History of St John's School
From Lacey Green History
click Lacey Green School for reports published in Hallmark
Research by Joan West
A Few Known Facts. There has been much debate about when Lacey Green School was founded. The following facts come from documents associated with Charles Brown, Sarah Shard (Charles & Sarah Shard), William Saunders (William Saunders & Bethia Janes) and census returns. None of them confirm when the school was founded.
1851 Census in Lacey Green. John Floyd 31 agricultural labourer, Mary Ann Floyd 36 schoolmistress, Jane Floyd 9 scholar, Mary Ann Floyd 6 scholar, Albert Joseph Floyd 4 scholar. In that census there are 24 scholars, aged from 4 to10 years. It does not say where Mary Ann taught. Mary Ann Floyd died in 1852. click John Floyd & Mary Ann Cook for their life story.
In 1847 Ann Horwood, aged 14, came with her parents from Aston Clinton to live in Lacey Green. She was a domestic servant at the Vicarage. A few years later it is said that the Vicar asked her to start a school. click Peter and Ann Floyd for Ann's life story. This could have coincided with the death of Mary Ann Floyd in 1852. In 1854 she married Peter Floyd, cousin of John Floyd, both grandchildren of John Floyd and Sarah, nee Janes, of Kiln Farm
Trade Directories indicate the opening of a day school in Lacey Green in 1951, but it is uncertain if the building occupied the present site.
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Report by Joan West. I started researching Lacey Green School when I was one of the Managers of the school, holding the position of Treasurer of the Managers. The documents of the school were at that time kept at the school. Excerpts from the head teachers logbooks I published in the book 'A Chiltern Village School'.
In 1983 when the Reverend Raymond Maynard, became the new vicar of the parish, my 'alarm bells' rang. I had heard that he had destroyed, given away, or sold a number of objects held by the church - from photographs to the original pews with little, often no, knowledge of his Parochial Church Council.
Raymond Maynard found himself to be the Chairman of Lacey Green School, it being a Church School with the Vicar and Churchwardens being the trustees. Having heard the reports about what was happening at the church I searched for and copied all the school documents then held at the school. I hope that those original documents are by now safely held in the Bucks Record Office in Aylesbury.
BELOW COPIES OF THE RESEARCH DOCUMENTS also click Lacey Green School Documents
School at Lacey Green
24th March 1860 An established schoolroom is purchased. (research note. This land adjoined the land of Stocken Farm)
Conveyance. Charles Brown of Stocken Farm purchased from the executors of Sarah Shard of Grymsdyke Lodge a schoolroom and 2 houses (a block of land including the schoolroom and two semi-detached cottages in which domestic workers for Grymsdyke House lived, stretching to Slad Lane).
16th December 1870. DEED of GIFT To the Church
Charles Brown gave the schoolroom to the Vicar and Churchwardens of St John’s Church, Lacey Green, as trustees.
1871. The Church of England adopted the school, naming it “St.John’s School”
3rd February 1875 Conveyance of Land on which the school is built, by Charles Brown to the Vicar and Churchwardens
All that parcel of ground situate at Lacey Green, adjoining the Highroad, containing twenty one and a half yards or thereabouts and in depth sixteen yards or thereabouts as is now fenced out and divided from the other land of the said Charles Brown and which piece of land hereby conveyed, was many years ago given by the said Charles Brown for the purposes of education and on which piece of land schools and other buildings have for some years been created and built.
March 15th 1926 William Saunders of Stocken Farm, conveyed quarter of an acre of land to the Vicar and Churchwardens (Trustees of St. John’s School).
November 1st 1926 William Saunders of Stocken Farm, conveyed additional land to the Vicar and Churchwardens.
In the 1930s a House was built on Pink Road, Lacey Green with the proceeds of the sale of Loosley Row School. It was vested in the Vicar and Churchwardens to be a house for the head teachers' of Lacey Green School to which the Loosley Row children now came. See The School House for more.
Researcher's Note. In 1964 as treasurer of the Lacey Green School Managers I discovered that the Reverend Raymond Maynard, vicar and Chairman of the School Managers had put the School House on the market, the proceeds to go to the Charity Commissioners as it was no longer being used for the school. As this was vested in the Vicar and Churchwardens of Lacey Green (not the National Charity Commissioners) I contacted the Diocese at Oxford with my concern that any proceeds should remain in Lacey Green. They wrote to the Charity Commission to ensure that this was dealt with correctly.
The following letter was the reply, confirming our properties vested in the Charity Commission :-
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE (legal branch)
Curzon street
London W.1,
Dear Sirs 27th October 1964
With reference to your letter of 29th September 1964, and for the forms enclosed therewith.
I am directed by the Secretary of State to explain that in connection with the application for an order appointing Trustees of the Teachers House at the Lacey Green Church of England School, a statement of willingness to serve, if appointed, signed by yourself and the churchwardens should be forwarded as stated in the penultimate paragraph of the official letter of 25th June 1964 to Mr. Adams
With regard to the application submitted for an order vesting the legal estate in properties in the Official custodian for charities, I am to say that the Foundation known as the Endowment for Schools Erected by Emma Grace at Loosley Row and Speen now consists of a holding of £1,481.6.8 3 ½% War Stock, invested with the Official Custodian of Charities, being the proceeds of the sale of the farm at Hughenden, authorised by an Order of 19th April 1940, which comprised the original endowment. Thus there is no longer any real property to be vested in the Official Custodian.
The legal estate of the property of Lacey Green Church of England School is already held by the Vicar and Churchwardens and their successors as a corporate body under the Deeds of 3rd February 1875 and 15th March 1926, whereby the site was granted under Section 2 of the School Sites Act 1841. As these Trustees are for the purpose of the said Act a corporate body having perpetual succession, it is not necessary to vest the property in the Official Custodian.
The vesting applications should be completed and returned, with the original Deeds, or certified copies thereof, under which the properties are held, to this department, for transmission to the Charity Commissioners.
I am, Reverend Sir,
Your obedient servant.
(Mrs,) E.M.Sims