PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
|
|
In November 1859 a circular was issued by a committee of which the Reverend W J St Aubyn was the chairman. It read: 'It is proposed to build new schools for the parish of Stoke Damerel, in connexion with the Church of England; the accommodation for the education of the young, in the principles of the Church, at present existing, being found altogether inadequate for the purpose.....' The circular went on to state that the population town of Devonport, inclusive of the Royal Dockyard, military and sailors in the Hamoaze, was given at the last census (1841) to be 38,180. However, when the new parishes were created that would reduce the remaining population by 22,638 to 15,542. There being, it was reckoned, three children to every five adults, there would be 9,324 being in need of instruction. After deducting those in existing schools, the number fell to 6,216 children still in need of some form of education. A piece of ground had already been promised for the erection of the school building and subscriptions were currently being sought. Mr G Rundle of Argaum Villas, Stoke, was the treasurer. The premises in question seem to have been the schools at the rear of Stoke Damerel Church. These are shown on a map of the mid 1860s.
|
