Sevington Victorian School

Sevington School, near the village of Grittleton, Wiltshire, England, was built in 1848 by Joseph Neeld, a landowner, for the children of his estate workers. It was built in the fashionable Neo-Gothic style and included a schoolroom and teacher’s house with parlour, kitchen and two bedrooms. The curriculum of the private school was narrow and designed to fit pupils for their station in life, either in service or as farm labourers on the Neeld estates. In 1860 Miss Elizabeth Squire was engaged as schoolteacher and she remained in charge until the school closed in 1913. Today it is used as a re-enactment centre for primary school children, and is open to the public during the summer. The building is Grade II* listed by Historic England.

The earliest reference to Sevington School occurs in a census of Wiltshire schools, undertaken in 1859. The recorder describes "a very picturesque school and teacher’s house with boarded floor ‘en parquet’ and wall desks. It is supported by the lord of the manor, who pays the mistress’s stipend, the school pence being applied to other purposes."

More than a century later, Nikolaus Pevsner endorsed this judgment, describing the schoolroom as "an outstanding example of a very small village school of the mid C19 with original furnishing, edge-grain and wood-block floor and fireplace" in his series The Buildings of England. The school was built at the height of the Gothic Revival and the architect, James Thomson, seems to have been aiming for a picturesque effect. Thomson had rebuilt the derelict Church of St Margaret of Antioch at nearby Leigh Delamere in 1846, also at Joseph Neeld's expense. Material from the church was incorporated into the school building, including the massive bell tower, doorway arch and 15th century reredos.

Today both the schoolroom and schoolhouse are Grade II* listed buildings for their architectural and historical significance, and the unusual floor in the school room continues to attract the interest of visitors.

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