| Great Horwood History |
|
The First 100 Years of School in Great Horwood
Clare Martin
Early Schools in Great Horwood
In the nineteenth century and earlier most Great Horwood and Singleborough residents were agricultural workers and their families. Work was hard and wages were low so parents needed their children to start earning money from an early age. Learning reading, writing and arithmetic was not a priority for most. Education was a luxury only the wealthiest inhabitants of Great Horwood and Singleborough could afford for their children, either at boarding school or under the instruction of a governess at home.
In 1813 William Exton, a schoolmaster, bought a large house and premises in Great Horwood and opened a boarding school ‘to educate young gentlemen in every branch of classical, mathematical and commercial learning’. He charged 20 guineas (£21) per annum for board and education and a further 10s 6d (52½p) each quarter for laundry. By 1816 an assistant was employed to help with the teaching and in 1817 the school offered the following subjects: writing, arithmetic, merchants’ accounts, English grammar and composition, geography and history. For an additional fee Latin, Greek, French, land surveying and stenography or shorthand writing were available as extras; a full education for the sons of the middle classes.
In the nineteenth century and earlier most Great Horwood and Singleborough residents were agricultural workers and their families. Work was hard and wages were low so parents needed their children to start earning money from an early age. Learning reading, writing and arithmetic was not a priority for most. Education was a luxury only the wealthiest inhabitants of Great Horwood and Singleborough could afford for their children, either at boarding school or under the instruction of a governess at home.
In 1813 William Exton, a schoolmaster, bought a large house and premises in Great Horwood and opened a boarding school ‘to educate young gentlemen in every branch of classical, mathematical and commercial learning’. He charged 20 guineas (£21) per annum for board and education and a further 10s 6d (52½p) each quarter for laundry. By 1816 an assistant was employed to help with the teaching and in 1817 the school offered the following subjects: writing, arithmetic, merchants’ accounts, English grammar and composition, geography and history. For an additional fee Latin, Greek, French, land surveying and stenography or shorthand writing were available as extras; a full education for the sons of the middle classes.
Northampton Mercury - Saturday 06 July 1816, British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
It is unclear when the school closed but it had definitely gone by the time of the 1841 census. It was probably still in business when the Congregationalist John Adey opened a day school in the village in 1820. Adey initially called his school ‘Great Horwood Academy’, probably to avoid confusion with Exton’s ‘Great Horwood School’.
John Adey opened his day school following the success of the Sunday school he founded in Great Horwood in 1819. The great popularity of Adey’s schools indicates that they filled a need not previously met by the parish church. Great Horwood Academy was ‘conducted upon the Lancasterian or British system of education’. This was the non-denominational schooling system favoured by religious nonconformists. Adey’s school was open to both boys and girls. Attendance was not free but many of the local tradesmen and farmers must have been able to afford the fees. Adey charged 4s 6d a quarter (90p a year) for those wanting to learn reading, writing and arithmetic and 6s a quarter (£1.20 a year) for those who also wanted to learn ‘grammar, geography &c’. The school had a purpose-built schoolroom at the rear of the Congregational chapel.
John Adey opened his day school following the success of the Sunday school he founded in Great Horwood in 1819. The great popularity of Adey’s schools indicates that they filled a need not previously met by the parish church. Great Horwood Academy was ‘conducted upon the Lancasterian or British system of education’. This was the non-denominational schooling system favoured by religious nonconformists. Adey’s school was open to both boys and girls. Attendance was not free but many of the local tradesmen and farmers must have been able to afford the fees. Adey charged 4s 6d a quarter (90p a year) for those wanting to learn reading, writing and arithmetic and 6s a quarter (£1.20 a year) for those who also wanted to learn ‘grammar, geography &c’. The school had a purpose-built schoolroom at the rear of the Congregational chapel.
The former Congregational chapel. The original small schoolroom which stood to the east of the chapel was demolished quite recently because it was structurally unsafe.
The school was still doing well in 1867 when it had its first British School inspection. The examiner, Mr Kimm of Buckingham, listened to good reading, saw neat specimens of needlework and handwriting, and ‘complimented Miss Dear on the success of her teaching’. However, by 1872, most nearby towns and villages had an Anglican school so it was probably only religious nonconformists who continued to send their children to the Congregational school and attendance fell. The school had closed and the pupils moved to Great Horwood National School by 1898 because, from this date, there was poor attendance at the National School on the day of the Congregational Sunday School treat every year until church and chapel learned to hold their Sunday School treats on the same day.
