MORETONHAMPSTEAD SCHOOLS

Sources

Our earliest records about education come from reports of charitable foundations: bequests to provide teaching for poor children. Look at the report of the Charity Commissioners in 1907 which gives details of Hele’s Gift which in 1658 provided a schoolmaster for 10 pupils held in the Church House, the National School set up in 1840 in Pound Street, and its successor which became the Boys’ School. It also mentions Southmead’s Gift, which in his Will of 1648 gave 26s/8d annually towards buying Bibles for poor children in the parish. The same document gives details of the building of the Smethurst Schoolroom on Greenhill and of the Bowring Library in Fore Street.

The schoolmaster provided for by Hele’s Gift had to be approved by the church authorities, who were concerned towards the end of the 17th century to ensure that they did not get a dissenter as master, and the source for this period is the Diocesan records (now in the Devon Record Office). However, by 1800 the Nonconformists were able to run their own schools, and the autobiography of Sir John Bowring gives us a picture of the school run by Mr Bransby, the Unitarian minister, at this time.

 In the 19th century all the chapels ran Sunday schools (see the Census of Chapels in 1851), and there were a considerable number of private schools, evidence for which can be found by looking in Treleaven’s diary (for the early years of the century), in the Census and directories. In addition the Census sometimes shows the children living as boarders near the schools. The Directories sometimes mention the more important schools in their preambles.

You can gain some glimpses into the everyday life of one of the schools by reading extracts from Pound St School log-book for 1876-1891 and 1892-1917.

A database of some of the schools’ admissions registers for the period 1876-1940 can be searched in the Virtual Archives section.

