a partner church in the WOLDSBURN benefice
CHURCH AT KIRKBURN
DEC 2007
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KIRKBURN SCHOOL
100 YEARS AGO
100 YEARS AGO
Keith Holt
Kirkburn National, later Church of England, School was opened in 1861 and closed in
1967. Unfortunately the surviving records do not date from the beginning of the School; we have admission registers from 1878 ands log books only from 1896. The log book was the official “day to day” diary kept by the Head Teacher recording events concerning the school, its staff and its pupils. Such books can vary in interest, from brief and not very interesting summaries to fuller accounts which bring the school to life for us. The surviving Kirkburn logs are fortunately of the latter quality, and are supplements by annual returns to the Board of Education for most years between 1900 and 1946, and some inspectors’ reports, both County and National, during the twentieth century. All the records quoted are in the care of the East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service at the “Treasure House” in Beverley.
Before a selection of entries from the years around 1907, it is worthwhile mentioning a few details of the head teachers, of whom there would seem to have been only three in the first 73 years! I say “seem” deliberately as without the records of the early years the first name we have so far is a Moses Lancaster, listed at the school in the 1871 census returns (further research might be possible to prove he had been there from the beginning). He came from Cliviger near Blackburn in Lancashire, and had been a teacher at Todmorden in 1851 and at Whitby (now part of Ellesmere Port) in Cheshire in early 1861. Kirkburn School opened later that year.
Moses Lancaster was succeeded in 1872 by Miss Clara Providence Wynch, who was born in Cambridgeshire in 1846, was a teacher at Campsall near Pontefract, before coming to Kirkburn and served here for almost 39 years before retiring in 1911. She was followed by Miss Gertrude Morris, who remained in charge until 1934.
We have a full report of His Majesty’s Inspector who visited the school in May 1907. His comments were:
“General
The stove in the main room needs a guard and some repairs. Pools some form in the yards.
the objectionable method of emptying the offices still obtains. As the girls’ yard and the very useful shelters are near, the pail-system would be less harmful. The matter at least calls for attention “ (if the last comment seems a little plaintive, two reports in 1904 had already contained the comments “the sanitary arrangements are in some respects very objectionable”,
“the offices must be made satisfactory without delay” and the perhaps unfortunate phrase “the sanitary arrangements should be looked into”.
1967. Unfortunately the surviving records do not date from the beginning of the School; we have admission registers from 1878 ands log books only from 1896. The log book was the official “day to day” diary kept by the Head Teacher recording events concerning the school, its staff and its pupils. Such books can vary in interest, from brief and not very interesting summaries to fuller accounts which bring the school to life for us. The surviving Kirkburn logs are fortunately of the latter quality, and are supplements by annual returns to the Board of Education for most years between 1900 and 1946, and some inspectors’ reports, both County and National, during the twentieth century. All the records quoted are in the care of the East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service at the “Treasure House” in Beverley.
Before a selection of entries from the years around 1907, it is worthwhile mentioning a few details of the head teachers, of whom there would seem to have been only three in the first 73 years! I say “seem” deliberately as without the records of the early years the first name we have so far is a Moses Lancaster, listed at the school in the 1871 census returns (further research might be possible to prove he had been there from the beginning). He came from Cliviger near Blackburn in Lancashire, and had been a teacher at Todmorden in 1851 and at Whitby (now part of Ellesmere Port) in Cheshire in early 1861. Kirkburn School opened later that year.
Moses Lancaster was succeeded in 1872 by Miss Clara Providence Wynch, who was born in Cambridgeshire in 1846, was a teacher at Campsall near Pontefract, before coming to Kirkburn and served here for almost 39 years before retiring in 1911. She was followed by Miss Gertrude Morris, who remained in charge until 1934.
We have a full report of His Majesty’s Inspector who visited the school in May 1907. His comments were:
“General
The stove in the main room needs a guard and some repairs. Pools some form in the yards.
the objectionable method of emptying the offices still obtains. As the girls’ yard and the very useful shelters are near, the pail-