PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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The first incumbent of St Mary's Church when the parish was formed in 1846 was the Reverend T C Childs and he so quickly became involved in the needs of the parish that before the church was built he had already established a school in temporary accommodation in Granby Street. He also borrowed some money from a friend and built an infants school at the rear of his residence at the bottom of James Street, As if that was not enough, he soon built a second infants school in nearby Doidge's Well, a short alley off James Street. In the early part of 1853 the school was moved from Granby Street to rooms under St Mary's Church and Mr J Wonnacott was appointed as master. (In 1868 Mr Wonnacott was the master of St James's Schools at Keyham.) However, the Government refused to pay a grant to a school in a room under a church and so the boys' school had to be removed to a school-room in Mount Street, previously run by a Mr Maddock. In 1868 these premises were used by St Stephen's Boys' School. The girls' and infants classes were still held in the rooms under the Church. Then in 1855 the Reverend Child resigned and entered a mission for seamen, taking with him Mr Wonnacott as his lay assistant. The Reverend Alfred Swain was appointed to take his place. The schools continued as they were until 1858 when the Lord of the Manor granted the Reverend gentleman the use of a large building at the bottom of Monument Street that had formerly been the Town Hall and more recently a workhouse. Here a Mr Williams was in charge of the schools. He was followed by a Mr Silver, who was in 1862 followed by Mr H C Tarn. He was still in charge in 1868. When Mr Tarn took over the running of the schools, the average attendance was 140 pupils a day and the receipts were £40. Under his management the numbers increased to between 220 and 250 and the receipts were set to hit £75 in 1868. Although the old workhouse building was most unsuitable in its location amongst houses of a very poor and dilapidated state, it did have the advantage of having many small rooms in which classes could be conducted without the interference of noise from other pupils. But its location was a drawback and by 1868 plans had been set in motion to erect a new building on a site in Dockwall Street granted by the Lord of the Manor on payment of a nominal annual rental of one shilling. It was to be designed by Mr Piers St Aubyn. The new building was to be on the site of an old foundry. It would give accommodation for between 500 and 600 children, although there were to be only two class-rooms, divided between the boys and the girls. As stated earlier, the girls and infants classes were still held in the crypt of St Mary's Church, where on average 140 out of 204 children attended daily. For between a penny and two-pence per week they were taught reading, writing and arithmetic with the older ones receiving additional instruction in needle-work and knitting. There was a mistress and one assistant. The amount of school pence received in 1867 was £72 2s, although it is not clear if this refers to the whole school or the girls/infants only. This had shown a steady rise from £44 16s 4d in 1863. The school also received a £15 donation from the Admiralty, £10 from the Lord of the Manor and a Government grant of £79. However, they had to suffer a fine for 'deficiency of staff', which reduced the grant by £10. The average attendance for the girls/infants school was stated to be 214 while the staff were sufficient, it was considered, for 210. The reason for the fine was for having 4 boys over the regulation number. In the boys' school, out of 320 on the books, some 200 had parents working in one of the Government establishments of the Town. The reason that the Lords of the Admiralty gave a donation of £15 was that 125 of the boys attended over 200 times. The school fees were 4d per week in the first class, 3d in the second, 2d in the third and 1d in the remaining four. There were four staff, a certified master, a registered assistant master and two pupil teachers. Of interest is a comment in the School Inspector's Report in 1867 which said: 'Discipline in this school is kept up with the most military strictness, without, as far as I can judge, by any undue severity. The quiet resulting from it is most refreshing, and the upper classes were very attentive, and answered well during their religious examination. The proportion of the boys in this upper standard has been increased and Mr Tarn works indefatigably in his school'. The Western Daily Press correspondent put the discipline of the children down to 'an excellent understanding between the master and the boys' and related out just a few days earlier the master had taken 58 boys on a trip to Millbrook and Whitsands, which cost all but one boy 2½d (the one boy paid 2d). This raised 12s 1½d. The master had cake made enough for everybody (cost 5s 3d), they used three boats to ferry them between Devonport and Cremyll (cost 4s 6d), and the boys consumed 20 quarts of milk. There was 4½d left over so the younger children raced for it. Further trips were planned to Outlands and Apple Tree Cottage. In 1890 Mr Thomas Barnes was the schoolmaster, in charge of boys, girls and infants. By this time Dockwall Street had been renamed Edinburgh Road. Following the adoption of the Education Act 1902 on June 1st 1903, the School became a "Non-provided" School under the Devonport Local Education Authority.
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