In November 1868 the Schools Inquiry Commission published the Special Reports of Assistant Commissioners to both Houses of Parliament. The Assistant Commissioner for the South West Division was Mr. C.H. Stanton and it is his report on the Litton School at Litton Cheney, Dorset which follows. MR. STANTON’S REPORT Half-way between Dorchester and Bridport, approached from the main road by deep lanes, often not more than six or seven feet wide, at the base of the southern slope of the great chalk range which stretches from the Isle of Purbeck to Bridport, lies the village of Litton Cheney, containing 500 inhabitants and 3,817 acres. A brook of the purest water bursts from the hill and runs through the village. Robert Thorner, by his will in 1690, appointed £20 per annum to be paid towards the maintenance of a free school to teach the male children of Litton Cheney to read, write, cast accounts, and grammar, from the age of 6 to 15; and the foundation was augmented by the gift of a schoolhouse in 1776 by Thomas Hollis. There is also an apprenticing fund, forming part of Thorner’s charity, and established by his will, whereby boys from this parish as well as from Salisbury, Dorchester, and Southampton, are entitled to £5 as an apprentice fee, and £5 more when they are set up in trade. The founder nominated his own trustees, and directed that they should each nominate his own successor. The present trustees are three in number and all Nonconformists and non-resident; one, a dissenting minister, resides at Southampton, and the two other gentlemen arc laymen and reside in London. A gentleman, a dissenter, lately a wine merchant at Dorchester, who takes an interest in school matters, at the request of the trustees, manages for them whatever business may require personal attention at Litton. The trustees are allowed by the founder £10 a year for their trouble; a sum which might with advantage be given up to increase the small endowment. The present master is a worthy old man, old fashioned in his notions of teaching, and has occupied his post for 30 years; he had been a schoolmaster before he was elected here. He was assisted by his wife and by his grandson, a lad of 13, in the school. There was no other teacher. No attendance book nor any record of the boys’ work was kept. The schoolroom is 27 feet by 18 feet, and. 10 feet high; the windows and the fire-place are the only means of ventilation. Three girls, private pupils of the mistress, were being taught there; five very little boys were also among the scholars. Altogether there were 28 present when I visited the school. More than half of them were labourers’ children, but there were a few of a higher class, such as a policeman, tailor, or blacksmith. Farmers’ sons also came occasionally, but at present there are said to be none in the parish of the proper age. They were all very young—with one exception under 12. Many of them, to use their own formula, were “going in their 8 or 9.” I cannot speak favourably of their attainments. There was hardly one in the upper part of the school who could read with sufficient plainness for me to understand him without following the words myself in a book, and their dictation was very bad. Very few attempted any sum beyond the addition of money, and still fewer could divide £73 by 365. An attempt of the boys in the middle of the school to write out from memory the Lord’s Prayer was lamentable, the letters in many cases representing a conglomeration of sounds only faintly recalling the original. Some of them could do simple multiplication. The master receives £25 a year in money. He occupies a tolerably large house or cottage, half of which he lets off to another family. He once took eight boarders at £16 each, but found it unprofitable, and has discontinued it. He occupies about two acres adjoining the house rent free, which belongs to the charity, on condition that he keeps the premises in repair. The slates and the plastering of the roof were in a bad condition when I visited the house. The trustees live at too great a distance to see much of. the school. There are no examinations. For four years together the master only saw one trustee and on one occasion. I understand that the predecessor of the present master was a Unitarian; a Kentish gardener, who, by violent preaching and still more violent temper, disgusted the parish and emptied the school. In 1838, the stipend of £25 being considered, as in fact it is, wholly insufficient for the payment of a competent master, the trustees promulgated a notice that they intended to raise his salary by the imposition of a capitation fee upon those boys whose parents could afford to pay it. The parish rose in arms against this, considering that by the terms of the will the richest as well as the poorest were entitled to a free education, and that this attempt by the trustees was entirely ultra vires. The parishioners seem to have had no objection to the principle of the proposed charge, but only to the manner of making it; for at a vestry meeting held April 23, 1838, it was agreed “that all persons above the class of common labourers should, by a voluntary payment, contribute 3s. per quarter