Great Horwood National School
The present village school was originally called ‘Great Horwood National School’ because it was set up by the Anglican ‘National Society for Promoting Religious Education’ founded in October 1811. It is not clear when the school opened but it was definitely open by 1841 when Edward Emerton was listed as the Schoolmaster in the census. School was held in the only space available, the St James church vestry, which was located where the choir vestry and organ are now.
The present village school was originally called ‘Great Horwood National School’ because it was set up by the Anglican ‘National Society for Promoting Religious Education’ founded in October 1811. It is not clear when the school opened but it was definitely open by 1841 when Edward Emerton was listed as the Schoolmaster in the census. School was held in the only space available, the St James church vestry, which was located where the choir vestry and organ are now.
An account of Great Horwood National School’s annual tea party, The Bucks Herald, 5th July 1851.
The 1861 school building, which now houses ‘Acorns’, the school nursery and Reception class, was designed by the London architect Richard Hussey. The Rector, the Reverend Simon Adams, paid most of the £800 bill himself and the rest was given by different societies. New College Oxford had already acquired the adjoining house, the Old Rectory, from Edward Emerton as a residence for the Schoolmaster, who at the time was him. Sadly, Emerton died in December 1860, just a few months before the new building opened. He is buried beside the path that generations of village children have trodden every day to school.
Edward Emerton's grave is in the tunnel of yew trees by the north door of St James Church.
Emerton’s successor as Schoolmaster was James Linnell. Taking advantage of his new home, he offered a limited number of boarders ‘a sound English education, together with the comforts of home’ including laundry for 18 or 20 guineas (£18.90 or £21) per year depending on the child’s age.
Boys playing outside Great Horwood National School and the neighbouring Schoolmaster’s house. (Girls and boys played separately.)
Winslow Union was one of the local authorities that made school attendance compulsory for 5- to 12-year-olds during the 1870s. However, until 1891, primary education in England was only provided free of charge to very poor children and most Great Horwood and Singleborough residents had to pay to send their children to school. Some families resented this because they could ill afford to lose their children’s labour, let alone pay towards their education. On 24th April 1875 the then Schoolmaster, Alfred Rhees, noted, ‘Two children H[enr]y & Jesse Viccars left because I sent them home for school money owing. The mother came to me and behaved in a very impertinent and unseemly manner’.
Fortunately, the school still has all its log books from January 1872 until the early 21st century. These are the Head Teachers’ written records of attendance figures, verified by the Rector, and include anything of note that happened at school. Board of Education instructions stated that the log book should be a ‘bare record’ of events and should ‘contain statements of fact only’. The most poignant example of this is the Schoolmaster Alfred Rich’s record of the absence from school of his wife and Schoolmistress, Caroline Rich, when their twelve-year-old daughter, Constance, died in 1909:
Fortunately, the school still has all its log books from January 1872 until the early 21st century. These are the Head Teachers’ written records of attendance figures, verified by the Rector, and include anything of note that happened at school. Board of Education instructions stated that the log book should be a ‘bare record’ of events and should ‘contain statements of fact only’. The most poignant example of this is the Schoolmaster Alfred Rich’s record of the absence from school of his wife and Schoolmistress, Caroline Rich, when their twelve-year-old daughter, Constance, died in 1909:
March 9th: Mrs Rich absent from school this afternoon owing to the serious illness of her second daughter…
March 10th: Mrs Rich absent all day owing to the death of her daughter.
His slightly shaky handwriting is the only hint of the despair he was feeling. Despite the formality of the log books, they give a good picture of school life during the time before living memory.
Great Horwood National School, 1895. The teachers are Caroline and Alfred Rich. Their eldest daughter, Florence, is on her mother’s knee.
Child Employment
Many young schoolchildren had jobs. For some, employment was seasonal. Their parents needed their help with harvesting, potato-picking and ‘blackberrying’. Others worked throughout the year. In 1872, James Linnell reported:
Many young schoolchildren had jobs. For some, employment was seasonal. Their parents needed their help with harvesting, potato-picking and ‘blackberrying’. Others worked throughout the year. In 1872, James Linnell reported:
June 28th: Many of the boys have been hay-making this week consequently the attendance has been bad, only 30 children…
September 14th: from inquiries I have made I find a great many are still gleaning, some are pig-keeping, others sheep-keeping: the employment of little boys from six years and upwards is becoming more general…
October 4th: many are now picking up potatoes and sheep-keeping.
