EDUCATION.

A school board for Walthamstow was formed compulsorily in 1880 (fn. 1) and was ordered by the Education Department to provide accommodation for an additional 950 children. A census taken in 1877 had shown that there were 2,665 children aged 5–13 in the parish; of those 2,175 were on the books of elementary schools and 370 at private schools. (fn. 2) In 1880 there were 5 Anglican schools, 5 run by Protestant nonconformists, and 3, including an orphanage and an industrial school, by Roman Catholics. The Ozler school in Leyton, opened 1710, provided places for children from Walthamstow although by 1877 Walthamstow was not using the school. (fn. 3) Woodford Green National schools in Sunset Avenue probably provided places for Walthamstow children too. (fn. 4) The school board offered to take over existing schools but only the nonconformist schools accepted. By 1903 the board had built 13 permanent and 2 temporary schools, providing 16,150 places. It had established two special schools, a part-time pupil teacher centre, and six evening continuation centres. Three more schools planned by the board were completed by the Walthamstow education committee in 1904–6. Two of the National schools had closed by 1903. (fn. 5) The Monoux school, founded as a charity school in 1527, had been reorganized in new premises (fn. 6) and was providing secondary education for boys. An Art school had been founded by Walthamstow Literary Institute, a technical institute and secondary day-school by Walthamstow urban district council, and a girls high school by private subscription.

Under the Education Act, 1902, Essex county council became responsible for secondary education, and Walthamstow U.D.C., as a 'Part III Authority', for elementary education. In addition to the schools planned by the school board, the U.D.C. built between 1907 and 1929 a higher elementary school, four other elementary schools, and a nursery school, one of the earliest in the country. Reorganization based on the Hadow Report was completed in 1929. Between 1930 and 1940 the borough council built two infants schools, a special school, and a senior school. Two new Roman Catholic schools for juniors and infants had been built in 1930–1. At that time three Anglican schools remained.

A report in 1906 showed the weakness of public secondary education in Walthamstow. (fn. 7) It recommended amalgamation of the Monoux school and the boys secondary school at the technical institute, adoption by the county of the girls high school and the art school, the continuance of the pupil teacher centre, and establishment of a higher elementary school. By 1916 the recommendations had been adopted, except those on the art school, which closed in 1915, and the pupil teacher centre, which was not recognized by the Board of Education in 1906 and closed in 1909. (fn. 8) A trade and engineering school for boys (1917) and a girls commercial school (1919), both founded by the county council, were absorbed by the South-West Essex technical college opened in Forest Road in 1938. (fn. 9) An adult education settlement was founded by the Society of Friends in 1921. (fn. 10)

The wartime evacuation of school children, 1939–44, closed some schools temporarily. (fn. 11) Under the Education Act, 1944, the borough became an Excepted District within the county's system of divisional administration. Reorganization in 1945–6 removed many senior departments, as secondary modern schools, from buildings they had shared with juniors and infants. In 1957 many of the schools were renamed, usually by dropping words such as 'street' from original names. Three new secondary schools, an infants school, and a junior school were built in 1957–64. (fn. 12)

Elementary schools founded before 1880.

St. Mary's National school, Church End, was built in 1819 to replace the girls Blue school, which since 1782 had been conducted by the vestry in association with the Monoux school foundations. The new school appears also to have absorbed the children from a Church Sunday school, a workhouse school, and a Church infants school, (fn. 13) and probably also Miss Russell's school. These, and one other earlier school, are described in the following paragraphs before the main account of St. Mary's school.

The Blue school originated as the school maintained by the Monoux and Maynard foundations. (fn. 14) When the parish took over the Monoux charity in 1782 the school was reorganized; the number of boys was increased to 30 and 20 girls were admitted. The parish augmented the endowments and also employed the girls' mistress. By 1807 the name Blue school had been adopted from the uniforms originally provided by Joel Johnson. (fn. 15) In 1815 the number of girls was increased to 30. The room used by the Sunday school was enlarged to accommodate them, and the monitorial system of teaching was adopted. In 1818 30 boys and 30 girls were being taught and clothed. (fn. 16) After the girls school was absorbed by St. Mary's National school in 1819, the boys school continued separately as the Monoux school. (fn. 17) It seems likely that a good many of the boys transferred to the National school.

A Church Sunday school, supported by subscription and called the Brown school, was founded in 1789. (fn. 18) By 1807 the average attendance was 66. (fn. 19) In 1818, when the school received its first payment of £5 from Mary Newell's charity, over 100 children were taught and clothed. The poorer classes were invited to attend and were admitted to day schools when vacancies occurred. (fn. 20) Some children were awarded places at the Blue school and Miss Russell's school. (fn. 21)

The workhouse school is first recorded in 1741, when the parish was employing an 80-year-old widow to teach sewing and reading. (fn. 22) A school-mistress was paid weekly in 1776. In 1777 the workhouse rules provided for regular instruction. (fn. 23) In 1807 there were ten children in the school. (fn. 24)

A Church infants school, with 30 children, existed in 1796. (fn. 25) This was probably the school conducted for many years by William Sparrow, curate of St. Mary's 1777–1816, and supported by collections at the sacrament with occasional aid from the vestry. It still existed in 1818. (fn. 26)

Lady Wigram was maintaining a charity school in 1807 for 12 children, but it seems to have closed by 1818. (fn. 27)

From 1815 or earlier 50 girls were clothed and educated in the principles of the Established Church by Miss Russell. Her school still existed in 1818. (fn. 28)