for the instruction of each child and that this should not grow into a customary right, this document was to be entered into the ” vestry book repeatedly every year.” This agreement was signed by 19 of the principal inhabitants. Under this authority, the head master now receives 3s. every quarter from each of about 13 children. The existence of this school in the parish renders it impossible to establish a National school. The present head master attends the parish church and works well with the rector, who speaks of him highly, and who pays him £5 a year for holding a night school on two days in the week. It is unnecessary, perhaps, to say that the rector has no authority whatever in the school; he is never consulted as to what boys in the parish are deserving objects for the apprentice fee, and any interference on his part would be regarded with jealousy. An application made by him to the trustees for the use of their schoolroom on Sunday, when it was disengaged, for his Sunday school, was refused. The rector now holds his Sunday school in a room he has fitted up for the purpose at his own house. There is no day school for girls in the parish, who are obliged to attend the schools of the neighbouring villages, several of which, though smaller than Litton, have good parochial schools. Were it not for its “endowed grammar” school, a good parish school would also probably be found at Litton Cheney.

Of Dorset’s village schools, only one is older than that at Litton which was founded in 1690 by one of its sons, Robert Thorner. Historic details of Thorners School and its relationship to Robert Thorner can be found in: “The Bride Valley” published in 1982 by Jack Bailey (a former headmaster), “Litton Cheney in the Bride Valley” published in1993 by Hugh Lindsay. “Litton Cheney Its Historic Sites and People” published in 2024 by Paul Kingston’ . The following are a set of milestones based on those books.

1690 Thorner’s School founded by Robert Thorner who also died in that year. He bequeathed £20 per annum “to be employed towards the maintenance of a free school in the parish of Litton to teach the male children to read and write, cast accounts and grammar from the age of six years to fifteen, the schoolmaster to be nominated by the trustees”.. 1693 Thomas Dawes was the first appointed teacher. Where the teaching took place is unknown but certainly not on the present site. 1695 From the Thorner Charity Account Book: “One year’s salary to Mr Thomas Dawes, schoolmaster, £25”. 1746 Thomas Dawes died and the trustees appointed John Hurd as his successor. 1769 The Master was described as “unsatisfactory”. 1770 Henry Legge of Hodders Farn, held by lease of Reverend John Richards, conveyed a 2.5 acre field known as Hill Close to the use and benefit of the Charity House in Litton for £93 15s, leaving two acres to be let, the rent to be used for the maintenance of the house. 1771 The digging of foundations for the dwelling house began and oak timbers were brought from the Marshwood Vale. In November, however, work stopped as a flaw had been found in the conveyance. 1774 Work having re-started in 1773, by 1774 a house "for habitation of the schoolmaster" and a small schoolroom, 18 feet by 27 feet, had been built by the Trustees, Thomas and Timothy Hollis ,at their own expense. It thus became one of a number of schools maintained by a group of dissenting industrialists. It is known, from the Hollis papers, that they preferred to appoint a dissenting schoolmaster but, if none were available, then a suitable churchman was chosen. An account of what was laid out in building the School House at Litton recorded expenditure, including the following: Gave the Quarry Men for drink 1s. Mr Fry for digging a well to a depth of 18 feet 1s. John Conway the carpenter's bill for journeys and labour £115s 10d. Mr Tucker's bill for Oak Timber £31 16s 6d. Farmer Legge for digging and carrying sand £3 12s 1d. John Beater's bill for lime £6 2s James Usher for 800 bricks 18s. William Bowdidge's bill for removing timber from a coppice and carriage to Litton £15 13s. William Goring the mason's bill £2 19s. 1778 Robert Cox was appointed by the trustees at a salary of £25 per annum, allowing thereof to John Hurd, late master, during his life, the sum of £5 per annum. 1781 Reverend James Kirkup (an Anglican in holy orders) of South Petherton was appointed by Timothy Hollis (a trustee). He had to contribute to John Hurd's pension for another two years. Timothy Hollis died, aged 81, in 1791. 1815 Reverend Roger Seward of Poole was appointed as headmaster. 1823 Charles Herbert was appointed. He, according to a Charity Commissioner-s Report, “had a good school for about twelve months, after which he began to exert himself in the dissemination of Unitarian principles in a manner so offensive the parents refused to send their children so that ,for many years before his death, he had no scholars at all and totally neglected the buildings, breaking up the Close and using it for garden ground”. He died in 1833. By the time Herbert was appointed the Trustees, no longer from the Hollis family, seem ,from their failure to remove him for so long, to have lost interest in the Litton school. It was the report of the Charity Commission, referred to above, which eventually reinstated the school. 