Black Country Living Museum - St James's School - benches and No Entry Please sign

Black Country Living Museum – St James’s School – benches and No Entry Please sign


Image by ell brown
This is the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, West Midlands.

The museum was established in 1975, and the first buildings moved here in 1976. Since then a 26 acre site has been developed, with the unique conditions of living and working in the Black Country from the mid 19th century to early 20th century.

It is off Tipton Road in Dudley.

This is St James’s School.

I didn’t want a "school lesson". Lucky there wasn’t one on the time I went through it. So good some shots inside the school.

Pay attention you!" A lesson in St James’s School will bring memories flooding back for some.

Can you remember your tables or recite the alphabet backwards. What about doing sums in pounds, shillings and pence?!

The original school was built in 1842, in Salop Street in Dudley, near St James Church and was designed by the architect, William Bourne of Dudley.
School interior, children in victorian dress having a school lesson

It was built to accommodate 300 children, but probably never taught that many.

It was moved to the Museum in 1991 using funds generously provided by the Charles Hayward Trust. Today you can see it as it would have been in 1912.

Originally boys over 7 were taught in one part of the building and the girls and infants in the other. In 1868 the two halves were amalgamated to form a mixed school.

The school building suffered from poor natural lighting and unsuitable heating and by 1904 conditions were so bad that it was recommended that the school be closed. Dudley Education Committee was reluctant to do this and in 1906 moved the mixed school to another school, while St James continued as an infants school only.

Improvements were made in 1912 and it continued as a school right up to 1980.

Full name of the school is St. James’ C. of E. Infants School.

Established 1842.

Head Teacher: Mrs. T. Griffiths.

Inside the school.

Old school benches.

Sign – No Entry Please.

The school was built in 1842. A classroom extension was built on the back in 1845. It had hot water and heating by the 1890′s. In the 1930′s the school was renovated.

From 1940 – 45 it was used by American forces stationed in Dudley.

In 1980 it was converted into a community centre. By 1989 it was structurally unsafe.

All that changed when it was moved to the museum in 1991.

Tags:benches, black, Country, entry, James's, Living, Museum, please, School, sign