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Name of school Photo reference Oulton (formerly Oulton Voluntary Aided; C OUL1-37 of E Mixed) closed Grid Reference TG15432763 Is the building listed? No School Address The Old Schoolhouse Oulton Street NR11

A fine example of an estate (Blickling)-built school. Heavily altered and added to in keeping with original style Photograph Photograph

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School from front-school room to left, house to right

Detail of school room front

School from back before conversion

Detail of school room-rear

Back of school after conversion, the wing to the left and in the foreground are later additions.

Detail of later additions. 3 NORFOLK RURAL SCHOOLS SURVEY

Side view with modern wings

Detail of chimney

Document references

Building plans in NRO -

Building plans in - other Sale particulars in - NRO Sale particulars in - other Log books in NRO C/ED 2 /118 1921-64 4 NORFOLK RURAL SCHOOLS SURVEY

Log books in school Earlier log book and manager minutes being deposited 2011

Photographs in NRO Other docs in NRO C/ED 143/51; PD 431/51-52; MC 3/237 (1886 bundle); COL 13/171 see Appendix Acc 2009/304 (1903 survey) p.286 Photographs in other Private photo: winter snow c 1944-7; photo of Mrs Marsden, Other doc.sources head in class 1964, printed in Let’s Talk Schooling Neil Haverson but wrongly dated 1974. Article 25 July 1964 EDP re closure (photos see OUL14, 18, 19). Memoirs of Ane Marsden daughter of last headmistress. National Society Archive NS/7/1/9544

Directory entry White’s Directory 1883 p.623 School built and endowed in (1920s or nearest date) 1848 by Lady Suffield. A neat building in Elizabethan style. Kelly’s Directory 1925 p.418 Public Elementary (Mixed) erected in 1848 for 86 children NCC Ed. Com. Development Plan 1947 p.113 35 children 5-14; closure 1956/7 Date of construction 1848

Architects (if known) Erected at Lady Suffield’s expense

Position within parish In Oulton Street, not main village

Catchment area in 1940s Oulton

Plan – describe or include scan

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NRO Acc 2009/304 p.286

Dimensions (from log book): Main room L 30ft, B 15ft H 13ft; Class room L10ft, B 13ft, H13ft; Master recess L15ft, B 8ft, H13ft

How many storeys 1

How many rooms Originally 2

Present use Private, heavily restored by previous owner

Name of present owner x

Condition (1 =derelict – 5 = good) 5

Is there a teacher’s house Yes, the right hand side of building. Same date associated with school? Give some idea of date, size and style

Building Features Windows: number, position, size, no of Originally leaded windows in both school 6 NORFOLK RURAL SCHOOLS SURVEY lights, style (sash, leaded, etc) and house, oblong not diamond. See below for style Chimneys: number, style Tudor style

Ventilators: number, position Ventilation work was added in 1911.

Doors: number, position, inscription over x (Boys – Girls) style Porches: number, position, inscription etc Small ladder went up to loft over porch (north) which children climbed on and Jumped off. Had window in. Oak door. Bell towers/clock and other ornamentation Bell tower removed in 1908; ‘there had never been a bell’ and damp was getting in.

Overall style Gothic/ecclesiastical X (pointed windows and doors Classical/Georgian x (triangular pediments, sash windows) Tudor/flat headed Mock Tudor. Windows said to be modelled on ; all windows with drip replaced using exact match to old stanchions (wood imported to moulding, ornate obtain correct width). chimneys

Plain and functional Bricks had squints; new red stock bricks from Suffolk for restoration with no cut by saw to match. ornamentation

Inscriptions, coats of arms etc

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School in1964

The school name was cemented over during wartime and uncovered in 1957

Suffiled coat of arms

Building materials Roof-note decorative features (coloured Re-roofed reusing over 90% of tiles (1000s) and fancy tiles Walls-note decorative work (flint work, Plain brick but moulded under eaves, finials diaper bricks etc) on eaves, cornice work and brick courses over windows.

For architectural terminology, see the glossary in Pevsner

Internal (room by room) materials and features such as: Panelled walls Had all gone before 2002

Fire places/heating appliances Large ‘pink’ fireplace on south side of schoolroom removed to create new hall and new staircase. Victorian salvage fireplaces put in hall and little sitting room. Plaster/modern ceilings, open to roof False ceiling inserted into main classroom, May 1955 (to improve heating). Removed and open to ceiling by 2002. Now new first floor added. Original cupboards None there by 2002; new cupboard put in

8 NORFOLK RURAL SCHOOLS SURVEY Room divisions/folding doors None now: Sliding division removed in 1912 and door with glass panels put in. Permanent art work None: Originally a blackboard ran round the seniors’ room for their pictures. Roll of Honour now in Oulton Meeting

House.

Building sequence 1848; 1886 Specification for school additions (inc new classroom 14ft x16) approved by Lady Lothian for £133 10s (see OUL3-4)built by Mr Tuddenham; North front re-tiled 1908; closed July 1964; sold to Harrold family (farmers) for and left virtually unused; some changes with small kitchen and bathroom being created by tenants. Michael Harrold had outline planning permission (Crispin Lambert architect) but not sympathetic. Sold, almost derelict, in 2002 to and restored by Neil and Dawn Clarke (architect David Gipson of Mundesley).

Playground Size (approx) Now garden

Type (tarmac enclosure, field – nature Described in 1938 as having a rough garden, climbing frames, games painted on surface with no playing field available. (Log ground books)Children’s cottage garden created Boundary –original brick, iron fencing etc. 1904 by removing trees next to school. Grew vegetables. Asphalt laid 1953. Gardens professionally designed in 2003. Buildings – out houses, mobiles, ‘offices’ Bricks from the old toilet block used in gateway and other walls. Children had no flush toilets. Flat roof building used as ‘kitchen’ but meals delivered from . The two timber garages were the Marsdens and cleared away on closing.