1834 The Charity Commissioners found that, because Charles Herbert had refused to vacate the house, no money had been spent on repairs and advised that the schoolroom should be rebuilt. Thomas Fisher was paid £64 for this work. The school reopened with Henry Morgan as master. A new schoolroom 27ft long, 18ft wide and 10ft high was built at a cost of £64, to replace the thatched building which Herbert had allowed to fall into disrepair. 1838 Hitherto the Charity Trustees and the Parish Church seem to have ignored each other. Reverend Cox received a letter suggesting that the inhabitants of Litton should contribute towards the salary of the schoolmaster. The village, however, considered that ,by the terms of the will ,the richest as well as the poorest were entitled to a free education. The parishioners had no objection to the principle of the proposed charge, but only to the manner of making it. It was agreed that all persons above the class of common labourers should, by a voluntary payment, contribute three shillings per quarter for the instruction of each child. 1848 The Tithe Map apportionment described the schoolhouse, garden and adjoining plot as belonging to the trustees of the Blandford Charity. 1868 A visit by Mr. Stanton of the Schools Inquiry Commission,, resulted in an adverse report which can be read here. 1869 Henry Morgan responded to the report saying “I feel safe in saying that the report is incorrect. It is said that there was scarcely one of the upper part of the school could read with sufficient plainess for the visitors to understand them. I do not think he was much accustomed to the "Dorset dialect” to understand them. The boys could not understand many of his expressions, and that accounted for the dictation being so bad. I have always given general satisfaction to the trustees of the schooi' and also to the children's friends; others' opinions are quite immaterial.” Henry Morgan, conductor oi the school for nearly thirty-five years. Henry died the following year and Samuel Beale from Weymouth was appointed. He received a few boys to board by the week or quarter, with strict attention paid to the mental and moral culture of every pupil. In 1871 he had seven boarders aged from seven to thirteen, with four from Weymouth and others from Bristol, Ipswich and Scotland. 1876 The 1870 Education Act required that school provision should be brought up to certain standards which meant that a village the size of Litton should be able to accommodate 80 pupils. The Charity could not afford yet another rebuilding but was at one with the parish in not wanting the Board of Education school which would be put in the place of Thorner's. The Rector, the Rev. J. S. Cox, seems to have taken the initiative and church and charity together promoted a scheme for the governing and conduct of a new school to meet the requirements of the Act. The school was to be for boys and girls and carried on in the present or other suitable buildings in or near Litton Cheney and conducted as a Public Elementary School. No person to be disqualified from being a master by reason only of his not being in holy orders. The foundation was to be called the Hollis and Thorner School, the extra name being added in recognition of the Hollis family's furtherance of the Thorner bequest. Two governors were to be appointed by the charity, two by the church and two by the subscribers to the fund which was set up to raise, by public subscription, the £230 necessary to provide the schoolroom which still serves as part of the present school. Samuel Beale died suddenly this year and the school was closed as a result. 1878 The Schoolhouse was built (for eighty children) and George Garland was appointed, receiving £70 per annum with £10 to his wife "for the sewing". 1880 Joseph Davis was appointed the new headteacher. 1881 Robert Dawes Gibson was appointed with his wife Lucy, a certificated teacher. There were 93 children at the school. The school was examined, with the report stating that “the school is conducted in a highly efficient manner; the standard work is neat and thorough, while the class subjects (Grammar and Geography) display intelligence and have evidently been taught minutely and comprehensively. Discipline is excellent. 1885 John McMahon was the new headteacher. 1887 the governors allowed the Diocesan Inspector to examine the religious knowledge taught in the school but insisted out of respect for the nonconformist part in the foundation that the Church of England Catechism be omitted from the syllabus. The Bishop of Salisbury asked the Governors to join a Diocesan Voluntary Schools Association. The reply was that in no circumstances would the Governors of the Thorner and Hollis School join an ecclesiastical area. 1888 There was further correspondence with the Charity Commission about transferring the charity fund to official trustees. 1891 William Miller became headteacher. 