BISLEY Village Hall opens its doors today (Saturday 17 September) to reveal its past as a chapel of the Shaftesbury Homes Schools.

The opening is in conjunction with this year national Heritage Open Days, when historic and interesting buildings are free to visit, and Peeps into the Past has recorded the rich history of the hall over the years.

It is the first time since 2019 that the hall has been able to display aspects of its history and its links with Lord Shaftesbury and William Williams, who worked tirelessly to provide for the poor in Victorian Britain.

During the second half of the 19th century, Bisley became a place of refuge and support for poor, homeless and orphaned children.

First came the Refuge Farm School, constructed in 1868. And then, in 1873, came the larger Shaftesbury School, with which the Farm School was amalgamated in 1919. In 1874, a chapel – now the village hall – was built to accommodate the pupils and staff from both schools.

Today, the trustees of the hall are responsible for its repair, upkeep and improvement as well as being guardians of its heritage. From their research, the building has been featured in the News & Mail many times.

For example, in 1995, former pupil Ron Ireland wrote about the school’s history. By a remarkable coincidence, Ron’s brother Wilf read an appeal by the trustees for further memories that was published as a Peeps story in 2018. This resulted in a gift of memorabilia previously owned by Bisley School’s last headmaster, Mr TT Barnes, which had been passed to Wilf by Mr Barnes’ daughter.

That collection kick-started the heritage project that continues to this day.

Mr Barnes later became the first headmaster of The Winston Churchill School.

At the open day, from 2pm to 4pm, visitors will be able to hear about the history of the original two schools and the chapel – such as details of the former pupils who lost their lives during the First World War.

Visitors will also be able to learn about the history of Bisley. There will be a range of presentations, displays of memorabilia and artefacts.

Members of the village hall’s heritage team and experts on local history will be on hand to explain things and show maps. It is hoped some of the old boys who were at the school in the 1950s will be there too.

Worth looking out for is a lantern, donated by Wilf, that was made by pupils in the school’s metal workshop, and which once hung in the chapel’s porch. The light shining from the lantern symbolises hope and light from darkness, thus linking back to the purposes for which the first two schools were founded.

The chapel was extended in 1919 with a chancel, in memory of those former pupils who died in the First World War. The lovely windows in it today, facing out on to the village green, are not the original ones.

The originals were installed in 1928 with coloured stained glass added in 1936. But they and a stone tablet listing the names of 89 former pupils who died on active service from 1914 to 1918 were removed after the school had closed.

It is known the windows went to another Shaftesbury School, Fortescue House, Twickenham, which closed in 1983. Their whereabouts today are unknown. New memorial windows were installed in 2019, with the lantern motif in the centre.

For further details about the open day contact Sue Smith via email at [email protected] or Graham Davey at [email protected]. There’s more about the hall on its website: https://www.bisleyvillagehall.org and on Facebook – search for Bisley Village Hall.

If you have some memories or old pictures relating to the Woking area, call David Rose on 01483 838960, or drop a line to the News & Mail.

David Rose is a local historian and writer who specialises in what he calls “the history within living memory” of people, places and events in the west Surrey area covering towns such as Woking and Guildford. He collects old photos and memorabilia relating to the area and the subject, and regularly gives illustrated local history talks to groups and societies. For enquiries and bookings please phone or email him at: [email protected]