Manfleld School  A Glimpse into the Past,..

In the 1850's school building was taking place all over England and Wales. In the countryside the schools were predominantly Anglican, in the towns Methodist and to a lesser extent Roman Catholic, The reasons for this were varied.  There was a genuine belief in the value of education and a humane impulse to better the lot of everyone.

In addition Victorian industry and farming had a diminishing need for child Labour.  Children - urchins are what they were called - were becoming a nuisance, especially in the towns. Schools had a custodial as well as educational purpose, which in part accounts for their church like architecture with high windows. Manfield is no exception to this development.

In 1858 Richard Bassett Wilson, the then owner of Cliffe Hall and Estate gave one rood, two perches of land and an endowment for building Manfield Church of England School. It was at the same time that the Church was restored. The new building replaced a Dame's School, which stood on the site of what is now Four Oaks.

Its purpose or "Mission Statement' was clear. It was ' for the education of children and adults, or children only of the labouring, manufacturing and other poor classes in the Parish of Manfield.' This meant the education given was to be elementary, the 3 R's, reading/writing, 'rithmetic and religion. Children from better off backgrounds would attend Grammar Schools where Latin and Greek were pursued if not taught - Richmond, Kirby Hill ("closed before the First World War) Polam Hall and the Darlington Grammar Schools were the nearest.

The Minister or his Curate was to be in charge of the school, supported by a body of Church Wardens who were to ntribute 20 shillings a year to the upkeep of the school. When funding members resigned or died they could be replaced by others who were qualified by membership of the Anglican Church and subscription of at least 10 shillings a year, which bought one vote. Up to a maximum of six votes could be purchased for a donation of three pounds.

There is nothing in the original trust deeds about the qualifications of the teachers apart from the headlined fact that ' the Master or Mistress must be a member of the Church of England'  The grounds for sacking a teacher were clear - 'defective or unsound instruction of the children in religion' The emphasis on the religious worthiness of the teacher was, in part, due to the ferment in the Victorian Church. Charles Darwin was to publish ' The Origin of Species' in 1859. The ideas it contained about species evolving over tens of millions of years had been common for at least thirty years - there was great interest in fossil collecting,  an activity  undertaken  by  scholarly gentlemen. The view that man shared a common line of ancestry with the apes challenged orthodox religious teaching which one instance dogmatically asserted that the world had been created in 4004 BC. It is doubtful whether these debates reached Manfield and if they did it is a near certainty that they were not mentioned in the village school. Of more interest is a photograph from 1883 showing Miss Sophie Haines aged 23 with 30 school children. Those identified are Harry, Esther and Mary Boyd, the generation of the great grandparents and grandparents to Mrs. Graveney's family. There is also Mary Gowton and Jack Tweddle. Others have not been identified but no doubt have descendants living In the area.

Children left school early in those days. In 1870 school was compulsory till 12. In 1902 the leaving age was raised to 13, in 1918 to 14. In 1944 the age went up to 15 and in 1973 to 16. Several villagers still remember the endless school gardening they were given to do when there was little for older pupils to do, especially in the post war years when books were in short supply.

In the mid 1950's the school ceased to be an all age elementary school.

Those who passed the eleven plus or 'scholarship' transferred to Richmond Girls High School or Boys' Grammar School or to the Richmond Secondary Modern - now combined as the Richmondshire School and one of the highest achieving in the country.

Manfield Church of England School still educates children aged 5 - 11 in a Christian ethos and has been praised in OFSTED and other reports for the all round achievement of its pupils.

When the school opened the telephone had been invented, but was not in use, there was no electricity, the car was at least thirty years away, the modern bicycle did not exist and manpower meant just that - a lifetime of heavy physical work in farms or in factories for men, and for women, long hours in domestic service or shops. In 2003, 145 years since Manfield School was founded a pupil at eleven is not half way through his/her education as the effective leaving age is now 18 because of Sixth Form Education and Vocational Training Schemes.

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