Lady Barn House School is an independent primary school in

Cheadle, Greater Manchester Cheadle () is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, it borders Cheadle Hulme, Gatley, Heald Green and Cheadle Heath in Stockport, and East D ...

. It was originally in

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a suburb of Manchester, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 15,211. Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east–west by Wilmslow Road and north–south by Wil ...

, Manchester, but moved to its present location in the 1950s. It was founded in 1873 by W. H. Herford who was also the first headteacher.

History

Foundation

The school was started in 1873 by

William Henry Herford William Henry Herford (1820–1908) was an English Unitarian minister, writer and educator. He was interested in education and married a school head mistress, Louisa Carbutt. Early life Born at Coventry, 20 October 1820, he was fourth son in a f ...

(1820–1908) and his wife. Herford was born in Coventry but moved to Manchester in 1822; he practised the Unitarian ministry from 1848–1854 and again at the Upper Brook Street Chapel from 1866–1870. The school represented the desire of Herford to put into practice the ideals promoted by Fröbel and

Pestalozzi Pestalozzi is the surname of an Italian family originally based in Gravedona and Chiavenna who settled in Switzerland during the Counter-Reformation. Members of this family include: * Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827), Swiss pedagogue an ...

. Herford, “a pioneer in dark days”, had witnessed teaching techniques employed in Switzerland and Germany, and desired to reform the methods practised in England. Another influence on Herford was

Philipp Emanuel von Fellenberg Philipp Emanuel von Fellenberg (27 June 1771 – 21 November 1844) was a Swiss educationalist and agronomist. Biography He was born at Bern. His father was of patrician family, and a man of importance in his canton, and his mother was a granddaug ...

. "The Day School for Boys and Girls" began in an unidentified house on Wilmslow Road, Withington, on 18 April 1873, and within a few years moved to Lady Barn House nearby which gave the school its name. In its early years the school was strongly supported by the German community of Manchester: 111 pupils joined the school in the first 10 years and 42 of them had German names.Frangopulo, N., ed. (1962) ''Rich Inheritance''; chap. 2, v: A cosmopolitan city; by W. M. Crawford. Manchester: Education Committee; p. 117

1873–1904

Lady Barn opened with nine pupils attracted by an advert placed by "Mr and Mrs Herford". For a considerable period its future was tenuous, nevertheless, a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

was added for children under six years in 1878. Mrs Herford died in 1880, but Williammarried again to an experienced headteacher

Louisa Carbutt Louisa Carbutt later Louisa Herford (25 September 1832 – 4 May 1907) was a British schoolmistress and educational pioneer. She ran her own school. After it closed she married another headteacher who ran Lady Barn House School. His first wife ha ...

. In its early years Fallowfield formed part of Withington (from 1894 administered by the Withington Urban District Council) but was absorbed into the city of Manchester in 1904. By the year 1904, the roll revealed a school of about seventy boys and girls. One of the controversial but cardinal principles of the school was its active promotion of co-education. Many of the educational experts of the time disagreed with the concepts of boys and girls being educated together; but Miss Herford stated in the early 20th century “that the presence of boys and girls in every class has been a stimulus to good work in both teacher and taught”. It was at a meeting held in the drawing room of Lady Barn that it was decided to found

Withington Girls' School Withington Girls' School is an independent day school in Fallowfield, Manchester, United Kingdom, providing education for girls between the ages of seven and eighteen. Withington is a member of the Girls' Schools Association and the Headmasters' ...

(founded 1890).

1904–present

C. P. Scott Charles Prestwich Scott (26 October 1846 – 1 January 1932), usually cited as C. P. Scott, was a British journalist, publisher and politician. Born in Bath, Somerset, he was the editor of the ''Manchester Guardian'' (now ''the Guardian'') ...

, the editor of ''The Manchester Guardian'', was chairman of the board of governors from 1904 to 1934. In 1922 Miss C. M. Jenkin Jones became the new headmistress and remained in the post until 1960 when she resigned on grounds of ill health (from the 1930s to 1960 she was also the proprietor). For three years during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the school was evacuated to

Great Budworth Great Budworth is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, north of Northwich off the A559 road, east of Comberbach, northwest of Higher Marston and southeast of Budworth Heath. Until 1948, Great Budworth was part of the Arley Hall es ...

in Cheshire. The

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

provided some financial support for the school for about ten years from 1935 and used it in their

teacher training Teacher education or teacher training refers to programs, policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, approaches, methodologies and skills they require to perform their t ...

courses. In the 1950s the school was moved to Ashdale, Cheadle. On Miss Jones's retirement she generously transferred ownership of the school to the other directors who then became trustees. During the tenure of the next headmistress, Miss B. Noakes, the school moved to Langlands in 1961.

Headteachers

1873–1886 *

Miss Caroline Herford Caroline Herford MBE, later Caroline Herford Blake (1860–1945) was an English educationist.M. E. Sadler, revised by M. C. Curthoys, 'Herford, William Henry', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004. Life Caroline Herford was born on 1 ...

1886–1907 *Miss Beard 1907–1915 *Miss R. H. Rees 1915–1917 *Miss I. Lawrence 1917–1922 *Miss C. M. Jenkin Jones 1922–1960 *Miss B. Noakes 1960–1970 *Mr. E. J. Bonner 1970–2002 *Mrs. S. Yule 2002–2011 *Mrs. S. Marsh 2011–2016 *Mr. M.Turner 2016–2021 *Ms. L. Higson 2021-present

Notable former pupils

Siegfried Herford Siegfried Wedgwood Herford (1891 – 28 January 1916) was a British climber who was active in the years immediately before World War I. He and John Laycock and Stanley Jeffcoat initiated what is referred to as " gritstone climbing" in England, b ...

(1891–1916), climber * Major-General

John Hay Beith Major General John Hay Beith, CBE MC (17 April 1876 – 22 September 1952), was a British schoolmaster and soldier, but is best remembered as a novelist, playwright, essayist, and historian who wrote under the pen name Ian Hay. After rea ...

(Ian Hay) (1876–1952), novelist and dramatist *

Marghanita Laski Marghanita Laski (24 October 1915 – 6 February 1988) was an English journalist, radio panellist and novelist. She also wrote literary biography, plays and short stories, and contributed about 250,000 additions to the ''Oxford English Dictiona ...

(1915–1988), writer * Caroline Lejeune (1897–1973), critic *

Beryl Reid Beryl Elizabeth Reid, (17 June 1919 – 13 October 1996), was a British actress of stage and screen. She won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for ''The Killing of Sister George'', the 1980 Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performan ...

(1920–1996), comedian and actress *

Kathleen Ollerenshaw Dame Kathleen Mary Ollerenshaw, (''née'' Timpson; 1 October 1912 – 10 August 2014) was a British mathematician and politician who was Lord Mayor of Manchester from 1975 to 1976 and an advisor on educational matters to Margaret Thatcher's go ...

(Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw), (1912-2014), mathematician and councillor

Footnotes

External links

School official siteFull text of ''The Student's Froebel'', 1916 edition which includes a memoir of W. H. Herford by C. H. HerfordOxford Dictionary of National Biography index entry for W. H. Herford
{{authority control Independent schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport 1873 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1873 Cheadle, Greater Manchester