SCHOOLS
The history of Chigwell School, founded in 1629
by Samuel Harsnett, Archbishop of York,
was described in an earlier volume of this
History. (fn. 23) It is now an independent
public school. A new dining-hall and workshop building was opened in 1910; (fn. 24) a memorial chapel was
added in 1924; (fn. 25) an assembly hall was built to mark
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 1 mistress. (fn. 26) Buckhurst Hill
County High School for boys was opened in 1938. In
1953 there were 549 boys under the headmaster and
19 assistant masters. (fn. 27)
In 1711 there was a Charity School at Chigwell
attended by 10 poor girls who also received caps, bands,
and aprons from a private benefactor. (fn. 28) In 1713 the
school was receiving £16 a year from subscriptions and
a girl had recently been put out as an apprentice. (fn. 29)
There were still only 10 pupils in about 1768, when
the school was supported mainly by the collection at an
annual sermon. (fn. 30) By the early 19th century, however,
'the Charity School' (presumably the same) was
attended by 72 girls. (fn. 31) It was then endowed with £132
Stock and was called the Blue School because a dozen
or more children received a blue uniform. (fn. 32)
In 1818 the Blue School was united with a School
of Industry for girls, founded in 1815. The latter had
been supported by subscriptions, charity sermons, and
by the proceeds of the pupils' work, which amounted
to £7 in 1815-16 and £16 in 1817-18. It was held
in a house which in 1815-16 was rented for £9 a year,
and its mistress was paid £14 14s. in 1815-16 and
£27 6s. in 1817-18. 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 punished 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. (fn. 33)
Until about 1838 the number of pupils seems to
have remained constant at about 45. (fn. 34) After 1818 the
salary of the mistress rose to £30 together with 10
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. (fn. 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. (fn. 36) The committee realized £202 from the sale
of endowments, collected £173, and received £55 from
the government, £25 from the National Society and
£10 from the Diocesan Board. (fn. 37) The new schoolroom
was built opposite the grammar school. (fn. 38) It was
opened as a National School in 1838. (fn. 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 (fn. 40) and in
1852 another inspector reported that the curriculum
was limited and that the teaching methods were those
of the early monitorial system. (fn. 41) The school also had
a bad reputation locally at this time. In 1848 the
retiring Vicar of Chigwell described it as very inefficient . . . '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 2½ miles to a British
and Foreign [i.e. Dissenting] school at Chigwell
Row'. (fn. 42)
In 1875 the school appears to have received its first
annual grant from the government. The average
attendance was then only 47. (fn. 43) The population of the
parish was increasing rapidly, however, and attendance
rose to 75 in 1886 and 114 in 1902. (fn. 44) The annual
grant rose from £28 in 1875 to £54 in 1886 and £119
in 1902. (fn. 45) In 1904 there were 155 children under 3
teachers and a monitor, and the average attendance
was 131. (fn. 46) In order to provide for the increased number of pupils the school was enlarged in 1891 to accommodate 200. (fn. 47) Under the 1902 Education Act it
passed under the administration of the Essex Education Committee, Epping District, as a non-provided
school. The average attendance fell to 101 in 1915 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 controlled status. In 1948 it was reorganized for junior
girls and infants and in 1950 it was closed in accordance
with the County Development Plan. (fn. 48) The building
is opposite the grammar school. It is single-storied, of
red brick with a tiled roof.
In 1807 there was a Church of England Sunday
school in Chigwell, apparently for boys and girls. (fn. 49) 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. (fn. 50) 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 provided the necessary facilities. (fn. 51) The English School
was sometimes called the National School. (fn. 52) In or
shortly before 1881 the English School was discontinued. 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 1871: 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. (fn. 53) The protest was forwarded to
the Commission and appears to have been successful
at least as to the building, for in 1886 the English
School was stated to be under the supervision of the
school board. (fn. 54) It was handed back to the grammar
school in 1898. (fn. 55)
In 1886, however, the school board completed the
building of a new boys' school in Chigwell village, on
a site to the east of the High Road, at a total cost of
£2,893. (fn. 56) There was accommodation for 153 boys.
