ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



the tercentenary of the school (1929) and in 1948 

 Grange Court was acquired as a junior school. In 

 1953 there were 350 boys, under the headmaster, 17 

 assistant masters, and i mistress.^* Buckhurst Hill 

 County High School for boys was opened in 1938. In 

 1953 there were 549 boys under the headmaster and 

 19 assistant masters." 



In 171 1 there was a Charity School at Chigwell 

 attended by 10 poor girls who also received caps, bands, 

 and aprons from a private benefactor.^* In 17 13 the 

 school was receiving ;^i6 a year from subscriptions and 

 a girl had recently been put out as an apprentice.^" 

 There were still only 10 pupils in about 1768, when 

 the school was supported mainly by the collection at an 

 annual sermon. 30 By the early 19th century, however, 

 'the Charity School' (presumably the same) was 

 attended by 72 girls. 3' It was then endowed with ;^I32 

 Stock and was called the Blue School because a dozen 

 or more children received a blue uniform. ^^ 



In 1 8 1 8 the Blue School was united with a School 

 of Industry for girls, founded in 1 8 1 5 . The latter had 

 been supported by subscriptions, charity sermons, and 

 by the proceeds of the pupils' work, which amounted 

 to j^7 in 1815-16 and ^{^16 in 1817-18. It was held 

 in a house which in 1 8 1 5— 1 6 was rented for £c) a year, 

 and its mistress was paid ^^14 14^'. in 181 5-16 and 

 ;^27 6s. in 1 8 17-18. From its foundation it had been 

 in union with the National Society, and this association 

 was maintained after the amalgamation with the Blue 

 School, the first title of the new school being the 

 National School of Industry for Girls. In the new 

 school the 'blue girls' continued to wear their uniform 

 as long as they behaved well. Misconduct was pun- 

 ished by the transfer of the uniform to others considered 

 more deserving. The endowment of the Blue School 

 was transferred to the new school and a further legacy 

 of ^100 seems to have been received in 1818 from a 

 Mr. Lewis.33 



Until about 1838 the number of pupils seems to 

 have remained constant at about 45." After 18 18 the 

 salary of the mistress rose to ^^30 together with lO- 

 per cent, of the children's earnings and a coal allowance. 

