Bentley's Free School, Calne

By his will of 1662 John Bentley, of Richmond, Surrey, gave land in Middlesex to endow a free school for English to be taught. The trustees decided on Calne and a house was bought on the Green and a free school for 30 boys was opened c.1664. The teaching of other subjects was added later and the number of boys was increased; most came from poor homes. In 1842 the original house was demolished and a new school built on the site. In 1858 there were 50-60 pupils and by 1891 the school was providing a commercial and technical education rather than a classical one. In 1901 the school amalgamated with the Calne Technical School to create a school of science for boys aged 9-17. This was called Calne County School.