The average attendance rose from 55 in 1886 to 105
in 1902 and the annual grant from £32 to £121. (fn. 57)
By the Education Act of 1902 the school passed under
the administration of the Essex Education Committee,
Epping District. In 1904 there were 128 boys under
4 teachers. (fn. 58) Numbers fell to 85 boys in 1930. (fn. 59)
When St. Mary's School was closed in 1950 the County
School was reorganized for mixed juniors and infants
and in May 1952 there were 199 children on the roll
and 6 teachers. (fn. 60)
In 1831 the nonconformists in Chigwell Row set
up a day school at which in 1833 there were some 50
pupils who paid a fee of 2d. a week. (fn. 61) In 1839 its supporters built a permanent schoolroom near Miller's
Lane. The government made a building grant of £80
and the school was completed in 1844. The trust deed
stated that the purpose of the school was to educate the
poor according to the principles of the British Schools
Society. (fn. 62) During its early years the school gained some
pupils at the expense of the National School for Girls
at Chigwell, which was unpopular among the small
tradesmen of that village. (fn. 63) In spite of this it encountered difficulties and in 1857 seems to have been
closed. In May 1858 it was reopened with the help of
the Essex Congregational Union: there were then over
70 pupils. (fn. 64) But difficulties continued. (fn. 65)
In 1871 a school board of 5 members was set up for
the parish of Chigwell. (fn. 66) In 1873 the supporters of
the British School transferred their building to the
board, retaining their right to use it for religious purposes. (fn. 67) There were then some 52 children in attendance. (fn. 68) In 1885 the school was rebuilt, after a fire, to
accommodate some 165 children. (fn. 69)
Average attendance rose from 86 in 1886 to 104 in
1902 and the annual grant from £71 to £101. (fn. 70) By
the Education Act of 1902 the school passed under the
administration of the Essex Education Committee,
Epping District, as a provided school. It was reorganized for girls and infants, the accommodation
being estimated in 1911 at 90 places for girls and 60
for infants. The average attendance was 88 in 1910,
72 in 1929, and 56 in 1938. In 1948 it was reorganized for junior girls and infants, the seniors being
transferred to Grange Hill Temporary Secondary
School. (fn. 71) In May 1952 there were 93 pupils and 3
teachers. (fn. 72) The increase was due to the building of
the Hainault estate. The school is on the north of
Lambourne Road near the Lambourne boundary. It is
single-storied, of red brick with a tiled roof and has a
teacher's house attached.
By 1845 there was a National School at Chigwell
Row. (fn. 73) It was apparently held in a cottage. In 1852
local Churchmen raised £190 or more towards the
cost of a permanent schoolroom. The government gave
£70, the National Society £25, and the owner of the
site gave the land. The building was finished in 1853. (fn. 74)
It was used as an infant school in connexion with the
National School at Chigwell. (fn. 75) It still existed in 1874
but it was discontinued shortly after, presumably because of the establishment of the new board school. (fn. 76)
The building was subsequently used for parochial purposes, and was known as All Saints Schoolroom. (fn. 77) It
is of red-brick and stands on the north side of Lambourne Road near All Saints Church.
St. John's National School, Buckhurst Hill, was
built in 1838 by local Churchmen. The lord of the
manor gave a site next to the church and the National
Society contributed £35. The building cost £209,
most of which was defrayed by local subscribers. (fn. 78) By
1840 there were about 50 pupils, nominated by subscribers. Parents paid 2d. a week for the first and 1d.
each for other children. (fn. 79) In 1846 there were 43
children under a mistress who was paid £45 a year and
3 monitresses. (fn. 80) In 1866 the Charity Commissioners
authorized a new scheme of management which gave
control of religious teaching to the minister (later the
Rector of Buckhurst Hill) and the management to the
Vicar of Chigwell, the minister, and 6 representatives
of the subscribers. (fn. 81) In 1869 Edward North Buxton
gave additional premises in Albert Road. These were
used for an infants' school. (fn. 82)
The district of the Chigwell school board, founded
in 1871, included Buckhurst Hill, and a board school
(see below) was promptly built there. The National
School maintained its voluntary character and continued
to use the building next to the church. The managers,
however, let the Albert Road infants' school to the
board at a nominal rent, retaining the right to use the
building on Sunday and two week-nights. (fn. 83) The
average attendance at the National School rose from 71
in 1872 to 158 in 1886, and the annual grant from £48
to £140. (fn. 84) By 1882 or earlier the school had ceased to
take boys, but in spite of this the rapid increase necessitated its enlargement and this was carried out in
1887. (fn. 85) The average attendance continued to rise: in
1899 there were 237 girls and 88 infants. (fn. 86) In 1904
there was official accommodation for 394, but there
were 403 children on the roll, under 11 teachers and
3 monitresses. (fn. 87) By the Education Act of 1902 the
school passed under the administration of the Essex
Education Committee, Epping District, as a nonprovided school. The average attendance fell to 298
in 1914 and 225 in 1930. In 1938 it was reorganized
for junior girls and infants. (fn. 88) In May 1952 there
were 326 children and 11 teachers. (fn. 89) The school was
given controlled status in 1951. (fn. 90)
The school board for Chigwell parish was at first
strongly opposed locally and in 1872 a petition for its
removal was sent to the government. (fn. 91) This failed,
but with other protests it may have caused the board
to drop its plan to build a school to replace the National
School at Buckhurst Hill. In 1872 the Board built a
school in Princes Road and accepted the use of the
infant department of the National School (see above),
paying only a nominal rent but accepting responsibility
for repairs. (fn. 92) The board school at first accepted both
boys and girls, but from about 1886 it took only boys,
the girls attending the National School. (fn. 93) Attendance
at the board school rose from an average of 139 in 1873
to 246 in 1886 and the annual grant from £95 to
£236. (fn. 94) In 1884 the infants' school was enlarged to
about 164 places and in 1894 the boys' school to about
362 places. (fn. 95) By the Education Act of 1902 the schools
passed under the administration of the Essex Education Committee, Epping District. In 1904 there were
290 boys on the roll, under 9 teachers, of whom 2 were
certificated, and 153 infants under 5 teachers, 1 of
whom was certificated. (fn. 96) Attendance declined to 229
boys and 91 infants in 1938, when the schools were
reorganized for junior boys and infants, and in 1940
the boys' and infants' departments were amalgamated
in a single establishment. (fn. 97) In May 1952 there were
326 children, under 13 teachers. (fn. 98) The building in
Princes Road is single-storied, of yellow brick with a
slate roof. Attached is a teacher's house of similar construction.
