In 1835 there were said to be 18
schools within the ancient parish. In the town of
Westbury there were an infants' school, and 5 daily
schools: in Westbury Leigh there were 6 schools,
in Bratton 3, in Dilton Marsh 2, and in Heywood
1. (fn. 71) Brief accounts of some of these schools, and
of others which were established later, are given
below.
WESTBURY, LAVERTON INSTITUTE SCHOOL.
From a bequest of £1,000, made for educational purposes
by John Matravers in 1814, £500 was to provide a
school for boys and girls. (fn. 72) The first school-room
was in the Bratton Road in the building later called
the Old Athenaeum. (fn. 73) In 1819 24 boys attended the
school, which was run on the Lancasterian system. (fn. 74)
No girls' school was provided, but later the British
Girls' School benefited from the bequest. For some
time after 1832 the rent of the school-room was
paid by William Matravers. (fn. 75) In 1833 about 50
boys were taught, besides the more usual subjects,
enough geometry to qualify them for mechanical
pursuits. Fees were 1d. a week. (fn. 76) By 1856 the school
was associated with the British Society. (fn. 77) In 1874
the school moved to the room provided for it in the
newly-built Laverton Institute. (fn. 78) In 1885 a proposal to share the income from the Matravers
bequest among the other Westbury Schools met
with local opposition, but henceforth the girls'
school connected with the British Society received
£10 a year. (fn. 79) Boys were not to be required to attend
any particular Sunday school or church, but religious instruction was given at the beginning and
end of every school session. (fn. 80) In 1899 another room
in the Institute was used, and there was said to be
accommodation for 180 boys. (fn. 81) This room was
declared unsuitable in 1909, and in 1910 accommodation was reassessed at 86. (fn. 82) In 1907 the school
was transferred to the Local Education Authority
and its name changed from Westbury British Boys
School to Westbury Laverton Institute School. (fn. 83)
In 1925 the school closed and the boys joined the
Senior School in Lower (now Leigh) Road, later
called the Westbury County Secondary Modern
School. (fn. 84)
WESTBURY, CHURCH OF ENGLAND JUNIOR SCHOOL.
In 1844, largely through the efforts of the vicar,
Stafford Brown, a school of about 70 children was
started in a hired room. (fn. 85) This became the Church
of England Day School for which premises were
built with the aid of a state grant three years
later at the corner of New Town and Bratton
Road. (fn. 86) In 1859 a separate building was opened
for girls and infants. (fn. 87) The schools were in
union with the National Society. (fn. 88) They received
favourable reports in 1859 and were then attended
by about 60 boys, 70-80 girls, and 100 infants. (fn. 89)
Some time after this the girls moved to a schoolroom in Maristow Street, and the infants to a room
in Edward Street. (fn. 90) Girls and infants were subsequently moved to a Sunday-school room built in
the churchyard in 1873. (fn. 91) Between 1893 and 1910
the accommodation of the three departments was
estimated at about 454. (fn. 92) In 1925 the senior children moved to the Westbury Senior Council
School, and the juniors were accommodated in the
building in the churchyard. (fn. 93) Controlled status was
granted in 1949. (fn. 94) In 1959 an entirely new building
was opened at Oldfield Park with accommodation
for 280 children. The churchyard premises were
then handed over for the use of the Laverton
County Infants' School. (fn. 95)
The school building at the corner of Bratton Road
and New Town was acquired by the County
Council in 1925. For a time it was used as the domestic science and woodwork centre of the Senior
School in Leigh Road. It was later used as extra
accommodation for the Laverton County Infants'
School. (fn. 96)
WESTBURY COUNTY SECONDARY MODERN SCHOOL,
Leigh Road. In 1844 a single school-room was built
In 1844 a single school-room was built
in Lower (now Leigh) Road as a girls' school. (fn. 97) In
1859 the school, by then associated with the British
Society, had about 70 pupils. (fn. 98) Between 1893 and
1910 average attendance was about 60. (fn. 99) In 1925
two new classrooms were added, the boys brought
from the Laverton Institute School, and the senior
children from the Church of England School, and
the school became the Westbury Senior Council
School with 103 pupils. (fn. 1) Senior pupils from Westbury Leigh were admitted in 1929. (fn. 2) In 1930 the
school was enlarged to accommodate children over
11 from Heywood, Chapmanslade, Corsley, Dilton
Marsh, Erlestoke, Bratton, and Edington. Between
1931 and 1950 new classrooms for teaching practical subjects, and a kitchen and dining hall were
added. Since 1945 the school has been known as
the Westbury County Secondary Modern School
and has accommodation for 348 children. (fn. 3)
Between 1950 and 1960 numbers increased to
475 and much extra temporary accommodation
was needed. In 1960 a major building programme
was proposed to bring the buildings up to Ministry
of Education standards. Since c. 1953 the school
has developed the teaching of rural subjects and
provides special courses in these for children from
Warminster, Trowbridge, and Bradford-on-Avon,
as well as from the Westbury area. Extended
courses for pupils up to 16 or 17 years were established in 1960. (fn. 4)
LAVERTON COUNTY (INFANTS) SCHOOL.Before
1884 some infants attended the girls' school in
Lower Road. (fn. 5) That year a school was built by
Abraham Laverton in Bratton Road close to the
Laverton Institute. (fn. 6) The school was associated
with the British Society, (fn. 7) and opened in 1885 with
73 children. (fn. 8) Between 1893 and 1910 accommodation
was assessed at 144, but average attendance was
55 in 1908 and 46 in 1910. (fn. 9) The school was transferred to the Local Education Authority in 1928. (fn. 10)
For a time the building, formerly belonging to the
National Schools at the corner of New Town and
Bratton Road was used as an extra class-room. (fn. 11) In
1958 the premises in the churchyard of the former
Church of England Junior school became the main
building of the Laverton County Infants' School.
