School history
A century and a half on the hill
From a rector's classroom to a Royal Navy valley, and back again.
Barham Memorial School has stood over its Pembrokeshire valley since Victoria's reign. These are the chapters we know — and with every wall we open up, the building tells us a little more.
c. 1855
The Barhams take up the cause
Rev. Charles Henry Foster-Barham and his wife Elizabeth Maria begin championing education for the valley's children, laying the groundwork for a permanent school.
1868
The first school
Henry Alexander Ince formally establishes the first Barham School, teaching local children years before the present building rises.
1875–77
The building we're saving
The present school is built to designs by architect Ernest C. Lee, in local Preseli stone dressed with Bath sandstone — and roofed in the Welsh slate we're now turning into coasters.
1902
A new era of oversight
The school becomes a 'non-provided school' under the new Pembrokeshire Education Authority, balancing church roots with public administration.
1938
The Navy comes to the valley
The Royal Navy Armaments Depot at Trecwn transforms the valley, bringing workers, families — and full classrooms.
1992–95
The depot winds down
RNAD Trecwn is decommissioned. As the work leaves, so do the families, and the school roll begins its long decline.
2001
The last bell
After more than 130 years of lessons, the school closes its doors. The building waits — through two decades of wind, rain and ivy.
Today
The story comes full circle
We're restoring the school as a home and a working place, breathing new life into a building the valley never stopped caring about. Roof first.
Today
Restoring, not erasing
Our aim isn't a shiny new building wearing an old mask. It's the same school — repaired honestly with lime, stone and slate, its scars kept where they tell the story. The Victorian schoolroom, the arched windows, the bellcote: all staying put.