Lesbury School
Lesbury
Last Updated:
18 Dec 2025
Lesbury
55.398505, -1.628924
Site Type:
School, Village Hall
Origin:
Status:
Extant
Designer (if known):
Now in use as Village Hall
The crescent moon on this building adjacent to the church at Lesbury instantly led my eyes and brain to wander. Anywhere along the Aln (or Northumberland for that matter) features this symbol.
It's very very commonly associated with the Percy Family, and is consistently stamped across their holdings from Newburn to Alnwick and beyond. Tradition suggests they've simply claimed the symbol from a wider mark of recognition in the Crusades - indicating an early Percy partook in the Middle East. Nowadays though, it's purely a dynastic symbol.
Either way, what matters of this building is not on its front elevation, but of its purpose. This is the old Lesbury School, opened in 1857 and almost certainly paid for and maintained by the Duke and his estate.
It was formally a Church of England from 1870, aptly placed next to the medieval church, so they will have performed lessons you'd expect from such institution - reading, writing, arithmetic and daily bible readings. "moral training" was also key, upholding Christian values and ethics through to adulthood.
Village concerts were also held here, generally for the benefit of the parish, as well as the odd ball given how tight knit these little villages were (and still are).
The schools functions began to minimise in the 1920s, as children were ordered to be transferred to other sites at Bilton, Hipsburn and Alnmouth. It had been deemed some years before as entirely unsanitary, with an uneven playground and the outdoor privy seated above a deep cesspool. Apparently, one of the cleaners fainted due to the stench in the girls toilets!
However it remained a school through the 50s and 60s, and from there was turned into a village hall featuring your typical vegetable halls and leek shows. It's now listed, so long live the giant Lesbury marrows!
Listing Description
Both of these plans survey Lesbury from the 1840s until the 1860s. The first, a tithe plan of 1844 held by Northumberland Communities, depicts a typical Northumbrian linear village strung across the main North-East road linking Alnwick and Alnmouth (and eventually Boulmer). The first tithe plan was produced a couple of decades before the school was built, and in its place you can see the old corner terrace which was demolished for this.
St Mary's acts as the central anchor with the Aln its constant southern boundary apart from Lesbury Mills, which had probably been here nearly as long as the church in some form. Lesbury House is quite notably the largest residence in the village, dating from the turn of the 19th century.
A few smaller buildings pop up by the 1860s, though the village is much the same as it had been for centuries. Industry was limited to milling, though I'm sure the railway brought a few residents in. It also relied on a ford to access land beyond the Aln, so logistics were likely limited to good weather unless you fancied a winding detour via Alnmouth.
Incremental change is again seen by the 1890s, with a number of new cottages cropping up west of the school. Again though, its character is unwavered by any emerging industry north or south in part thanks to its location off the beaten path. Only through the half century later do you see more suburban developments dotted around the boundary of the village.
The school remains in use for the next half century until the mid 20th century, becoming a village hall thereafter.
The Lesbury School in November 2025
