This is the St barts logo/badge on the building behind the Litten which can be seen from the Newtown Road. So, at what point in time was it turned through 90degrees, why and by whom.? It is badly in need of some restoration work as it is being eaten away by the elements. I think it is probably carved in sandstone so it's lucky it's still there at all.
It was the 1880s that most of the assets of St Bartholomew's Hospital charity were diverted into a new grammar school (the original one became defunct in the 1840s as the master (there was only one) gradually stopped taking pupils. In essence he retired but continued to live in the grammar school building (The Litten).
Thus the new St Bartholomew's Grammar School Foundation became the owner of lots of property around the town (including the Wharf and four pubs).
It was the 1880s that most of the assets of St Bartholomew's Hospital charity were diverted into a new grammar school (the original one became defunct in the 1840s as the master (there was only one) gradually stopped taking pupils. In essence he retired but continued to live in the grammar school building (The Litten).
Thus the new St Bartholomew's Grammar School Foundation became the owner of lots of property around the town (including the Wharf and four pubs).
Two things here, The date on the stone plaque to my eyes is 1829. This was the point in time when the school, between 1814 - 1846 had fallen into disuse. What was the plaque about then.
The second, does the school foundation still own the Wharf and if so can we get at it.
Two things here, The date on the stone plaque to my eyes is 1829. This was the point in time when the school, between 1814 - 1846 had fallen into disuse. What was the plaque about then.
The second, does the school foundation still own the Wharf and if so can we get at it.
1. The plaque has nothing to do with the school - presumably some work was done on the almshouses in 1829.
2. They sold the Wharf to the Corporation 1920s or 30s - who then filled in the basins. I doubt the school has anything left, if they did they would be flogging it now to help pay for the extravagent rebuild they are undertaking. The Corporation's assets were taken by the District Council in 1974, when the Borough was abolished. So they now belong to WBC - ready to be sold to developers for a quid an acre!
1. The plaque has nothing to do with the school - presumably some work was done on the almshouses in 1829.
Was the double cross used by St Bartholomew's Hospital do you believe or was it unique to the school. I always thought that the blocked up doorway below the plaque was an original entrance to the school
Was the double cross used by St Bartholomew's Hospital do you believe or was it unique to the school. I always thought that the blocked up doorway below the plaque was an original entrance to the school
I always thought it was a symbol of St Bartholomew - nothing specific to Newbury.
The bit at the back of the almshouses contained a couple of privies, wash house etc for the use of the almspeople - at a guess it was built in 1829.
I saw the sign for the little housing development, Feltre place and thought that it was a strange name and realised afterwards that it is one of our twin towns although this escaped me at the time. As this is a recent naming and development, I didn't think that they had done any work which involved the portico, if that's what it is, or the carved stone badge. If they did, that bit must be listed and would have required a like for like conservation effort, overseen by the Heritage people.
The end of the Litten chapel was pulled down donkey's years ago to provide a new road to the South. I understand when that happened, the cut went through the centre of an old cemetery and hundreds of remains were removed and as I understand it, re-interred in the Litten garden, but, what happened to the remains dug up a couple of years ago when the Newtown Road was being repaired.
I saw the sign for the little housing development, Feltre place and thought that it was a strange name and realised afterwards that it is one of our twin towns although this escaped me at the time. As this is a recent naming and development, I didn't think that they had done any work which involved the portico, if that's what it is, or the carved stone badge. If they did, that bit must be listed and would have required a like for like conservation effort, overseen by the Heritage people.
I'm sure the work would not have been done as part of the Feltre Place construction - but there might have been a deal done with the almshouses (perhaps part of the site belonged to them?).
The end of the Litten chapel was pulled down donkey's years ago to provide a new road to the South. I understand when that happened, the cut went through the centre of an old cemetery and hundreds of remains were removed and as I understand it, re-interred in the Litten garden, but, what happened to the remains dug up a couple of years ago when the Newtown Road was being repaired.
The recently (2004) disinterred bodies are in the museum store - apart from a few bones that are on display in their current exhibition. The Litten garden would have been part of the cemetery, if they dug a hole to bury bones dug up elsewhere they would have found plenty more. The 2004 find included some inconclusive evidence that one of the bodies (a child IIRC) suffered from congenital syphilis - 350 years before it was supposedly brought back from the Americas.
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