Fairfields Board Schools, Basingstoke

The former site of the sheep fair on high ground in the south of the town was given by the Corporation in 1885 for the Board Schools to accommodate 1,310 pupils.[1] The initial plan was to have one school for boys, one for girls and infants but the design soon changed to mixed infants in one building and seniors housed on two floors in an adjacent detached building.[2] The foundation stone was laid on 29 November 1886 by George Freeman Dunn, Chairman of the School Board. Other members of the Board listed on the stone are Richard Sterry Wallis (Vice Chairman), Revd Canon Millard, Edward Adams, Edwin Charles White, Charles Pinder and Thomas John Edney. Francis Samuel Chandler was the clerk. Charles Bell of London was the architect and local builder Henry James Goodall was the contractor. The schools opened to children in February 1888.

The schools are still in use in 2014, one as a primary school, the other as a creative arts centre.

For a full history of the education at the school refer to Basingstoke Education.

[1] J.R. John, Fairfields Schools, Basingstoke (1888-1979), (1979), 11.

[2] Hants RO (HRO), 22M88/1