Alfred Rich closed the school for one week every year for the potato harvest but schoolchildren working remained a problem. On 22nd January 1900, Rich noted, ‘The increase in the number of older children who stay away from school until ten o’clock in the morning to work is a great pity. Some of the boys are too tired to work properly in school’.
‘Half-timers’ were even more difficult to teach. Children employed in agriculture and lace-making only attended school for two hours each day so they fell far behind their peers. Mr Rhees reported on 11th March 1874, ‘Found the Half Timers very backward in all the Rs – some of them hardly knowing their letters’.
‘Half-timers’ were even more difficult to teach. Children employed in agriculture and lace-making only attended school for two hours each day so they fell far behind their peers. Mr Rhees reported on 11th March 1874, ‘Found the Half Timers very backward in all the Rs – some of them hardly knowing their letters’.
School Inspections
Great Horwood School was inspected twice every year. The Diocesan Inspector tested the children upon their grounding in the Anglican faith, including the older children’s knowledge and understanding of the catechism. The child who performed best received the Bishop’s Prize. HM Inspector scrutinised academic standards, the school building and grounds, children’s attendance and behaviour, curriculum, teaching standards and resources. School funding depended upon attendance levels and upon the children achieving the academic requirements for the ‘Standard’ or level that they were in. If the inspector was dissatisfied, funding was reduced. On 27th July 1883, when Edward Wood was Schoolmaster, E M Kenney Herbert, HMI, reported that of ten children in the Infants’ class examined, five appeared ‘to know nothing’. The Infants were being taught to read using books that were too advanced for them so the inspector asked that two sets of suitable primers be supplied immediately. Returning in 1884, he was appalled to find that the school managers had not provided the books he had requested and he reduced the grant for the year by 10%.
Great Horwood School was inspected twice every year. The Diocesan Inspector tested the children upon their grounding in the Anglican faith, including the older children’s knowledge and understanding of the catechism. The child who performed best received the Bishop’s Prize. HM Inspector scrutinised academic standards, the school building and grounds, children’s attendance and behaviour, curriculum, teaching standards and resources. School funding depended upon attendance levels and upon the children achieving the academic requirements for the ‘Standard’ or level that they were in. If the inspector was dissatisfied, funding was reduced. On 27th July 1883, when Edward Wood was Schoolmaster, E M Kenney Herbert, HMI, reported that of ten children in the Infants’ class examined, five appeared ‘to know nothing’. The Infants were being taught to read using books that were too advanced for them so the inspector asked that two sets of suitable primers be supplied immediately. Returning in 1884, he was appalled to find that the school managers had not provided the books he had requested and he reduced the grant for the year by 10%.
Teachers and Staffing
The number of children attending the school was sometimes well over 100 but the school usually only had two adults teaching and never more than three. The Schoolmaster was the only fully certified teacher. He was helped by an assistant teacher, who was often his wife, and maybe by another assistant teacher or, more usually, a teenage monitor or pupil teacher. There were only two or three members of staff to teach eight different levels; Infants and ‘Standards’ I to VII. The Rector visited the school nearly every day and gave Religious Instruction. Sometimes a drill teacher came to take a PE or drill session and, from 1913, the eldest girls attended a cooking and home-making skills course taught by a visiting instructor.
The number of children attending the school was sometimes well over 100 but the school usually only had two adults teaching and never more than three. The Schoolmaster was the only fully certified teacher. He was helped by an assistant teacher, who was often his wife, and maybe by another assistant teacher or, more usually, a teenage monitor or pupil teacher. There were only two or three members of staff to teach eight different levels; Infants and ‘Standards’ I to VII. The Rector visited the school nearly every day and gave Religious Instruction. Sometimes a drill teacher came to take a PE or drill session and, from 1913, the eldest girls attended a cooking and home-making skills course taught by a visiting instructor.
School Building
Plan of Great Horwood National School, 1903. (By permission of the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies, AR78/92.)
The boys' gardening plots shown on the school plan above, pictured here in 1912.
Boys and girls were segregated outside the classroom. The girls’ entrance to the school and their playground were at the back of the building, while the boys played in front of the school and entered via the front door. The toilets were at the rear of the girls’ playground with two for the boys and four for the girls. These were earth-closet privies and were poorly ventilated, so they were probably quite unpleasant to use and freezing cold in winter. The boys had a non-flush urinal in their entrance to the school, and the classrooms were undoubtedly malodorous too because so many children were crammed into them, with the Infants in the small room and everyone else in the main room. Also, until a school nurse began visiting in 1912, many of the children knew very little about basic hygiene. HM Inspectors frequently complained about the poor ventilation and overcrowding in the school. In 1903, when the County Council took over the schools, the three-year-olds were excluded and, in 1907, under-5s had to be excluded too because the school could not meet the legal space requirement per pupil.