WESTBURY LEIGH, CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL.
About 80 children were said to be attending 6 dayschools in Westbury Leigh in 1833. (fn. 12) In 1859 it was
proposed to amalgamate the 2 existing schools,
which had between 60 and 70 pupils each. One of
these schools was supported by Mrs. Phipps. (fn. 13) By
1893 a National School with accommodation for
125 children had been opened. (fn. 14) In 1910 the
accommodation of the mixed department was
126, of the infant department 50, and average
attendance figures were 77 and 41 respectively. (fn. 15)
In 1929 the senior children moved to Leigh Road
Senior School, and Westbury Leigh became a
junior mixed and infant school. (fn. 16) Controlled
status was granted in 1950. (fn. 17)
BRATTON, BRITISH SCHOOL, AND JUNIOR AND INFANTS' SCHOOL
There were 3 schools in Bratton
in 1833. (fn. 18) It is not possible to connect any of these
with the 2 schools which existed in 1859. One of
these was built c. 1846 with the aid of a state grant (fn. 19)
and was associated with the British Society. (fn. 20) In
1859 it had over 150 pupils and was considered a
satisfactory school with better conditions than those
of the National School in Bratton. (fn. 21) But in 1913
the building was considered to be unsatisfactory. (fn. 22)
In 1928 the school was closed, as was the Bratton
National School, and all the children went to the
newly-opened council school with accommodation
for 120. (fn. 23) In 1931 the Bratton Council School
became a junior mixed and infant school. (fn. 24)
BRATTON, NATIONAL SCHOOL.
This school was built in 1846 with the aid of a state building grant
and assistance from the National Society. (fn. 25) It had
accommodation for about 20 children in 1858. (fn. 26)
Conditions in the school were said to have improved
when a vicar became resident in Bratton. (fn. 27) The
school was enlarged in 1877 (fn. 28) and between 1893 and
1910 accommodation was 83, although average
attendance was only 37 in the last year. (fn. 29) The
school was closed in 1928 and the children transferred to the new Bratton Council School. (fn. 30)
HEYWOOD,CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL.Some children from Heywood attended a school in Bratton
in 1833. (fn. 31) A school and school-house were built in
Heywood in 1836 by Henry Gaisford Gibbs Ludlow. (fn. 32) In 1859 it was called Heywood House School
and 50 children were doing 'fairly well' there, although in 1857 it had had an unfavourable report. (fn. 33)
Elsewhere in the village between 20 and 30 children
worked under a dame. (fn. 34) In 1885 the trustees of the
school became tenants at will of Endymion Porter,
of Heywood House, and at the same time it was
agreed that religious instruction should be in
accordance with the 'principles of the Church of
England as understood by Evangelical and Protestant churchmen'. The lessor was to determine any
dispute which might arise as to the interpretation of
a document or teaching. (fn. 35) In 1910 the accommodation of the mixed department was estimated at 81,
and of the infant department at 29. Average
attendance was 82. (fn. 36) In 1930 the senior children were
removed to the Leigh Road, Westbury, Senior School,
and the school became a junior mixed and infant
school. (fn. 37) Controlled status was granted in 1948. (fn. 38)
DILTON MARSH, CHURCH OF ENGLAND (JUNIOR) SCHOOL.
There were 2 schools at Dilton Marsh in
1833. (fn. 39) In c. 1847 a school in union with the National Society was built with the aid of a state
grant. (fn. 40) In 1910 accommodation was 178 and average attendance was 135. (fn. 41) In 1937 the senior children were moved to the Senior School in Leigh
Road, Westbury, leaving a junior mixed and infant
school with accommodation for 150 children. (fn. 42) In
1938 the infants were moved to Dilton Marsh
Council School, which opened as an infant school
that year. (fn. 43) The junior school became known as the
Dilton Marsh Junior Church of England School. (fn. 44)
DILTON MARSH, INFANTS SCHOOL.A school
associated with the British Society was built at
Dilton Marsh in 1865. (fn. 45) The building was enlarged
in 1884, (fn. 46) and in 1893 had accommodation for 134
children. (fn. 47) In 1906 management was assumed
by the Board of Education. (fn. 48) In 1910 the
senior department had accommodation for 102 and
the infant department 54. (fn. 49) The senior children
were transferred to the Senior School in Leigh
Road, Westbury, in 1930. (fn. 50) From 1930 until 1938
the school was for mixed juniors and infants but
in 1938 became a school for infants only with
accommodation for 94 children. (fn. 51)
CHAPMANSLADE, CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL.
A National School was built in Chapmanslade in
1875. (fn. 52) In 1894 it was enlarged. (fn. 53) In 1910 accommodation in the mixed department was 59 and in
the infant department 50. Average attendance at
that date was 42 and 11 respectively. (fn. 54) In 1930 the
school became a junior and infants' school. (fn. 55)