TH n r s n 5 THE_NATIONAL_UNIVERSITY_OF_IRELAND ^ STL .PATRICK l_S .COLLEGE L MAYNOOTH Q_U_A_K_E_R E_D_U.C.A_T_I_0_N I_N i_B.E_E_A.N_D 1680 - 1840 THESIS. Bi§§§i2B:§^_£2_BB§_EacultY_of _Arts St. Patrickis_Colle 2ei _MaYnoothjt In_Partial f uifilment _of .the £ 23^ ire m e n ts M_A.S_T_E_R 0_F ____ E_D_U_C_A_T_I_0_N By Cyti-Ll GiLfiafid. Bfiannlgan, 8. A., H.V-ip. Ed. SUMMER__1982. TABLE OF Q.0 N TENTS PREFACE ................................................ V CHAPTER I The Origins and Development of Quakerism in England and Ireland 1 II The Aims of Quaker Education 30 III Quaker Schools in Ireland in the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth centuries 50 IV The Organisation and Administration of Irish Quaker Schools 85 V The Quaker Curriculum 115 VI Discipline in Irish Quaker Schools in the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth centuries 155 VII Quaker Schoolmasters in Ireland 194 V III Textbooks in Quaker Schools 226 IX Teaching Methods in Irish Quaker Schools 261 X Quaker Philanthropy and Education 281 POSTCRIPT ...................................................... 309 II APPENDICES APPENDIX A ................ 312 APPENDIX B ........................................... 315 APPENDIX C 323 APPENDIX D .**,.................... 32 5 APPENDIX E ........................................... 32 6 APPENDIX F 328 APPENDIX G ........................................... 3 30 APPENDIX H (Part 1) ........................................... 33] APPENDIX H (Part 2) ........................................... 3 32 BIBLIOGRAPHY 333 III ILLUSTRAT IONS Structure of the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland 16 IV E_5_e _f _a_c_ e . In undertaking this research my aim has been to trace the development of Quaker education in Ireland from its beginnings in the late seventeenth century, up to the early decades of the nineteenth. I have begun by placing Quakerism in its historical context, and have examined briefly the origins of the movement in England and Ireland, with reference to the political, social and religious factors which gave rise to its development. t In the early chapters of this study I have outlined the broad aims of Quaker education, and I have endeavoured to explain in general terms what the Society of Friends hoped to achieve in its schools. I have traced the development of Quaker schools in Ireland, starting with the early, rather erratic day schools of the Society, and have gone on to examine the major features of Quaker boarding schools. Considerable attention has been paid to the Quaker curriculum, and I have examined the various influences which gave the curriculum its particular stamp. A fu ll chapter has been devoted to the discipline employed in Irish Quaker schools, and I have attempted to show how that system of discipline was determined largely by the rigid disciplinary code which governed the activities of the Quaker church. In the later chapters of the thesis I have examined the characteristics of the most commonly used Quaker school textbooks, and the rather mechanical teaching methods used in classroom instruction. V While the bulk of this research concentrates on Quaker education within the rather narrow confines of the Society of Friends, I have devoted the final chapter to education on a broader plane. Here I have attempted to trace the influence of Quaker philanthropic principles on education in Ireland as a whole^. This final chapter is mainly concerned with efforts made by the Society of Friends in the early decades of the nineteenth century to establish charity schools in Ireland for the education of the Catholic poor, and with the Quaker influence on the Kildare Place Society in that latter body's ambitious plans * to provide a national system of doctrinally neutral elementary education in Ireland. The main emphasis of this thesis, however, has been on the years 1750 - 1840, mainly because it was at this time that Irish Quaker education became exclusively guarded, and hence, unique in nature. It was the establishment of the Quaker provincial boarding schools at Mountmellick in Leinster, Lisburn in Ulster, and Newtown, Waterford in Munster, which made the transmission of such a guarded education possible. Indeed, these schools were to dominate Quaker education in Ireland throughout the nineteenth c e n tu r y . While the education provided by the Quaker provincial boarding schools has occupied a large part of this research, I have also paid considerable attention to the education provided by another Quaker boarding school, namely B allitore Quaker boys school in Co. Kildare. Although the provincial schools were under the control of the Quaker provincial and national meetings, and were exclusively for Quaker children, B allitore school was privately run and also VI accepted non-Quaker pupils. Furthermore, Ballitore school was probably the most successful, and certainly the most famous of Irish Quaker schools in the eighteenth century. It was these qualities which made Ballitore such an