Include here any additional material (scans of sketch plans, old photographs, oral evidence, etc, précis of school history

9 NORFOLK RURAL SCHOOLS SURVEY 10 Mar 1848; Declaration by Marquis of Lothian as to trusts and management of Oulton School 1. Most Hon the Marquis of Lothian infant of 15 years, Rev Stephen Cooke vicar of Oulton and Rev James Bulwer of Aylsham, trustees 2. Rt Hon Caroline Hans the Dowager Lady Suffield of Blickling Lady Suffield had conveyed to 1. the land containing 3 roods 34 perches lying in Oulton part of the manor of Salkirkhall bounded by her lands north, west and east and lands late of Edward Skinner to south, for a school for poor persons of Oulton and Blickling and a residence for Schoolmaster and schoolmistress and no other purpose. She intends to build the school and schoolhouse at her own cost and transferred £2,230 to 1. for the endowment of said school for 60 children of labouring poor, which will be under her control. Conditions: the schoolmaster is not to be a clergyman of the Church of . Master and mistress to be man and wife and chosen by Lady Suffield. Preference will be given to children whose parents are C of E members. Subjects will be reading writing and arithmetic scripture history and geography and in addition for girls needlework and knitting. Daily Bible reading and church attendance on Sunday.( MC688/10 )

New classroom added at Lady Lothian’s approval 1886 ( paper watermarked 1880, in bdle of 1886 steward papers). (MC 3/237) (BY 1910 most of the endowment went towards paying poor rate).

From log book and Anne Marsden’s memories (2010): 1922 HMI report ‘the Head (Robert W English) has been in charge for nearly 30 years’. He carried out his duties with ‘earnestness’. His wife Mrs E English, the infants mistress in 1922, had accident and never returned to work. 1923 there were 44 in mixed and 32 in infants. Head retired Mar 31 1923 and was temporarily replaced by Margaret Alice Base in June, by Rose A Eeles in July and Agnes J Pentney in September. Agnes resigned in Sept 1924. From 1924 to 1931 J M Megson, from Sheffield, was headmistress. She left the school in good order but with only 38 on roll. Clarice Marsden (b 1898) took charge from 1 st June 1931 and remained there until 1964. She came from Hull teacher training college thinking it was a larger school -at Oulton Broad- but took the position anyway. Good school reports given in 1930s-40s but only 29 on roll in 1938. In September 1939 11 children attended school. Air raids were noted in 1941 and on March 6 1941 at 3.20, six bombs fell on the airfield opposite the school and the children remained in the ‘refuge room’ until 4.30. In 1947 Nurse Jenner ‘heard the whooping cough from the end of the drive and walked in sayng this school is closed.’ Blickling agent remained school correspondent for managers in 1950s. The head Mrs Marsden (and husband), installed bath, basins, electric heater and WC at own expense in c1940. (One of first in the village to have bathroom.) It was always damp (noted in 1909) and they moved out c1946 to live in Aylsham but continued paying the £8 rent. For details of the condition of teacher’s house (report made Dec 1951 and recommendation March 1952) see photos OUL6-10 . Money was spent but Mrs Marsden would not return. It was briefly suggested in 1957 that the Itteringham teacher (who came from ) might live there. Playground asphalted in 1953 (see OUL5) . The school was very cold; the caretaker made up the fire but children had to bring in the faggots to keep it going. It was noted in 1954 ‘that the teacher sat with large desk straight in front of the fireplace’ which was confirmed by her daughter in 2010 ‘children used to come up to talk to her to get some warmth’; false ceiling inserted 1955 as a new heating system was thought too expensive. A hot water pipe (no radiators) ran around the whole room. ‘Nothing was ever changed’ in Mrs Marsden’s time. Rooms were known as big’uns 10 NORFOLK RURAL SCHOOLS SURVEY and little’uns. The gardens (started by Mr English) were used for children to grow produce to take home and an area for chickens. Potatoes would be baked by fire for lunch. The school had no telephone (although the house did). ‘When Walter Cutting fell over, someone ran to the Post Office to get the doctor.’ The outside loos had no footings, just a trench. Girls could see urine from boys toilet flowing down the slope. Piped water was connected to school in 1959.

1945 Development plan proposed closure 1956/7. Closed 28 th July 1964. Pupils went to Blickling school. NCC were not beneficial owners and National Trust sold it to Ernest Harrold, farmer who used part as storage. Briefly inhabited and small kitchen created. In 2002 Neil and Dawn Clarke bought it and restored the building winning Broadlands Enhancement award, and a craftsman award for Gerard Cooper. The false ceiling had been removed and they noted original roof was made of pitch pine. The old schoolroom is now the kitchen. The infants room (1886) was subsiding at far corner and had to be underpinned; gable end was rebuilt further out. Sold c2008 for £1 ½ m.

Appendix

Rules of Oulton School nd (19 th c transcript by Rev James Bulwer) COL 13/171 [deletions may indicate a reuse of rules from another school]

To the Trustees of Oulton School Attendance - from nine to twelve o’clock and two to five in summer; quarter past nine to twelve and from two to four in winter. On Sundays to be at the school room before the morning and afternoon services [ deleted 9.30 and 2.30] at such time as the Mistress shall direct. Payments- for one child one penny, for every other child of the same family one halfpenny to be paid weekly on the Monday morning Any child sent to the school not of the poorer classes, sixpence a week [Deleted - No children from the adjoining not living in Stody or Hunworth are excluded] None are permitted to bring their dinners with them but to return at noon after school hours.

Date of survey November 2010/Feb 2011

Name(s) of surveyor(s) Maggie Vaughan-Lewis