Owing to the building of the large London County
Council housing estate at Hainault the Essex County
Council has since 1945 been carrying out a programme
of school development in this area which was still
incomplete in 1952-3. The following schools were
established during this period. (fn. 99)
The Grange County Secondary Modern School
(mixed), Manford Way, was opened in September
1950. In May 1952 it had 421 pupils and 24 teachers.
Manford Way County Primary School was opened
in November 1948. In May 1952 the junior school
had 468 pupils and 12 teachers and the infants' school
had 320 pupils and 9 teachers.
The Coppice County Primary School, Manford
Way, opened an infants' department in September
1952 and in the following November had 213 pupils.
The junior department was to be opened in 1953.
Grange Hill County Primary School, Woodman
Path, is a temporary school, opened in February 1948
with accommodation for 240 juniors and 160 infants.
In September 1950 there was accommodation for 760
children. In May 1952 there were 888 pupils at the
school.
A branch of St. Anthony's Roman Catholic School
was established at Woodman Path in September 1952,
and in November 1952 had 344 pupils. This and all
the above primary schools are for mixed juniors and
infants.
There have also been a number of private schools in
the parish of Chigwell. In 1588 John Cambes of
Chigwell was presented before the Archdeacon of
Essex for 'that he teacheth a scoole'. (fn. 1) In 1795 a Mrs.
King advertised the opening of a school in Chigwell
for young ladies. (fn. 2) In 1810 there was a boarding
academy for young gentlemen at Chigwell under the
supervision of John Ray, the fee being 30 guineas a
year. (fn. 3) Ray died in 1816, when the school apparently
closed. (fn. 4)
About 1824 F. C. L. Klingender opened a school at
Buckhurst Hill House, (fn. 5) held on lease. By 1831 he
had raised mortgages totalling £1,000 on the property (fn. 6)
and in 1833 he offered the premises for sale at £1,690,
asking nothing for any goodwill attached to the school. (fn. 7)
He was adjudged bankrupt in 1834. (fn. 8) Francis Worral
Stevens, who had been a master at Bruce Grove,
Tottenham (Mdx.), under Rowland Hill, took over
the school and continued it until 1848. (fn. 9) The house
was then empty for a year but the school was reopened
in 1851 by Thomas Bickerdike who in that year had
an assistant master and 15 boarders between 9 and 14
years of age. (fn. 10) Bickerdike left Buckhurst Hill in
1853 and the house was not afterwards used as a
school. (fn. 11)
Between 1850 and 1859 there was a school near
Broomhill run by Mary Moss. (fn. 12) In 1851 she had 15
boarders of both sexes between 3 and 10 years of age. (fn. 13)
Miss Howell and Miss Lake had a girls' day school in
the High Road from 1848. (fn. 14) In 1854 they moved into
part of the premises of Harsnett's Grammar School
and remained there until 1865. (fn. 15)
Hannah Hurren had a day and boarding school at
Chigwell Row from 1848 to 1850. (fn. 16) From 1856 to
1869 the Revd. William Earle, M.A., had a boys'
school at Grange Court in Chigwell village. (fn. 17) In 1878
the Misses Ann and Catherine Howell had a private
school at Broomhill, the Revd. W. L. Wilson a collegiate school at Oakhurst in Horn Lane and there
were five private schools at Buckhurst Hill. (fn. 18) Oakhurst
later became a school and home for destitute Armenian
boys under the Revd. G. Thoumaian. (fn. 19) From the late
19th century the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus
and Mary have kept a school at the Manor House in
High Road, near Woodford Bridge. (fn. 20) In 1950 there
were also two private schools at Buckhurst Hill. (fn. 21)