St. Mary's National school, for 200 boys and girls, with teachers' houses attached, was built in 1819 in Vestry Road opposite the present Vestry House museum. (fn. 29) It was enlarged in 1825, (fn. 30) and by 1830 attendance was over 460. (fn. 31) A rapid decline in the following years was probably due in part to the foundation of other church schools in Walthamstow. In 1847 there were only 143 children in the school, (fn. 32) but attendance later increased and educational standards improved. (fn. 33) The school was again enlarged in 1855. (fn. 34) In 1866 the boys were transferred to a new building in Orford Road. The girls remained in the Vestry Road building, which was further enlarged in 1880. (fn. 35) In 1890 the two departments provided places for 1,062 and the average attendance was 633. From 1866–7 the school received a government grant. (fn. 36) In 1904 the boys returned to Vestry Road and the girls took their place in Orford Road. The boys school was closed in 1906 and the Vestry Road building was sold in 1920, (fn. 37) but still survived in 1970 as the National Spiritualist church. (fn. 38) It is a structure of yellow brick with sash windows, probably owing much of its present form to the enlargement of 1825. A single-storeyed central block, perhaps the original school, is flanked by two-storeyed side wings. In the centre, at eaves level, is an inscribed stone of 1819 with a raked top; it was probably reset in this position in 1825 when a second inscription was added. The girls school in Orford Road was closed in 1949. In 1970 its buildings, of brown brick with red and blue dressings and Gothic features, were part of Connaught hospital. (fn. 39)

Marsh Street British school. In 1789 dissenters established a school in Marsh Street New Meeting chapel yard, after the master of the Monoux school had spoken abusively of them when chastising a pupil who attended the chapel. (fn. 40) It was planned for both sexes, but in 1807 there were twelve girls and in 1818 twenty girls only in the school. (fn. 41) From their green dresses it was known as the Green school. (fn. 42) In 1839 a new British school for boys and girls was built behind the chapel at a cost of about £400. (fn. 43) This school absorbed the Green school and also a small British school which had previously been meeting at Wood Street Independent church. (fn. 44) It was at first supported chiefly by subscriptions and chapel collections, but by 1877 it was receiving an annual government grant. (fn. 45) In 1863 there were 180 pupils. (fn. 46) In 1872 a new building providing 173 additional places was opened in Marsh Street, opposite Buxton Road. Miss Hall contributed £1,000 towards the cost. (fn. 47) In 1881 the school was transferred to the school board. In 1884 a new building was erected for 540 boys in Marsh Street near Willow Walk. (fn. 48) The girls and infants remained in the older buildings until they were closed in 1908. The boys school was closed in 1932. (fn. 49)

The Grey school of industry was listed in 1807 as a dissenting school with 19 children. It was said to have been founded and to be supported by Mrs. Solly, (fn. 50) and thus seems likely to have been associated with the Marsh Street Old Meeting. (fn. 51) It still existed in 1818. (fn. 52)

St. Mary's infants school, Church End, was founded in 1824 in a barn by the vicar, William Wilson. (fn. 53) He was encouraged by Samuel Wilderspin (1792?–1866), who conducted his brother Joseph Wilson's school at Spitalfields on the principles of Robert Owen. William Wilson became an advocate of infant education and his school quickly won a reputation at least equal to that of Wilderspin's. (fn. 54) In 1828 a school was built in the churchyard for 150 children between 2 and 7 years of age. (fn. 55) Wilson followed closely Wilderspin's methods, stressing the value of 'instruction by amusement' and exhorting teachers to have an affectionate regard for the children. The school was a preparatory school for poor children, who went on to St. Mary's National school. (fn. 56) The foundation of other infants schools in the parish may have contributed to the decline in attendance, to 76 in 1847, but by 1882 140 children attended and the school was known as the Central infants chool. (fn. 57) It became a voluntary Controlled school in 1951. (fn. 58) The building of 1828, standing west of the church, has a dignified 5-bay front of yellow brick. The three central bays, which contain the entrance porch and tall round-headed windows, project slightly under a raked parapet. The flanking bays, of which one has been altered, were both originally two-storeyed, the lower windows being set in arched recesses. (fn. 59) In 1928 the building was restored and later extended. (fn. 60)

St. Peter's National school, Woodford New Road, existed by 1846–7 when there were 50 pupils. (fn. 61) By 1872 it was receiving an annual government grant. (fn. 62) In 1889 the octagonal school building in the churchyard was enlarged for 190 children, but it had closed by 1903 and was demolished in 1958. (fn. 63)

Hale End National infants school existed in 1840, and may have been the infants school established in 1835. (fn. 64) In 1846–7 there were 44 pupils. (fn. 65) The school still existed in 1863, but seems to have closed by 1867. (fn. 66)

St. John's National school, Chapel End, was built in 1835, on the south side of the new St. John's church, with the aid of a government grant and local subscriptions. It was intended as a Sunday school but by 1838, if not before, it seems to have become a day-school for boys and girls who paid a penny a week. (fn. 67) In 1847 there were 50 children. (fn. 68) The school was receiving an annual government grant by 1866. (fn. 69) It was closed about 1884, but from 1886 to 1903 the buildings were rented by the school board for use as a temporary infants school. (fn. 70)

