Wilmslow Then & Now Lindow Common Controlled School was built on Knutsford Road in 1863, on land at Row-of-Trees provided by Lord Stanley of Alderley. For the first few decades, parents paid 3d per week for each child that attended, and up to 60 children were taught by a headmistress and one pupil teacher. The 1870 Education Act had made schooling compulsory for children aged five to thirteen, but did not stipulate that it was to be delivered free of charge. Working class boys, such as those living near and attending at Lindow, seldom attended school past the age of thirteen by which time their families considered them potential wage earners. In a local economy dominated by farming, harvest time could see particularly low attendances. In 1970, Lindow Primary School relocated to new premises on Upcast Lane, and a few years later its former buildings became home to the Wilmslow Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses who refurbished the property and now enjoy regular attendances of over 100. In 2016, with the
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by Jon Armstrong Wilmslow Historical Society
building now in a poor state of repair, the trustees applied for planning permission to demolish the old schoolhouse and replace it with a modern purpose-built place of worship.
Photographs: Wilmslow Historical Society Collection.