Primary school celebrates 200th birthday

A village primary school has celebrated 200 years of educating children.

Lacock Primary School, near Chippenham in Wiltshire, was opened in 1824 by William Henry Fox Talbot - the man credited with the invention of photography - to mark his 21st birthday.

They held a service and a special anniversary exhibition exploring the schools history has been displayed.

Fox Talbot's three times great-grandson, Reverend James Clark-Maxwell, travelled down from Scotland to meet pupils and staff.

It was 10 years after Fox Talbot established Lacock Primary School to mark his 21st birthday, that he discovered how to make and fix images through the action of light and chemistry on paper to form negatives. These were then used to make multiple prints.

Headteacher Caroline Jackson and staff member Lucinda Prater organised the exhibition, with children getting involved in preserving Fox Talbot's legacy.

Mrs Prater said the boards ranged from information about Fox Talbot himself, to photographs of pupils from many years ago and one of the school when it first opened.

The school also has logbooks dating back many decades.

"In schools everywhere, I imagine the head teacher would log everyday things that had happened and these are the original log books that we have from that time and it's a it's a real privilege to have them," Mrs Prater said.

"They're pretty amazing."

Current pupils took their own photographs to produce their own plaque for the bicentenary celebration service at St Cyriac's Church, inspired by Fox Talbot.

Following the service, a tea party was hosted for parents, carers, past pupils and staff, with former pupils asked to identify themselves in photos from the 1930s.

Ms Jackson said: "In February, we celebrated Fox Talbot's birthday, which we've done for the last few years.

"We had a very exciting day and the children were dressed up and went down to the Abbey.

"They all did different jobs they would have done as children - polishing shoes, making bird scarers... they had a go at using a mangle."

Reverend James Clark-Maxwell who travelled down from Scotland, brought along a case, containing some of Fox Talbot's possessions, including a copy of his first book, The Pencil of Nature.

"It was published in stages, so it's quite peculiar in that there's actually a plate missing and the binding is different," he said.

"We think it's because his daughter, my forebear, collected the plates as they were published and she bound it herself.

Rev. Clark-Maxwell said he most feels the "connection" to his ancestor through their shared love of nature.

"It's always a delight to come to Lacock, it's one of the most beautiful villages, I think, in the country," Rev. Clark-Maxwell said.

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