Durham E-Theses The history of elementary and secondary education in Westmorland 1870-1914 Marker, W. B. How to cite: Marker, W. B. (1967) The history of elementary and secondary education in Westmorland 1870-1914, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9801/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 1. Abstract of a thesis: The History of Elementary and Secondary Education in Westmorland, 1870 - I914 by W.B. Marker Westmorland was an agricultural county, with isolated villages and only one town (Kendal). It had a distinctive character and social structure. It was predominantly Conservative and Anglican. The county had a strong educational tradition. The Schools Inquiry Commission reported that it had more grammar schools per head than any other county. By 1870, most of them had "become elementary schools in practice. Their decline had been hastened by changes in the social structure. This still left Westmorland well-provided with grammar schools, but the best secondary education went to boarders, not mainly Westmorland children. Westmorland was also well-provided with elementary schools in 1870. Few parishes v/ere without a school and attendance was relatively high. Except in East Ward, there were enough school places but the standard of the schools was poor. Pew of them were under government inspection. Nearly all were Anglican. During the period 1870 - 1903, the grammar schools were re-organised by the Endowed School (later Charity) Commissioners. They classified the schools into grades, reformed the governing bodies, widened the curriculum, insisted that the schools charge fees, and tried to introduce a scholarship system. These changes had varied effects on the individual schools. In some cases, they caused controversies, of which the most acute arose from the decision to close the Kendal Blue Coat School and to amalgamate its endowments with those of Kendal Grammar School. This case has already been discussed by Simon (Studies in the History of Education, 1780-1870) and Owen (English Philanthropy, I66O-I960), but neither has looked at all the evidence, and both their views need qualification. The principal immediate effect of the 1870 Act was to stimulate the building of voluntary schools. There were soon enough school places, but the attendance problem was difficult to solve. Improvements in buildings and in staffing were slow to come, and the curriculum remained narrow. Anglican control was as strong as ever. Only a few School Boards were formed, mainly in East Ward where Nonconformity was strong. Kendal had a School Board, but it only concerned itself with enforcing attendance. As a result of the 1902 Act, Westmorland County Council became a Local Education Authority, with Kendal as a Part III Authority. By 1914 there was an efficient grammar school in every part of the county, and there had been a great extension of secondary education for girls. These changes occasioned little controversy, except at Lowther. The improvements in elementary education were steady rather than dramatic. In general, throughout the period, the provision for education in Westmorland v/as among the best in the country. .» The History of Elementary and Secondary Education in Westmorland, I87O - 1914. A thesis; for the degree of Master of Education of Durham University. William BJ. Marker. M.A. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. (i) Contents. Page. List of Maps and Traces ii List of Illustrations iii. Abbreviations used in the footnotes; iv. Chapter. 1. Westmorland in the Eighteen-sixties 1. 2. Secondary Education in Westmorland in 187O 17- 3. Elementary Education in Westmorland in 187O 36. 4. The Country Grammar Schools, I87O-I903 69. 5. The Blue Coat School and the Kendal Grammar Schools, 1870-1903 108. 6. Developments in elementary education, 1870-1903 143. 7. The Local Education Authorities, 1903-1914 197. Bibliography 238 School Continuity Chart : Elementary Schools, I86O-I914. (ii) List of Maps and Traces. Maps. (at the end) 1. Westmorland - Physical Features: 2. Westmorland - Administrative Divisions Traces.(in the folder attached to the back cover). These are to be superimposed on Map 2. 1. The distribution of schools in Westmorland (excluding Kendal) in 1871. 2. The distribution of Westmorland School Boards, I87O-I903. Motes on Trace 1. 1. This Trace is based on the Report of the Schools Inquiry Commission and on the Civil Returns of 1871, except where they are clearly inaccurate, e.g. in the omission of the school at Meal Bank in Scalthwaiterigg. 2. Where no return was made in 1871, the schools have not "been included except a) where it has been possible to identify them, e.g. Ravenstonedale Grammar School; and b) at Dillicar, to make it clear that there was a school in the parish. 3- In I871, Windermere was in the parish of Applethwaite, Bowness in Undermilbeck, and Appleby in Appleby St. Lawrence. (iii) List of Illustrations. Except for the photograph of the old Kendal Grammar School, these are all reproductions of nineteenth century photographs in the local history collection at Kendal Library, and are reproduced by kind permission of the Librarian, Mr.D.F.James F.L.A. Unfortunately, none of the originals is dated. Facing page. I. The Old Kendal Grammar School 33 2. Grayrigg School and Church 50 3. The Kendal Blue Coat School 110 4. Blue Coat School boys 112 5« A group of Kendal elementary school boys and their teacher 186 (iv) Abbreviations used in the footnotes. W.G. Westmorland Gazette W.C.C. Westmorland County Council W.C.E.C. Westmorland County Education Committee S.A.C. School Attendance Committee S.I.C. Report of the Schools Inquiry Commission: Rept. C.C. on Ed. Report of the Committee of Council on Education Rept. S.C. on Report of the Select Committee on the E,S* Act* Endowed Schools Acts., 1886-87 P.R.O. Public Record Office, London. W.R.O. Westmorland Record Office, Kendal. Whellan. Whellan W. The History and Topography of the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland. 1. Chapter One Westmorland in the Eighteen-sixties Westmorland is the most barren county in England. Everywhere the landscape is dominated by hills : by the Pennines, by the Cumbrian mountains, by the fells which stride across from Tebay over Snap to High Street, and which - even today - make the North and South of the county two distinct regions. However attractive to the tourist, these uplands are of little use to the farmer. In the eighteen-sixties, perhaps 30fo of the total area was unfit for any sort of farming, and another 20fo was nothing more than rough grazing^ Only in the Eden Valley in the north, and in the valleys of the Lune and Kent in the South, were any large areas of good farming land to be found. In the rest of the county, the narrow valleys, thrust like slim, green fingers, between the dark mountain masses, were the homes of isolated communities, strong in their local loyalties. This was an environment more favourable to sheep than to men. In fact, in the eighteen-sixties, Westmorland was the most sparsely- populated county in England, for in 1871 its half million acres (2) supported only 65,010 people, ' or 80 to the square mile, compared to the national average'of 373.^ Few counties, moreover, can 1. F.W. (Sarnett. Westmorland Agriculture 1800-1900 (Kendal 1912). p 73 2. The 1871 census. The registration county, which included the town• ship of Dalton (Lanes), had a population of 65,310. 3. W.G. 24 December, I869. Extracts from "The 2nd General Report of the Commissioners on the Employment of Women and Children in Agriculture.11 Report on Cumberland and Westmorland by H.J. Tremenheere. (Cited as Tremenheere1s report.) Further extracts appeared in W.G. 1-29 January 1870. 2. have "been less affected by the 'population explosion1 of nineteenth century Britain. In 1801, the population of Westmorland was already 40,805; by 1871, it had therefore increased by 24,205, or roughly 60$, during a period in which the population of England and Wales had increased by about 155$• After 1871, while the national population continued to expand rapidly, that of Westmorland remained static and has shown little variation from that day to this. Why the population expanded so slowly is a question for the demographers to answer. Late marriages may have had something to do with it, for the agricultural labourers, like the peasants of post-famine Ireland, tended to postpone marriage in the hope of obtaining a farm;^^ but without detailed analysis, the main reason would seem to be that large numbers were leaving the county. According to the 1861 census, no less than 23,061 people born in Westmorland were living elsev/here in Britain; by 1881 the number had swelled to 30,650. This emigration was not matched by any corresponding movement into the county.