A house shaped by its history, and by the people who have called it home
The story of The Old Schoolhouse begins in 1867, when the Rev. William Feetham, the first resident vicar of St Cadoc's Church, built the village Vicarage, School and School House. Standing together in the heart of Penrhos, the three buildings would become part of village life for generations.
The school was built to accommodate around 60 children, although average attendance was just 22.
The first person to make the School House her home was Miss Catherine Lewis, mistress of the village school.
For more than eighty years, the School House stood alongside a working village school, until the school officially closed in 1950. What followed was a new chapter for the house as a private home, although its original purpose — and its connection to the building next door — can still be read in its name and character today.
More than 150 years later, the original Schoolmaster's House still lies at the heart of the home.
The Schoolmaster's House was built in 1867 alongside the village school and vicarage.
Its original rooms still form the heart of the house today, including the Boot Room, Sitting Room, Duck Egg Bedroom and Pink Bedroom.
An artist's impression of The Old Schoolhouse
Illustrations by Sophie Nicoll
The village school officially closed in 1950, bringing more than eighty years of teaching to an end. The School House subsequently began a new chapter as a private home.
In 1988, the house was extended for the first time, adding further living space while keeping the original 1867 Schoolmaster's House at its heart.
In 2016, the conservatory made way for the dining room that stands in its place today, completing the home's modern footprint, giving The Old Schoolhouse the form it has today.
The large patio doors bring natural light into the room and open up views across the gardens, creating a strong connection between the house and its surroundings.
In 2026, we began our own chapter in the story of The Old Schoolhouse, carefully refreshing its interiors while preserving the character and individuality we loved about the house.
The Boot Room, Cinema Room and Downstairs Cloakroom were refurbished, while elsewhere new paint, wallpaper, lighting and interior details breathed fresh life into the existing rooms.
Throughout, our approach was to work with the house rather than reinvent it — keeping the details and stories that give The Old Schoolhouse its character while preparing it for the years ahead.
Throughout the house, pieces of its past have been carefully retained, restored or given a new purpose. Some date back to the original Schoolmaster's House; others tell the story of those who called it home in the years that followed.
Original 1867 brickwork remains exposed in the hallway, while the Sitting Room retains its original floor from 1867. The Old School House sign, former library shelving and other details have also been kept and given a new place within the home in the Downstairs Cloakroom.
Some have a more personal story. The antique wall sconces in the Sitting Room came from the previous owner's London home and were retained as a nod to her particular love of the room. Hand-painted tiles she had treasured but never used have now been brought to life in the Master en suite.
Together, these details allow different chapters of the house's history to sit comfortably alongside one another.
