In March schools and colleges closed. For six months our children were absent from classes, and it may be a long time before they catch up with their education. Now that they have re-opened some have returned with enthusiasm, some have gone unwillingly to school. This month I am going to look at schools in parts of the dales, the children who went, what choices they had and the law regarding their attendance. Way back in 1998 I visited a couple in Middleham and they showed me some books they had rescued from a bonfire. Their neighbour had been an elderly spinster lady, and when she died some great nephews and nieces came to clear out her property and had a bonfire in the back yard. Seeing that they were burning books, the couple that I knew were horrified and managed to rescue just a few. They allowed me to borrow three and I copied them out by hand. This was way before I had a proper computer, way before scanners or digital photography, so I copied them out by hand and returned the books. I have no idea where they will be now as the couple I knew moved away from Middleham. The large house on the right was divided into two (now all one again) and the elderly lady lived in the right hand side. One book was dated 1871 and was an alphabetical list of all the inhabitants of Middleham with their ages. Another book, which was most interesting, was entitled "School Attendance Book" and was filled with names, ages, dates of birth and addresses of children and their parents with comments about which school they went to, or none, or comments about their health. The book covered 16 villages in Wensleydale and although not dated was written about 1877 -1878, e.g. Elizabeth Utley of West Scrafton was born on the 8th February 1872 and was 5 when the note of her attendance was made; Elizabeth Hogg also of West Scrafton was born on 29 January 1867 and was 10 etc I am going to look at snippets in the local newspaper to see how local schools were organised and education was implemented. I think that the book I copied was a result of the above notice which was in the Richmond and Ripon Chronicle. School Attendance Committees were set up for the different parishes and notices published in the newspaper stating that they had set Bye Laws and had certain powers as stated in the Education Act 1870 and amended in the Act of 1876. The School Attendance Officer who compiled this book made a list of every child in each village; he noted the parent or guardian, how many children were in that family with their dates of birth and which school they attended or if they were not at school. Some had "in service" next to their names. He also noted the name of the teacher in each village. This little group of cherubs with their schoolmistress may have not been typical of classes in the Yorkshire dales. This picture is called The Village School and is by William Underhill and is at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and on the UkArt website. The school Attendance Officer did note that there were a lot of "Dame" Schools but further investigation reveals that some were of quite a high quality and offered boarding as well. Some of the proprietoresses would not have been impressed to have been listed as a Dame School. In 1870 the Education Act passed through Parliament after much wringing of hands and sitting on the fence by MPs. At last the government made provision for the elementary education of all children between 5 and 12 years old. However there were insufficient school buildings to accommodate them. The local newspaper, the Richmond and Ripon Chronicle, printed pages of notices such as this one in 1873. This is for East Witton and says that in accordance with the 1870 Education Act they had counted the children who should be at school and found that there were 83 and that the East Witton Church of England School could accommodate them all. No additional buildings were required. But East Witton parish covered a very large rural area outside the village, and this notice says that there were 35 children in Colsterdale who went to school there, and another 30 children in the outlying farms who would go to East Witton C of E school. Not all villages had schools large enough. This notice is for Redmire and Castle Bolton and says that a school was required for 114 children between the two villages of Redmire and Castle Bolton. "If new and satisfactory premises with accommodation for 114 children were provided ... no further accommodation would be required. " Notices such as this giving the number of children in each village and the requirements under the Education Act took up columns and columns in the local newspapers. The new Education Act also allowed a rate to be raised from local rate payers to provide the additional schooling required. Ilton cum Pott is a tiny, tiny place way up on the moors above Masham. This notice says that there was accommodation for 28 children at Ilton Church of England School, but it did not have sufficient space to instruct older children. The suggestion was that an extra classroom was built at Healey to accommodate 25 children and that Ilton cum Pott would have to contribute to the cost. What it does NOT mention is that the Ilton children would have to walk to Healey in all weathers. In analysing which children attended school and those who were absent it is important to consider the topography and distance very small children would have to travel. And I should know having a similar distance to cover all my schooldays. The attendance rate was fairly good on the whole. One comment about the children was that some suffered some incapacity which meant they could not go to school. It was only a small number but out of the 16 villages seven had some incapacity noted : incapacity of sight, dumb, intellect, speech or just incapacitated. As one of my daughters is a Special Educational Needs co-ordinator for her school, and my other daughter looks after adults with learning difficulties, I do have some idea of the challenges that looking after these children would bring. There would be little support for families in the 1870s and 1880s. The last column on the census form asked the enumerator to fill it in with this information. We would think that these terms were insensitive now, but my understanding is that the term imbecile meant that the