5. JAMES COWPER - THE VILLAGE SCHOOLMASTER

5. JAMES COWPER – THE VILLAGE SCHOOLMASTER

By Irena White

James Cowper`s father, Benjamin Cowper, was born in Hereford in 1796, but moved to Ruyton in 1810 where he married Mary Lloyd of Great Ness, in Ruyton Parish Church.

They were to have six children, three boys and three girls, all the male members of the family worked as agricultural labourers  and later, bricklayers .

There was one exception, James their second son, who seems to have been a remarkably gifted child. Born in 1818 he was to come under the patronage of the Kenyon family of Pradoe, and continued with their friendship until old age.

Thomas Kenyon sent him away to be educated and when he came back in 1838, aged 19, he took over the position of School Master, following the retirement of Mr. Davies.

His salary was £10 per quarter, plus a new watch, at a cost of £5.5s and the use of the School House in School Road.  James married Lydia Edwards the same year and they moved to the School House, where they lived until 1872.                                                                                            

During their time there, Lydia served as school mistress as well as raising her own six children. Emma1840 ~Rose1843~Julia1848~Clara1850~ Lucretia1852~Alfred.1858. 

Before 1871 the system of teaching was, largely, one developed by Dr Andrew Bell (1753-1832) which was the Monitorial System. The brighter children were taught by the Master and Mistress in a module style. These Monitors then taught other groups of children.                                                                                                     

In 1871 a new Act of Parliament was issued, which required all school teachers to have a formal qualification, if not, they could not continue to teach. This meant that at 53 James and his wife would have been too old to return to college to qualify.                                                              

In the minutes of a meeting of the Trustees which took place on 23^rd March 1871, it was noted that ”The Chairman is requested to send a notice to Mr. and Mrs. Cowper , the present Master and Mistress of the School, that in consequence of the changes now rendered necessary by recent legislation and the requirements of the Privy Council  their engagement as schoolmaster and schoolmistress must terminate at the commencement of the next summer holidays”.  signed J.R.Kenyon.  The school board had no option but to dismiss them.

As James and Robert Lloyd Kenyon were also friends, this caused a great deal of unrest in the village, but it was not something that anyone could do anything about.  The people in the Parish raised a petition, asking the Trustees to provide the Cowper’s with some sort of pension from the school endowments.  Mr. Richard Brown of Ruyton Hall Farm, presented the petition, being supported by Messrs Humphreys, Basnet, Oswell, Williams and Rogers, all prominent employers and Parishioners.  The petitioners testifying their due respect for the faithful and trustworthy servants. Others signatures were Richard Philips of Ruyton Hall, eight farmers, a surgeon, two millers, a brewer and a shopkeeper.

In August of 1871 Mr. and Mrs. Cowper were presented with £52.10s (50 guineas), in consideration of their past service.

James was also found a new position, as Librarian and Caretaker of the Oswestry ‘Town Library’, which was a ‘Subscription Library’ housed in The Public Hall, which stood at the corner of Oswald Road and King Street.

The first ‘’Free Library’ meeting was held on7th June 1890 when arrangements were made with the owners of The Public Hall for its future management and for the purchase of books for the ‘Free Library’. By the 23^rd June it had been agreed to pay £24 as a yearly rent which included £4 for rates, but excluding cleaning and lighting. Mr. Cowper was to be paid £30 a year (to include cleaning) to act as Librarian and Caretaker for one year, providing that he was appointed caretaker to the remainder of the building by the Directors.                                                                                                             

On 1^st August the first stage of the new ‘Free Library` ‘arrived with the opening of the Reading Room.  By the end of 1890 plans were well in hand for the building of the new Guildhall in which the ‘Free Library’ was to occupy the top floor.  The new premises were not to become available until 1894 and between 1892 and 1894 there were various changes of Librarian.

In 1892 James Cowper resigned on the grounds of ill health but was permitted to withdraw his resignation, and a boy was employed at 2s per week to assist him, but in December of the same year he was forced to resubmit his resignation, possibly due to the death of his wife Lydia, in the last quarter of the year.   In January 1893,Mr. Charles Burroughs was appointed to take his place.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

After his resignation, James Cowper moved to live at Clay Cross in Derbyshire, the home of his eldest daughter Emma and her husband John Smith, who was a prosperous chemist in the town.