St. Saviour's junior and infants school, Markhouse Road, originated in 1842 when St. James's National school was built on the north side of St. James's church. (fn. 71) In 1847 there were 27 boys and 34 girls at the school. Junior boys were transferred to St. Mary's National school at about 9 years of age. (fn. 72) A new school was built in 1874 in Markhouse Lane (later Road) by public subscription; by the end of that year the attendance was 250. The old building in St. James Street was used as a church hall until it was demolished in 1902. In 1889 a school for 250 boys was built next to St. Saviour's church; the girls and infants remained in the school built in 1874. In 1875 St. Saviour's became the parish church of St. James's parish, and from that time the school in the two buildings in Markhouse Lane was known as St. Saviour's school. (fn. 73) Average attendance rose from 452 in 1890–1 to 769 in 1908, but fell to 615 in 1914. (fn. 74) The school, temporarily closed during the Second World War, was reorganized in 1945 for infants (in the 1874 building) and mixed juniors. (fn. 75) In 1954 it was granted Aided status. (fn. 76) In 1962 the 1874 building was closed; the infants and junior departments were combined in the building next to St. Saviour's church, which was modernized for the purpose. (fn. 77)

Shernhall Street British school was connected with Wood Street Congregational chapel. An earlier school attached to that chapel had been merged in the Marsh Street British school. (fn. 78) The lecture room which replaced the first chapel in 1845 may have been used as a day school in the 1860s when the building of a new school was being planned. (fn. 79) By 1868 Wood Street British school was receiving an annual government grant. (fn. 80) In 1872 a new building for 72 infants and 108 boys and girls was erected in Shernhall Street; it was still called Wood Street school in 1880. (fn. 81) The boys were dismissed at the end of 1876, and the school reopened for girls only. (fn. 82) In 1880 it was transferred to the school board which enlarged it. (fn. 83) It seems to have closed by 1906 when the building was in use as a special school. (fn. 84)

St. George's Roman Catholic school was founded in 1850, (fn. 85) with aid from the Catholic Poor School Committee, (fn. 86) in Raglan Road, formerly Shernhall Place. In 1887 the attendance was 51. (fn. 87) From 1898 until 1904 the school was run by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. In 1903 there were 160 children aged 4 to 14 in one undivided building. In 1908 the school was modernized and enlarged. In 1921 two rooms for 70 infants were built next to St. George's church hall. After St. Mary's junior and infants school opened in 1931, (fn. 88) the elder children from St. Mary's orphanage and Wiseman House hostel (fn. 89) attended St. George's which became a senior school. In 1938 St. George's moved to Wiseman House. (fn. 90)

Miss Barclay's school. In 1858 Miss Barclay of Leyton built and maintained a school for girls off Chestnut Walk in the present Western Road. It was a brick building with a small gabled porch. (fn. 91) In 1861 it was described as a British school for boys and girls. (fn. 92) It was taken over by the school board, which leased the building 1882–4. During that time it became known as Whipps Cross school. (fn. 93) By 1886 the building was a mission. (fn. 94) It still existed in 1970 as a factory.

Higham Hill junior and infants school, St. Andrew's Road. A British school existed at Higham Hill in 1870 in a building belonging to the Society of Friends. (fn. 95) It was already overcrowded when the school was taken over by the school board in 1880. (fn. 96) A new school, the first to be built by the board, was opened in St. Andrew's Road for 1,102 children in 1883, and enlarged in 1902. (fn. 97) The boys department was closed and a junior mixed department opened in 1911. (fn. 98) In 1946 the school was reorganized for junior mixed and infants. (fn. 99)

Boundary Road infants school. There was an infants school in Boundary Road in 1878; it may have been connected with the Baptist congregation who built an iron hall in Boundary Road in 1875. (fn. 100) The school was taken over by the school board in 1880 (fn. 101) and seems to have closed by 1886. (fn. 102)

Elementary schools founded between 1880 and 1903.

All schools in this section, unless otherwise stated, were opened by the Walthamstow school board.

Thomas Gamuel junior mixed and infants school. Gamuel Road board school was opened in 1883 for girls and infants. A boys department was added in 1887. (fn. 103) In 1946 the school was reorganized for juniors and infants. (fn. 104)

Henry Maynard junior mixed and infants school, Maynard Road. Maynard Road board school opened in 1884; an infants department was added in 1885. (fn. 105) By 1903 the school had been enlarged and in 1912 had places for 1,494. (fn. 106) It was reorganized in 1929 for juniors and infants. (fn. 107)

Pretoria Avenue board school opened in 1888 and had been enlarged by 1903. (fn. 108) It was reorganized for junior boys, junior girls, and infants in 1928, and for junior mixed and infants in 1935. (fn. 109) The infants department closed in 1936 and the rest of the school in 1938. (fn. 110) In 1955 two special schools were moved into the building, (fn. 111) which had been used as a store by the education department. (fn. 112)

Mark House infants school, Markhouse Road. Markhouse Road board school opened in 1891. (fn. 113) The boys and girls departments, burnt down in 1906 and reopened in 1908, were reorganized as a secondary school in 1946. (fn. 114) The infants school closed in 1966. (fn. 115)

Greenleaf infants school, Forest Road. Forest Road board school opened in 1894 and had been enlarged by 1903. (fn. 116) It was reorganized for juniors and infants in 1946. (fn. 117) In 1963 the junior school was closed and its buildings demolished. A new infants building was opened on the site in 1965. (fn. 118)

Coppermill infants school, Edward Road. Coppermill Road board school was opened in 1897. (fn. 119) A junior mixed department was opened in 1910. (fn. 120) The school was reorganized in 1946 for mixed juniors and infants and for infants only in 1963. (fn. 121)

Woodside junior mixed and infants school, Wood Street. Wood Street board school was opened in 1899 with places for 1,466. (fn. 122) A junior mixed department opened in 1901. (fn. 123) The school was reorganized for mixed juniors and infants in 1945. (fn. 124)

Queens Road board school opened in 1900 with accommodation for 1,434. (fn. 125) In 1920 a central school, later George Gascoigne school, was formed from the boys and girls departments. (fn. 126) The infants department closed in 1936. (fn. 127)

