A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



intendent.^* The trust income had risen from [j^ in 

 1863 to ;^82 in iSgS*' and the annual grant from ^^27 

 in 1873 to (j.0% in 1893 and ^131 in i902.*8 After 

 the Education Act of 1902 the school passed under the 

 administration of the Essex Education Committee, 

 Ongar District, as a non-provided mixed school. Its 

 pupils continued to increase; in 19 13 the accommoda- 

 tion and average attendance were each estimated at 

 I72.'''' Meanwhile, in 1905, King's Charity had been 

 divided into 'King's Educational Foundation' and 

 'King's Charity for Bibles and Sexton' (see below. 

 Charities). 



In 1909 the Board of Education had urged that the 

 school should be enlarged. 5° The trustees hesitated to 

 spend the ^^1,500 estimated as the cost of the required 

 rebuilding'' and when in 191 1 the Essex Education 

 Committee published its intention of providing a new 

 school in the town,'^ they decided to offer the existing 

 school to the Education Committee for use as a County 

 school.53 The Education Committee accepted transfer 

 in 191 3 and, after extensive rebuilding, opened the new 

 school in June 191 5 with accommodation for 278 

 pupils.54 By 1929 average attendance had risen to 188. 

 In 1936, when a senior school was opened in the town, 

 the primary school was reorganized for mixed juniors 

 and infants, the average attendance falling to 143 in 

 1938.55 In May 1952 there were 315 pupils and 9 

 teachers.'* 



The school lies behind the Budworth Hall and the 

 trust cottages. It is single-storied, mainly of yellow 

 brick and with a partly tiled, partly slated roof The 

 greater part of the 1 846 building is incorporated in it. 

 An adjacent building, of green corrugated iron, was 

 erected in 191 3 to accommodate the children while the 

 rebuilding took place. '' King's Trust is administered 

 by 12 trustees, with the rector as chairman. In 195 1 

 its income was £,2%j, of which £i()'i was paid in 

 educational grants.'* 



Ongar County Secondary School was built by the 

 Essex Education Committee at the north end of the 

 town on the road to Dunmow and was opened as a 

 senior school for the district in 1936. It had accom- 

 modation for 520 children." Attendance subsequently 

 increased and in 1948 temporary accommodation was 

 provided for 90 pupils.*" In May 1952 there were 25 

 teachers and 550 children.*' Pupils are drawn from 

 18 primary schools. The buildings are of red brick. 

 The garden is about i acre in size and the playing- 

 fields about 1 2 acres.*^ 



In the early 19th century local churchmen seem to 

 have devoted their attention more towards the main- 

 tenance of their Sunday school than to the expansion of 

 King's Trust School, possibly because the latter 

 enjoyed an assured income. The Sunday school existed 



as early as 1807*3 and in 181 5, when 115 children 

 attended it from Chipping Ongar, Greenstead, Shelley, 

 and Stanford Rivers, it received £7,1 in annual sub- 

 scriptions.*'* An infants' school was also set up, ap- 

 parently under Anglican direction, in which in 1 846-7 

 a mistress taught 45 children;*' it was possibly the 

 same infants' school which in 1873-4 was situated at 

 the north-east of Ongar Bridge.** The Independents 

 also maintained a Sunday school, which was attended 

 in 1833 by 50 children.*' The rector reported in 

 1846-7 'the educational wants are well supplied'.** 



Throughout the 19th century private schools 

 flourished in the town. In 1807 the curate reported 

 that there were two girls' schools and a boys' school, 

 the latter attended by 60 pupils.*' In 1818 there were 

 said to be 4 schools with 60 pupils altogether.'" A 

 more detailed survey in 1833 notes the existence of 6 

 day schools with 82 pupils, a boarding-school with 13 

 boys, and a dissenting boarding school with 7 girls." 

