Mrs Hare's School, Alton Barnes

The earliest evidence of there being a school in Alton is from 1829, when the wife of the rector, Maria Hare, opened a small Sunday school in the village. As so many pupils were often absent for farming, the higher standards would teach the younger pupils. Mrs Hare would later move the school to a barn on the rector’s property where her husband would give the children a lecture once a week. The pupils of the school would also visit the rectory and enjoy the picnics and parties the Hares held for them. By 1833 the school registers listed 26 pupils; 10 boys and 16 girls, including some children from Alton Priors. There is also evidence that the Hares offered financial support to a local woman, Mrs Patrick, in her efforts to teach local children in her cottage. The Sunday school was likely disbanded when the Hares left the parish in 1833.