Former British School, Queen Street, Hitchin, Hertfordshire
This school was originally founded in 1810 by William Wiltshire, a lawyer from Hitchin. In 1837 a new schoolroom, designed for 300 pupils, was built. It was built according to the principles of Joseph Lancaster, founder of the British and Foreign School Movement. The British and Foreign School Society supported the building of schools called British Schools on behalf of the Nonconformist churches. Its schools were based upon the monitorial system of teaching. Another schoolroom from 1853 has a 5 stepped floor. This is a rare surviving example of a galleried classroom, built according to the recommendations of Matthew Arnold. He was one of Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools.
