Learn all about Doncaster’s fascinating history with online lecture for children and adults

The Sand House was a mansion-sized house carved out of stone which existed from the 1850’s until World War 2.

It once stood in a quarry near Balby Bridge alongside long tunnels filled with intricate carvings including one of an elephant.

Richard Bell, aged 64, from Hatfield, is the Chair of Trustees of The Sand House Charity, he is running online classes on the history of the Sand House via Zoom.

He said: “The Sand House is absolutely unique, there isn’t anything else like it anywhere else.

“I often give talks on the Sand House in Doncaster schools but due to the virus those have been cancelled.

“So I started thinking about how I could go about doing them online without leaving my home.”

Richard is a descendant of the family who lived in the Sand House and has been researching the topic since the 1980’s.

He will be hosting webinars through Zoom where he will discuss the history of the Sand House - there will be two different classes, one for adults and one for children.

The adult class will be split into two parts and will be held on April 22 and 24.

The child class is a simplified and condensed version and will be held on April 15 at 10am.

Richard said: “Local history is part of the national curriculum for children and I think it’s important for everyone to have a connection with where they live.

“It must be very difficult for parents right now who are stuck at home and trying to find things for their children to do.

“My class always goes down well with children and if there is a keen interest in this I will run more sessions in the future.”

The children’s class is aimed towards Key Stage 2 students but is open to all ages - it will last around 45 minutes.

For information on how to join the class email [email protected]

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