1902 Under the Education Act of that year the school came under the control of the Local Education Authority, a committee of the Dorset County Council, and from 1903 it is clear that, though that body was aware of the Thorner Charity (but not its nonconformist background), it regarded Litton as a church'school. The governors now became 'managers', the Local Authority paid the teachers and most of the maintenance but not any new building. The master's house was entirely the responsibility of the managers. The Rector now regularly taught scripture and catechism in the school. 1903 At the beginning of the century the attendance at the school was 70. From then on, as with most villages, there was a remarkable decline in the child population. In Litton, 5-14’s numberied no more than 25. With the end of the war in 1918 there was a slight increase. A report on the sanitary condition of local schools found the school requiring attention to the 'out offices'. 1904 On the advice of the Medical Officer, the school was closed on April 11th owing to measles in the village. The school reopened on May 5th. 1905 Thorner's Charity School was inspected, with the report stating that “the mixed school continues to do good work. The order is very satisfactory, and the teachers and children take great pains with the different lessons. The Infant's class has improved, especially in reading, but more attention should be paid to the teaching of numbers”. 1909 The headmaster W.S. Miller and his wife Anne left to run the Post Office in Grove Cottages. Edwin Brinkworth started as head teacher with his wife a supplementary teacher. The School Managers and villagers assembled in the Schoolroom for a presentation to Mr and Mrs Miller. They received a purse of gold, with an album of subscriber's names. The school was inspected with the report saying “It is desirable that the Supplementary Teacher should be punctual. Oral lessons should be given in Geography, History and Nature Knowledge in addition to the reading lesson. It will be necessary for the teachers to preserve their preparation notes for inspection. Terminal examinations are held but, in addition to this, the Head Teacher should write reports on the results obtained, which in the cases of Supplementary Teachers should be suggestive and helpful, as well as critical.” 1911 A report stated that “the playground is in a very rough state and is not adapted for Physical Training according to the Official Syllabus”. 1913 The school was closed in June by the order of the Medical Officer on account of measles. 1914 A Board of Education Inspector's Report stated “some desks are unserviceable,and the school is without a globe. There is a useful little school library. The gallery in the infant's room is inconvenient. The children are rather shy and reticent. They read fluently but almost inaudibly. They have learned some poetry in an almost word-perfect way but recite without much expression. They write neatly and composition exercises show evidence of careful teaching. Written arithmetic is generally often table type: the exercises are carefully devised, and the subject is zealously taught. Geography is a favourite subject of the master. He carefully prepares his lessons in this subject and the children have acquired some useful and interesting knowledge. Instruction of the infants is not quite satisfactory. There is not much training in language, they read only fairly and number teaching is too abstract. Their teacher should receive some training in better methods of teaching”. 1915 Mr Brinkworth left as he was to be a headmaster at a larger school. William Miller, a previous headteacher ,started in June, with his wife teaching needlework. Articles of comfort, consisting of knitted woollen helmets, body belts, scarves, socks and mittens were made by the girls for the soldiers serving their country. The children walked to the main road to witness the passing of the Naval Brigade. 1916 The school closed on 27th September by order of the Medical Officer of Health due to Scarlet Fever. The school reopened on 27th November. . 1917 The average attendance was twenty-five. There was another outbreak of Scarlet Fever in January. 1918 An airship passed over the village, the first seen by the children. The school closed, due to influenza, on 11th November and reopened on 9th December. Anna Moores was the teacher at this time. 1919 The school closed on March 10 th due to influenza and reopened on the 24th. The 1918/19 flu pandemic, sometimes known as the Spanish Flu, was an exceptionally deadly global diseae. About 500 million people (one third of the world's population) were infected and about 50 million people died. Mortality was high in people under five, those aged 20-40 and those over 65. Bacterial superinfection often followed the initial viral infection and was the cause of many deaths. There were four successive waves, and it became one of the deadliest early pandemics in history. Armistice Day was observed on November 11th. 1921 W. S. Miller took charge for a week, followed by Sidney Heath, a supply teacher. 