The Old School House

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The Old School House - Stradbrook

The building which once housed the British School can be found in the now quiet and picturesque part of Bratton known as Stradbrook. Stradbrook was once the heart of the village’s busy cloth industry, dotted with textile mills, but its industrial era was long passed by the time the British School was built in 1844. The British School was established to cater for the children of nonconformist families and is indicative of the area’s propensity towards Christian nonconformity. The building was designed to accommodate 120 children, but a more typical attendance was between 50-60. Children from Bratton were joined by those from Edington, Heywood, and from the village’s outlying hill farms. The school lacked running water and had inadequate heating, and absences on account of farm work, the enticement of fairs, and even bad weather were common until school attendance became compulsory in 1870.
The British School was closed in 1928, and its pupils moved to the new Primary School run by the Council. After World War II, 7 Bratton men opened the building as the village’s Ex-Servicemen’s Club and it became a popular drinking den. It was under the control of Bratton Baptist Church and then the Charity Commissioner for England and Wales. The Club closed on 30th September 2008 and in 2009 it was converted to become a residential property with its address, ‘The Old School House’, bearing witness to its historical origins.

'Early Education in Bratton' by Kathleen White

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The Bratton History Association aims to provide all those curious about local history with an opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and discover more about the history of Bratton and Wiltshire. Activities include monthly meetings, talks by professional historians, visits to places of interest to historians, and our own local history project.

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