Sir John Moore Church of England Primary School
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Sir John Moore Church of England Primary School is a junior school situated in the village of Appleby Magna, in Leicestershire, England.
The school building dates from 1697, based on an original design by Sir Christopher Wren, with financing from local land holder, Lord Mayor and Alderman of London, Sir John Moore. The building is Grade I listed.[1]
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Sir John Moore [edit]
The Moore family owned the manor house at Appleby Parva (now demolished). Sir John Moore was second son of Charles Moore Esq., owner of Appleby Hall. As his elder brother, also called Charles, was expected to inherit the family estates, as second son, Sir John, was expected to make his own way in the world. Sir John, and all subsequent generations of younger sons, went to London to make a living as merchants. He made fortune in the City of London, becoming Lord Mayor of London in 1681 (during the reign of King Charles II) and eventually an Alderman of London.[2]
Moore had no children, and wishing to use his wealth to benefit his home village, he financed the building of a school next to his family estate.
Moore commissioned Wren to prepare the initial drawings. After Wren's first design, the work was taken on by local architect Sir William Wilson who both studied under Wren at Oxford University and worked for his Company. It opened as a Free School for boys in 1697.
The school sits in its own walled, landscaped grounds totaling just over 3.5 acres (14,000 m2).
The school [edit]
For most of its existence the school was known as Appleby Grammar School and operated as a free school for the boys of the village as well as a boys' boarding school. The name was changed to Sir John Moore Church Of England School some time in the last century; it was also in the last century that the school started to accept girls.
During the second World War, the school was used to house Belgian evacuees (boys only). It is said locally that the flames of Coventry after it was bombed could be seen from the roof of the school.
In the mid 1990s the school was earmarked for closure. A new school building was planned in a neighbouring field and the building was to be surrendered to the National Trust but after much protest from the villagers the school remained open. It received a £6,000,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to complete the renovation of the whole building. The stables were converted into a computer suite and art gallery; the old dormitories were turned into a heritage centre and several old offices and storage rooms were converted into rented offices and apartments.
The building still operates as a primary school, with 125 students from the village. It was described as "outstanding" in its June 2009 Ofsted inspection.[3]
Sir John Moore School now also hosts many corporate events and weddings, and has a midsummer music festival complete with firework display. The old school basements have been converted into a pub called The Cellar.
Famous pupils [edit]
- William Huskisson, well known as being the first man to die in a railway accident when he was knocked down by Stephenson's Rocket at the opening of the Liverpool-Manchester railway. He was a Member of Parliament in Liverpool at the time.[2]
References [edit]
- ^ Heritage Gateway, ref. 187906
- ^ a b Appleby Magna - Sir John Moore School
- ^ Westbrook, Ruth. "Sir John Moore Church of England Primary School Inspection Report". Ofsted. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
