Stowe School |
Stowe House was owned by the Temple-Grenville family from the 17th Century until it was sold in 1921. Stowe House was remodeled many times during the ownership of the Temple-Grenville family, which eventually lead to the debts the family owed on the house as well as the eventual need to sell the property itself. In 1922, Stowe House is purchased in order to be made into a school for boys. When the house was sold as a school it was virtually empty of all furniture and artifacts.
The Stowe library had many different uses before it became what we saw during our visit. In the 1730s it began as a ballroom. It was converted into two separate rooms in the 1760s, and was again opened into one room as a library in 1797. The library was absolutely gorgeous. The pictures I posted below do not do this room justice. Not only is the library a historic site, but the librarian explained to us that it is a regularly used room by the students. She mentioned that the library is used for both lessons and individual research, and during exam times it can be extremely busy with students studying. The librarian is continually trying to bring students into the library as well as create outreach opportunities to give a face to the library so the students can know that it is available for them to use.
This library was definitely not like any of the school libraries back home, though I did recognize some familiar books! They had the World Book Encyclopedia, and many other reference materials I fondly remember from both Adams Elementary and Norman High School. The look of the library made it seem like a historic place, but I could definitely tell that it was well used and loved by its students and teachers.
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