SCHOOLS 



appointed with a salary of ^^20 per annum, 

 for which she taught twenty girls, eight from 

 Faling, three from Healey, in Spotland township, 

 six from Wardleworth, and three from Middle 

 Hundersfield, reading, knitting, and sewing, 

 without any charge. She was allowed to take 

 ten other scholars on her own terms. 



Westhoughton. — A school was built at 

 Westhoughton in 1742 by subscription, and on 

 12 September Richard Garnett gave ^^5, Robert 

 Harvey ;^I0, and another trustee ^50, which 

 sums were invested for the use of the school- 

 master. Mary Harvey, by deed 1 May, 1756, 

 conveyed land to trustees for the benefit of the 

 school, and by will 7 June, 1767, gave the 

 residue of her husband's estate to be applied to 

 the wages of the schoolmaster for teaching as 

 many children as possible at the rate of 6s. Sd. 

 a child. In 1784 the school was enlarged by 

 subscription. In 1828 thirteen children of the 

 township were taught reading free. There 

 were 80 to 100 children in the school. 



Read. — Edmund Dickinson, by will 19 

 August, 1763, bequeathed ;£i20 to Alexander 

 Nowell, the interest to be paid to some proper 

 person to teach and instruct so many poor boys 

 and girls in reading and writing within the town- 

 ship of Read as Alexander Nowell should think 

 fit. By lease I July, 1798, James Hilton, esq., 

 demised a plot of waste land in Read and a 

 building erected thereon, on trust, that the 

 building should be used as a school for the 

 encouragement of learning ; and that the master 

 ■should be of unblemished moral character, 

 professing the Protestant religion and a member 

 of the Church of England. No scholar was to 

 be admitted into the school unless his parents 

 resided in the township. The children were to 

 te taught the Church Catechism, to read the 

 Bible and to say prayers, writing and arithmetic. 

 Five poor children were taught free ; for the in- 

 ■struction of other scholars the master was paid by 

 their parents ; he had, on the whole, about 30 

 ■scholars in 1827, increased to 50 in 1867. 



TuRTON. — The earliest known gift to this 

 school was a bequest of j^i,ooo from Humphrey 

 Chetham, by will I December, 1746, for the 

 augmentation of the salaries of the curate and 

 schoolmaster. A School had been in existence 

 for many years before with an endowment of 

 ^105. Abigail Chetham, by will 1690, left 

 money the interest of which was to be applied 

 in clothing four poor boys. The master received 

 .all the rents and taught and clothed six poor boys 

 freely. 



Newton in Makerfield. — John Stirrup 

 had, by indentures of lease and release 20 and 

 21 November, 1699, conveyed to Peter Legh 

 and others a messuage called Dean School and a 

 •close of land belonging in Newton without 

 declaring any trusts, but intending that they 

 •should be held in trust for the schoolmaster of 



Dean School, to whom he gave an annuity of 

 j^3, issuing out of a messuage in Newton, 

 Peter Legh of Lyme by deed 17 February, 

 1752, conveyed a close called Leylands Common, 

 on trust, that the master should for it yearly 

 teach and instruct in English any number of poor, 

 necessitous children of Newton, not exceeding 

 ten. In 181 8 the number of children averaged 

 from 70 to 100 who were chiefly from Newton. 

 They were taught reading, writing, and accounts 

 without charge. In 1867 there were 35 boys, 

 of whom I o were free. 



Flixton. — A memorandum entered in an 

 overseer's book for this township states that Peter 

 Warburton de Brook gave to the overseers of 

 Flixton £60, half the interest to be paid to the 

 schoolmaster officiating at Shawtown School, 

 within Flixton, towards the education of four 

 or five poor children belonging to that township. 

 A tablet in Flixton church to the same effect 

 is dated 1768. In the overseer's account for 

 1777 £1 los. is charged as paid to a person for 

 teaching poor children. John Wood, by a 

 codicil to his will 9 November, 1779, gave ^^30 

 out of his personal estate to his executors, the 

 interest to be devoted to the education of four or 

 five poor children legally settled in Flixton. Shaw- 

 town School was sold about i860, and the proceeds 

 given to the Church schools by the Chanty Com- 

 missioners, as well as the interest on ;^6o in- 

 vested in government securities. 



Heaton Norris. — There were in the township 

 of Heaton Norris certain premises, consisting of 

 two cottages and a garden, adjoining an estate 

 called the Tithe Barn House, which were given for 

 the support of a school by J. Holling, priest, in 

 1785. In 1816 Thomas Higson was appointed 

 schoolmaster, and had one of the cottages as his 

 residence. As long as the annual meetings of 

 the trustees were held, the rents were paid to the 

 schoolmaster, and for them he was required to 

 teach a few children of the township or neigh- 

 bourhood without any further charge. From 

 1818 there were no scholars. 



ScoTFORTH. — In 1827 there was a house, 

 occupied by the schoolmaster and containing a 

 schoolroom ; but it was not known how it be- 

 came appropriated to this purpose. It was kept ■ 

 in good repair at the township's expense. In 

 1806 a piece of land, two acres, was allotted to 

 the use of the schoolmaster ; of this, part was 

 reserved by him as his own garden, and the re- 

 mainder let every year for the best rent obtain- 

 able. In 1825 it produced 50^. The master 

 taught eight poor children of the township with- 

 out charge. For other children he made his 

 own terms, and had generally between 20 and 30 

 scholars, who were instructed in reading, writing, 

 and arithmetic. In 1867 there were about 50. 

 Thomas Parkinson, by will 12 March, 1799, 

 bequeathed ^300 in the 3 per cent, annuities, 

 the interest to be applied for instructing the 



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