Hi Martin and Diana, Thanks for that. My own great great great grandfather was a Vicar in a parish in Montgomeryshire. There was no school in this parish so he started one in the vestry of the church. He had 5 daughters and one son. I do not know whether his children or wife assisted. The vicar died in 1854 so this was prior to that date. From the information gleaned from the 1833 report on education Great Brickhill had a population of 776 but had 3 infant schools and two daily schools. This seems a lot for such a small parish. I would think that some of the infant schools were probably "Dame Schools." These were run by older women to eke out a living in widowhood. For a penny or two a week she would teach them their "letters." Very basic education. I note that Mrs Duncombe supported one of the Daily Schools to the tune of £5 per annum. The schoolmaster would not get very fat on that! Margaret ----- Original Message ----- From: "Diana Robinson" <drobins6@rochester.rr.com> To: <bucks@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 5:40 PM Subject: [BKM] schools in early 19th century > In some parishes, one of the "duties" of the vicar's wife - and sometimes > older teenage daughters - was to run an evening class in simple writing > and > arithmetic for the "men and boys" of the village. I have notes from a > rural > vicar's family - distant relatives - in 1875 in which this was an ongoing > event. (One may suspect that the assistance of the teenage daughters > increased attendance from the young men of the village, of course.) This > family was in Wiltshire, but I would assume that a similar tradition was > carried out elsewhere. Most schooling for poorer folk who could not afford > private school was carried out in "church schools" in England well into > the > 1900s and I'm guessing that these grew out of the less formal classes that > were originated by the Vicar and his family. > > Happy hunting! > > Diana Robinson (nee Gardner) > Now in Rochester, NY, USA > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:02:52 +0100 > From: "Margaret Holmes" <margaret.holmes4@ntlworld.com> > Subject: [BKM] schools in early 19th century > To: <bucks@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: <0847D5CAF52E40538CCEC5E123268543@holmesd428a94c> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" > > I have been reading the book "Henry Mundy - A Young Australian Pioneer" > which has set me wondering about schools in or close to Great Brickhill. > My husband's great great grandfather John Holmes, a shepherd, was > seemingly > able to write his name at least. His son George, a groom was similarly > literate. John was born in 1799 and George in 1826 so where at that time > would they have learned to read and write? Henry Mundy went to a school in > Simpson but Leighton Buzzard or Slapton would probably have been nearer to > Great Brickhill. Was there a school in those places between 1805 and 1840? > The National School in Little Brickhill was opened in 1840 so probably > George's children would have gone there. Margaret > > > > *************************************** > > BGS Website: http://www.bucksgs.org.uk/ > BFHS Website: http://www.bucksfhs.org.uk/ > Bucks Genuki Website: http://met.open.ac.uk/genuki/big/eng/BKM/ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BUCKS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message