One of the places I visited during my stay on the borders was the Lady Waterford Hall which was formally a school. The building contains Biblical scenes that were painted onto the wall as a teaching aid for the children who attended the school:

Lady Waterford Hall was commissioned in 1860 by Louisa Anne, Marchioness of Waterford, and owner of Ford Estate. The building served as a school until 1957 and in its heyday had as many as 134 local children on the register. Now used as the Village Hall (available to hire for private functions) it is much more besides and really is a ‘must see’ on a visit to North Northumberland.

As well as being a very generous lady who was concerned with the welfare of the estate workers and their children, Lady Waterford was also a keen amateur painter and spent 22 years decorating the interior of the Hall with Biblical scenes as a teaching aid for pupils. Many of the children and other villagers were used as models. Louisa Waterford is now recognised as one of the most interesting and gifted artists of her time, and many of her artworks are also displayed in the Hall together with other artifacts from the Victoria era.

For some reason it didn’t feel right for me to take photographs inside the building, I am not sure why. So I hope you enjoy my pictures of the outside of the building and you can see me enjoying the artwork inside the gallery.