Old Woodstock: Education

Education

Boarding schools kept at Manor Farm in the later 18th century and early 19th (fn. 14) are unlikely to have been patronized by Old Woodstock children, who probably attended schools in Woodstock; Wootton was considered too far for children to travel. (fn. 15) In 1870 W. B. Lee, rector of Wootton, and his sister-in-law Jane D'Oyley built Old Woodstock infant school, which opened in 1871 with an attendance of 24 children, allegedly 'very backward'; the attendance rose to 51 within a year. Older children went to Woodstock. Miss D'Oyley, who remained a school manager until her death in 1900, underwrote the school's expenses, which were only slightly offset by government grant and school pence; the remainder was met by contributions raised by her and by the rent from two nearby cottages. (fn. 16) Attendances still averaged 40-50 a year in the late 19th century and earlier 20th, (fn. 17) but falling rolls led to the school's closure in 1932, and the children were transferred to Woodstock. (fn. 18) The school was used as a village hall from c. 1940 until 1974, when it was converted into a private house. (fn. 19)