Infectious Disease
With poor hygiene and few vaccinations available, the crowded conditions in the classrooms bred disease. When a child came to school with a contagious disease, nearly every child caught it. In 1902, for instance, almost the whole school caught mumps in a four-month epidemic. When there were outbreaks of life-threatening diseases, the Schoolmaster notified the Medical Officer and the school was closed for a few weeks to try to stop the disease from spreading. The school was closed for two full months from 28th November 1921 because of a scarlet fever epidemic, and the entire premises fumigated, distempered and cleaned. Sadly, these epidemics often caused deaths among the schoolchildren or their families. Three young children died during a measles epidemic that broke out in the school in December 1890.
With poor hygiene and few vaccinations available, the crowded conditions in the classrooms bred disease. When a child came to school with a contagious disease, nearly every child caught it. In 1902, for instance, almost the whole school caught mumps in a four-month epidemic. When there were outbreaks of life-threatening diseases, the Schoolmaster notified the Medical Officer and the school was closed for a few weeks to try to stop the disease from spreading. The school was closed for two full months from 28th November 1921 because of a scarlet fever epidemic, and the entire premises fumigated, distempered and cleaned. Sadly, these epidemics often caused deaths among the schoolchildren or their families. Three young children died during a measles epidemic that broke out in the school in December 1890.
Discipline
Punishment does not seem to have been as harsh as one might expect during this period. The early log book makes no mention of corporal punishment and the Schoolmasters favoured other forms of discipline. On 9th February 1903 Alfred Rich noted ‘Seven boys came to school 40 minutes late this afternoon. They had been “fox-hunting”. Punished by being sent home.’ In 1874, Alfred Rhees warned that he would ‘punish with severity’ anyone who played truant. He found that William Gibbs of Little Horwood had played truant several times, ‘His father requested me to punish him severely if he persisted in this practice. Punished him by locking him up in the classrooms during the dinner time’.
Mr Rhees simply could not bring himself to use the severity he threatened. On 3rd October 1874 he reported:
Punishment does not seem to have been as harsh as one might expect during this period. The early log book makes no mention of corporal punishment and the Schoolmasters favoured other forms of discipline. On 9th February 1903 Alfred Rich noted ‘Seven boys came to school 40 minutes late this afternoon. They had been “fox-hunting”. Punished by being sent home.’ In 1874, Alfred Rhees warned that he would ‘punish with severity’ anyone who played truant. He found that William Gibbs of Little Horwood had played truant several times, ‘His father requested me to punish him severely if he persisted in this practice. Punished him by locking him up in the classrooms during the dinner time’.
Mr Rhees simply could not bring himself to use the severity he threatened. On 3rd October 1874 he reported:
When going out to play on Wednesday morning John Taylor, behaving very roughly to one of the other boys, was reproved by the schoolmistress [Mrs Rhees]. He answered her very impertinently and even swore at her. On my going out to him, he ran away and did not come back till the afternoon. I should have punished him severely had he not begged her pardon and promised to behave better in future.
Lessons
The picture below shows the school curriculum for 1903 as planned by Headteacher, Alfred Rich, and approved by the school inspector. It is no surprise that it is very different from a 21st-century school curriculum. After all, this was in the time before television, internet or even varied and visually-appealing school reference books existed to encourage children to discover things for themselves and broaden their horizons. The aim was to teach the children what they needed to know; basic skills of reading, speaking, writing and arithmetic, practical skills such as land measuring as well as an understanding of the everyday objects, animals and machines that they would encounter locally. The history syllabus focused upon recent rather than ancient history. It looked no further back than the beginning of the Tudor period and centred upon famous characters and events, especially wars, and the growth of the British Empire.
The picture below shows the school curriculum for 1903 as planned by Headteacher, Alfred Rich, and approved by the school inspector. It is no surprise that it is very different from a 21st-century school curriculum. After all, this was in the time before television, internet or even varied and visually-appealing school reference books existed to encourage children to discover things for themselves and broaden their horizons. The aim was to teach the children what they needed to know; basic skills of reading, speaking, writing and arithmetic, practical skills such as land measuring as well as an understanding of the everyday objects, animals and machines that they would encounter locally. The history syllabus focused upon recent rather than ancient history. It looked no further back than the beginning of the Tudor period and centred upon famous characters and events, especially wars, and the growth of the British Empire.
