With the village population rising to 420 inhabitants in 1846 there was an increasing demand for a school to be established in Upchurch. In the past the village children had been educated in the church chapel and had received a very basic education. Well off village residents financed this during the first part of the nineteenth century. According to the school accounts from July 1828 to July 1829 some of these included village vicar Reverend John Tarleton, gentleman Roger Chaffe, The Crown publican Jeremiah Chapman, farmers John Walter, John Green, Richard Mitchell, George Hadlow and Stephen Hedgecock.
In 1846 a National School was constructed in the village and opened in 1847. National Schools were founded by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education and provided an elementary education based on the teachings of the Church of England to the poor. These schools provided the first universal system of elementary education in England and Wales. The government paid grants to the societies which increased over time but were accompanied by inspections and demands by the state. According to the school log book Holywell did not get its first major inspection until 1870.
The Earl of Thanet donated an acre of land known as ‘Hollowell Field’ for a school with an adjoining house for a teacher to be erected in Holywell Lane. The school deeds of March 26 1846 state that the land had to be held in trust by the vicar and churchwardens of Upchurch for the purpose of the School Sites Act of 1841 and for the residence of a schoolmaster and for no other purpose. It also stipulates that the school had to be in union with the National Society for Providing the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church. A management committee consisting of William Walter, John Walter, William Ludgater and Richard Mitchell was formed to oversee the school.
James Herbert became the first master at Holywell and he resided in the schoolhouse adjoining the school building. There isn’t a record of other teachers at the time but Reverend John Woodruff periodically attended to conduct prayers and Mrs Woodruff taught the girls needlework.
Pupils were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, a little geography and religious instruction based on the teachings of the Church of England which took the form of Bible study, catechism and prayers. Practical subjects like gardening for boys and needlework for girls were later introduced along with a basic form of physical education known as drill. This is when children had to stand and do exercises beside their desks.
At Holywell there were at least two full time paid teachers throughout most of the nineteenth century, but during the 1840s teachers could use monitors to assist them if class numbers were high. This meant that some of the advanced pupils could teach the less advanced ones to assist and take pressure off teachers. During the 1840s pupil numbers at Holywell varied up to about 90 in attendance.
Because education did not become compulsory until 1882 the starting age for pupils varied up to five years old and most left by the age of ten as this is when they were considered fit to work in the fields. School attendance also varied and decreased during the fruit and hop picking seasons as some parents took their children to work with them to earn extra money. Periodic outbreaks of contagious illness such as measles, diphtheria and scarlet fever also affected school attendance. The Holywell school log book covering later years shows that the school had to be closed for a few days or more when contagious illnesses broke out.
In the nineteenth century people believed that a Christian education trained children in moral habits. Discipline was strict with changes in routine and codes of command. Children were classified according to their ability in reading and arithmetic. Class registers were kept for attendance and periodic inspections took place. Pupils wrote on slates with slate pencils. For arithmetic lessons they used a frame with coloured beads to do calculations. Reading, copying and chanting aloud were regular methods of learning in classrooms where heating was provided by large coal fuelled stoves.
The school day usually began at 9 am with prayers then at 12 midday the children went home for two hours to get a meal then returned to school at 2 pm and finished at 5 pm. There were two terms during the school year with an annual school feast in July, a one week holiday for Christmas, the Easter weekend, Whit Monday and five weeks in the summer starting from August 31st but no half term holidays.
Because most families in Upchurch were considered poor, more than just a very basic education was regarded as unimportant. Parents were more concerned about getting their children to work as soon as possible to bring extra money into the home.
About David
David Wood was born and raised in Upchurch and is able to write from personal experience about many people and aspects of the village and of changes that have taken place over the years making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable book and a detailed historical study of the village. David's book ‘Memories of Upchurch’ is available direct from David at: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters. Price £12 + £3.50 postage and packing.
