Wilderspin National School facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Wilderspin National School

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Established	2009; 16 years ago (2009)
Location	Queen Street, Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire, DN18 5QP
Type	Social History Museum
Visitors	Total since 2009: 85,000

The Wilderspin National School is a special old building in Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire. It used to be a school, but now it's a museum! This museum teaches us about the life and work of a famous teacher named Samuel Wilderspin. It's also a Grade II listed building, which means it's an important historical place.

A Look at the School Building

The school building was designed by an architect named William Hey Dykes and Samuel Wilderspin himself. It was built for the Church of England to help educate poor children.

The building is made of red brick and has one floor. It's built in a style called Tudor revival, which looks a bit like old Tudor houses. The roof is made of Welsh slate. The building has an H-shape. When it first opened, the right side was for very young children (infants). The left side was for boys, and the middle part was for girls.

You can see special stone carvings on the outside. On the left side, there's the Royal coat of arms. On the right side, you'll find the arms of Reverend George Uppleby. A part was added to the back of the building in 1935.

The School's History

The Wilderspin National School first opened its doors in 1844. It's amazing because the building is still almost exactly as it was back then! This school is also unique because it's the only one left that shows both a Wilderspin school building and its original playground.

When this school opened, it took over from a smaller school run by Isaac Pitman. The new school could teach over 100 infants, who were usually between 2 and 6 years old.

Samuel Wilderspin, the famous teacher, taught here with his wife and daughter. He also trained other teachers at this school. The school finally closed in 1978. In September 1992, it was officially recognized as a Grade II listed building, protecting its history.

Gallery

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  Front (left)

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  Front (centre)

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  Front (right)

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  Rear

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  Blue plaque recording the construction and restoration of the building

Becoming a Museum

A replica Victorian classroom in the school

The Old schoolroom

After the school closed in 1978, a group called the Queen Street School Preservation Trust was created in 1993. Their goal was to save the building from falling apart.

Thanks to a lot of funding, the building reopened as a museum in January 2009. Money came from places like the Heritage Lottery Fund, Yorkshire Forward, and English Heritage.

Since it reopened, the museum has welcomed over 85,000 visitors! More than 40,000 people have used its meeting rooms. Also, over 22,000 students have taken part in its special education programs for schools.

Museum Awards and Recognition

The Wilderspin National School Museum has won several awards for its great work.

• It received a Sandford Award for its excellent heritage education programs.
• In May 2017, the Scunthorpe Telegraph newspaper listed the school as one of the top ten "best things to visit in North Lincolnshire."
• In June 2018, the Queen Street School Preservation Trust, which runs the museum, received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. This award is for groups that do amazing volunteer work. They got it for saving and restoring the school and for providing museum and education services.
• Also in 2018, the school's Development Officer received the Annual Town Award from the Barton Town Council. This was to recognize their volunteer work for Barton-upon-Humber.