MSO10342 - School, Elworthy, now known as Emsdale House (Building)

The school was built in 1839, in union with the National Society and supported by voluntary subscription. After closing for a second time in 1937, it was used as a village hall before becoming a private house.

A school is shown at this location on the 1st and 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps. [1,2] Now noted as 'Emsdale House', presumably converted to a private dwelling. [3] The building is shown on the Tithe Map and labelled 84. The Apportionment describes it as "School House and Yard", owned by the Trustees of the National School Society and occupied by Charles Hodge. The school was built in 1839 in union with the National Society and supported by voluntary subscription. In 1847, it had 16 boys and 14 girls in attendance with 20 boys and 16 girls attending Sunday School (which was supported by School pence). In 1870 and 1872 the vestry decided to raise a voluntary school rate and repair the school. The school closed at some point between 1875 and 1883 and another was opened in a cottage at Willett for 40 children. In 1892 a National School opened in the old school house in Elworthy Village for 30 children, with 42 enrolled. Numbers declined and by 1933 there were only 12 children at the school. It was closed in 1937 and the children attended Monksilver and Williton. Until 1951 the building was used for church purposes and the site was later conveyed for a village hall, which closed in 1965. In 1979, the property was a private house. The school consisted of a single room. The walls and road facing windows and doors are still recogniseable and so is the fireplace in the southeastern elevation. When the building was converted to private use a first floor was inserted and the ground floor subdivided. The roof is modern. [4-7]