Blackhorse infants school, Clifton Avenue and Tavistock Avenue. Blackhorse Road board school was built in 1901. (fn. 128) It was reorganized in 1945 for juniors and infants (fn. 129) and in 1963 for infants only. (fn. 130)

William Morris school, Gainsford Road. Gainsford Road board school, opened in 1902, was renamed William Morris in 1903 because it was built on land adjoining Elm House, where he lived. (fn. 131) In 1906 part of it became a higher elementary school, which was transferred in 1910 to Greenleaf Road. (fn. 132) The remainder was reorganized in 1928 for senior boys, senior girls, and mixed juniors (fn. 133) and closed in 1932. (fn. 134)

Chapel End junior and infants school, Roberts Road and Brookscroft Road. Chapel End board school was built in 1903. (fn. 135) It was reorganized for juniors and infants in 1945. New buildings for 240 infants were completed by 1960. (fn. 136)

Elementary schools founded between 1903 and 1945.

Unless otherwise stated, all schools in this section were built by Walthamstow urban district council. The first three were planned by the school board. (fn. 137)

Selwyn junior and infants school, Selwyn Avenue. Selwyn Avenue council school was opened in 1904. It was enlarged in 1912 and a girls department added. (fn. 138) In 1946 it was reorganized for juniors and infants. (fn. 139)

Joseph Barrett junior and infants school, Warwick Road. Joseph Barrett council school was opened in 1905. (fn. 140) Between 1924 and 1936 it also contained a centre for physically defective children. (fn. 141) In 1946 it was reorganized as a secondary modern school, later renamed Warwick. (fn. 142)

Mission Grove junior and infants school. Mission Grove council school was opened in 1906 for girls and infants. (fn. 143) In 1932 the girls department was reorganized for mixed juniors. (fn. 144) The junior department was taken over by the Ministry of Food in 1939, and reopened in 1946. (fn. 145)

The Winns junior and infants school, Fleeming Road. Winns Avenue council school was opened in 1907 with departments for infants, mixed juniors, and senior girls and boys. (fn. 146) In 1945 it was reorganized for juniors and infants. (fn. 147) Some of the school buildings were occupied in 1945–57 by the younger pupils of the technical school, (fn. 148) and in 1958–62 by William Fitt secondary school. (fn. 149)

Edinburgh junior school, Edinburgh Road, was opened in 1907 as a junior council school. (fn. 150) It was reorganized in 1929 for senior girls, and in 1946 for mixed juniors. (fn. 151)

William Elliott Whittingham (fn. 152) boys council school, Higham Hill Road, opened in 1911. It was reorganized for senior boys in 1929 and closed in 1959. (fn. 153)

Roger Ascham junior and infants school, Billet Road. The junior school was opened in 1929; an infants department was added in 1932. (fn. 154)

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic junior and infants school, Longfield Avenue, was opened in 1930. By 1952 a nursery class was attached to it. (fn. 155) It was granted Aided status in 1952. (fn. 156)

St. Mary's Roman Catholic junior and infants school, Shernhall Street, opened in 1931 in the grounds of St. Mary's orphanage, as a maintained school for resident and parish children. (fn. 157) It was given Aided status in 1951. (fn. 158)

Thorpe Hall infants school, Hale End Road, opened in 1935, (fn. 159) and Sidney Burnell (fn. 160) infants school, Handsworth Avenue, opened in 1940 and enlarged in 1953, (fn. 161) were built by the borough council.

Secondary and senior schools founded before 1945. (fn. 162)

Sir George Monoux (fn. 163) grammar school for boys, Chingford Road. The foundation of this school in 1527 in the Monoux alms-house building next to St. Mary's church and much of its earlier history have been described elsewhere. (fn. 164) The school was reorganized in 1782 as the school which became known as the Blue school. (fn. 165) When the Blue school ceased in 1819 the Monoux school continued to provide free instruction in classical languages, but pupils had to pay for instruction in English subjects. (fn. 166) In 1832 there were only 5 pupils. (fn. 167) In 1866 there were 17, and the school was virtually a private school subsidized by a small endowment. (fn. 168) It closed in 1878, was reorganized under a new scheme in 1884, reopened in 1886 in the Trinity schoolrooms in West Avenue, and moved to new buildings in High Street in 1889. (fn. 169) An inquiry made in 1906 found that, because of lack of funds, some teaching was ineffective, the curriculum was on the wrong lines, and the supply of books and equipment was poor. (fn. 170) In 1916 the school was taken over by the county council and amalgamated with the boys day-school from Grosvenor House technical institute. (fn. 171) Extensive new buildings, of red brick with stone dressings in a simple Tudor style, were opened in Chingford Road in 1927 and enlarged in 1932 and 1961. (fn. 172) The High Street building of 1889 is used by departments of the borough council. (fn. 173)

The Monoux school was established as a separate foundation from the Monoux alms-house charity by a scheme of 1893, amended in 1896. (fn. 174) A succession of schemes from 1895 made financial adjustments between the Walthamstow Parochial Charities trustees and the grammar school foundation. The scheme of 1907 required the trustees to pay to the foundation annually the alms-priest's £6 13s. 4d., £10 in lieu of the old schoolroom and master's house in the churchyard, £21 7s. 3d. from the Inhabitants' Donation, £50 from the surplus of Wise's charity, and 4/19 of the Maynard charity. These contributions were continued by the scheme of 1957. (fn. 175) In addition a scheme of 1920 allowed the sale of the High Street school premises to Essex county council subject to a rent-charge of £150 payable to the foundation. The income provides scholarships and educational grants. (fn. 176)

