Willaston School was an educational establishment in

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

set up to educate the sons of impoverished Unitarian ministers. The building is currently used as accommodation for students at

Reaseheath College Reaseheath College is a land-based further education college offering a range of diplomas, apprenticeships, and adult courses. It is mainly located on the outskirts of Nantwich in Cheshire, England. The college offers courses in adventure sports, ...

. Philip Barker came from a family of tanners, living at the Grove, Nantwich. In 1894 he gave provision in his will for Wollaston School, which was built next to the Grove. Barker's former home became the headmaster's residence. A local MP John Brunner laid the foundation stone in 1899. The school opened in 1900 with 22 pupils, primarily drawn from Unitarian families.

Prominent pupils

Willaston School had a number of prominent pupils: *

Brian Freeston Sir Leslie Brian Freeston (11 August 1892 – 16 July 1958) was a British colonial official. Career Freeston was educated at Willaston School and New College, Oxford. After service in the London Regiment of the British Army in the First Wor ...

, colonial governor *

Robert de Zouche Hall Sir Robert de Zouche Hall, GCMG (27 April 1904 – 19 March 1995) was an English colonial governor. He served in Sierra Leone and Tanganyika (territory), Tanganyika. Robert was born in Liverpool, from parents Arthur William Hall & Beatrice Marg ...

, colonial governor * Alan Sterling Parkes, scientist and Fellow of the Royal Society. *

Norman Ebbutt Norman Ebbutt (1894–1968) was a British journalist. In 1925 he was sent to Berlin, where he became chief correspondent for ''The Times'' of London. He warned of Nazi warmongering but ''The Times'' censored his reports to promote appeasement. H ...

, foreign correspondent of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' * William Mellor founding member of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

, and editor of ''

The Daily Herald ''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' is the name of various newspapers. ''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' Australia * ''The Herald'' (Adelaide) and several similar names (1894–1924), a South Australian Labor weekly, then daily * '' Barossa and Light Heral ...

References

{{reflist Nantwich