 Subscriptions rose steadily and income continued to 

 be received from the children's work.35 The school 

 was supervised by a Ladies Committee. In 1836 this 

 decided to build a new school, with accommodation 

 for 100 girls, in order to provide for the increasing 

 population. The vicar gave a site on the Vicarage 

 Field.36 The committee realized £202 from the sale 

 of endowments, collected j^i 73, and received ^5 5 from 

 the government, £21^ from the National Society and 

 ;^io from the Diocesan Board.^^ The new schoolroom 

 was built opposite the grammar school.^* It was 

 opened as a National School in 1838.39 



The Ladies Committee continued to manage the 

 school. It was energetic and successful in obtaining 

 subscriptions and other local support. But the standard 

 of teaching was low. In 1841 an inspector found a 



poor achievement in the three main subjects*" and in 

 1852 another inspector reported that the curriculum 

 was limited and that the teaching methods were those 

 of the early monitorial system.*' The school also had 

 a bad reputation locally at this time. In 1848 the 

 retiring Vicar of Chigwell described it as very ineffi- 

 cient . . . 'principally because of some antiquated rules 

 enforcing the wearing at church of . . . ugly caps and 

 short-cropped hair — this offends the little tradespeople, 

 who prefer sending their daughters 2^ miles to a British 

 and Foreign [i.e. Dissenting] school at Chigwell 

 Row' .12 



In 1875 the school appears to have received its first 

 annual grant from the government. The average 

 attendance was then only 47 .^^ The population of the 

 parish was increasing rapidly, however, and attendance 

 rose to 75 in 1886 and 114 in I902.« The annual 

 grant rose from £2% in 1875 to ^^54 in 1886 and ^^i 19 

 in i902.'ts In 1904 there were 155 children under 3 

 teachers and a monitor, and the average attendance 

 was 131.'** In order to provide for the increased num- 

 ber of pupils the school was enlarged in 1891 to ac- 

 commodate 200.*' Under the 1902 Education Act it 

 passed under the administration of the Essex Educa- 

 tion Committee, Epping District, as a non-provided 

 school. The average attendance fell to 10 1 in 191 5 and 

 85 in 1929, but rose to 138 in 1938. In 1935, at the 

 request of the managers, the name of the school was 

 changed to St. Mary's Girls and Infants Church of 

 England School. In 1947 the school was granted con- 

 trolled status. In 1948 it was reorganized for junior 

 girls and infants and in 1950 it was closed in accordance 

 with the County Development Plan.** The building 

 is opposite the grammar school. It is single-storied, of 

 red brick with a tiled roof. 



In 1 807 there was a Church of England Sunday 

 school in Chigwell, apparently for boys and girls.*' In 

 1820, after the establishment of the National day 

 school for girls, the Sunday school seems to have been 

 reserved for boys. It was then in union with the 

 National Society and had some 50 pupils. so It did not 

 lead to the formation of the usual type of National day 

 school for boys because the English School, which was 

 part of Archbishop Harsnett's foundation, already pro- 

 vided the necessary facilities.s' The English School 

 was sometimes called the National School.s^ In or 

 shortly before 1881 the English School was dis- 

 continued. In that year the parish vestry passed a 

 resolution deploring this fact and protesting against the 

 refusal of the governors of Harsnett's Schools to allow 

 the Chigwell School Board (founded 1 87 1 : see below) 

 the free use of the English School building and the 

 annual grant of ^^20 that had been paid to the English 

 School. The resolution pointed out that this refusal 

 contravened one of the clauses of the scheme drawn up 

 by the Charity Commission for the management of 

 Harsnett's Schools. '^ The protest was forwarded to 

 the Commission and appears to have been successful 



" Tuhlic Scis. Year Bk. {1953). 



^' Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 



28 S.P.CK. Acct. of Char. Schs. (171 1), 

 22. " Ibid. (17 1 3), 26. 



3° Morant, Essex, i, 170. 



3' E.R.O., D/AEM z/4. 



" E.R.O., D/P 166/28/3. 



" Ibid.; Nat. Soc. Reps. 1820, 1828. 



3* Ibid, j Educ. Enquiry Abstr. H.C. 62, 

 p. 270(1835), xli. 



" E.R.O., D/P 166/28/3. 



3' Ex. inf. Nat. Soc. 



37 E.R.O., D/P 166/28/3. 



38 Ex. inf. Nat. Soc; E.R.O., D/CT 78. 



39 E.R.O., D/P 166/28/4.. 

 « Ibid. 166/28/3,4. 



♦' Mins. Educ. Ctlee. of Council, 1852, 

 vol. ii [1624.], p. 286, H.C. (1852-3), 

 Ixxx(i). « E.R.O., D/P 166/3/3. 



♦3 Rej,. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1875 

 [C. 1513-1], P- 53'. H.C. (1876), xxiii. 



« Ibid. 1886 [C. 5123-1], p. 518, H.C. 

 (1887), xxviii; Schs. under Bd. of Educ. 

 igo2 [Cd. 1490], p. 68, H.C. (1903), li. 



«s Ibid. 



♦' Essex Educ. Cttee. Handii. 1904, p. 

 145. ■" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899). 



♦8 Min. of Educ. File 13/61; inf. from 

 Essex Educ. Cttee. 



*' E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4. 



5» Nat. Soc. Rep. 1820. 



5" F:C.H. Essex, ii, 544-6; E.R.O., 

 D/P .66/3/3. 



52 e.g. in 1862-3: Kelly's Dir. Essex 

 (1862), IVhite's Dir. Essex (1863). 



53 E.R.O., D/P 166/8/n. 



39 



