Discover the fascinating stories behind our historic classrooms spanning 150 years as told by our period teachers
Solve our mystery objects challenge as you explore the school
Reminisce in our Chatty Café at the end of this unique tour and rekindle memories of your own schooldays stories
This is our new “experience” tour, lasting ninety minutes, and ending with reminiscence and refreshments.
Our teachers from the past will welcome you to their classrooms and share the School’s stories starting in 1845 when Queen Victoria was at the beginning of her long reign, and Mr. Wilderspin was at the end of his illustrious career. Here in Barton he seized the opportunity to create the country’s first Model Infant School based on his System which was adopted internationally.
Our teacher-guides will escort you through time, experiencing the strictness of the Victorian National School, the hardships of wartime in the 1940s Classroom, and the liberation and enjoyment of the post war classrooms.
Along the way there are mystery objects to test you – and a puzzle or two to solve.
The tour is designed for adults visiting independently or with friends, partners or family – with a limited number of places on each tour – so, by the end, you’ll have got to know everyone in your “class”!
There’s a chance to add your own childhood stories to our memory blackboard and enjoy a well-earned cup of tea or coffee with cake or scones – while poring over more mementoes from our Store.
The price is £10 per person, including refreshments at the end of the tour.
We thoroughly enjoyed welcoming Y3 & Y4 pupils from Plover to learn about a child’s war on 3 & 4 September. The pictures on their https://ploverschool.co.uk/ website say it all!
Admission to the Museum is FREE during the Heritage Open Days festival 6 – 15 September, and our opening hours expanded to include both Sundays so we’ll be open 11am – 3pm on Thursday 5 – SUNDAY 8, and Thursday 12 – SUNDAY 15 September with FREE guided tours on Sunday 15 at 11am and 1.30.
Here’s what’s happening in September.
HOD Programme at Wilderspin 2024
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*.
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.