interesting contrast to the provincial schools, and helped to underline the extremely guarded nature of the education being provided in the latter establishments. I have ended my study around 1840 for several reasons. Firstly, it was at this time that Irish Quaker education began to change, and lose some of its most distinctive characteristics. The extremely guarded nature ’ s s of that education began to give ground in the 1830 and 40 as the curricula in the provincial schools began to expand in response to demands being made upon them. Secondly, Ballitore school finally closed down in 1836 after a number of years in decline. Thirdly, the establishment of Stanley's National Board of Education in 1831, sounded the death knell for Quaker efforts in the broad field of educational philanthropy. Fourthly, and finally, it is perhaps fittin g that 1840 brings this thesis to a close, because that year marked the opening of the Camden Street Quaker school, an exclusive boys boarding school which provided the most extensive curriculum yet seen at any Irish Quaker school. Although the Camden Street School lasted a mere four years its influence on developments in Irish Quaker education was quite considerable. After 1840, the provincial boarding schools were never to be quite the same again. VII Before going further, it is important to say something about the Quaker calendar. The Quakers discarded th e "hzathen nameV of the months, and of .the days of the week. Sinae the year began in England (prior to 1752) on 25 March, that month was styled First Month and so on. The last seven days of March were taken as belonging to the New Year. January and February were regarded as the Eleventh and Twelfth months of the preceding year. In Quaker records the whole of March is reckoned as First Month, and April becomes Second Month. The following dates of consecutive meetings in February and March illu strate the p r a c t ic e ^ 2 7 th o (J 12 mo. 16 84", i.e. February. "6th, 13th, 20th, 27th o t 1 mo. 1685", i.e. March. The substitution of Quaker dating for that in general use has resulted in much chronological confusion. The vast majority of dates used in this thesis are quoted exactly as they have been found in the Quaker archives. Finally, before rounding off this Preface, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Rev. Professor Seamus V. 0 'Suilleabhain for his guidance and continuing encouragement in carrying out this research, and for his constant help and kindness throughout the course of my studies over the past two years. A very special debt of gratitude is owed to Terence Mallagh, Curator of the Friends Historical Library Eustace Street, for the extraordinary help and consideration shown to me throughout the period of my research. I would also like to thank most sincerely Richard Harrison and Mary Shackleton of Eustace Street, for their invaluable assistance and co-operation throughout the past year. Finally I owe a special debt of gratitude to ifty 1 ’ T J wife Mildred for her support and encouragement during the period of my studies, and to my little daughter Rebecca, whose perpetual cheerfulness helped to keep me going. IX CHAPTER I THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF QUAKERISM IN ENGLAND AND IRELAND * The Religious Society of Friends (sometimes called among themselves "ChiidAen o{± Light", "F Aiend6 a fa TAutk", o r j u s t "FA.ie.nd6", and more popularly known to outsiders as Quakers1), was founded by George Fox, a Leicestershire shoemaker, between the years 1648-1666. Quakerism was but one manifestation of the bewildered groping of men of the seventeenth century for a religion to fit their needs. During the Reformation some Christians believed that the Protestant reformers, Luther and Calvin, stopped short of a complete return to prim itive Christianity. They formed On Wednesday, 30th October, 1650, Fox and two companions were taken into custody at Derby, for preaching, and were charged under the Blasphemy act of August 1650. They were charged before two magistrates of high standing, Gervase Begnett and Colonel Nathanael Barton, both of whom became M.P . for Derbyshire in 1653. It was here that Fox and his followers were called Quakers by Gervase Bennett, and the derisive name at once came into vogue. Fox says that Justice Bennett gave the nickname because Fox had bidden him tremble at the name of the Lord. Barclay, on the otherhand, tells us that the name came from the trembling of Friends under the powerful working of the Holy Ghost. Whatever the exact origin of the word, it very quickly found its way into print in a tract published in London early in 1652 called The Pulpit guarded with XVII Arguments. (William C. Braithwaite, The Beginnings of Quakerism. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.1912),pp.53-58). 1 sects often classified as Anabaptist, and endured persecution by both Catholics and Portestants. The Anabaptists and their modern descendants, such as the Baptists, formed the left-wing of the Reformation.