The Origins of Wark C of E Aided First School
In September 1679 Giles Heron, a former pedlar and later shopkeeper in Wark made his will providing £200 towards the founding of a free school in Wark. In 1684 Giles died and was buried at Simonburn. It is thought that his Trustees arranged for the school to be built (the building we know as the ‘Old School) and opened shortly after Giles’ death but records for the period up to 1762 are missing. We know that in 1763 the Giles Heron Trustees were paying the Schoolmaster a salary of £6 per half year from the rents of the Teckett Farm in which they had invested the residue of Giles’ charitable bequest.
From 1795 until the passing of the 1902 Education Act the Trustees paid the Schoolmaster one quarter of the rents they received for the Teckett. From time to time the school buildings were improved and repaired by the Trustees and it seems that the last major renovation, whilst they were solely responsible, took place in 1897. Diocesan records give us the names of one or two individuals who served as Schoolmaster at Wark in the early days ,including that of John Mason who was appointed in 1783.
Arriving at school in the 1800s must have been quite an adventure on some days as the livestock market was held on what is now part of the school field.
The origins of St. Michael’s Church.
St. Michael’s Church was consecrated in August 1818 having been built at a cost of £4,134 under arrangements made by the Commissioners of Greenwhich Hospital for the sub-division of the ancient parish of Simonburn. Before St. Michael’s was built parishioners had gone to Church either in Simonburn or Bellingham, the medieval Chapel for Wark, near Kirkfield, having fallen into ruin many years previously.
The early Rectors of Wark were all former Naval Chaplains and at least two of then had served in the British Fleets which battled with Napoleon’s Navy.
The Church, along with those at Thorneyburn, Greystead and Humshaugh, was designed by HH Seward, a pupil of Sir John Soane who designed the Bank of England building in London. Seward’s plan featured some advanced ideas including under-floor heating, based on a modernised version of the Roman hypocaust. In the 1920s the Church was beatified by the addition of the present mosaic reredos behind the altar and by the gift, by King George V, of a cross formally used in one of the royal chapels.
In September 1679 Giles Heron, a former pedlar and later shopkeeper in Wark made his will providing £200 towards the founding of a free school in Wark. In 1684 Giles died and was buried at Simonburn. It is thought that his Trustees arranged for the school to be built (the building we know as the ‘Old School) and opened shortly after Giles’ death but records for the period up to 1762 are missing. We know that in 1763 the Giles Heron Trustees were paying the Schoolmaster a salary of £6 per half year from the rents of the Teckett Farm in which they had invested the residue of Giles’ charitable bequest.
From 1795 until the passing of the 1902 Education Act the Trustees paid the Schoolmaster one quarter of the rents they received for the Teckett. From time to time the school buildings were improved and repaired by the Trustees and it seems that the last major renovation, whilst they were solely responsible, took place in 1897. Diocesan records give us the names of one or two individuals who served as Schoolmaster at Wark in the early days ,including that of John Mason who was appointed in 1783.
Arriving at school in the 1800s must have been quite an adventure on some days as the livestock market was held on what is now part of the school field.
The origins of St. Michael’s Church.
St. Michael’s Church was consecrated in August 1818 having been built at a cost of £4,134 under arrangements made by the Commissioners of Greenwhich Hospital for the sub-division of the ancient parish of Simonburn. Before St. Michael’s was built parishioners had gone to Church either in Simonburn or Bellingham, the medieval Chapel for Wark, near Kirkfield, having fallen into ruin many years previously.
The early Rectors of Wark were all former Naval Chaplains and at least two of then had served in the British Fleets which battled with Napoleon’s Navy.
The Church, along with those at Thorneyburn, Greystead and Humshaugh, was designed by HH Seward, a pupil of Sir John Soane who designed the Bank of England building in London. Seward’s plan featured some advanced ideas including under-floor heating, based on a modernised version of the Roman hypocaust. In the 1920s the Church was beatified by the addition of the present mosaic reredos behind the altar and by the gift, by King George V, of a cross formally used in one of the royal chapels.