was merged with other schools and moved to new buildings. The classrooms are now used for continuing education. They don't look as if they have changed much.

I was very interested in the sustainability of this school - founded in 1620, endowed with income-producing assets, and lasting three and a half centuries. This is how I visualise the "big society" happening. There must be many individuals who would donate money to institutions if they could be sure their bequests would be safe from political interference, social engineering, siphoning off into pet projects etc.



Above: there were displays of old photographs - here you can see how the children celebrated "peace" in 1919 with a patriotic pageant.



Above: the children celebrated "victory" in 1945 with a communal meal.



Above: the rural nature of the village survived until comparatively recently. Even in the 1980s strawstacks could be seen in the centre of the settlement. You can imagine how Mud Lane got its name.



Above: I was interested in the way that housing developments were superimposed on the farming landscape - so that the original use of the land persisted in road names, house locations, surviving trees and hedges.

Despite the proximity of the encroaching urban area the "world view" of the villagers together with their self-perception and cultural modes of expression still seems to be intimately connected with the natural world around them and the former school at the heart of their community.

Teas were provided by the Methodist chapel next door. Young female minister in a pink clerical shirt. A tiny ancient lady, very frail, came into the chapel and I had the sense (intuitive) that she was very holy.