Walthamstow county high school for girls, Church Hill, was opened as a private school in 1890 by a committee of subscribers. (fn. 177) It met at first in Trinity schoolroom, West Avenue, but moved to Church Hill House a few months later. (fn. 178) In 1906 there were 108 girls and 4 boys at the school; the teaching was 'excellent and cultivated'. (fn. 179) The school was taken over by the county council in 1911, and in 1913 moved to new buildings on the old vicarage glebe. It was enlarged in 1918, 1928–9, and 1962. (fn. 180)

William McGuffie secondary modern school. Greenleaf Road higher elementary school was opened by the urban district council in 1910. It was known as North West central school by 1922. (fn. 181) It was reorganized in 1932 as a senior school for 360 boys and 360 girls (fn. 182) and renamed McGuffie. (fn. 183)

George Gascoigne secondary modern school, Queen's Road. In 1920 the senior departments of Queen's Road elementary school (fn. 184) were reorganized to form a central school, later known as South Walthamstow central school. It was renamed Gascoigne in 1933, (fn. 185) took over the Queen's Road infants building in 1937, (fn. 186) became a mixed school by 1948, and was closed in 1966. (fn. 187)

St. George's Roman Catholic secondary modern school, Shernhall Street, originated in 1921 when a selective central class was provided at St. George's school, Raglan Road. (fn. 188) In 1938 Wiseman House, Shernhall Street, was opened as St. George's senior school for boys and girls. (fn. 189) After the Second World War the managers acquired the adjoining premises of the old Shernhall Street special school (fn. 190) and senior pupils from Wanstead, Woodford, and Leyton were transferred to St. George's. (fn. 191) The school was given Aided status in 1950. (fn. 192) It was enlarged in 1963. (fn. 193)

Sidney Burnell (fn. 194) secondary modern school, Handsworth Avenue, opened as a senior school in 1940 (fn. 195) and was enlarged in 1960. (fn. 196)

Primary schools founded after 1945.

Stoneydown Park junior school, Blackhorse Road, opened in 1963. (fn. 197) St. Helen's Roman Catholic infants school, built behind St. George's church, Shernhall Street, opened in 1968. (fn. 198)

Secondary schools founded after 1945.

Five secondary modern schools were established in 1945–6, in existing elementary school buildings. Chapel End, enlarged in 1961, (fn. 199) Mark House, (fn. 200) and Coppermill (Beaconsfield) (fn. 201) were mixed. Blackhorse Road (Willowfield, Tavistock Avenue) for girls became mixed in 1961; new buildings were completed in 1962. (fn. 202) Joseph Barrett (Warwick) for boys and girls was enlarged in the 1950s. (fn. 203) Mark House was closed in 1966. (fn. 204)

William Fitt (fn. 205) secondary (modern) school, Cazenove Road, opened in 1957 at Winns Avenue. In 1962 it moved to its present site. (fn. 206)

Sidney Chaplin (fn. 207) secondary (modern) school, Folly Lane, opened in 1959. (fn. 208)

Special and nursery schools.

Walthamstow school board was quick to give effect to legislation requiring special education for handicapped children. In 1893 it took a census of blind and deaf children and arranged to send the blind to an institution. (fn. 209) In 1900 it opened a deaf school and in 1903 one for the mentally handicapped. Walthamstow U.D.C. opened a school for the blind in 1918 and one for the physically handicapped in 1924.

William Morris school for the deaf, Hale End Road, opened in 1900 at Queen's Road school. In 1902 it moved to a new building for 20 children at William Morris school, Gainsford Road. (fn. 210) It was combined with Hale End open air school in 1949 and moved to Hale End in 1952. (fn. 211) It was closed in 1969, when Hawkswood school opened at Chingford. (fn. 212)

Margaret Brearley (fn. 213) school for the educationally subnormal, Pretoria Avenue, opened in 1903 in the former Marsh Street schools. (fn. 214) A special centre in Shernhall Street opened for girls in 1906 and for boys in 1909. (fn. 215) The school moved to Hale End open air school in 1940, then in 1955 to Pretoria Avenue, where it was given its present name. (fn. 216)

Joseph Clarke (fn. 217) school for the partially sighted, Pretoria Avenue, was opened in 1918 in Gainsford Road for blind and partially sighted children. In 1940 it moved first to Shernhall Street and then to Hale End open air school. (fn. 218) It moved in 1948 to Wood Street schools (fn. 219) and to Pretoria Avenue in 1954. (fn. 220) The school takes children from outside the borough. (fn. 221)

Brookfield House school for the physically handicapped, Oak Hill, originated in 1924 when a centre at Joseph Barrett school and a residential hospital school at Brookfield orthopaedic hospital were opened. (fn. 222) In 1936 the school moved to new premises at Hale End, and became known as Hale End open air school. (fn. 223) It was renamed Wingfield House in 1957. (fn. 224) In 1964 it was moved to new buildings in the former Brookfield hospital grounds and renamed Brookfield House. (fn. 225)

Low Hall Lane nursery school, opened by the U.D.C. in 1929, is said to have been one of the first in the country. (fn. 226)

Technical education.

