Old Bluecoat School, or the St Thomas’ Chapel is a Grade I listed building in the town of Thatcham

Thatcham

Thatcham is a town in Berkshire, England 3 miles east of Newbury and 15 miles west of Reading. It covers about and has a population of 23,000 people . This number has grown rapidly over the last few decades from 5,000 in 1951 and 7,500 in 1961.It lies on the River Kennet, the Kennet and Avon...

 in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

. It is located on the main A4 road.

St Thomas’ Chapel

Built in 1304, it was used as a Chapel dedicated

Dedication

Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church or other sacred building. It also refers to the inscription of books or other artifacts when these are specifically addressed or presented to a particular person. This practice, which once was used to gain the patronage and support of...

 St Thomas

Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...

 for the borough of Thatcham. It was opened and licensed for divine worship by the Bishop of Salisbury

Bishop of Salisbury

The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset...

. For about 250 years the chapel was used for services. From then on it was disused and fell into ruin. It remained so for another 150 years. An account of Lady Francis Winchcombe in the conveyance and trust deed in 1707, it was stated that it is spoken of as as an old decayed chapel.

Bluecoat School

Lady Frances Winchcombe was the founder of the Winchcombe Charity in 1707 AD. This allowed for derelict Chapel of St. Thomas to be rebuilt/repaired as a school for thirty poor boys of the district. The building was repaired in the early 18th century and opened as a school for the ‘poor boys of Thatcham and surrounding parishes'. Over the next 150 years the building went through different stages of repair, use and disuse. The name 'Bluecoat' came from the blue coats worn by the pupils.