Preserving the heritage of Ockbrook School

Preserving the heritage of Ockbrook School

Bringing the past and future together

Work is well underway at the former Ockbrook School, our ‘forever home’ where we’ll run residential camps for children with serious illnesses and disabilities.

The first phase is creating bespoke, wheelchair-accessible accommodation and activity spaces in the Mount, the former nursery and junior school building.

We are very proud to have replaced all the windows with replica designs based on those seen on the original building, which dates back to the 19th century.

Red brick building with scaffolding outside under construction
Black and white photo of an old school building with grounds

Keeping the history alive

Kevin Mathieson, Chief Executive, explained more:

“We needed to replace all the windows at the Mount to meet modern building regulations. We also wanted to make the building more thermally efficient.

“A Heritage Report uncovered some early photos of the building. These showed that the window frames in the original building were very different to those in place when we took on the lease of the school in 2024. At some point in the school’s long history, they’d been replaced.

“We’re very grateful to the Moravian Union, our landlords, for welcoming this change and sharing the additional costs of the site development with us.”

Man in yellow hard hat and blue Over The Wall Camp shirt next to a sign saying Over The Wall Camp
“As the new custodians of the former school, we are sensitive and mindful of its rich history and this was an opportunity too good to miss. So, the new wooden window frames reflect those original features, with modern energy-efficient glass."
Kevin Mathieson
Chief Executive

Ockbrook School has a long history of education dating back to 1799. The site is considered rare and of high historical value, as one of only four such settlements nationally.

Over The Wall Camp’s ‘Saving Ockbrook’s Heritage’ project is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.