1922 Tenders were taken for repairs to the school. Miss Violet Lydia Mary Read became Headmistress in September. The Elementary Education Committee suggested that Litton become the Central School for Litton, Long Bredy and Little Bredy; the Little Bredy older children to be conveyed to Litton and the children under eleven from Long Bredy and Little Bredy to attend one of the two schools and the other would be closed. The scheme was abandoned solely because the Managers of Long Bredy would not consent to the closure of that school. An Inspector's report stated “the conscientious work of the former Headmaster deserves appreciative recognition. A Supply Teacher is conducting it in an energetic and sympathetic manner and the children are working well and cheerfully. Fair progress is being made in Reading and Composition, Singing is bright and pleasing and there is evidence of careful teaching in Drawing”. 1923 Stanley Wakely left the school, having had perfect attendance since being admitted over nine years previously. 1924 The school closed from January 31st to March 3rd due to measles. 1926 A report stated that “the present Head Mistress was appointed to this school three years ago. The organisation which was criticised in the last report has been improved and in important directions steady progress has been effected”. I927 Tthere were only twenty-three on the roll in June, probably the lowest recorded number. 1928 A year of change. Thorner’s became a school serving all the older children of the eastern end of the Bride Valley. To make classroom space, Litton's 7-11 year olds were taken to Puncknowle school by a bus which brought the seniors back to Thorner's. Litton's infants (5-7) stayed with their own teacher in the small classroom at Thorner's. The reason for the upheaval was the introduction of housewifery for the girls and gardening and woodwork for the boys taught by specialist teachers. Use of the field as a garden presented no problems but part of the master's house had to given over to cookery, laundry and woodwork. The central school continued through the difficult years of the second world war until the upheaval in education which followed it. The school was closed due to an outbreak of whooping cough, reopening on 4" June. Violet Read left in April and W. Kay, a supply teacher, was in place for a time. 1929 The school reopened as the Litton Cheney Rural Central School. Twenty-eight senior children (over eleven) were conveyed by motor from Little Bredy, Long Bredy and Puncknowle schools. Junior children (seven to eleven) were also conveyed from Puncknowle and the nine Litton Cheney infants stayed here. John Gray was the headteacher, with Mrs Kay a class teacher and Miss Harris teaching the infants. 1943 Mr. Birchall appointed Headmaster. 1946 Puncknowle School closed due to an unatisfacory medical report and its children transferred to Litton. The senior children from Litton were transferred to Bridport Allington C.E. 1947 Under the 1944 Education Act, Thorner's became a primary school for children from Litton, Puncknowle and Swyre. It was proposed to buy an Army Nissen Hut for the children's canteen and there was a meeting with Herbert Coombes on whose land it was situated. Dorset County Council applied to use the Nissen Hut as a kitchen for fifty-six and dining room for thirty. Two German POWs began work on the school garden in January. Also in January, the school was closed on occasions because the roads were impassable due to snow. The temperature in the school was sometimes below freezing and some days involved sitting around the fire, interspersed with P.T. exercises. In February the school had to close for two weeks due to pipes freezing and bursting. Soon afterwards, the school became the junior and infant school which it remains today. A report by H.M. Inspectors stated “This pleasant little two-teacher school, with 38 children on roII, works in good conditions. The premises are reasonably commodious and kept in excellent order and cleanliness. Redecoration and re-surfacing of the playground were undertaken last year. Two mi/itary huts have been acquired, one for an activity room and the other for use as a kitchen-dining room where an excellent school meal is cooked and eaten in almost ideal conditions. The infants' class makes a good start in the hands of an experienced teacher. Progress in the Head Mistress's class is regular and speedy. Much is done for individual needs and the attainments of the top group, mainly girls, are praiseworthy. Great interest is brought to the activities in Nature Study and gardening and there is a very good library. They take pride in their written work and their speech is well above the average for this type of school. Interesting developments are expected in the future”. 1951 The school, basically the same since the 1877 rebuilding, was now much below the standard required. The Charity had lost all interest and the managers, struggling to make ends meet, sought to have the school's status changed to “Litton Cheney Voluntary Aided Church of England School” dropping the name “Thorner’s”. When this came about, the Diocesan Authority took over the maintenance of the building. 1953 Jack Bailey became Headteacher in September. 