Thank you to the Village History Club for their contribution which we reprint here for the wider community.

The Church School was built on land granted to the parish by Mrs Thomas Hawkesworth for a ‘peppercorn' rent on the site of an old village pound, opposite the Fleur de Lis Inn. The foundation stone was laid on 6 May, 1831.

In 1847, the National Church School Enquiry stated that the Sunday attendance was 77 boys and 93 girls with 16 teachers. They were probably accommodated at different times of the day. It is not clear if the Church School was used on days other than Sundays.

In 1854, Mr Thomas Hawkesworth writes about a request from an individual who wished to use the school on a weekday, stating that: "The school room was originally built for the purpose of a general parochial school in connection with the church. I cannot agree to the school being used for private purposes and unconnected with the church." The school was run by trustees. The parish vestry (council meetings) were also held there from 1831 until 1894, when they moved to the Elementary Day School in Castle Street.

The Church School caught fire in 1861 and was rebuilt in the Tudor style by public donations in 1861-62. The Parish Clock (nicknamed Ikey after Isaac Pepper, who maintained it) was made by John Baker of Montacute in 1831. It is not known exactly when it was installed, but it must have been before 1861, as a grand fete was held in August 1862 to raise funds to cover the cost of rebuilding the Church School and to restore the clock. At one time, before the installation of the Jubilee clock at the Congregational Church in 1898, it was the only village clock.

In 1917, St Mary's Church at East Stoke became the tenant of the Church School, and it was gifted to the church in February 1948 by the Hawkesworth family. In 1926, after the church of St Nicholas on the Ham Hill Road closed, the Church School was renovated and converted into a mission church. The Archdeacon of Bath and Wells dedicated the mission church to "All Saints", in December of that year. The building now had a vestry, new windows, the inside was decorated, the bell turret removed and the chimney repaired. A small pipe organ by Thomas Norton, also from St Nicholas church, was installed in September 1926; after many years of faithful service, this was sold to Osmond's of Taunton in 1968. It is now in Hillfarrance parish church, near Taunton. The place was re-decorated by Gillman and Sons in 1947, completely modernised in 1969 and reopened by the Bishop of Bath and Wells on 17 April, 1970.

It was mainly used for Sunday Evensong in the war years, being easy to "black out", but regular Sunday worship no longer takes place there. The building is still, however, used by the church and the community. The Boys' Brigade meets there on a Thursday and the Youth Club on a Monday and it is a popular venue for birthday parties and small meetings.

If you want to know more about our plans or would like to volunteer to help serving please contact Teresa Desmond, our Coffee Shop Manager on 01935 829661.