Moretonhampstead Schools: key dates

• 1648: Southmead’s Gift: John Southmead, by his will, dated in 1648, gave 26s 8d yearly towards the buying of Bibles for poor children of the parish, to be bestowed by his heir, out of the land of one house, then in the possession of Christopher Marden, after the death of Richard Bennett. (This had lapsed by 1823).
• 1658: Elize Hele’s Charity for a School: Hele’s Gift was founded in 1658 by Sir John Maynard and Elize Stert, as trustees for charitable purposes of the lands of Elize Hele, and provided £10 annually to a schoolmaster (appointed by the chamber of Exeter as governors of St John’s Hospital, Exeter) to instruct 10 poor children of the parish in reading and church catechism in a school-room forming part of the church-house.
• Late c17th: The schoolmaster provided for by Hele’s Gift had to be on the recommendation of the minister & principal inhabitants of the town, who were concerned towards the end of the 17th century to ensure that they did not get a dissenter as master.
• 1793: Schoolmasters: Matthew Cheeseworth, Charles Humphries, Ann Isaac (ladies boarding school – she was wife of Jacob Isaac, Baptist minister)
• School teachers mentioned in Treleaven’s Diary 1802-14:
  ‘1802 Thur. Sep. 30th. The Rev Mr. Rowland gave notice of resigning his School by the following advertisement which appeared in Trewmans Exeter Flying Post, this Day: “Moretonhampstead Devon – J.Rowland presents his most grateful Thanks to his numerous Friends for the very generous and liberal Patronage which he has experienced during his last eighteen years. He is very sorry to inform them that he is compelled by imperious Circumstances to resign his School at Christmas next – Moretonhampstead 27th Sept 1802”
  1803 Thur. Jan. 27th. The remains of Mr. James Rowland interred in the Church-Yard, in a grave by the side of his late wife. He had been Pastor of the Presbyterians Meeting in this place 26½ years and kept a grammar school about 18 years, was a native of St.David’s in Pembroke Shire, South Wales, and about 47 years old at his death.
  1804 Tue. Oct. 2nd. Messrs Wm and John Tucker (Brothers) opened a Boarding School, in a House near the Cross Tree lately occupied by the Rev Mr. Walkey – Terms, Board Twenty Guineas Pr Annum, Education Five Guineas Pr. Annum.
  1804 Mon. Oct. 15th. Some of the people called Quakers held a meeting for Worship in Mr. Humphries School Room.
  1806 Sat. June 7th. Died aged 50 Elizabeth Cheeseworth wife of Mr. Cheeseworth, Schoolmaster, and keeper of the Parish Accounts.
  1806 Mon. Dec. 8th. Married with Licence: Mr Wm Tucker one of the masters of the Grammar school to Miss Pinsent.
  1808 Sun. Dec 11th. Married Mr John Toms Heelmaker to Miss Pudicombe, school mistress.
  1809 Mon. Dec. 25th. Christmas day. Married Mr John Tucker one of the Masters of the Academy to Mrs Brittan.
  1814 Mon. Sep.12th. Married, Mr Charles Humphries, School Master, to Miss Susan Newcombe.’
• 1823: Charity Commissioners’ report : A master teaching 10 children under this charity in a schoolroom in the Church House near the churchyard teaching reading, spelling & the Church Cathechism. Schoolroom on upper floor & in room below poor persons. In 1826 the vestry decided that the schoolmaster no longer had to pay rent for the Church House on condition that he took another ten pupils from those who did not receive parish relief, and failing that, children from the most numerous families.
• 1832: The Quarterly Journal of Education: ‘The district is considered one of the wildest, least cultivated and least educated in the county.   At Moreton there is a good free school for writing, arithmetic etc. which is well attended by the farmers’ sons, a few only being on the foundation. There are also day schools & schools for females and a parish school.   The greatest impediment (in the district) is the parish apprentice system. At 9 years of age the children are bound out to masters who entirely neglect their education and the children in a short time forget how to read and write.’
• 1833: Abstract of Education Returns. ‘Eight Infant Schools, wherein about 70 children of both sexes are instructed at the expense of their parents. Seven Daily Schools, one of which contains 33 males and 6 females, and is partly supported by 10/. per annum, arising from some property under the management of the Chamber at Exeter, and partly by an allowance of 10 /. per annum from the parish; in the other six Schools are 69 males and 42 females, whose instruction is at the expense of their parents. Three Sunday Schools; in one of the Established Church are 26 males and 29 females; another consists of 9 males and 11 females, and is connected with Wesleyan Methodists; the other, of 4 males and 3 females, appertains to Unitarians, and has a lending Library attached; in these Schools the children receive gratuitous instruction. All the above Schools, with the exception of the endowed School, have commenced since 1818.’
• 1840: National School founded in converted storehouse in Pound St. provided by Earl of Devon (see 1850 Directory) in Pound Street. , but the schoolmaster continued to teach a small number of children in a private house, having added arithmetic to the curriculum. Finally, in 1879, when the attendance was down to 5, there was considered to be adequate provision without this teacher. In 1884 the Charity Commissioners directed that the money should be used for rewards or prizes to children of residents attending any elementary schools in the parish.
• 1845: Church House: burnt down. School moved to private house until 1879.