He spent his last days writing to the Kenyon family about his boyhood memories of Ruyton and telling stories of his own adventures or those related to him by others in the village.

He died on October 12^th 1904 aged 87 and is buried in Clay Cross cemetery with his daughter Emma and her husband.

Irena White, 14^th March 2017

RUYTON XI TOWNS SCHOOL & SCHOOL HOUSE

RUYTON XI TOWNS SCHOOL & SCHOOL HOUSE

By Irena White

The ground for the garden, playground and erection of the School was the gift of Miss Margaret Kinaston and Miss Anne Kinaston of Ruyton Hall, then living in Shrewsbury, Daughters and co-heiresses of Edward Kinaston Esq.

On January 16^th 1818 a Trust was formed to build and run a School in the village .   Land known as’ Mill Green Scarow ‘ owned by Miss Margaret and Miss Anne Kinaston  was sold for 10/- ??.    For the sole purpose of being used as a School for the Education and instruction of young persons of both sexes to be always united to the National Society for the promoting the education of the poor in the principles of the established Church of England.

Trustees appointed to oversee the development being:-

Hon Thomas Kenyon of Pradoe,  Rowland Hunt of Boreatton,  Rev. David Evans, Vicar of Ruyton.  The  foundation Deed of Ruyton XI Towns School was then set up.

A total of £274 15shillings was raised from subscriptions 

In 1820 the Annual subscriptions were   £ 56 14 shillings

Between June 4th 1819 and 1821 the School and Teachers house was built.

Over the years other legacies were left to the trust, the interest from them, invested at 4% was to be used by the School alone.   These were Miss Susanna Hunt who left £100,- Mrs Phyllis Lane £100- The Misses Kinastons £ 300 Miss Maria Myddleton £30- The House of Industry Oswestry (The Workhouse) £200.

These accounts were kept in a leather bound book with the following inscription:-

Treasurers Accounts of the Ruyton XI Tows Charity School, Dr.Bell System

Other prominent members of local society were also involved in the running of the School, these being  Charles Spencer Lloyd  of Leaton Knolls  Thomas Mainwaring of Otley,  The Hon. Bulkley Owen of Tedsmore.. and John Henshaw Nickson Walford of Ruyton Towers .

In 1871 by Act of Parliament, £90 was given to the School for educating children in accordance with the foundation deed of 1818.

The Trustees then being appointed were named as John Kenyon of Pradoe, Charles Spencer Lloyd Q.C of Leaton Knolls, Rev. Thomas Mainwaring Bulkley Owen of Tedsmore, Rev. Frances Pagel Wilkinson Vicar of Ruyton XI Towns.            

 At the meeting of the Trustees in 1871 Mr Walford of Ruyton Towers offered to sell further land to the School being a cottage and land then adjoining, for £90. School fees were to be 1d per week per pupil which in 1870 amounted to £35, rising to £40 by the 1900’s.  In addition there were the local subscriptions of around £50 P.A. and the Government grant of £90.

After 1891 Schooling became free for the majority of Schools.  School age was from 5 years until 10 years old.  1902 brought all Schools under the responsibility of County or Borough Councils which also brought in a standardisation of Teachers` salaries, although School boards could, and did, still choose their own teachers.    In Ruyton all education took place in the same building for all age groups. This continued until  the mid 20th century.   In 1918 the leaving age was raised to 14.

In 1837 the School Masters salary was £10 per quarter. In 1838 it was still £10 per quarter plus a new timepiece valued at £5.05.00.  1872 sees a salary of £40  for the School Master  £22 for the School Mistress £16 for the Assistant Teacher In 1881 the Trustees were discussing  the master`s salary  and the fact that there was insufficient room in the School House  as well as alterations that were needed to alter the approach to the School . 

In 1882 a considerable amount of money having been spent on the School, the trustees decided to arrange two evenings of entertainments in order to raise  money to reduce the liabilities  The School rooms were very large and led into each other so in 1894 it was decided to partition  part of the ceiling and roof so that it could then be divided , Staffing records show that it was thought that staffing  costs were too expensive  and that the Assistant Master should be replaced with a Pupil Teacher, this  also happened in 1900,  John Haywood and Ernest Parry were selected to be Pupil Teachers.    