In 1891 Walthamstow appointed a technical instruction committee which received grants from the county council and allotted money to the school board and the art school. (fn. 227) By 1906 there were classes at an art school and a technical institute and manual instruction centres at four elementary schools. (fn. 228)

Walthamstow science and art technical school. In 1883 Walthamstow Literary Institute founded a school of art in Trinity schoolroom, West Avenue, which was united to the Science and Art Department, South Kensington. (fn. 229) It moved to Grosvenor House, Hoe Street, in 1892, and to Court House, Hoe Street, in 1900. (fn. 230) In 1906 it had 'vigorous life, a strong artistic tradition, and an excellent record', and was receiving a government grant. (fn. 231) It was taken over by Walthamstow education committee in 1906 (fn. 232) and closed in 1915. (fn. 233)

South West Essex technical college (fn. 234) and McEntee technical school. A technical institute and day-school was founded at Grosvenor House, Hoe Street, in 1897. By 1906 700 students were attending evening classes. (fn. 235) The day-school, which was said in 1906 to be used as a compromise between a higher elementary school and a technical school, (fn. 236) was closed in 1916, the pupils being transferred to the Monoux school and the girls county high school. (fn. 237) The county council opened a junior trade and engineering school for boys at Grosvenor House in 1917, and a commercial and trade school for girls in 1919 at the Chestnuts, also in Hoe Street. (fn. 238) In 1938 the two trade schools became part of the South West Essex technical college which replaced the technical colleges of Walthamstow and Leyton and Leyton school of art. The new college was officially opened in a new building on the north side of Forest Road in 1939. It had been designed in the neo-Georgian style by J. Stuart and at that time was the largest and most monumental public building in Walthamstow. The very long three-storeyed redbrick front has stone dressings and is interrupted at the centre by a Corinthian portico with figure sculpture in the pediment. Classes started in the building in 1938, but because of large enrolments Grosvenor House and the Chestnuts in Hoe Street were reopened by the college in 1939 for evening classes and later housed the overflow from the county technical school as well. After Grosvenor House was burnt down in 1945, the younger pupils of the technical school were moved temporarily to part of Winns Avenue school. (fn. 239) In 1957 the whole technical school moved to new buildings in Billet Road (fn. 240) and was renamed McEntee county technical school. (fn. 241)

William Morris technical school, Gainsford Road, opened in 1933 as a senior school, in the previous elementary school buildings. It was reorganized as a mixed technical school in 1948. (fn. 242)

Private schools.

In 1820 there were about 5 private schools in Walthamstow. The narrow curriculum at the Monoux school at that time led some tradesmen, farmers, and artisans to send their children to private schools. (fn. 243) By 1840 the number of private schools had doubled. (fn. 244) In 1880 370 pupils were attending them. (fn. 245) At their peak, about 1886, 31 schools were listed, including 2 orphanages, but by 1906 about a third of them had closed or left Walthamstow. (fn. 246) The number declined after the First World War. In 1963 there were 4 private schools and a day nursery. (fn. 247)

Robert MacFarlane ran a successful boarding school at Shern Lodge, also called Shernhall House, from c. 1770 until he left Walthamstow c. 1795. Dr. J. W. Niblock ran a private school at Shern Lodge in 1830 which in 1833 moved to the Priory, then called Clay Hill House, in Clay Street (Forest Road), (fn. 248) where it still existed in 1843. (fn. 249) It seems to have closed by 1848. (fn. 250) In 1801 Dr. Eliezer Cogan (fn. 251) founded his academy at Essex Hall where it flourished until his retirement in 1828. (fn. 252) It provided a classical education for the sons of the rich of varied denominations, and several of its pupils became distinguished. (fn. 253) Paradise House academy, Whipps Cross, belonging to Stephen Eardley, had 94 pupils, mostly boys, in 1811. (fn. 254) Fanny Keats attended two schools in Marsh Street, Miss Caley's and Miss Tuckey's, probably from about 1815. (fn. 255) In 1820 John Coe built a school in Wyatt's Lane. (fn. 256) The Revd. J. F. Roberts, headmaster of the Monoux school 1820–36, boarded boys at the Walnuts, Church Lane, and later at the Chestnuts opposite, who attended the Monoux school as his private feepaying pupils. (fn. 257) Mrs. Milford's ladies school, Marsh Street, mentioned in 1822, existed for more than 20 years. (fn. 258)

The early history of the Forest school, founded in 1834 in a house on the edge of the forest in the extreme south-east corner of the parish, is described elsewhere. (fn. 259) It has been much enlarged since 1950. It now has 143 boarders and 331 day pupils between the ages of 8 and 19. (fn. 260)

An undenominational school and home for daughters of missionaries was founded in 1838 by Mrs. Foulger and her friends in Marsh Street. (fn. 261) It was supported by subscription and provided for about 45 pupils. (fn. 262) A school for missionaries' sons, which was added in 1842, moved to Blackheath in 1857 and later to Mottingham (Kent). (fn. 263) The girls school was enlarged in 1866 (fn. 264) and in 1882 moved to Sevenoaks (Kent) as Walthamstow Hall. (fn. 265)

Between 1842 and 1860 Dr. Glennie Greig conducted a preparatory school for 70–80 boys at Walthamstow House, Shernhall Street. (fn. 266) There was a Roman Catholic poor-law school for girls at Walthamstow House in 1882; (fn. 267) it may have been opened as early as 1867. (fn. 268) In 1901 it housed 170 girls and was called St. Mary's Orphanage. (fn. 269) In 1926 it was described as a convent school. (fn. 270) It probably ceased to be a school in 1931, (fn. 271) but is still a convent and children's home. (fn. 272)

Mrs. Sarah Thomas had a preparatory school for girls in Beulah Road in 1870; it had moved by 1890 to Carisbrooke Terrace, Hoe Street, where her husband, the Revd. T. Thomas, had a gentlemen's school, Carisbrooke college, from 1884. (fn. 273) By 1905 he had given up the boys school. (fn. 274) His wife kept the girls school until she retired in 1911. (fn. 275) There was a school at the same address until at least 1926. (fn. 276)

