A Study of the Provision of Education in the County Borough of Bath 1870-197^
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THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL A Moving Staircase: a study of the provision of education in the County Borough of Bath 1870-197^ being a Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Hull by Norman Paul Simpson B.A*, M.Ed« March 1980 (ii) CONTENTS Chapter 1 Bath: its social and political background 1870-1974 1 Chapter 2 The Bath School Board 1870-1902 12 Chapter 3 The Bath Technical Education Committee 1891-1902 36 Chapter 4 Establishing the Bath Education Authority 1901-03 56 Appendix to Chapter 4: The Bath Passive Resistance Movement c*1902-12a 68 Chapter 5 The Bath Education Committee April 1903 to November 1904 77 Chapter 6 Elementary Education in Bath 1903-44 92 Chapter 7 Secondary Education in Bath 1903-44 125 Chapter 8 Independent Schools in Bath 1903-44 156 Chapter 9 Further Education and Technical Education in Bath 1903-44 185 Chapter 10 Bath School Health Service, School Meals Service and the effects of War 1903-44 200 Chapter 11 Post War Developments and Secondary Re-organisation 223 Chapter 12 A Consideration of the Years 1870-1974 251 Bibliography 259 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor John Lawson for his help during the preparation of this thesis* I would also like to thank the Librarians and staff of the University of Bath Library and School of Education Libraryt University of Bristol* Access to obscure comers of the local collection in the Bath Reference Library was facilitated by the considerable knowledge of the Reference Library staff* 1 would also like to thank Robert Bryant the archivist at the Bath Guildhall, as well as the staff of the Education Department of Avon County Council for allowing me access to various files* Michael King spent considerable time with me discussing the work of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, as well as allowing me to consult two boxes of files in his possession* My most profound thanks however, are for my wife, who, whilst this work was in preparation, not only had the fortitude to bear with me, but also to bear our two children* (iv) ABBREVIATIONS B.C, Bath Chronicle B.J. Bath Journal B.H. Bath Herald S.B. School Board T.E.C. Technical Education Committee B«£tC« Bath Education Committee B.C.B.C. Bath County Borough Council LoStAe Local Education Authority H.M.I. Her (His) Majesty*s Inspector D*E0S. Department of Education and Science PoRoOo Public Records Office S.T.K. Stone King and Wardle (v) "There were people who thought there should be a ladder reaching from the elementary schools to the universities» He quite agreed* He disagreed with those who wanted to make it a lift* They would make it a moving staircase, only there was no accommodation for sitting down*" Alderman Sir Harry Hatt Bath Chronicle 18 November 1929« ( (vi) SUMMARY Financial frugality inhibited the development of a maintained system of education for much of the period 1870-197^» The Bath School Board of eleven always had six Anglican members« and during the Board's thirty years only four schools were built« the majority of children attended instead the many Church of England Schools* The Technical Education Committee with the Council's encouragement did much of the School Board's work and provided many classes during the last decade of the twentieth century. However the Bath Council after 1902 were suspicious of the wide brief of the Education Committee and would not allow sufficient finance to run an efficient educational system nor to establish secondary schools until the 1930s. Technical schools however were favoured by the Council because of their vocational aspect and the Education Committee promoted technical education in place of secondary schools* Also an effective school medical service was developed during the interwar years. In essence only a small number wanted education for its own sake« the majority of Councillors saw maintained schools as a charitable provision creating a literate« numerate and healthy work force. After 19^5 attitudes changed in Bath and all children's potential was to be developed* Consequently a successful tripartite system was established« successful that is when judged by academic criteria. However when the comprehensive debate began and more social criteria were used to judge a school's efficacy dissension split the Council and ten years elapsed before comprehensive schools were established* The provision of education in Bath between 1870-197^ was hampered by the existence of a large independent sector. Not only did these schools have more money and better facilities than maintained schools« but they also attracted the children of the articulate middle class« thus depriving the maintained schools of vigorous advocates* Chapter One Bath: its social and political backgroundf 1870-197^* "There is a further mystery about Bath.