A former Church of England school in North Ockendon which was threatened by bombing during World War Two has gone up for sale.

Benyon House in Church Lane, now a three-bedroom semi-detached property, was once St Mary’s Church of England School built in 1842.

Romford Recorder: The former St Marys Church of England School from the skyThe former St Marys Church of England School from the sky (Image: Cristian Samoila / Tertulia.be)

The school was very nearly destroyed in 1944 when a V2 bomb exploded outside St Mary Magdalene Church, causing all the school’s windows to shatter.

Pupil numbers declined post-war and the school closed in 1980; it was eventually converted into residential properties.

Tom Costin, local sales expert at Purple Bricks, said it still retained traces of its scholarly history.

Romford Recorder: The parquet floors have been retained from the school's hall.The parquet floors have been retained from the school's hall. (Image: Cristian Samoila / Tertulia.be)

He said: “As you walk in, the one thing that really stands out is the parquet flooring doesn’t look like your normal residential parquet flooring.

“It's got the feel and colourings of a school hall – the kind you might have gone to when you were very young.”

Romford Recorder: The kitchen of the £550,000 property.The kitchen of the £550,000 property. (Image: Cristian Samoila / Tertulia.be)

Tom said one prospective buyer – a school caretaker – had been put off by the £550,000 building’s past, but that most had been interested in its history.