T H E   D E R E L I C T   M I S C E L L A N Y

What: School, later mission room
Where: Rowhook, West Sussex
Built: 1874
Architect: Gordon M. Hills
Abandoned: 1963
Listed: No
Visited: 2009, 2013
Last Known Condition: Derelict
Page Updated: February 2014

Rowhook School came about because of an 1872 proposal by the Education Department to merge, for educational purposes, the neigbouring parishes of Slinfold, Warnham and Rudgwick due to the 'deficiency of school accommodation' in that district. This was seen by the clergy as undesirable, and they were 'very anxious to avoid this.' The issue was discussed at length and in 1874 a solution came in the form of a grant of land at Rowhook by Charles Child, Esq. of Windalls, The Street, Slinfold. Plans were drawn up by local architect Gordon M. Hills, a committee of trustees was formed, headed by Nathaniel Simes of Strood Park, and tenders were put out for design and construction.
The school was completed that year at a cost of £152, 18s and 7d. It consisted of one room, its dimensions described in 1876 as "Height: Feet 9, i.e. from floor to slates / Length: feet 30" and "Width: feet 17." A porch was added to the front as part of the builders' contract and at some time an outshot was constructed for toilets (now demolished). 1880 and 1897 maps show the building as 'School, Boys & Girls', but by 1914 it had become a 'Mission Room;' hardly surprising given the size of the hamlet, which consists of scarcely more than ten dwellings and a few outlying farms.
The School continued to be used as a mission room up to c.1948, after which it was leased by the trustees to a Mr. Vibant, then in 1957 to Mr. F.B. Notley at a cost of £5 p.a. Notley still held it in 1963, but it was now "rapidly deteriorating and not doing much good to anyone". A local man, Mr. A.J. Cole, registered his interest in buying the building to make a house for himself and his wife, but the legal status of the land was not adequately understood and eventually he lost interest. In 1984 it was proposed to try to sell the school again. At this point proceedings stalled however, since under the School Sites Act, 1841 the school could not be sold unless the intention of the trustees was to apply the proceeds of sale in buying other more convenient land for a new school. A long and bewildering legal battle ensued, culminating in the Reverter of Sites Act 1987, which in short allowed the sale of the land without the need for a new school. This was duly done but by this time the building was completely derelict and enthusiasm for conversion had waned.