MEM23581 - School House, The Steep, Winsford (Building)

No building is depicted on this site on the Winsford Tithe Map of 1839. The site is shown as part of an enclosure included in the lands of The Farm (land parcel 609). [1] By the time the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map was surveyed, the land has been subdivided and a school had been constructed. It appears to have changed little in plan form by the time of the 2nd Edition map and has been little altered since, although it no longer appears to be in use as a school. [2-4] The building has undergone a change of use. The school was attended by Ernest Bevin (1881-1951), former Foreign Secretary (1945-1951) and trades union leader. [5] The building is in use by the Exmoor Community Computer Centre. [6] The children of Winsford Parish and from some outlying farms beyond went to Winsford School from the age of 5 or 6 until they left school at 14. Scholarships were available from the late 1930s and successful children went to the Grammar School in Minehead. Some children had to walk to the school from as far away as Luckyard Farm and Knaplock, with no school transport available. During the Second World War, there were over 100 pupils in the school. It was closed forcibly in 1995. The school was provided by the Aclands who had expressed the wish that the building should always be used for educational purposes. Rather than convert the property to a house, a charity was formed to keep the building for community use. It is now a community computing centre. The school was attended by The Rt Hon Ernest Bevin, wartime Minister of Labour, British Foreign Secretary 1945-1951, architect of NATO and world statesman. He entered on 26 May 1884 and left in 1889. The school was turned into a community education centre with an emphasis on computer training and opened in June 1998. It also hosts a doctor's surgery and a complementary health care centre. [7] Winsford school was established in 1881 by the Aclands with Lady Carnarvon. [8] The school is the smallest local authority school on Exmoor and in Somerset. Rt Hon Ernest Bevin attended between 26 May 1884 and 1889. The school was a Church of England foundation built in 1873. Mr W Dicker, headmaster, recorded in 1913 that 148 different wild flowers and ferns grew in Winsford's fields and hedgerows. The headmistress in 1979 was Mrs Sylvia Adams, who took up the post in 1971. It was proposed to close the school in 1987 but local opposition prevailed. [9] William Dicker was the Master of Winsford School between 1889 and 1924. His wife was named Caroline and she worked with him, teaching cookery and general housekeeping. Mr Dicker had a strong interest in nature study and encouraged his pupils to follow his example. A summary of his time there is recorded in Exmoor Review. [10] The building is now a private dwelling. [11] Winsford was designated as a conservation area in 2023. The new appraisal was produced as part of the adoption of the conservation area. [12]