 In 1895 an gallery was constructed for the infants.   In 1897 the Hunt Charity gave three fireguards at a cost of £2 13shillings and 3 pence for the three School rooms plus extra money for gravel for the playground.

Information extracted from `The Social Life of Ruyton XI Towns School ‘ by J.E.Hanson

and History of Ruyton by R.L.Kenyon

If you would like the full list of the 1818 subscriptions for building the school, please contact Yoland or Irena. Brownhill@eleventowns.co.uk     bersedrelincourt@aol.com

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The beginnings of RUYTON XI TOWNS SCHOOL

Education in our area has a very early beginning.  Oswestry Free School, independent of the church of England, was founded in 1407.   This gives it the distinction of being the second-oldest 'free' school in the country, between Winchester College, founded in 1382,  and Eton College, in 1440.   Shrewsbury School was founded in 1552 and the late comer, Ellesmere College, was opened in 1879.

In 1643, when Cromwell`s army captured Shrewsbury, the Rev Thomas Challoner, headmaster of Shrewsbury School, was expelled from the town but took up residence, in Ruyton XI Towns, unfortunately we do not know where exactly but it was only for 7 months.  After the Restoration Rev. Challoner was re-instated as headmaster of Shrewsbury School.

In 1851 there is a brief mention in Kelly`s Directory of the Rev David Harris, pastor of the Independent Chapel, who ran a boarding school.

On 16^th January 1818, the two maiden ladies of Ruyton Hall, Miss Margaret and Miss Anne Kinaston, sold land for a token sum, at Park Gates  called Mill Green Scarow for the sole purpose of the education of boys and girls under the umbrella of the “National Society for the Promotion of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church of England”.  As well as Miss Margaret and Miss Anne, the other trustees, who were to oversee the building of the school, were Hon. Thomas Kenyon of Pradoe, Rowland Hunt of Boreatton Hall and the Rev. David Evans, vicar of Ruyton.

The list of subscribers to raise the funds to build the school and the Master`s house reads like a Who`s Who of Ruyton and district landowners and people of influence.  The name which intrigued me was the Earl of Bridgewater, why should such a grand person put £100 into our little school?   It seems that as a young man, Francis Egerton, had been Rector of Myddle so would probably be known to the Hunts, Kenyons, Walfords and Kinastons.

Another major donor was the late Andrew Newton of Lichfield (home of our Bishop) who left a trust which subsidised  many worthy projects in the diocese.

The Master`s house was completed in 1819-21 which is when the school actually opened for business.

The Kinaston sisters both wrote their wills on 22^nd June 1827, each leaving £100 to the trustees for the school.  However, it was not until 1845, when Miss Margaret Kinaston`s will was proved, that the legacies became available when their cousin and executrix, Anna Maria Middleton, passed the money to the trustees, plus another £100 because of the delay.

One of the earliest teachers was James Cooper, or Cowper, who had more interest in local history than teaching the children in the school.  While Robert Lloyd Kenyon poured over dusty court rolls and ancient documents, James Cooper (as Kenyon always wrote his name) recorded stories told by his mother and other villagers, so bringing academic and social history together.

The 1870 Education Act stands as the first legislation to deal with the provision of universal education in Britain.  Most importantly, it demonstrated a commitment to provision on a national scale.  The children had to pay 1p a week until 1991 when education became free.

The Act was reflected two years later with the appointment of Walter Burr, a 22 year old bachelor, fresh out of college, who arrived like a `new broom,` full of zeal and new learning.  The children were no longer to be taught in a haphazard way by anyone who could read and write and needed a job.  Walter made so many changes and improvements, the villagers and their children must not have known what hit them!

 

Feb 28 2017

 

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COTTAGE NEAR BASCHURCH AND WESTON

SHROPSHIRE ARCHIVES PHOTOGRAPH PH/B/3/117

This tiny cottage and the lady standing in the doorway fascinate me.  The description on the photograph says that it is between Baschurch and Weston and that it was demolished in the 1930s.  It belonged to the Noneley family.

When we were photographing these photographs in Shropshire Archives, my colleague, John Ravenscroft noticed that the lady standing at her front door seems to be wearing a gas mask.  The building was demolished in the 1930s so presumably it came from WWI.  Perhaps it is one she had from a relative?

