Description:St Dominic's School was housed in the late Josiah Spode's Hawkesyard Hall, alongside the newer Priory buildings which were begun in 1896, adjacent to the Trent and Mersey Canal near Armitage.
From about 1897 this Dominican school started taking boys previously at Hinkley in Leicestershire. It housed about thirty boys and was staffed by two live-in Dominican priests, with others coming across from the Priory next door to teach. It was expanded slightly in 1923 by also using the house in which Miss Gulson ended her days; her house was at this point renamed Gulson House. In 1924 the boys were transferred to Laxton Hall in Northamptonshire. It then became a series of Preparatory Schools conducted by Catholic laymen independent of the Priory. These men were, in turn: Mr Kenworthy Brown, Mr Jebb, Mr Raymund Barker, Mr Bentley, and Mr Stafford Northcote. the last named moved the school to Bishton Hall in 1948.
In 1926 it was described in Paton's List of Schools as a "Catholic Preparatory School ... receiving boys between the ages of six and fourteen who are prepared for the Catholic Public schools or the Royal Navy. Outdoor games include rugby football and hockey in winter, cricket and tennis in summer; excellent and safe bathing. The school is close to the Dominican Church of Hawkesyard and the religious instruction is under the direction of one of the priests. Headmaster: B. E. Kenworthy-Browne, M.A.".
In 1938, prior to the move to Bishton Hall, an advertisement for St Bede's Preparatory School for Boys: " ... of 7-14 prepared for Catholic Public Schools and the Royal Navy. Separate Nursery Department for children 4-7 years. Headmaster C. Stafford Northcote M.A. Oxon".
This photograph was taken from the hillside with the Trent & Mersey Canal being beyond the buildings by Alfred McCann, of High Street, Uttoxeter.