2-699-715 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

Inscribed stones, Burston Strike School, Church Green, Burston, Norfolk, 2017. Detail of stones on the west side of the former school, now a museum, inscribed with the name of subscribers to the building, including 'Leo Tolstoi'. This inscription likely refers to the son of the Russian author, who had died in 1910 (the building dates from 1917). The Burston Strike School was founded because of a school strike which became the longest running strike in British history, lasting from 1914 to 1939. It began after two teachers, Annie Higdon and her husband, Tom Higdon, were sacked following a dispute with the local school management committee. The schoolchildren, led by a pupil named Violet Potter, went on strike in protest and moved to the Strike School, set up by the Higdons with the support of the local community. The building is now a museum to the strike.