Great Horwood School Curriculum for 1903
Most learning was done at desks and, until around 1905, children still sometimes wrote on slates. The children did much singing and Alfred Rich introduced an annual concert and prize-giving evening. Rich was a member of the Horwood Amateur Dramatics Society and a gifted artist, so the schoolroom was fitted out with beautiful scenery and the children put on excellent concerts with songs, short plays and instrument solos.
School production cast and set c.1905
School concert programme, 1897.
The children also participated in sports matches against other schools. From 1903, a Winslow district school athletics competition was held annually and the Great Horwood boys usually came away with two or three medals. In 1908, girls were included for the first time and Winnie Walker won the girls’ under-11 skipping. She received a book prize, in contrast to the medals awarded to the boys.
Winnie Walker (seated, right) with her skipping rope and book prize. Alfred Rich stands behind the other Great Horwood competitors in the 1908 District Sports Competition.
First World War
During the First World War, changes were made to help the war effort. At harvest time, school hours were altered so the children could take tea to the hayfields and, from March 1917, the children grew potatoes in a ‘Victory Potato Plot’.
During the First World War, changes were made to help the war effort. At harvest time, school hours were altered so the children could take tea to the hayfields and, from March 1917, the children grew potatoes in a ‘Victory Potato Plot’.
The school children on their way to work on their Victory potato plot
The children working on their potato plot
Several half-day holidays were given so that pupils could go blackberry-picking to raise money for the soldiers, and they collected and sold old newspapers for ‘our own soldiers’ comfort fund’. The children were even without their Schoolmaster for a while as Alfred Rich volunteered for special military duty and was called up for two months’ special service in the army in 1918.
Holidays
The summer holidays were three to five weeks long, with two weeks at Christmas and one week at Easter. Half-term breaks were not introduced until the 1920s. The Schoolmaster, with the school managers’ permission, could choose when to schedule holidays. The villagers used the schoolroom as a meeting room, as a polling station, for amateur dramatics and for coroner’s inquests. It was even used as a place of worship during the 1873-74 church restoration. However, every time the school was used for such purposes on weekdays, the children had to be given a day’s holiday. Not surprisingly, by the early 1920s even HM Inspector was bemoaning the lack of a village hall in Great Horwood. The children helped with fundraising for a village hall and, when it opened on 3rd October 1923, the school celebrated with a half-day’s holiday.
Half- or full-days’ holidays were also given so that teachers and pupils could attend special events, church festivals, Empire Day, annual treats and anything that the Schoolmaster could justify as in any way educational. For example, on 16th December 1915 the school hours were altered to enable Caroline Rich to take some of the children to ‘Bostock and Wombwell’s great show of wild animals’ at Winslow. On 13th July 1927 Alfred Rich gave a day’s holiday when the children of the church choir and the young bell ringers suddenly decided that they wanted to take advantage of a special excursion train to Margate. He reported:
The summer holidays were three to five weeks long, with two weeks at Christmas and one week at Easter. Half-term breaks were not introduced until the 1920s. The Schoolmaster, with the school managers’ permission, could choose when to schedule holidays. The villagers used the schoolroom as a meeting room, as a polling station, for amateur dramatics and for coroner’s inquests. It was even used as a place of worship during the 1873-74 church restoration. However, every time the school was used for such purposes on weekdays, the children had to be given a day’s holiday. Not surprisingly, by the early 1920s even HM Inspector was bemoaning the lack of a village hall in Great Horwood. The children helped with fundraising for a village hall and, when it opened on 3rd October 1923, the school celebrated with a half-day’s holiday.
Half- or full-days’ holidays were also given so that teachers and pupils could attend special events, church festivals, Empire Day, annual treats and anything that the Schoolmaster could justify as in any way educational. For example, on 16th December 1915 the school hours were altered to enable Caroline Rich to take some of the children to ‘Bostock and Wombwell’s great show of wild animals’ at Winslow. On 13th July 1927 Alfred Rich gave a day’s holiday when the children of the church choir and the young bell ringers suddenly decided that they wanted to take advantage of a special excursion train to Margate. He reported:
July 13th: Holiday for Church Choir and Young Ringers’ outing. Many school children went; a most successful and enjoyable day was spent at Margate. This was for most of them the first long journey and the first view of the sea.
Alfred Rich retired as Head Teacher in April 1928 after 35 years in the job.
© Clare Martin, 2012.