 In 1845 there were said to be 11 schools in the town, 

 including the King's Trust school, with 140 daily and 

 95 Sunday pupils.'^ In 1855 a 'seminary' was being 

 conducted by the Misses Noble.'s It is possible that 

 this was the 'school for ladies' which in 1 866 was run 

 by Mrs. Julia Webster.'* In 1872 a 'school for ladies' 

 was being held at Roden House, and offered 'every 

 branch of English . . . together with the accomplish- 

 ments'." In 1874 this school was being conducted by 

 Emily Willets, and in 1 890 by Amy and Edith Bishop.'* 

 About 1910 it moved up the road to Holralea, still 

 under the control of the Bishops, but it seems to have 

 come to an end soon after." 



The most important private school in the town was 

 Ongar Grammar School, said to have been founded in 

 181 1 by William Stokes, M.A.'* This was probably 

 the boarding-school which had 13 boys in 1833 (see 

 above). In 1 845 it was known as Ongar Academy, and 

 the proprietor was Richard Stokes." Among the 

 pupils in 1846-7 were Nathaniel and Walter Barlow, 

 sons of Dr. Nathaniel Barlow of Blackmore. In 

 September 1847 Walter wrote to an elder brother 

 Alfred: 'Tomorrow and the following day we are going 

 to have two lectures on Electricity and Galvanism by 

 Mr. Thornthwaite, a lecturer from London. We have 

 41 young gentlemen, 3 of which are day boarders and 

 I weekly boarder. ...'*" 



A school magazine was started in September 1869. 

 The three (weekly) numbers which have survived show 

 that there were then three assistant masters in addition 

 to the head. Dr. Clark.*' There were athletic clubs, 

 libraries, a fencing-club, and an elocution society. 

 Advertisements include the request for a 'chain for a 

 sparrow-hawk'. In 1878 William Clark was head- 

 master. There were then 130 boarders.*^ In 1899 the 



<' Essex Educ. Cttee. Handhk. 1904. 



" IVhite's Dir. Essex (1863), 738; 

 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899), 284. 



■»« Essex Standard, 28 Oct. 1874; Retn. 

 of Schs. i8g3, 713; Schs. under Bd. of 

 Educ, igo2 [Cd. 1490], p. 68, H.C. 

 (1903), U. 



« Min. of Educ. File 13/66. 



50 Inf. from Mr. D. W. Hutchings. 



*' Essex County Chron. i Dec. 191 1. 



5^ Ibid. 20 Oct. 191 1. 



" Min. of Educ. File 1 3/66. 



5« Inf. from Mr. F. H. Barker, Head- 

 master of Chipping Ongar Primary 

 School. 



55 Min. of Educ. File 13/66. 



>' Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 



5' Inf. from Mr. F. H. Barker. 



58 Inf. from Mr. D. W. Hutchings. 



s» Min. of Educ. File 13/66. 



"> Min. of Educ. File 13/66. 



<" Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 



'2 Inf. from Mr. J. W. Butler, Head- 

 master of Ongar Secondary School. 



«3 E.R.O., D/AEM i/i/i. 



'♦ Nat. Soc. Rep. 1 8 1 j, p. 40. 



'5 Nat. Soc. Enquiry into Church Schs. 

 J«46-7, pp. 14-15. 



" O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), sheet li. 



" Educ. Enquiry Ahstr. (1835), p. 284. 



'8 Nat. Soc. Enquiry 1846-7, 14-15. 



'9 E.R.O., D/AEM i/i/i. 



'0 Retns. on Educ. of Poor (18 19), p. 264. 



" Educ. Enq. Ahstr. (1835), p. 284. 



'2 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1845). 



" Ibid. (1855). 



'* Ibid. (1866). 



'5 Chelmsford Chron. 5 Jan. 1872. 



■"> Kelly's Dir. Essex (1874, 1890). 



" Ibid. (1910, 1912, 1914). 



'8 Ibid. (1937) i E.R.O., Prints, Chipping 

 Ongar : p.c. view of Ongar Sch. Stokes 

 docs not appear to have been a graduate 

 of any British university. 



" Kelly's Dir. Essex (i 845). 



«» E.R.O., Typescript, L. A. Barlovf, 

 'The Barlows in Essex 1730-1924', 

 49-50. 



8' E.R.O., Landon Collection. 



8» Kelly's Dir. Essex (i%7%). 



170 



