This building on Market Street, Nantwich, is currently occupied by Wilson55 Auctioneers & Valuers. This company of fine art auctions and valuers get their current name from the the fact that they have been trading since 1955, and have been in this building since 1977.
However the building was originally a school, called National Sunday School. An advert on 01 January, 1836 appeared in the Chester Chronicle:
Nantwich Charity Ball.
THE public are respectfully informed, that a BALL under the Patronage of the Gentry of Nantwich and the neighbourhood, to promote the building of a NATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL in that town, will take place at the Crown Inn, on Wednesday, the 6th January, 1836.
Ladies’ Tickets 5s.— Gentlemen’s 7s.6d.
Dancing to commence at 8 o’clock.
This school has had a variety of names over the years, including Church of England School, Market Street Elementary, and National School. It was opened in 1837, on land donated by John Tollemache. You can still see this plaque on the building today, as this view from the Civic Hall car park shows:
From 1839 to 1859, local historian James Hall tells us that the Nantwich Auxiliary of the Bible Society used to hold meetings at the school.
In 1871, Hall tells us the Church Infant School was also built in Market Street.
This map, from 1897, shows its position between Market Street and Crowsfoot Lane:
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
The 13th S. W. Cheshire, 3rd Nantwich Scout Troop (Central School) was based at the Market Street school. The Scoutmaster was Ernest Ankers.
This picture came from the late Robin Gray, whose father is on it. Nantwich Museum would like to thank his wife, Janet, for allowing us to use it. We thought that this must be the earliest Nantwich Scouts but we were wrong. Gerald Newbrook says that he came across a reference to 16 scouts with Scoutmaster Mr Glover from the Nantwich Workhouse, camping at Ecclestone, Chester, in August 1911. These must be the earliest scouts found so far.
The headmaster, Mr Henry Colin Barker, is on the left.
Market Street School 1913-14
Back Row: Henry Williamson, Arthur Myford, William Butler, William Western, Henry Slack, George Pye.
Second Row: Harry Bleasdale, Jack Frost, Cyril Cornes, Albert Glover, Harry Case, Jack Chesworth.
Third Row: Sam Ridgway, Harry Clewlow, Jack Green, William France, Frank Racklyeft, Hector Gray, Reg Bailey.
Front Row: Joseph Jervis, Leonard Bowyer, Herbert Bowker.
Below is is the school in 1926.
We would like to thank Nancy Dutton for giving us this picture. The headmaster was Mr Watkiss (on left). Class teacher on right was Miss Carrington. Harry Dutton (Nancy’s husband) bottom right.
Here is another photo of the school, from 1934.
Back row: Dennis Gibson, Ron Heath, Jack Barker, Frank Hope, Marshall Cooper, Bernard Latham, Ernest Davies, John Bull.
Second row: Jack Smith, Sidney Clarke, Bernard Rowe, Frank Mullock, Dennis Griffiths, Ronald Jones, John Bostock, Vivian Jones, Harold Davenport,
Third row: Jack O’Hara, Mr Watkiss (headmaster), Walter Cooper, Joe Pennell, Ken Walton, Cyril Wagstaff, Reginald Cotton, James Moss, Harry Butler, Miss Whitehouse, and William Davies.
Front row: Edward Johnson, Colin Russell, Harold Benningwood, Ted Case, and Thomas Kelly.
If you have any information about this school, we would love to hear from you.