Between
1800 and 1845 the population of Britain increased rapidly
and the Factory Acts resulted in more and more children being
barred from going to work. Only exceptionally was there any
compulsory education and state schools only existed in places
such as large workhouses. Few of the public at that period
welcomed the idea of state education. They thought the education
of the poor was better looked after by the churches.
Parish Schools
Under
the influence of the National Society for Promoting the Education
of the Poor in the Principles of the Church of England, founded
in 1811, a lot of parish schools were founded for poor children.
The first to be built in Stockwell was opened in Lingham Street
in 1818. But there was need for many more. And not everybody
held the beliefs of the Church of England. Congregationalists
The Congregational denomination (earlier known as Independents
and now known as the United Reform Church) built the large
chapel seen behind 35-37 Stockwell Green. (They have recently
moved to 60-70 Stockwell Road.) Congregationalists saw the
task of educating the nation’s children as a duty and they
aimed to have one school to every one of their churches. They
had built 100 schools by 1846. In 1847 Stockwell Congregational
Church passed a resolution “to erect a building for day schools
large enough to accommodate about 150 boys and the like number
of girls”. The speed of events which followed looks like strong
evidence of the work of the purposeful Rev. Dr. David Thomas,
Minister from 1846 to 1861. A public meeting on the subject
was held on 30 June 1847. One month later plans for a building
were being considered and a site agreed.
Pupil Teachers
While
the school was under construction the church’s school committee
decided on rates and charges for the school and looked for
suitable teachers. As the school would not be able to pay
many teachers, its teaching system was to be the Bell/Lancaster
method involving large classes with a teacher supervising
monitors, or “pupil teachers” as they were to be later known.
An example of the way in which the pupil teacher system could
enable a girl to discover her vocation was the case of Miss
Law; she attended Stockwell School as a small girl, later
became a pupil teacher, and finally Assistant to the Head
Teacher; when she left to marry she carried with her the best
wishes of the committee and children. This system was approved
by both the National Society and the British and Foreign School
Society. Bell had been an Anglican priest serving an orphan
school in India where he had crowds of pupils but no teachers.
So he grew his own teachers by encouraging the most promising
pupils to take on responsibilities.
Syllabus
The teaching plan settled by the committee was summarized
as follows: “3 Rs, geography and all other branches of knowledge
suited to their future stations in life. Girls will be taught
plain knitting and needlework. Instruction in the Holy Scripture
will be given daily. 6 pence a week for a senior child, 3
pence for junior classes. Slates and copybooks bought by parents.”
The school was opened on 26 June 1848. The building still
stands today - number 1 Stockwell Green, next door to the
Plough. (A few years after it was opened teachers complained
that a hearse from the fever hospital used to draw up here
while the driver visited the public house, causing amusement
to the children and distraction for the teachers.)
Head
Teacher
The story of this school is very much the story of Henry Collins
Goodchild. After training at the College of the British and
Foreign School Society (not the one that was later built in
Stockwell Road) he taught in North London and then went to
superintend the British Orphan Asylum and Schools in Paris.
When these schools were closed in consequence of the new Stockwell
school. He was to devote the next 40 years of his life to
the school until it closed.
Opening
Opening
with 80 boys and girls, the school’s numbers trebled within
a year. For several years the school prospered, attendance
was high; there were visits to Hampton Court and the London
Zoo. As a Congregational school it was linked to the nonconformist
British and Foreign School Society and so for many years described
itself as a “British School”. The purpose of the British Schools
was to provide “an unsectarian education upon a religious
basis.” Without this school many of the poorer children in
Stockwell would have had no education. The minimum staff was
small and consisted of the Boys’ Teacher (Mr Goodchild, who
also had overall responsibility for the whole school), the
Girls’ Teacher, Boys’ Pupil Teachers and Girls’ Pupil Teachers.
All of these were paid but the pupil teachers - especially
the girls, received little.
Financial
Problems
After 1860 came financial problems. One of the reasons was
no doubt that many Congregational church members, especially
the wealthier ones, were leaving Stockwell. The school committee
was unwilling to increase charges and by 1867 the school was
in serious financial straits. In 1872 the committee decided
that the school should accept government aid. This turned
out to be of little advantage to the school because the head
master and mistress had to be paid increased salaries, and
the “payment-by-results” system meant that geography, for
example, had to be given up in order to concentrate on the
3 Rs and needlework so as to qualify for the highest grant.
Closure
The
school continued to receive favourable reports from inspectors
as did the character and ability of Mr Goodchild. As late
as 1883 the committee were able to report that the Schools
were “as popular as ever”. But circumstances were changing
fast. By 1875 education had become compulsory in London. In
1884 a very large free school was opened by the London School
Board quite near in Stockwell Road. The worsening financial
position, and the iniquities of the payment-by-results system,
were reasons which led to the Committee’s reluctant decision
to close the school. The only objector was Mt Goodchild who
even offered to accept a lower salary. After a decline in
numbers attending, the school closed in December 1888. Mr
Goodchild must have been very happy in his work of 40 years
leadership of the schools. But his life was not untouched
by sorrow. He has a much loved son who was mentally incapable
of earning his living and one of the last acts of the Schools
Committee was to invite friends of the school and Old Boys
to subscribe to the purchase of an annuity to relieve Mr Goodchild
of financial anxiety for the rest of his life.
No
1 Stockwell Green
This building, erected to house the boys’ and girls’ schools,
has been restored, and listed, and has an attractive and unusual
“Jacobean” front. The outside, as seen today, is almost exactly
as it was when built, except for the loss of some small roof
ornaments, and the double door which replaced at some time
the centre square bay window on the ground floor. Why Jacobean?
This style was popular in the first half of the seventeenth
century when the term “Congregational” was first used as a
description of certain churches. Can we see the hand of the
strong-minded Dr Thomas in the choice of a Jacobean style
for the new building? During most of its earlier history the
building was usually known as the “Stockwell Educational Institute”.
Besides the schools the building housed among other things
the Literary Institute (started by Dr Thomas) and the Science
and Art evening classes.
Mr
Goodchild Again
It is nice to see that even after the closure of the schools
Mr Goodchild’s name appears each year in the street directories
under “Stockwell Educational Institute” up to 1894/5, after
when it is replaced by “R.J Williams B.A.”. This seems to
establish that work of an educational flavour was available
for him well into his old age.
Stockwell
Hall
This appears to have become for a time the name of the building
from about 1920. From 1925 it served various public and commercial
uses. Today a restored and good-looking No.1 provides office
accommodation for charities.
Much
of this article is based on material supplied by the kindness
of Dr Alan Parton, Ph.D and supplemented by papers kindly
made available by Jackie Meldrum.
Ken
Dixon Brixton Society, Archivist, August 1993