Villagers in Rathmell vow to ‘stand up’ to Church of England over fate of former school site

The school was founded in 1716 with surviving buildings dating back to the 1870s. After it closed when pupil numbers fell in 2017, the site was taken over by a charity set up with funds bequeathed by a local landowner in the 18th century. The three trustees – Keith Mothersdale, Jacky Frankland and Rosemary Hyslop – rented out the old schoolmaster’s house and turned the school itself into a community centre with business space.

It has proven to be a success for a village that has neither a local pub or post office. And now with legal bills spiralling and health issues for at least two of the trustees Keith says it should never have come to this.

He said: “Absolutely (we want to talk to them). I’ve been on the boards of very big companies and been involved in big court cases. So I’ve seen how the legal system works and I know how the courts work to a certain extent and how the competition can react. But this is unprecedented. You would not deal with a situation like this, like they have.

“It’s unprecedented that they’ve not picked up the phone and said ‘come on, let’s sit round the table and find out how we do the best for the village and for both parties.’ Never have we had that. We’re the first ones ever to stand up to them.

“The stress is unbelievable. Jacky is on a heart monitor at the moment through the stress and high blood pressure. I am on anti-depressants because of lack of sleep and anxiety. Never-the-less it’s the right thing to do and we have got to see it through somehow.”

The school was never affiliated to the Church or sited on land owned by them, yet in the 1950s the Diocese of Leeds granted it Voluntary Aided status and began making financial contributions to its running. This intervention led to attempts after the school’s closure to seize the property from the trustees on the basis that the Diocese had ownership rights. Residents are concerned the Church would sell the land to a property developer should they win the case.

“I love this village,” said Keith, aged 64, who lives in Rathmell with his wife Kathy. “This asset is the only thing left in the village – we don’t even have a streetlight, a pavement, no pub or post office. There is nothing. If you take this away from the village there is nothing left for this community and it’s wrong. So I can’t let that happen as is the case with my two fellow trustees. We’re putting our heads in the lion’s mouth and we hope we don’t get it bitten off.

“We’re dipping into our personal pension schemes to pay the legal fees at the moment. We’re up to £60,000 already. And if it goes all the way, should we lose, we will incur all the Diocese costs which could be anything. The fundraising we’re doing is very important.”

Keith made headlines in 2021 as his expertise gave Rathmell the fastest broadband speed in the country. And his personal connection was a staggering 10,000 megabits a second meaning he could download a film in under six seconds. He may have thought he had done his bit for the local community but still didn’t think twice when asked to become further involved.

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He said: “I’ve been the village ‘techy’ – I was the chief technical officer of the world’s biggest broadband equipment design manufacturer – so I have always been involved here in Rathmell and particularly the school because we installed hyper-broadband here.

“One of the trustees asked whether I’d like to come on board as a trustee and get involved. I was already involved in fundraising. I wanted to do the best thing for this village – I am a part of it and it’s the most wonderful place to live in the world. We’re doing what we believe is right.

“I knew what was potentially coming but I had no hesitation in becoming a trustee. It wasn’t like it just came out of the blue. I did have an idea that this may start to get to a bit of a bloodbath but never-the-less if you can’t stand up for what you believe is right and what you know is right then what hope is there for anyone. We have to give it a go.”

Both sides will rely on centuries-old documents to prove and defend the claim. The Rathmell Old School charity will produce deeds dated 1868 and written by benefactor Christopher Geldard, who still has descendants in the village. A further document, from the National Archives, refers to the original schoolhouse’s replacement in 1874 with the present building under the trust’s ownership, with no mention of a Church contribution.

The Diocese’s evidence includes a memorial document from 1842, which refers to the Geldard family’s founding of a Sunday school to teach home crafts to girls, and a deed from 1857, when they granted money for a property for the parish curate. The trustees say the Sunday school was held in the chapel and never the school, while the property deed refers to the large vicarage rather than the schoolmaster’s house.

Keith said: “We have evidence and wills going right back to the 1800s. We have our War Room full of files and we have submitted a 160-page defence. In counter to that they have submitted a four-page document.”

He added: “There is an evaluation process at the end which would give us a chance to counter in a number of areas such as human rights. So there is still a way of stopping it and it doesn’t guarantee them anything if they win the case.”

Diocese ‘has never said it will sell school site for housing’

During the dispute between trustees of Rathmell School Trust and the Diocese of Leeds, the diocese has remained relatively quiet about its role in events that have ultimately led to a High Court date next month.

However, a statement from the Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Rev Nick Baines, and the Diocese of Leeds sent to The Yorkshire Post gives its side of the story.

The statement said: “Rathmell Church of England Primary School was closed by the local authority in 2017 due to the fall in pupil numbers. Following the closure, discussions took place with the trustees of the Rathmell School Trust about how best to ensure that the objects of the Trust were upheld. The objects of this Trust are for the school to be used as a Voluntary Aided School and retained for religious education in accordance with the doctrines of the Church of England.

“Given that the school is now closed, the trustees of Rathmell School Trust are unable to meet the objects of the trust for which they are responsible in law. However, the legal obligation for the assets to be used for their original purpose (or as close to that as possible) remains. In this case that purpose is “religious education in accordance with the doctrines of the Church of England” and so the diocese asserts the only option is to move the assets of the trust (which includes the school site, a house and farmland) into a restricted fund to be used solely and for the benefit of other Church of England schools. This is normal practice where schools close and is provided for in the Education Act 1996.

“The school trustees are challenging this. They take the view that the objects of the trust are not valid and that the school site is not subject to these obligations. This is a dispute of fact which, regrettably, can only be resolved in a court. This is the subject of current proceedings before the High Court.”

The diocese also addressed concerns about selling the site for housing. It said: “Statements have been repeated publicly that (a) the diocese intends to flatten the school and sell the site for housing and (b) that the diocese has not put a penny into the school. Neither of these assertions are true or based on any fact but, rather, are nothing more than speculation."

The statement also said: “At no point has the diocese said it would flatten the school and sell it to a developer. This is simply not true. In fact, several years ago the diocese suggested to the trustees there may be a way to lease or sell the site to a new community trust so it could continue to serve the community. The trustees decided to not follow this through.

“We have sought to work with the trustees throughout. The school closed seven years ago and all we have sought to do is to ensure that the legal responsibilities of all parties are met. The diocese remains willing to work to find a resolution and ensure the school site is available for community use; but, it cannot do so whilst the trustees continue to claim as invalid the terms of the original trust.”