• 1846-8: Church House rebuilt & schoolroom adjoining but not used by Charity School.
• 1850: National School: (established 1840 in building given by Earl of Devon) – George Bishop; also Margaret Gordon, John R. Hill, Thomas Potter and Frances Tremlett.
• 1851: The Parliamentary Gazeteer of England and Wales:  8 infant, 7 daily and 3 Sunday schools. One daily school supported by £10 pa from property managed by the Exeter Chamber of Commerce and £10 pa from the parish council.
• 1856: Mrs George Bishop in Cross St., George Rowdon Bishop (Natl. School) in Pound St, George Brown (professor of music & dancing) in Fore St, Mrs Margaret Gordon in Cross St, Miss Frances Tremlett in Court St.
• 1857:Endowed school in Cross St (John R Hill), National school at the top of Pound Street in rooms erected for that purpose (G. Bishop & Mrs Bishop), Esther Bevan (related to independent minister), day school in Fore Street, George R. Bishop and Mrs Sarah Bishop (boarding and day school) in Cross Street, Mrs Sarah Browne, teacher of dancing, in Fore St; Margaret Gordon, day school in Cross Street, John Jackman, classical, mathematical & commercial boarding school in Cross St, Susan Lewis, day school in Cross Street, John Potter, farmer & schoolmaster, in Court Street, Miss Tozer, day school in Forder Street, Frances Tremlett, day school in Court Street.
• 1861: The Smethurst Schoolroom: On 31 December 1861 Edward Bowring acquired for £100 a piece of land with a frontage of 52 ft on Greenhill, with ruined buildings on it destroyed by fire, and on this he erected, with money left by the late Rev. John Smethurst, a building suitable for a Sunday School.  On 23rd February 1864 he transferred this property to George Brock and ten other trustees to be used as a Sunday or other School, and as a place of meeting or assembling for delivering lectures or holding discussions on religious, literary or scientific subjects, or for promoting in any other way mental or moral culture, or for religious or social gatherings of any kind, or for any legal subjects having a useful tendency (but not for a daily infant school).  The trustees in 1907 were W. Browne, W.S. Hewett, George Harvey senior, George Harvey junior of Thorn, (North Bovey), T.B. Bowring, H.E. Bowring,  J.B. Leat, B. Parker, W. Marks and H.H. Short (appointed by deed of 22nd September 1892).
• 1863: Arnold’s Report found that Moreton was among 20% of parishes in Devon with no Church of England funded school, a reflection of its strong nonconformist affiliations: the 1851 Census recorded 5 nonconformist chapels here.
• 1873: National School Mrs Elizabeth Browne; boys boarding and day school, Greenhill, Wm. Down MRCP.
• 1874: Moretonhampstead School Board set up under the terms of the Elementary Education Act (1870) after much local resistance from farmers keen to keep their child labour.
• 1876: School Board leased schoolroom newly built in 1846-8 adjoining new Church House. New school built on same site in 1876. This became Moretonhampstead Infants & Girls Board School (aka Greenhill School) total capacity 280. In 1902 it had a main schoolroom, a classroom for girls, a main classroom for infants, lobby, lavatory, playground & offices covering an area of 3975 sq ft. It was leased from the trustees of the Moretonhampstead property for 99 years , expiring on 24^th June 1974 at an annual rent of £6. The National School founded about 1840 had ben held in premises belonging to the Earl of Devon in Pound Street.  By a deed of 17 January 1876 William Courtenay, Earl of Devon, granted a lease for 99 years from 24 June 1875 to the Moretonhampstead School Board, at a yearly rent of £6, of a piece of ground about 1 rood in extent once an orchard, together with a storehouse (part of which had been converted into a schoolhouse and offices), but reserving the rights of a Church of England Sunday School to use the building between 9 am and 4 pm on Sundays as before. The School Board agreed to enclose the ground with boundary walls of the height of 7 feet, and to complete and furnish the existing building with classroom and outbuildings, at a cost of not less than £300.  Enlarged in 1898. In 1902 it had a main schoolroom, 2 other school rooms, lobby & lavatory.
• 1878: Also Mrs Elizabeth Jane Loveys, day & boarding school, Ponsford House, Cross St.. Wm. Down, schoolmaster and assistant overseer, living in New St. Miss Sarah Marie Jenkin, mistress of Greenhill school.
• 1879: Church House school closed as attendance low after school board established. Hele’s money used for scholarships & prizes in the public elementary school.
• 1889: Board school (average attendance 78 boys, 76 girls, 80 infants), master Matthew Cox, mistress Miss E.F. Parnell, infants Miss L.C. Blair.
• 1893: Teachers as for 1889. Also Misses Mary and Emma Hole, ladies school in Battenbury, Court St.
• 1902: Devon County Council assumed responsibility for the Board schools under the terms of the Education Act (1902). Report gives summary of schools at the time.
• 1940: Secondary school age pupils transferred to Chagford School. Pound Street used for Infants classroom & school meals until 1962.
• 1961: Old cottages demolished opposite Primary School & 2 classrooms & kitchen built there. Pound Street site became a private dwelling.
• 1968: State Secondary Education for Moretonhampstead to be at Ashburton Comprehensive School – later renamed South Dartmoor College.
• 2007: New primary school opened at Betton Way. The old school is now the home of the Youth Club and Greenhill Arts & Heritage Centre – see https://www.greenhillarts.co.uk/welcome#home