Bentham Grammar School

Bentham Grammar School was an independent school in Bentham, North Yorkshire, England. The school, which was founded in 1726, closed in 2002 owing to dwindling pupil numbers.

1. History

Bentham Grammar School was founded as a charity in 1726 in the village of Bentham by William Collingwood, a gentleman of York. His will provided for two masters, an Upper Master and a Lower Master, both "educated according to the rule of Oxford and Cambridge". It educated first the boys of the local villages and later, in the twentieth century, also fee-paying boarders from a wider area. Girls were educated in small numbers until the 1930s when the school became fully co-educational. The first school was situated on School Hill in High Bentham, but after the Elementary Education Act 1870, the building was required for state elementary education and the school moved to a site at Moon's Acre in 1878. The Factory Acts of 1838 and 1844 required children working in the local textile mills to have some half-day education, and that provision was catered for, as was the developing Victorian curriculum. Even so, by the early twentieth century the school still only numbered 40–50 pupils. The first two headmasters of the 20th century both came from Nottingham. John Llewellyn (1893–1907) had taught John Player, the future tobacco magnate, and Jesse Boot, instrumental in the early years of Boots the Chemist. His successor, Theodore Bayley Hardy VC, DSO, MC was the most decorated non-combatant of the First World War. In the inter-war years, the school continued to educate children up to the statutory school-leaving age, but many who were looking to advance into tertiary education would transfer to either Giggleswick School or Lancaster Royal Grammar School. Under headmaster George Percy Gill (1920–1937) students from mainland Europe were welcomed as teaching assistants. In 1945, the then headmaster, Ronald Purdy, decided to remove the majority of the school to a newly-founded school at Eshton, near Gargrave, leaving a reduced school for its governors to re-establish. In 1948 under its new post-war headmaster, John Webb (father of Jean Webb, otherwise known as the human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce), the school moved again, this time to the Norman Shaw rectory building in Low Bentham. After 1946 pupil numbers steadily grew – including local children passing the 11-plus examination from either Yorkshire or Lancashire - until the school was admitting between 300 and 400 boys and girls. An important aspect of the school was its independence, one of the most striking examples of which was the self-help model which the Webbs and their staff adopted partly out of necessity and partly as policy. ’Self-help’ meant that the pupils and staff were involved in the construction and maintenance of new buildings and facilities. This attracted wide attention and, in 1956, the BBC made a film of the school that depicted its work and life. The school provided a full range of academic and practical education, catering for pupils of a wide range of age and ability from nursery to Oxbridge and, by the 1980s, often from differing backgrounds, including a number with disabilities. It attracted students from all parts of the world. The school continued to educate between 200 and 300 pupils into the 1990s. There was extensive work beyond the classroom in areas such as sport and outward-bound activities (including a full Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme), drama, music and public speaking.

1. Closure

The School closed in August 2002 due to falling pupil numbers. After its closure, the site was taken over by Sedbergh School as its junior department, which was later transferred to Sedbergh itself in 2008. The building is now owned by the Witherslack Group as Cedar House School, a school for children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties such as communication difficulties and complex learning difficulties.

1. Notable alumni

Atupele Muluzi, Malawian politician Gareth Peirce, human rights lawyer Charles Ng, serial killer

1. References


1. External links

Visual History of BGS

Nearby Places View Menu

St John the Baptist's Church, Low Bentham

St John the Baptist's Church is the parish church of Low Bentham, a settlement in North Yorkshire, in England. A church in Bentham was recorded in the Domesday Book. It is believed to have been destroyed during a Scottish raid in the early 14th century. The oldest parts of the current church, the tower and the chancel arch, date from the 1340 rebuild. The church was restored in 1822, and then largely rebuilt by Richard Norman Shaw between 1876 and 1878. A porch and new main door were added in 1891. The church was Grade II* listed in 1958. In 2023, a kitchen and toilets were installed, and the pews were replaced by chairs. The church is built of stone with a slate roof. It consists of a nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a north porch, a chancel with a north vestry and a south chapel, and a west tower. The tower is in Perpendicular style, with three stages, diagonal buttresses, and a west doorway above which is a three light window. The two-light bell openings have trefoil heads with mouchettes in the spandrels, and hood moulds, and at the top is an embattled parapet with four crocketed pinnacles. One 15th century window survives in the south wall of the chancel, and two in the south chapel. In the south chapel wall is a sundial dating from about 1800. The font was designed by William Lethaby and dates from about 1890. The pulpit is by Shaw, and there is a king post roof dating from his restoration. The reredos was designed by Shaw and carved by Thomas Earp. The walls have majolica tiles manufactured by Maw & Co, and there are several windows with stained glass by Heaton, Butler and Bayne. A south aisle window incorporates a stone crucifix which probably dates from the 13th century. The building contains a coffin slab dating from about 1340; the Kirkbeck Stone dating from the 17th century; and a 15th-century bell hanging in the porch. The church reputedly has the heaviest peal of six bells in Yorkshire, and together weigh 7,500 pounds (3,400 kg). The old organ, which is no longer playable, was built by William Hill of London as a "house organ" for Walker Joy, a prosperous oil merchant in Leeds; his brother designed a hydraulic engine to pump the bellows, making it the first ever to be blown by mechanical power. The organ is due to be removed. The churchyard contains a memorial to Robert Poole, a gravedigger, consisting of a sculptured shovel leaning against a tree trunk.

Church Historic Site

590 m

Low Bentham railway station

Low Bentham railway station served the village of Low Bentham, North Yorkshire, England, from 1850 to 1853 on the "Little" North Western Railway.

Historic Site Landmark

1.1 km

Bentham Quaker Meeting House

Bentham Quaker Meeting House is a historic building in Low Bentham, a village in North Yorkshire in England. The first Quaker meetings in Low Bentham were held in a barn in 1686, then moved to a purpose-built meeting house in 1720. This closed in 1750, but in 1768 a new building at Calf Cop was acquired. This proved to be too small, and it was demolished and replaced with the current building in 1798. In 1886, the Low Bentham meeting was merged with the High Bentham meeting, although the Calf Cop building was retained for occasional worship. In 1975, the High Bentham meeting house was sold. The area's regular meetings returned to the Calf Cop building, which was restored to the designs of Michael Sykes, using the proceeds of the sale of the High Bentham Building. The building is constructed of stone, with a stone slate roof with timber gutters, and a stone chimneystack. It has a rectangular plan, with a porch on the east side, with access to a cross-passage. South of the passage is the main meeting room, and north is the former women's meeting room, since divided into smaller rooms. The passage also has a staircase, providing access to the gallery of the main meeting room. The porch has a datestone reading "1718", which is believed to have come from the predecessor building. The north and south walls are gabled and blank, while the east and west walls have sash windows: smaller original windows, and larger ones probably dating from the 19th century. Inside, there is an elders' stand with original panelling, and other early features include the staircase, and the balustrade of the balcony. In the meeting room are two 18th century oak chairs, along with benches, and a heavily altered 18th century table. The meeting house has been grade II listed since 1958.

Church Historic Site

The Ridding

The Ridding is a Victorian country house located in the village of Bentham, North Yorkshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It was built in Scottish Baronial style for B. H. Bent by E. G. Paley in 1857–60, the only building designed in this style by Paley. It is built of squared rubble with sandstone ashlar dressings and a slate roof. The frontage has three bays in two storeys and incorporates a short two-stage tower at the left.

Landmark