Brancepeth

Brancepeth is a village and civil parish in the City of Durham, County Durham, in England. It is situated about 8 km (5 miles) from Durham on the A690 road between Durham and Weardale. Brancepeth Castle was until 1570 the fortress of the Neville Earls of Westmorland. The castle was extensively modified and rebuilt in the 19th century. St Brandon's Church used to have fine 17th century woodwork until it was destroyed in a major fire in 1998.

Notable Residents

Frederick William Sanderson (1857 - 1922)

The great schoolmaster was born in Brancepeth. He attended the village school there and was later a student teacher at Tudhoe. In 1892, Sanderson became head of Oundle School with the task of reviving the establishment. Far from indulging the high fliers, Sanderson's most intense efforts were on behalf of the average and 'dull'. He at once introduced science and engineering studies. New laboratories and workshops were equipped and eventually, the boys were able to build machines for direct installation in ships. Individual work was seen as part of a cooperative effort, an idea that greatly appealed to Sanderson. H.G. Wells was an admirer and wrote "The Story of a Great Schoolmaster... Sanderson of Oundle" (1924). Wells stated: ' I think him beyond question the greatest man I have ever known with any degree of intimacy.'

Professor Richard Dawkins of Oxford, a former Oundle pupil, salutes Sanderson as believing in education, not league table statistics, fact-stuffed syllabuses and an endless roster of exams.