Object of the Month: September 2024
September means it’s back to school – our Objects of the Month are items from former Ambleside institution the Kelsick Grammar School.
We have two school pin badges decorated with its crest. It is unclear how old they are; they were likely part of the school uniform. Then, we have an embroidered school handkerchief and a section of the school’s 1908 prospectus, printed to show potential pupils what to expect.
Finally, we have a gold or bronze medal presented to former pupil Bruce Wilson, when he came first or third in the school’s 1933 cross-country open race. Running was one of the main sports students would compete in – imagine them running through the countryside around the village!
The Kelsick Grammar School was named after John Kelsick, a local landowner and son of George, a provision merchant and cooper in business on Church Street, next to the Royal Oak Hotel. John died in 1723 aged just 24, and he left all his money and property in trust. He left instructions in his will use the money to set up the first free school for boys in Ambleside.
The first version of the grammar school was built in 1725 on a piece of land known as ‘the Parracke’, opposite St Anne’s Chapel. It was supported by rental income from the properties left by John Kelsick, which were sufficient to fund the day to day running of the school for nearly 150 years! This allowed the school to expand in the mid-nineteenth century as Ambleside grew.
Demand for education increased after primary education in England became compulsory in 1880, so a new larger school was built close to St Mary’s Church. A girl’s school was built across the road, where Zeffirelli’s cinema stands today.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the fee-paying Kelsick Co-educational Grammar School for boys and girls was built near Stock Ghyll Force. It opened in 1907, and children who passed a selection examination could attend for free.
The school was open until 1965, when comprehensive education took off in Britain and the grammar school was no longer needed. The Charlotte Mason College bought the school building in 1966, to expand their own teacher training campus. In 2012 the building was sold to developers, standing empty for five years.
David Williams, former Charlotte Mason College student and current CEO of Impact International, bought the site in 2018, restored the building and reopened it as Impact’s headquarters. In June 2023 the Force Café opened on the site of the former school.
The Kelsick Trust still exists in Ambleside, owning around 40 buildings in the village. Rental income from local properties allows them to give grants to support local education, according to John Kelsick’s wishes 300 years ago today.
Next time you walk up to Stock Ghyll, you can see the site of the former grammar school and wonder at how Ambleside has changed since the first free school opened in 1725…
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