From (mainly): In 1708 a charity school started in Spitalfields, the boys somewhere in Brick Lane, the girls somewhere in what is now Princelet Street. In 1782-3 a new school was built on what was then Red Lion Street, immediately to the west of the church. See Spitalfields engine-house for our analysis of where exactly this was. This is the building that is illustrated on the relief plaque in Brick Lane. Due to the construction of Commercial Street this building had to be demolished in 1851-2. The pupils were moved to the Spitalfields National School on the south side of Quaker Street (still standing apparently but we can’t identify it).
In 1859 the churchyard was closed to burials and mainly dedicated as a ‘lawn or ornamental ground’. 1869-74 a new school was built at the east end, fronting Brick Lane, the building that still stands and carries the relief plaque of its predecessor. Designed by James Tolley and Daniel Robert Dale this is constructed on arches to avoid disturbing the graves. An interesting building; the ground floor was designed as covered playgrounds with classrooms above and the southern wing abutting Brick Lane was the headmaster house.
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