Archives of Blatchington Court School, and the Barclay School for Partially Sighted...

Archive of Blatchington Court School (formerly the Brighton Asylum for the Instruction of the Blind, the Brighton School for Blind Boys and the Brighton School for Partially Sighted Boys), East Blatchington, Seaford and the Barclay School for Partially Sighted Girls, Sunninghill, Berkshire

AMS6565/1 Blatchington Court School: schemes of management; 1922-1993

AMS6565/2 Blatchington Court School: minutes of the Board of Governors; 1843-1989

AMS6565/3 Blatchington Court School: annual reports; 1880-1984

AMS6565/4 Blatchington Court School: annual statements of accounts; 1941-1986

AMS6565/5 Blatchington Court School: Treasurer's cash book; 1880-1889

AMS6565/6 Blatchington Court School: pupil fee book; 1874-1889

AMS6565/7 Blatchington Court School: log books; 1903-1985

AMS 6565/8 Blatchington Court School: admission register; 1895-1983

AMS6565/9 Blatchington Court School: punishment book; 1913-1983

AMS6565/10 Blatchington Court School: financial records; 1861-1906

AMS6565/11 Blatchington Court School: publications in Braille; 1950s

AMS6565/12 Barclay School for Partially Sighted Girls: minutes of the Board of Governors; 1960-1972

AMS6565/13 Barclay School for Partially Sighted Girls: minutes of the Finance and Works Committee; 1960-1970

AMS6565/14 Barclay School for Partially Sighted Girls: minutes of the Workshop Committee; 1962-1973

AMS6565/15 Blatchington Court School: properly records; 1910-1964

AMS6565/16 Blatchington Court School: staff records; c1906-1953

AMS6565/17 Blatchington Court School: other records; 1893-c1983

• <corpname>Brighton Asylum for the Instruction of the Blind, Brighton, 1841-1921</corpname>
• <corpname>Brighton School for Blind Boys, 1921-1946</corpname>
• <corpname>Brighton School for Partially Sighted Boys, 1946-1951</corpname>
• <corpname>Blatchington Court School, East Blatchington, Seaford, 1951-1985</corpname>
• <corpname>Barclay School for Partially Sighted Girls, Brighton, 1893-1940</corpname>
• <corpname>Barclay School for Partially Sighted Girls, Sunninghill, Berkshire, 1940-1970</corpname>

Documents are open for consultation unless otherwise indicated

Documents deposited 21 Feb 1985 (ACC 4410), 2 Nov 1988 (ACC 5151), 28 Nov 1994 and 9 Feb 1995 (ACC 6536), 20 Jul 1999 (ACC 7947), 19 Apr 2001 (ACC 8318)

Blatchington Court School

The Brighton Asylum for the Instruction of the Blind started in 1841 as a small school for blind pupils at the home of William Moon in Queen's Road, Brighton. After a short time they moved to a building in Egremont Place which was shared with deaf and dumb children. However, the number of blind pupils increased so the school moved again and by 1844 was situated in the Central National Schools in Church Street (ESC 16) with the entrance to the Asylum round the corner in Jubilee Street

In October 1861 the Asylum moved to newly constructed premises (demolished in 1958) in Eastern Road, which had been designed by Somers Clarke (1841-1926) of 20 Cockspur Street, London, on land donated by the Rev Henry Venn Elliott. It had two school-rooms, a music and dining hall, work-room and a willow-soaking room for basket-making. In 1904 it was decided that the Asylum should cease to be mixed and that it would henceforth take only boys; the girls were transferred to the Barclay School for Partially Sighted Girls

The Asylum was evacuated to Upton Hall, near Newark, Nottinghamshire in February 1942 and returned to Brighton in about June 1945. It was renamed the Brighton School for Partially Sighted Boys in 1946 having been known as the Brighton School for Blind Boys since 1921. In 1951 it moved to Blatchington Court (previously a private girls' school), 76 Belgrave Road, East Blatchington and the Eastern Road premises were sold. On 19 July 1985 the School was closed. The assets were realised at the direction of the Charity Commissioners and the proceeds used to endow the Blatchington Court Trust, when it was formerly re-established on 14 April 1993, which provides counselling services and grants to the visually impaired, primarily in Sussex

For a lease of the premises in Jubilee Street, which for many years had been let to the Brighton Blind School, by the Trustees of the Central National Schools to Samuel Thorncroft, 1864 see HOW 33/2; for the recollections of Somers Clarke's father, Somers Clarke of Brighton, solicitor (1802-1892) see ACC 3733; for duplicate annual reports, minutes and accounts, 1951-1952 see ACC 4600/251; for Department of Education files concerning the School, which are held by the Public Record Office, 1934-1955 see ED 32/784, ED 32/1968-1369, for 1917-1935 see ED 38/46, ED 67/146; for inspection reports, 1937 and 1966 see ED 109/6155, ED 195/271

Sources: J Middleton Moon, Matches and Microchips (1988)

Barclay School for Partially Sighted Girls

The Barclay School was founded in 1893 by Mrs Gertrude Campion (1844-1927), the wife of William Henry Campion of Danny in Hurstpierpoint, who had been given £500 for that purpose by the late Alexander Charles Barclay of 25 Bolton Street, Piccadilly, Middlesex and Scrapton Hall, Leicestershire, esq. The idea was to give industrial training to blind or partially sighted girls over 16 years of age. The School began in St Michael's Place but in 1900 moved to 23 and 25 Wellington Place. The School continued to expand and by 1906 also occupied numbers 21 and 27

In 1922 number 31 Wellington Road was purchased to accommodate a workshop and in 1928 number 22 East Street was purchased for use as a shop to sell their products. The workshop moved from Wellington Road to North Road, Preston in 1965 and it was closed for good in the mid-1970s

From 1904 they took the girls from the Brighton Asylum for the Instruction of the Blind. The school moved to Little Paddocks, Sunninghill, Berkshire in 1940. However, due to declining numbers of pupils the school was closed in 1970 and at the request of the Department of Education and Science, arrangements were made to accommodate some thirty girls at Blatchington Court. A property nearby was bought and enlarged to serve as the boarding house for the girls

For Department of Education files concerning the School, which are held by the Public Record Office, 1934-1955 see ED 32/908, ED 32/1319-1320, for 1906-1911 and 1937-1946 see ED 62/7, ED 67/146; for inspection reports, 1911 see ED 114/899, ED 195/110

Sources: J Middleton Moon, Matches and Microchips (1988)

List of head teachers of Blatchington Court

William Chinery, <1862 - 1878>

Mr Prebble, <1882

John Stone Hammett/Hammock, 1883 - Jul 1903

Robert C B Cook, Sep 1903 - Dec 1907

John William S Hughes, Jan 1907 - Oct 1916

Miss May Dunington, Oct 1916 - May 1919 temporary head teacher

John William S Hughes, May 1919 - Dec 1945

D S Jones, Mar 1946 - Jul 1946 acting head teacher

D J Tredrea, Jul 1946 - Mar 1958

H R Nayler, Apr 1958 - Jul 1974

J G Wilkinson, Sep 1974 - Jul 1985