person was born with that condition, idiot that the condition was something that came upon them, and that lunatic was a periodic condition, the original meaning that it changed with the phases of the moon. The column on the left was filled in for a child in Carlton in Coverdale who had a cousin in the same household described with the same condition. The column on the right was for a child on the next door farm to where I was born and grew up, so pretty isolated, and they had a big family. Poor parents. Looking at the dates of birth of these children two were born within three months in the same village but were not related. Another two were born within two months in different villages and I did wonder if Rubella had been circulating in the dales when their mothers were pregnant. Speculation of course, we will never know. The attendance rate was pretty good, with only West Witton letting the side down. The officer made comments on the worst, that in East Witton Thomas Langstaff had hardly come to school, he had had measles that took him off school for 30 days, but had only attended for 29 out of a possible 105. In Preston under Scar John Place had never been to school, although in the census he had "scholar" next to his name in 1881. Also in Preston Elizabth Airey had only been to school 41 days out of a possible 114. Bellerby had a number of children who never attended. William Richardson's children seemed not to go to school. This is the family in 1871 when William was a farm servant for his uncle Robert Horsman. By 1881 William's youngest child, Mary, did at least have "scholar" next to her name. Of course there were many reasons why a child might not go to school, and one reason was that the child provided labour for the family. This is John C Dundas Liberal M.P. for Richmond from 1872 - 1885. In November 1876 he addressed the good constituents of Richmond - “ It had been recommended by the Factory Commissioners that attendance at schools should be made compulsory … we had a right to hope that the government would insist that in future all our children and all the children of the nation, should go to school …. Well I am sorry that expectation has not altogether been fulfilled. The Government has preferred to trust to indirect compulsion and the power of persuasion. They think that they can persuade parents that it is for the benefit of their children to attend school merely by debarring them from employment in trades and occupations if they have not attained a certain standard of efficiency or attended a certain number of times at school. Well, I fear that there will be a class of children whom that Bill will not reach … the very children whom it is most important to reach…..” The problem was not just children working in factories but also in the countryside. Some of us remember the fortnight's school holiday in October for 'Tatie Picking, but children were also useful at other seasons of the year, varying from district to district. In some places they were needed at Lambing Time, in others where there were fruit or vegetables to be harvested. This notice appeared in the local newspaper advertising that children over eight years in the Bedale district could be absent to harvest crops without penalties. In Buckden in Wharfedale the Log Book for the Church of England School in 1863 noted on the 30th March that the teacher granted leave of absence to several children for Lambing Time - Branton Pawson, Anne Coates and Peter Gill. There were some cases of parents brought before the bench for neglecting to send their children to school, but not many. This was a case in 1878 where the school attendance officer, Henry Williams, summoned William Jackson of Grewelthorpe for neglecting to send his sons John and William to school. And this case was in 1880 when Thomas Clarkson neglected to send his daughters to school. This was also in 1880 but in Richmond. The excuses that the parents gave were - for the first child that the daughter aged nine turned round and stoned the father whilst the mother was running about Richmond with soldiers: a second father said that he was out of work and could not afford to pay: a third father said that he had thrashed his boy but could still not make him go to school because of ill usage by the teacher: yet another father said his child had no boots. Each was fined 1/- and told that if they did not pay by Monday they would have to go to Northallerton for seven days, i.e. the House of Correction. In Thirsk, out of the dales area but the same rules would apply, the Attendance Committee published a report of a meeting in 1878 outlining the only reasons why a child could be absent, which were - that the child was being taught in some other manner: that the child was sick: that there was no available school within 3 miles. Some children were educated at home of course. A case that came up near Ripon tried to prosecute a family for not sending their daughters to school and in their defence they said they had a governess. This picture is called Home Lesson by Ralph Hedley 1848 - 1913 in the Laing Art Gallery and on the ArtUk website. This family lived at Hutton Hang which is between Fingall and Constable Burton. The Pease children were listed as "Just at home", but they had a Governess. Hutton Hang was quite some distance from either village. In 1881 the house was also full of servants. The attendance officer even noted the son of Lord Bolton in Bolton Hall at Wensley was "Just at home", William George Algar Orde Powlett, who when he grew up was the 5th Baron Bolton. Lord Bolton's Land Agent's children were also "Just at Home" but had a Governess. George Lye, race horse trainer, had two children at school in York and two "Just at Home". This is called The Lesson by William Oliver 1823 - 1901, at Sheffield Museum, and on the ArtUk website.
Shakespeare describes the second act of life - And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like a snail Unwillingly to school [All the world's a stage - As you like it] I wonder if our children today appreciate that they have access to FREE education, and take advantage of every moment ! Next time I will look at the Teachers who appear in the School Attendance Book.
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January 2024
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