Having bought the building in September
1999 - and as a historian by profession - I was
delighted to discover the existence of the
Barwick Historical Society. Subsequently, I have
read with much interest Nos. 56 and 57 of 'The
Barwicker' and I was, of course, fascinated to
read your excellent book about the school.
While reading Freda Hewitt's article in
No.57, I came across 'The old school is now
empty......we now await with interest to see what
the new development......will be'. If this
'interest' is indeed widely held, I thought it
would be helpful if I informed reader's of our
plans for this handsome but hitherto neglected
building, the front of which makes an important
contribution to the Barwick Landscape.
Although the planning application that was
granted in 1995 was for the conversion to 3
residential units, it is our intention to form
only 2. The former Schoolmaster's House will
remain as one dwelling and the former classrooms
will become the other. The conversion will
involve almost no change to the front of the
building. We are proposing some change at the
rear which should considerably smarten up the
unsympathetic 1960s extension, and the clumsily
detailed work that was undertaken when the school
closed. Any internal features - for instance,
fire places or doors and door surrounds - have
already gone; probably they were victims of the
1960s 'improvements'. However, there are the
remains of a number of impressive roof trusses
which we intend to repair and keep.
I am a long standing member of the Society
for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings, and
subscribe fully to its principles of
conservation; definitely there will be no plastic
windows of the type which have become
surprisingly ubiquitous in Barwick.
For my future wife and I, it was the
school's setting that initially attracted us.
The grouping of the church and the school is
especially pleasing. We hope that by removing
the tarmac of the playground and with the
addition of some judicious landscaping, the site
can be made even more appealing. The 1995
planning application allowed the destruction of
the magnificent flowering cherry tree in front of
the school, but there is now no question of its
removal.
Although the building is hardly an
architectural masterpiece, it no doubt holds many
memories for those who began their education
there.
We hope to move into the Schoolmaster's
House this summer and we look forward very much
to joining the community and especially the
Historical Society.