Library And Museum

The building is a former National School, now serving as a Library and Museum, dated 1839 and enlarged in 1892. It is constructed of squared and coursed limestone rubble with a slate roof. The structure features a single large space under a wide-span roof, which was expanded by adding a classroom at the rear in 1864. Further facilities were added at the end of the 19th century with the construction of the Grove Building across Barton Lane. There is also a flat-roofed extension from the 20th century.

The front of the building facing the street has five windows; four of these are large, 4-light plain stone chamfered mullions with cusped heads and stopped hoods. The central window is smaller, a 3-light window above an oval panel in a keyed rectangular surround, inscribed with the words: 'National School/Built 1839/ Enlarged/1892' in elegant cursive lettering. The left return gable has two 4-light windows similar to those on the main front, while the back features four high-level windows that match those on Church Street. The plinth at the front extends to the left and meets the pavement. The building has deep eaves, coped gables, and small brick gable stacks. The back wing includes a 2-light casement window with a transom in the gable end and another 2-light window on the return. There is a stone stack with a brick shaft.

Inside, the windows have elliptical rere-arches, and the original roof trusses are present, although only the ties are currently visible (as of July 1986). A contemporary account from the opening in 1839 noted that around 300 to 400 children were treated to tea and cake. An earlier school was operated by William Barnes, the Dorset dialect poet, at a location known as The Chantry.