The Queen Street School Preservation Trust is proud to welcome Nancy Birtwhistle as a Patron.
Nancy is a bestselling author, lifelong gardener and Hull-born baker who won the fifth series of The Great British Bake Off in 2014.
Nancy will be helping the Trust with its latest fundraising efforts at a festive evening in December. Tickets are now on sale.
Saturday 14 September
Ian Wolseley explores the travels, trials and tribulations of Samuel Wilderspin, the itinerant promoter of Infant education as he journeyed by road and sea just as the railway age dawned – making a four-year “stopover” here in Barton to set up his Model School.
2pm. Free. Booking advised – available from the Museum in person (Mon – Sat), by phone (01652) 635172, or by email wilderspinschoolmuseum@gmail.com.
Sunday 8 September
Procession and Exhibition Lesson demonstrating Mr. Wilderspin’s innovative Infant System, 180 years after the laying of the foundation stone for the National & Infant School. The Procession involving local children starts at St. Mary’s Church (2pm) followed by the Exhibition Lesson at the Museum (2.30pm). Children (and their parents!) are welcome to join in the fun – please give us a ring or call in the Museum for details and to book.
2pm at St. Mary’s Church, 2.30pm at Wilderspin, free
Follow the links to join in the fun
Saturday 7 September, 2pm
Dr. Andrew Walker delivers our inaugural Rex Russell Memorial Lecture. Andrew is Chair of the Society for Lincolnshire History & Archaeology, and has chosen this theme as Rex’s interests in Lincolnshire’s past included a deep interest in the experience of working people, their politics, religion and their culture. The talk will examine the phenomenon of rough music, which Rex referred to in a number of his works. This was a communal means of protesting, usually about actions taking place that contravened societal norms.
Using a range of set piece actions, often involving disguise and the use of discordant sounds, community members expressed dramatically their dissatisfaction with particular forms of behaviour that threatened the social order. Sometimes known by other names such as ‘riding the stang’ and ‘skimmington rides’, an examination of rough music provides an insight into the ways in which communities sought to regulate themselves in pre-industrial societies.
Drawing upon newspaper reports, folklorists’ accounts and illustrations, Andrew Walker will explore the ways in which these activities were reported in their final years during the ‘long’ nineteenth century from c. 1780 to 1914.
£5 advance, £7 otd. Civic Society members free. Booking is advised*
Why not make it a special afternoon and enjoy a pre lecture buffet lunch at Wilderspin in the School’s Playground Garden. £10 – booking essential*.
Cradle to the Grave
Saturday 7 September
A guided tour of Queen Street’s legacy of Victorian public buildings including a look inside the former National & Infant School and Primitive Methodist Chapel, now the Joseph Wright Hall and referencing the research of local history by students of the Barton upon Humber branch of the Workers’ Educational Association and the Department of Adult Education of the University of Hull in the early 1980s. Their research was published in Cradle to the Grave – Barton on Humber in the 1850s, edited by Rex Russell and published in 1984.
The tour is free and starts at the Wilderspin School Museum at 11am and lasts up to one hour.
Booking is essential so we can control numbers – you can ring (01652 635172) close to the day to check availability.
Routes Networks Connections
To mark the 175th anniversary of the railway reaching Barton, award winning railway writer and broadcaster Christian Wolmar tells the fascinating history of the rise and fall of the state-owned British Rail from its post war origins to its dismantlement fifty years later reflecting the political dogmas of the times.
Christian writes regularly for a wide variety of publications including the Independent, Evening Standard and Rail magazine, and appears frequently on TV and radio as a commentator.
His latest book is “British Rail” is an authoritative and fascinating history of the rise and fall of the state-owned British Railways, providing a new perspective on national loss in a time of privatisation.
From its creation after the Second World War, through its fifty-year lifetime, British Rail was an innovative powerhouse that transformed our transport system. Uniting disparate lines into a highly competent organisation – heralding ‘The Age of the Train’ – and, for a time, providing one of the fastest regular rail services in the world.
Born into post-war austerity, traumatised, impoverished and exploited by a hostile press, the state-owned railway was dismissed as a dinosaur unable to evolve, and swept away by a government hellbent on selling it off.
If your memories of BR are “stale sandwiches” or “the wrong kind of snow” this talk will put the other side of the story.
Friday 6 September, 7.30pm
Tickets are £10 in advance* (£12 otd) and £6 for Civic Society Members.
Our volunteers “cycled” from Barton to Pickwell in Leicestershire, a distance of some 90 miles, to raise funds for further upgrading work in the Joseph Wright Hall, formerly a Victorian Primitive Methodist Chapel.
The Queen Street chapel ceased to be used by the Methodists on Easter Day 1961. The organ, by Forster & Andrews of Hull, was dismantled and sold to Immingham Anglican Church; it is now in the parish church at Pickwell, Leicestershire.
Funds raised from the “ride” will help towards lighting improvements for the Hall’s auditorium. £600 was raised and we’re looking to increase that to £1,000 with your help.
You can sponsor us online via Facebook’s Go Fund Me here: https://gofund.me/45d585c3
Pop in throughout the day on the 6th July to see how we’re doing and lend us your support. Admission is free to see the “cyclists” and buy refreshments in our pop-up café and there’ll be a chance to hear about plans for further refurbishment the Hall.
The Museum is open too – admission is £5 (Adult Annual Ticket), children FREE.
Inclusive guided tours are running today at 11am and 1.30pm included in the admission fee – we ask visitors to pre book if possible (Tel. 01652 635172)
Please share the Go Fund Me link with friends and family, or encourage them to sign our sponsorship form at Reception (Thursdays – Saturdays, 11am – 3pm) to help us reach our goal!
Left: The Chapel organ built by Forster & Andrews of Hull.
Centre: The fluorescent strip lights we want to replace are old, costly to run and not ecofriendly.
Right: Lights, Action! We’ve modified the platform stage, got theatrical lighting and new seats – but the ceiling lights need replacing.
The Church School & Wilderspin Story
Join one of our monthly guided tours to find out why Historic England has described our building as “one of the most important schools in England“. You’ll see the unique Model School designed by Samuel Wilderspin and we’ll explain how his Infant System worked, compare it to a traditional Victorian classroom for older children, then move on to the later story of the School which will undoubtedly trigger memories of your own schooldays.
One-hour tours. Start at 11am and 1.30pm. £5pp includes an Annual Ticket allowing free return visits for twelve months and tea & coffee following the tour. Unsuitable for very young children. There’s plenty of seating as you move through the building.
Booking essential – tel. (01652) 635172 or email wilderspinschoolmuseum@gmail.com
Forthcoming tour dates: Sunday 11 August, Sunday 15 September
THIS SATURDAY 1 June is our annual Open Day with FREE admission, a chance to look behind the scenes and find out about volunteering opportunities with us and other Barton volunteering projects. And peruse our expanded selection of pre-loved books.
Tours at 11am and 1.30pm. No need to book.
A free event for families to cook and eat together, enjoy a healthy meal, and discover affordable, nutritious options.
4pm – 6.30pm at Wilderspin
22 & 29 April and 13 & 20 May
Learn cooking skills and help reduce food waste to care for the planet.
Have fun and make new friends.
To book – message Slow Circular Earth or text 07875 407997
Wilderspin National School
Queen Street
Barton-upon-Humber
DN18 5QP
The Wilderspin National School has received help and support from the following organisations:
The Wilderspin National School is an independent museum, registered charity no. 1047187 and a Company Limited by Guarantee no. 2844791.