In 1904 the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ (fn. 277) opened a Roman Catholic private school in the Drive. It was destroyed by bombs during the Second World War. (fn. 278)

Walthamstow Modern school, Grove Road, which existed in 1901, (fn. 279) prepared many boys for the secondary school at the technical institute, for the Monoux school, and for other London schools. (fn. 280) It closed in 1927. (fn. 281)

Eastfield school, established in 1886, was a girls school with kindergarten, transition, and collegiate sections; little boys were prepared for the Monoux school. (fn. 282) It still existed in 1926. (fn. 283)

The Jewish independent infants day-school, which opened in 1960 in Boundary Road, moved in 1971 to the premises in Markhouse Road occupied until 1970 by St. Saviour's junior and infants school. (fn. 284)

Walthamstow school of shorthand and typewriting, founded in 1895 and known from 1933 as Walthamstow business college, closed in 1957. A branch of Clark's college opened at Cleveland House, Hoe Street, in 1913 and closed in 1966. (fn. 285) Palmerston commercial college and Grosvenor school of shorthand existed in the 1920s. (fn. 286)

Industrial schools.

St. Nicholas' Roman Catholic industrial school was founded in 1855 by Cardinal Wiseman, in a house on the corner of Shernhall Street and Church Lane. (fn. 287) It was transferred to Manor Park in 1868, (fn. 288) but by 1870 the Walthamstow buildings had been reopened as St. John's home industrial school. (fn. 289) In 1873 a new school was built. (fn. 290) Grave irregularities at the school were exposed at an inquiry in 1895. (fn. 291) It closed in 1928, and in 1930 became a hostel for boys called Wiseman House. The building was sold in 1937 to become, in 1938, St. George's Roman Catholic senior school. (fn. 292)

The North London industrial truant school, founded in 1883 jointly by Hornsey, Tottenham, and Edmonton school boards, opened at Northcott House, no. 115 Marsh Street, in 1884. (fn. 293) It seems to have closed between 1937 and 1940. (fn. 294)

William Mallinson Scholarship Trust.

In 1927 (Sir) William Mallinson gave £10,700 to the borough of Walthamstow to provide scholarships for Walthamstow students at English universities. (fn. 295)

CHARITIES FOR THE POOR. (fn. 296)

In 1786 the parish poor were benefiting from 16 dole charities, the earliest dating from 1541, and from the Monoux school (fn. 297) and alms-houses founded in 1527; the total income was £258. From 1816 to 1827 the charity account always showed a balance which was misapplied in aid of the churchwarden's general account. In 1825–6 the loss to the charities was increased when the parish collector embezzled £150. The total income in 1831 was £850. In 1861 most of the charities were administered by the churchwardens alone or with the vicar or overseers. The annual income in 1877 was £1,166.

Following a local inquiry held by the charity commissioners in 1876 a report in 1878 recommended the formation of a governing body for all the charities. The vestry accepted the recommendation, but some existing trustees rejected it, so all the important charities except Monoux were excluded from the scheme adopted in 1880. Under that scheme, which was amended in 1891, 13 charities came to be administered by 15 governors. The income was to be applied according to the donors' wills pending further schemes. The confusion caused by this division of administration, and by the diverse objects of the Monoux and Maynard bequests, was resolved by schemes of 1893, by which the Monoux school became a separate foundation with its own board of governors, and 1895, by which the charities regulated by the 1880 and 1891 schemes and most of the remaining charities were combined as Walthamstow Parochial Charities, managed by a board of trustees. The 1895 scheme provided for the appropriate sums to be allotted to the Monoux school foundation, and to carrying out the special provisions in the Compton, Turner, Maynard, and Corbett charities for sermons, reading prayers, and attendance at services, and in the Trafford and Morley charities for care of memorials. The Cluff charity was to be applied according to the donor's wish. The rest of the income was to maintain the alms-people, to support institutions and organizations providing care and nursing for the sick, and to provide temporary financial relief to those in need of it, including emigrants and young persons entering trade or employment.

By a scheme of 1957 the Parochial Charities of 1895 and the later charities of Worton and Cossar were reorganized as Walthamstow Alms-house and General Charities, having a total income in 1957 of £5,503. The purposes to which the income, including that of the Cluff charity, has been applied since 1957 are substantially those of the 1895 scheme, but aid to emigrants is no longer among them. The scheme allows in addition a wide range of gifts of necessities such as fuel, food, clothing, and furniture, and grants for holidays and domestic help. In 1958 the Alms-house and General Charities were allotted a quarter of the Mallinson Fund in Aid of Connaught hospital. (fn. 298)

A few charities not included in the 1957 scheme are also administered by the trustees. These are described separately below, with others outside the scheme. Educational charities are described elsewhere. (fn. 299)

Alms-house and General Charities.

Alms-house Charities.

