MSO10331 - Village Hall, Luccombe (Monument)

The building was constructed by the 11th Baronet Acland in 1881 as a school. It closed in 1946, becoming a village hall in 1967. It is single storey, built of local sandstone with brick dressings and has a "fishscale" plain tiled roof.

'School' shown on Ordnance Survey map of c1904. [1] Noted as a 'Hall' in 2005. [2] A new school was provided in the village in 1881, mainly financed by the Acland family of Holnicote. It became the village hall in 1967. Somewhat set apart, adjoining the village green is the former School, now the Village Hall built by the 11th Baronet Acland in the late 19th century. It is single-storey, built of squared-off local sandstone with brick dressings and “fishscale” plain tiled roof. [3] Luccombe School was established in 1881 by the Aclands. [4] The school building was erected in 1881, mainly financed with assistance from the Aclands family. It repoened as a Government school on 25th January 1892 for mixed infants, with 17 pupils and being taught by Miss S Harris. It consisted of one large room, with infants being under the control of a monitor and the older children being taught by the school mistress. School children were often employed in picking whortleberries and the school was often closed early to allow this. It was a prime source of income for many village families and often financed the children's clothing and footwear for the next year. The school had a large catchment area and children had to travel in daily from Stoke Pero, Cloutsham, Venniford and Horner, several miles each way. Attendance eventually dwindled and after the Second World War it was decided that the school would have to close, with the children being sent to Timberscombe instead by bus from 1946. During the 1950s and 1960s the building was used as a men's club, with a concrete skittle alley built in the former playground. The building was converted into a Village Hall in 1967 after plans for a new building failed to materialise. [5] The building is mentioned in the 2018 Conservation Area Appraisal for Luccombe. It states that the Luccombe Millennium Lamp is fixed to the hall. [6] The heritage asset was assessed for inclusion on the Exmoor Local Heritage List in November 2022. It was decided to add the asset to the Local Heritage List. [7]