Anyway, I went into FindMyPast to try to find out who she is.  Here are the details of the local Noneleys in the last available census – 1911.

Address:  Weston Lullingfields, nr Baschurch

Annie Noneley	Granddaughter	Single	19	Housekeeper	Born Loppington
Edward Noneley	Head	Widower	81	Carter on Estate	Born Baschurch

Address:  Penny Rush, Weston Lullingfields

Thomas Edwards	Head	Married	32	Cowman on farm	Born Baschurch
Charlotte Edwards	Wife	Married	31		Born Cockshutt
Elizabeth Edwards	Daughter		8	School	Born Baschurch
William T Edwards	Son		5	School	Born Baschurch
Louisa J Paddock	Nursechild		2		Born Baschurch
Elizabeth Noneley	Visitor	Widow	47		Born Cockshutt

Address:  13 Baschurch, Baschurch

Elizabeth Noneley

Head

Single

43

At home

Born Baschurch

Address:  Weston Lullingfields

Job Noneley	Head	Single	44	Waggoner Farm	Born Baschurch
John Noneley	Brother	Single	48	Labourer Builders	Born Ruyton-11-Towns

Address:  Warren’s Yard, 44 Shropshire Street, Drayton-in-Hales, Market Drayton

Sarah Noneley

Head

Single

73

None

Born Yeaton

It is difficult to decide who the lady in the photograph is from the census as the date of the photograph is unknown.  The only clues are the gas mask (issued from 1916 onwards) and the note that the cottage was demolished in the 1930s.  Maybe the 1921 census will reveal more when it is published.

If anyone knows anything more – such as the whereabouts of the cottage or more about the family – I would be interested to know.

Sue Pugh

14.8.14

Churchyard Conundrum part 2

`Second thoughts on churchyards`

by Alan Smith

A solitary country walk is not only a good way of keeping fit and healthy but provides the opportunity to think. That is what I was doing the day after I submitted my, 'Is Anybody There?', contribution about the two puzzling churchyards on the parish boundary

Looking across to that location and the Cliffe above provided me with the clues to what I believe to be the answer.

Whereas we spell 'churchyard' as one word, and link it to burials, in the Craven Estate record of 1771 it is spelt as Church Yard. As the meaning of 'Yard' is simply 'a plot of land' Church Yard is just a plot of land that belongs to the church'. No burials.

The two 'Church Yard' plots of land on the parish boundary, at the end of Startlewood Lane, make sense when one views the extensive quarrying that took place on the Cliffe.

Those plots, I suggest, could have been stone mason's yards where sandstone would have been fashioned into blocks.

As Elizabeth I had appropriated Ruyton's church lands in 1559 and sold them to Sir Thomas Hanmer, the plots in question, and glebe lands must have been acquired by the Church at a later date. While it is therefore not possible to link the plots to the building of the church tower in the early1400s or the construction of the original north aisle in the mid14c, stone masons yards within the parish would have been very useful when the north aisle had to be rebuilt in 1845.

If stone masons yards three quarters of a mile from the church seem impractical consider this: Because of weight, it would have been impractical to convey raw sandstone from the Cliffe to a stone mason's yard near the church. Blocks cut to size and dressed at the 'Church Yard' locations, ready for building, would have require far fewer journeys, and the journeys wouldn't have been that difficult.

Until it reaches Ivy Cottage, the lane that runs below the Cliffe is reasonably flat. While there is a fair drop down from the lane to the location in question I understand that, within living memory, a spur with a gentle gradient ran down to the fields at Ivy Cottage. It would not therefore have been that difficult to get a wagon of sandstone up to the level lane.

From there, down to the Little Ness road it's a gentle slope and, once that road is reached, it’s pretty well down hill all the way until the road ends, just by the church's lych gate – where the sandstone blocks would have been required.

Alternatively, the 'Yards' might simply have been set aside for communal use by the parishioners who farmed the fields.

Churchyard Conundrum

'Is there anybody there?'

By Alan Smith

Why would a parish church wish to have a churchyard located three quarters of a mile from the church, exactly on the parish boundary? This is a question that has been nagging me since I carefully examined an estate map of Ruyton XI Towns, dated 1771.

The map, which is contained in a book of land ownership and valuation, was commissioned by the Sixth Baron Craven. He was the son of a Shropshire clergyman, who, in 1769, inherited that title, and all the land that went with it, from his childless uncle.

