Little information exists about life at
Holywell School in the 1840s and 1850s but from 1862 schools were obliged to
keep a daily log book. The surviving Holywell log book begins in 1865 and gives
a clear account about what was happening at the school during that time.
The school, which opened on March 16th, 1846 as
a National (Church of England) School, was designed to educate the poor in the
basic principles of the Established Church. It offered a basic education of
reading, writing and arithmetic, scripture and an emphasis on moral and
religious training. Singing and needlework were also taught with a small amount
of time spent on other subjects. Teaching was conducted by rote learning with an
exam at the end of the year. An entry in the log book for 23rd
November 1865 by school mistress Mary Holland shows a typical day at the
school:
“Gave the whole school
in the morning a lesson on the creation. To the first class one also, on the
boundaries, size and climate of England. Visited by clergyman. Explained the
collect for Sunday to the whole school. Examined 2nd class in
reading and found the reading of the boys improved. Cautioned D. Whitnall for
fighting.”
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| Memories of Upchurch. |
Attendance at Holywell school in the 1860s
wasn’t compulsory and children were periodically absent, particularly during
the fruit picking and hop picking seasons or when working part time in the
brickfields. Parents were obliged by their employers to make their children
work when required. Entries in the log book complain about how this interfered with
pupil learning and caused bad behavior. Maximum daily attendance totalled 55
during the 1860s.
In 1861 Rebecca Hills worked as the school
mistress and was later succeeded by Mary Holland who lived in the schoolhouse
with her sister Isabella. They had rent free accommodation, common for teachers
at the time. They were also assisted by volunteers. These included Mrs. Woodruff,
the vicar’s wife who assisted with singing and needlework and a Mrs. Sibley who
worked alongside the children. Revd Woodruff also visited the school every week
to give religious and moral guidance. He usually visited the school during the
afternoons and conducted prayers.
Pupils were generally well ordered but
periodically troublesome and according to the school log book were particularly
difficult to control after returning to school from work. Mary Holland wrote on
October 7th, 1866:
“Many children came in
who had been working in the brickfield all summer; find them rather rough and
wild.”
Other entries in the log book outline common problems.
Dec 1st, 1865 “warned Gilbert Hepton not to interfere with girls going home, also
against cruelty to animals”. Dec 13th, 1866 “…spoke to the children
about pulling turnips as they go home from school.” Aug 14th, 1866 “punished
J. Hubbard and J. Manser for disturbing a wasp nest.” Jan 21st 1868 “turned
Daniel Whitnall out of the school.”
The basic education offered by Holywell School
during the 1860s was generally adequate for the majority of boys who later
worked on local farms or in the brickfields while many girls either married
young or entered domestic service.
About the author:
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 on: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk price £12 + p+p £2.