•«for I have never been able to imagine who lives in those rows and rows of houses really intended for Sheridan and Jane Austen characters. They all seem to be occupied} life is busy behind those perfect facades; but who are the people( where do they come from, what do they do?." J.B.Priestly, English Journey 2- The staple columns of many local newspapers are those headed Births, Deaths and Marriages. To these the Bath newspapers, the Chronicle and Journal, added a fourth, Arrivals. Thus the curious could discover in early 1893 that Lieutenant General Cofe V.C., Colonel Gammell and Captain Wykes were at the Grand Hotel, as was the Marquis de Ruviguy; or that his Honour Judge Paterson and Mrs Paterson were at the Francis Private Hotel. At the same time Mrs and Miss Howard had taken residence at 7 Royal Crescent, Lady Hobhouse at 3& Gay Street and Surgeon Captain and Mrs H.P.G. Elkington at 12 Lansdown Crescent. 1 This tradition continued until the Second World War but by then the visitors were more likely 2 to be Mr and Mrs Alec Baker from Worthing or Mr and Mrs Moore from East Grinstead. Bath's most famous epoch was the Georgian but after the social gadflies had found another site for their frivolities and left, Bath was still a town of exquisite architectural beauty and a spa with supposedly efficacious waters, though not everyone appreciated the Bath water. A Cruickshank cartoon of 1825 shows aristocratic bathers fully dressed and up to their necks in murky steaming water, their faces flushed and grim. The legend reads 'Public bathing at Bath 3 or Steaming Alive.' After a brief period of unpopularity in the mid-nineteenth century Bath was again recognised as an ideal place for retirement or an extended visit. There was a modest season when it was quite fashionable to be there. This was approximately a month to six weeks on either side of Christmas each year. As the twentieth century progressed Bath and society changed, especially during the inter-war years, casual visitors were less but the residents continued to be of comparatively high socio-economic status. The reasons for Bath's popularity as a place of residence were varied. The tall Georgian houses were ideally suited for a family with servants. Equally the slightly impoverished spinster sisters could discreetly let rooms. There was an ample supply of female domestic labour since Bath had very little industry. The women therefore had to enter service or work in the many shops catering for the middle and upper classes. 1. B.C. 5 January l893o 2. B.C. 22 January 1938. 3. An enlarged copy can be seen in Fortt's Restaurant, Milsom Street, Bath. - 3 - In 1871 the Census figures for the Domestic category are 16,984 out of a total female population of 31,360, Admittedly this former figure includes some wives helping husbands for there is a breakdown into two domestic categories of which the first is "Wives and women in Household duties but assisting in certain cases in the Husband's business," This has 10,489, The second group is "persons engaged in entertaining and performing personal offices for man" and this has 6,495* Even the catch-all category "Industrial Class" only has 5,313 women, 1 By 1921 domestic work was still by far the main employment for females in Bath. In a table showing the occupation of females aged twelve and upwards there are 349 domestic servants per thousand of the population. The nearest is Saleswomen and Shop Assistants with 87 per thousand of the population. Tailoresses 2 form the third category with 54 per thousand. The lack of industry also meant that Bath was safe socially and politically. There was not a huge industrial proletariat toiling in factories who once enfranchised would be able to vote for Radicals and Socialists, Because of its situation in a valley there was nowhere to build vast factories, and anyway the industrialist was more likely to look to Bristol only nine miles away where there were the facilities for swift transport of raw materials or manufactured items, plus a larger labour force. These facilities meant that often a Bath man would need to go to Bristol to find work. The middle or upper class resident of Bath was not affronted by factory chimneys belching smoke across the town. The industrial area was away from the elegant Crescents, down by the river towards Bristol. Further such work that was available was mainly skilled. For example there was printing and bookbinding, and cloth weaving producing a good Vest of England broadcloth, as well as cabinet making to rival the smart London firms, plus carriage making (though in decline with the onslaught of the motor car); and 12 1, 1871 Census, p.264 Table 17 Occupations Males and Females aged twenty years and upwards, 2.