Aldwark Manor Residential Special School – Hull’s own school in the country

1954, some 67 years ago, saw the opening of one of Hull’s newest and perhaps remotest special schools, and is a story that has possibly slipped from memory. The school concerned was the Aldwark Manor Residential School in Alne in North Yorkshire, about 12 miles north-west of York, near the River Ure.

The 1944 Education Act not only brought in universal secondary education but also extended the scope of education for children with, what we today know as special educational needs. One such group of children to benefit, was a group today we call pupils with learning difficulties, but were then children termed ‘educationally subnormal’, which itself was regarded as an improvement on the previously used term, the ‘mentally defective’.

Aldwark Manor School was established as school for boys with learning difficulties aged between 8 and 16. It was to be residential, not an unusual occurrence at the time, as it was often felt that pupils would benefit from such an approach. Not all boys with learning difficulties would receive such education though, as those with severe learning difficulties, the ‘severely subnormal’, were deemed uneducable.

The building had been requisitioned by Canadian troops during World War Two, and in 1949 the City and County of Kingston upon Hull Education Committee purchased the site for £1,500. The first headmaster was Mr G.G Lamb from Lincolnshire, who arrived with his wife, Mrs B.M.K. Lamb, who would become the school’s matron. They would be joined initially by 3 assistant masters, an assistant matron and a school nurse plus various non-educational support staff.  There were 58 places at the school, which would be filled by boys from Hull and from neighbouring local education authorities. All the places were filled on opening.

Plan of the Aldwark Manor School site, showing the proposed position of two new staff houses. c.1958 [Ref: C TAER/4/1/2]

The school was located in spacious grounds and as well as providing a basic education, it offered activities such as woodwork, metalwork, pottery, basket weaving and book craft, all occupations deemed at the time suitable for such boys in order to prepare them for life after school. By 1962 it had a swimming pool and had links with many groups in the area, such as RAF Linton. The boys also played football against other similar schools in North Yorkshire as well. In 1969 the Lambs retired and were replaced by G.S. H. Appleton as headmaster, with his wife becoming the school’s matron. In 1971, there were still 57 boys at the school.

However times were changing though, and by the mid-1970s, there were moves against residential schools. Many boys were unhappy at having to spend so much time away from their homes and families, and places at Aldwark were becoming difficult to fill. In addition, a new day school for boys with learning difficulties was being constructed in Hull itself. A report in February 1977, indicated the buildings needed extensive repairs which was making it unviable. Humberside County Council, by now the responsible local education authority, made the decision to close the school. Aldwark Manor Special School finally locked its doors at the end of August 1977, thus ending the story of one of Hull’s more unusually located schools. The site was eventually sold on and now Aldwark Manor is a hotel, with a golf course and a recognised garden of historic interest.

Useful sources

Minutes of the Education Committees of Hull City Council (C TCM) and Humberside County Council (L.352)

Reports of the Chief Medical Officer of the Hull City Council Schools Medical Service (L.371.712)

Correspondence relating to the construction of staff houses. (C TAER/4/1/1 and C TAER/4/1/2).

Records of the Education Department of Hull City Council (C TCE). 

Paul Leaver
Archivist/Librarian