Shirburn School House

Very little seems to be known about the site. From Wikipedia and other sites, it appears the Schoolhouse was originally a cottage, that was converted into a Schoolhouse in 1871. Originally it housed up to 28 boys, but in 1887 it was reported to be 57 children. In 1946 it was changed into a junior school, all seniors going to Chinnor and then Watlington School. In 1950 the school was closed.

It does not appear anyone has touched the property since.

We stumbled on the sight without realizing it, while looking at other outhouses and abandoned buildings in the area. Originally we tried (unsuccessfully) to explore an abandoned pub, when disappointed we tried a last-ditch attempt to salvage the day by exploring the nearby Parish of Shirburn. Again the original property we had heard rumours from on the internet had been developed, and we decided just to walk through the village. That's when we first spotted the building, and I very excitedly noted, the gate was wide open. My exploring companion then recognised the building as the Shirburn Schoolhouse, as she had seen online.

The building is surprisingly open and easy to get to, with as I aforementioned, the gate wide open and door open for all. The building is surprisingly (somewhat) graffiti free. Only some of the windows having been broken, and general litter is minimal. And we were very surprised at such a find. It amused me that someone had obviously had a little midnight seance upstairs, as tea lights were left strew about. This was fantastic as our first exploration.