The Last Days of Ashorne School, and the Wider Village

I was one of the last students at Ashorne School. Sadly though the school closed for the last time at the end of Trinity term 1975. this was despite the fact that they had replaced the coke fire (a bit old fashioned even then) with a modern oil one and had also replaced a lot of the old furniture with new furniture just over 12 months before! So most of the students who were not going to secondary school went to Moreton Morrell in the new academic year.

Mixed emotions

A lot of the school’s stuff went over to Moreton Morrell school. What they or the local education authority did not want got given away to us students. I can still remember the last day now. All of us, juniors and infants, were sitting around in the junior classroom. It reminded me of those pictures which you see of school children awaiting evacuation at the start of World War Two. A few of us asked if we could go out into the playground to play hopscotch. As I recall it was a warm, but slightly overcast breezy day. When we got called back in I remember looking around and thinking that was the last time that we would be doing that. Although we were all excited about breaking up for the summer holiday, I was a bit sad at the same time.

The village as a whole

I do have a few memories about the wider village. There used to be a small lorry depot called Spicer’s, I think. A combined shop and post office used to inhabit a thatched cottage near to the village green. This later moved to another house which is on the opposite side of the road from the Cottage Tavern. I think that it closed as a shop and post office a good few years ago though.

Before the current village hall was another one which, from memory was made from corrugated iron. I remember us seeing a wildlife slideshow in the evening once. A lot of our fellow students tended to have their birthday parties in there too.

Putting down roots

Opposite the driveway to the school was a field which we called, “Beale’s Field” (presumably after the owner) which was a sort of an unofficial, out of school playground. The school now is a private dwelling house. I do have a lot of good memories about Ashorne. I still keep in contact with a few people whom I knew from my school days and have got to know other people who have moved in since. A very welcoming community.