1954 Polio was confirmed and the school closed on 28" June, re-opening on 19" July. Mr Bailey was very active in studying local history and organised several archaeological excavations. He also kept weather records and in 1955 recorded rainfall of 7.32 inches in Litton on 18th July· the same day that Martinstown recorded 11 inches, a record for Britain at the time. 1956 The first major improvement was the provision of a toilet block and cloakroom which was added to the old building. The use of the ex-army huts adjacent to the school, used as kitchen and dining room, continued. 1959 A report by H.M. Inspectors stated:”The Managers are to be congratulated on the improvements made to the buildings of this very ancient educational foundation now with 43 pupils. The cloakrooms and sanitary provision now conform to the building regulation standards and allow for expansion to a three-class school. Despite the addition of a wooden hut teaching accommodation is less than required. A glass screen divides it into two small spaces which provide very restricting working conditions. An additional amenity is provided with two Nissen huts, one a kitchen and dining-room and the other a storeroom. A satisfying meal was provided under pleasant conditions. The setting is improved by well kept flower borders and lawns, and a playing field and playground of suitable size adjoin the school. The headmaster and the infant teacher have both been at the school for about five years. They work well together, know their pupils as individuals and have very good relationships with them. The school is conducted in calm, efficient and orderly manner, and the children are sensible, self-controlled and industrious. The headmaster is a countryman and has a wide knowledge of the local area; his contacts with the wider world of education are strengthened through his roles with his professional associations. He is a vigorous, enthusiastic teacher and most systematic and methodical in his conduct of the school. The general impression made is that it is in very good hands, it is a happy and flourishing community and much excellent work is being done which is appreciated by all concerned”. 1962 The school at Long Bredy being scheduled for closure, the expansion of Litton was considered by the Diocesan Authority. It was at this point that Jack Bailey drew attention to the fact that the school, in spite of its name, had never legally been transferred to Salisbury. As a result the Department of the Environment drew up a scheme which was quickly advertised and passed, ordering that "the foundation of the Thorner and Hollis School at Litton Cheney, Dorset, shall be administered by Salisbury Diocesan Authority as the governing body". At the request of the head teacher the founder's name was restored to the official title and it is still 'Thorner's Litton Cheney, Church of England (voluntary aided) School'”. 1968 The advantages of the new situation were soon apparent. Salisbury, with the power to obtain an 80% building grant from the Department, set about modernisation and expansion. Additions to the 1877 building included two new classrooms, a dining room/hall and kitchen. The official opening took place on Oct. 11th. It was fittingly performed by a representative of Harvard University in America which had, like the school at Litton, benefited under the will of Robert Thorner. The modernisation of the school was very much a local affair, the work being undertaken by the Litton builders C.G.Fry and Son who also helped the Parent-Teacher Association build a heated swimming pool the following year. At the same time the Local Authority levelled the top end of the field to provide an excellent play area using waste material excavated when Litton was provided with a sewerage system. 1999 Alison Johnstone appointed Headmistress. She worked hard with the Parish Council to achieve the construction of LATCH, the Litton and Thorners Community Hall which opened in 2009. 2011 Jyotsna Chaffey appointed Headmistress. She was instrumental in making the Fledglings Pre-school a part of Thorner’s. 2020 Mike Sitch appointed Headmaster. The only material change in the school since its enlargement has been the conversion of the kitchen to educational use. The number on roll is around 80 drawn from the five villages at the east end of the Bride Valley and from Bexington. Litton may well be proud of its 300 year old school even if the manner of its conversion was somewhat unorthodox. However it should not be forgotten that its new status under the Diocesan Authority certainly saved the situation in the 1960s. As with all small village schools its future is by no means certain but without it the locality would be poor indeed. The following is a (incomplete) list of headmasters known to be incumbent at the time: 1690 Thomas Dawes 1746 John Hurd 1778 Robert Cox 1793 Rev. James Kircup 1816 Rev, Roger Seward 1823 Charles Herbert 1834 Henry Morgan 1870 Samuel Beale 1878 George Garland 1880 Joseph Davis 1881 Robert Dawes Gibson 1885 John McMahon 1891 William Miller 1909 Edwin Brinkworth 1918 Anna Moore 1921 Sydney Heath (Supply Teacher) 1928 W Kay (Supply Teacher) 1929 Joseph Gray 1992 Violet Lydia Mary Read 1943 Mr Pritchard 1953 Jack Bailey 1968 John Foxwell ? Stephen Mason 1999-2011 Alison Johnstone 2011 Jyotsna Chaffey 2020 Mike Sitch