While no doubt the Sixth Baron's main interest was to find out how much he was worth, to the historian it provides a wealth of information on land ownership, land rented, and from whom, acreage, (in acres roods and perches), land values and rents.  This brings us back to the puzzling churchyard.

At the time in question, the, 'Church', owned 18.5% of Ruyton's land. This was known as 'Glebe', (the name still crops up in field and place names). In addition to this, three numbered plots are listed as, 'Church Yard'. While the first plot was, as one would expect, by the church of St. John the Baptist, the other two were either side at the very end of Startlewood Lane.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary gives, 'churchyard' as: 'the enclosed ground around a church, esp. as used for burials'. Clearly, when this land was acquired, it was intended for use other than to provide an income for the vicar. Could that use have been for burials? The disposing of felons or suicides comes to mind but it is unlikely the small village of Ruyton XI Towns have so many throughout its whole history to warrant so much allocation of land. Can you provide a rational explanation? If so we would like to hear from you.

RAY `WILLPOWER` WILLIAMS

Ray Williams started this whole project by lending me the photograph of Maud Fox and Miss Philips at the top of Woodview Lane.  Ray grew up with his parents and brothers, Bill and Tom, at World`s End Cottages. Their father, and then Ray, worked for Jim Slater, at the Broadlands Farm between Ruyton and Baschurch. In due course Ray went to work for John Gittins, Hall Farm, Ruyton XI Towns.

Ray seems to have been an unusual young man, and rather than spend his time playing football and drinking in Ruyton`s three pubs, he trained his body to perform formidable feats of strength which he demonstrated to his workmates on the farm.

Then, he started to perform in the local pubs and at village fetes to raise money for charity.   In 1971 he aimed to beat the world record for eating cheese, supplied by Ruyton dairy, but had to give up after 14 ounces!   One evening he put away 8 portions of fish and chips, supplied by Roy Penton`s fish and chip van.   At this time Ray`s chosen charity was for the blind, both his brothers lost their sight.

In 1974 Ray entered a talent contest in Chirk and from then on, he just kept on inventing new stunts, such as pulling a bus with a rope held in his teeth, and pulling a Land Rover the same way - for 26 miles!  One of his more dangerous `tricks` was balancing two sledgehammers on his teeth and he would ask a big strong man to swing a sledge at his stomach to show the strength of his muscles.  Perhaps his strangest stunt was to push a pea with his nose round and round Pride Hill Centre.

Unfortunately, Ray was somewhat lacking in charisma and never had a manager who could organise the publicity he deserved.  In 1980 he joined the circus and toured Cornwall for the summer.

He obviously had very happy memories of his childhood at World`s End, perhaps he was a particular favourite of childless Jim and Maud Fox.  When Jim and Maud left Rose Cottage and moved to a bungalow at Birch Grove, Ray would visit them and that is when he met their niece, Edna, who was already suffering from Multiple Sclerosis and in a wheelchair.  Ray and Edna, were by then in their 40s but they fell in love and were married in 1984.

Edna was the making of Ray, at last he had found someone who needed him, someone with whom he could share his life. Although Edna`s illness got progressively worse, for 23 years, Ray, Edna and the wheelchair got dressed up for their annual performance in the annual Shifnal Carnival.

Ray walked 1000 miles in 30 days round the roads of Shifnal pushing Edna in her wheelchair and in 2002 he ran the London Marathon in his wellies.  He took 12 hours to complete a tri-marathon when he ran, cycled and walked 26 miles. Ray was often seen speed walking round Ruyton, walking faster than some of the modern joggers!

Every year as Edna got more and more frail, Ray attended to her every need and of course, he was able to lift her wherever she needed to be.   He really never recovered after he lost her, when he became ill himself he used to say he could cope with his prostate cancer but not with the sciatica, perhaps induced by the stresses he put on his body over so many years.

Ray Williams, Ruyton`s `Willpower` Strongman, went to join Edna on 26 July 1015 - Ruyton`s only celebrity.

`The Man with the Iron Jaw` pulling a bus along Southport Promenade.

Ray performing one his amazing acts of strength, with his `glamorous assistant Miranda Brown, at a Ruyton Carnival