Twelve years ago, St Werburgh’s and St Columba’s Catholic Primary School in Hoole marked 150 years of their school with a memory book of photographs from over the years.
The book is a fascinating read for anyone who attended the school, featuring history about it as well as nostalgic snapshots ranging from the early century up until the middle of the last decade.
Steeped in history, the school was first established in the 19th century after Father Edward Carberry, the priest in St Werburgh Church’s was given £50 from a fund established by the Earl of Shrewsbury to build a school in Chester.
It wasn’t until 1905 that two classrooms and cloakrooms were built at the original location on Queen Street, and years later in 1968, the school was divided into First School and Middle School.
The Queen Street building was demolished and a new site on Lightfoot Street in Hoole was acquired.
In 1984 the name of St Columba’s was included in the school’s name, as it had served the parishes of both St Werburgh and St Columba.
