Thornley Gate - Circa 1995
The very first ‘Brideshill’ School built in the early
1700’s
The Allen Valleys Local History Group is owned and operated by its members.
The very first ‘Brideshill’ School built in the early
1700’s
Along with several others, I’ve been helping to transcribe wills from the 1690s – early 1700s, which belong to the Newcastle Society of Antiquaries. They are going to put them on line when they are ready, so that they will be accessible for everyone. The wills are from the Allendale and Hexham areas. I recently finished the will of Christopher Wilkinson, who left £250 in his will of 27 February 1700 for the building of a “free grammar school for the youth”. He also left £10 for a stone bridge to be built at Oakpool, but would only grant the money if it could be done within 3 years of his death. I’ve been trying to find out whether his school was ever built, and eventually came across a reference to it in the Allendale school’s Guided walk booklet (which is excellent). I found the building marked on an old OS map, but thought that it must have been pulled down, but I’m so pleased to see that it’s still there.