Community directory

British Schools Museum (Hitchin)

The British Schools Museum in Queen Street, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, is housed in a unique set of historic buildings that tell the story of elementary education in Britain from 1810 until 1945. Here you will find the Lancasterian School-room built in 1837 for one master to teach 300 boys with the aid of 30 Monitors as advocated by Joseph Lancaster (1778-1838). This is the only known complete Lancasterian School-room in the world - a valuable and irreplaceable building.

Next to it is a rare Galleried Classroom built in 1853 for 110 boys on the recommendation of Matthew Arnold, Government Inspector of Schools and Victorian poet of note. The interior of the Galleried Classroom is now restored for teaching in the 1880s period and is used to give visiting schoolchildren and other visitors Victorian School lessons.

The 1905 Edwardian Classrooms adjoining the Lancasterian Schoolroom feature displays of desks, teaching artefacts and samples of classroom work from 1900 to 1969.

The site also incorporates a Girls and Infants school built in 1857, with wall displays, and adjacent Master’s and Mistress’s houses. The headmaster’s house was the home of W. J. Fitch, master of the Boys’ school from 1854 to 1899, and is being restored and furnished in the 1880s style.

The Museum is open to the public for guided tours, with a Discovery trail and hands-on displays of Victorian toys and home life, as follows:

* Tuesdays (Easter to November): 10.00am-4.00pm;
* Saturdays (Easter to November): 10.00am-1.00pm;
* Sundays (Easter to November): 2.00pm-5.00pm.

Admission is £4.00 adults; £1.00 children

School groups, clubs, societies and other groups at other times by arrangement – please telephone for details.

Wheeled chairs are free, since the Victorians did not cater for disabilities, and parts of the site are not currently accessible by wheelchair. We aim to improve accessibility.

Parking is in public car parks in Queen Street, a few minutes walk away; limited parking for disabled only in Museum playground.

Cafe and Gift Shop.

Please contact or visit the web site for further information.

Registered charity number 1010345