The story of this beautiful building begins in 1860, when it was commissioned by Lady Louisa Waterford as a school for local children as part of her philanthropic work on the Ford estate. At its peak, Ford School had as many as 134 children in attendance here.
In order to aid these pupils with their learning, Louisa began her ‘great experiment’ in 1862: painting the watercolour murals. This took her 21 years to complete and depict Biblical scenes with the characters modelled by people who lived on the estate, and the very children who attended school here.
The school was unique in that it combined Louisa’s passions: art and philanthropy.
The Hall served as the local school until 1957, after which the Lady Waterford Hall Trust, a registered charity, was established in order to preserve the building and collection. It is now run as an accredited museum and local village hall.
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