In 1527 George Monoux (d. 1544) acquired land on the north side of St. Mary's churchyard for the erection of 14 rooms for a schoolmaster, 8 poor men, and 5 poor women. (fn. 300) The building was completed before his death. By his will dated 1541 he settled on 5 trustees £42 17s. 4d. from the profits of an estate of about 40 houses in Star Alley, All Hallows, Staining (Lond.) to enable them to pay £6 13s. 4d. annually to the alms-priest for keeping the free school, £1 6s. 8d. to the parish clerk for singing in the parish church and helping to teach the children, £5 for coal for the alms-houses, 7s. 7d. weekly to the 13 alms-people (1d. a day each), and £5 13s. 4d. for an obit in the parish church. The trustees were also to repair the alms-houses and the Monoux chapel in the parish church. The estate, which the trustees were forbidden to alienate, was worth about £50 a year when Monoux died. It was shown in 1635 that Edward Alford, grandson of one of the original trustees, and his son John had abused their trust and withheld payments, and that the alms-houses, which needed rebuilding, and the alms-people had become a burden on the parish. (fn. 301) In 1655 a report made following a petition from the inhabitants stated that by 1599 all but 14 of the houses comprised in Monoux's will had been sold, the obit had been discontinued since 1548, and only £32 15s. 5d. had been paid yearly for charitable purposes until 1599, when Elizabeth Alford's gift (fn. 302) increased the charity to £41 15s. 5d. An order of the Commissioners for Charitable Uses in 1658 to pay £115 from the London rents was not obeyed. Work seems to have been done to the building c. 1700, perhaps following Henry Maynard's bequest (1686) of £50 to repair the free school.

In 1782 the Monoux trustees assigned to the parish the north aisle and Monoux chapel, (fn. 303) the school, and alms-houses, in return for reduction of the yearly rent-charge from £41 14s. 4d. (fn. 304) to £21. The balance of the endowment was to be raised from pew rents and burials in the north aisle. Some receipts for burials were paid to the charity account up to 1793 but none subsequently; pew rents were received until 1820. After 1782 no further repairs were carried out by the Monoux trustees. Extensive repairs to the alms-houses costing £275 which were found necessary soon after 1782 were paid for by subscription and the poor-rate. Further extensive repairs in 1823 were paid for by loans charged on the parish rates. (fn. 305) The alms-house charity was augmented in the 19th century by the gifts of Banks, Harman, Bedford, Collard, and Cossar, (fn. 306) but the recommendation by the Charity Commission in 1832 that the parish should raise funds to buy a rent-charge of £20 14s. 4d. to compensate for the improper alienation of part of the endowment in 1782 was not adopted. In 1842 £429, the residue after expenses of compensation received from the railway company for extinction of marsh lammas rights, (fn. 307) was spent on restoring the alms-houses. The £21 rent charge was redeemed in 1874 for £700. The Monoux school became a separate foundation in 1893. (fn. 308) Under the 1957 scheme the number of alms-people was varied to not less than 4 men and 4 women.

The alms-house building is a long two-storeyed brick range, partly cement-rendered, with a steeply pitched tile roof. At the centre is a timber-framed and gabled cross-wing with a jettied upper storey. As originally planned the wing contained the schoolmaster's rooms with 7 single-room dwellings to the east of it and 6 to the west. (fn. 309) Above the latter was the schoolroom, partly open to the roof. The east end appears to have been largely rebuilt, probably in the late 18th or early 19th century. (fn. 310) The western half, of 16th-century red brick, survived in something approaching its original form until it was destroyed by bombing in 1940. It had retained a corbelled brick chimney at the gable-end, flanked by windows with 4-centred heads. (fn. 311) At an earlier date there was a small staircase projection at the front, giving access to the schoolroom. (fn. 312) In 1955 the whole western half of the range was rebuilt in red brick (fn. 313) and given a stone entrance in the Tudor style, surmounted by a carved and inscribed tablet.

Elizabeth Alford, daughter-in-law of one of the original trustees of Monoux's will, vested in her executors by deed of 1589 a rent-charge of £9 for the alms-house poor. As executor of her will her son Edward, the Monoux trustee in 1599, conveyed to trustees a rent-charge out of property in All Hallows, Staining (Lond.), providing £5 yearly to be distributed in clothing, £2 on St. Thomas's day, and £2 on herrings on Ash Wednesday. In 1635 the inhabitants also complained of the unsatisfactory distribution of this charity, which came to be combined with the original Monoux rent-charge. (fn. 314)

Richard Banks by his will dated 1812 left £800 stock after the death of his wife, who held it for life, to the Monoux alms-house poor. The income was received from 1825. It was converted in 1890 to an annuity of £22 15s. 6d.

John Harman by his will proved 1817 gave £400 to his son Jeremiah for distribution to the poor. Jeremiah, who added £100, gave £150 to the poor of Woodford and Chingford, distributed £65 in Walthamstow in 1817, and gave the remaining £285 to the churchwardens to apply at their discretion. The sum was invested on behalf of the Monoux alms-house poor. It was converted in 1890 to an annuity of £8 11s. 11d.

William Bedford by his will dated 1822 left £500 stock in trust for the poor in Monoux's alms-houses. Each of the 13 alms-people were to receive 30s. a year in half-yearly instalments; the residue of the income was to maintain his vault in the churchyard. In 1890 it was converted into an annuity of £15.

Elizabeth Collard by will proved 1842 left £500 in trust for the inmates of the Monoux and Squire alms-houses. The capital was invested. In 1957 the income was £4 5s. 4d.

In 1795 Mary Squire erected 6 alms-houses on the west side of St. Mary's churchyard for the widows of tradesmen, members of the Established Church. She transferred to trustees £1,100 stock, £3 of the annual income to be spent on maintenance of the alms-houses, the balance to provide pensions of £5 a year for the alms-women. John Conyers gave the land on which the houses were built. By her will proved 1797 Mary Squire also left £1,800 stock to pay a further £8 a year to each widow, the balance to be spent on coal for 12 poor householders. In 1798 Robert Barker added £200 stock to the endowment. The income in 1831 from £3,100 was £87. By the scheme of 1895 preference was given to applicants who had been reduced by misfortune from better circumstances. A scheme of 1924 allowed the appointment of widows, otherwise qualified but not the widows of tradesmen, when there were no fully qualified applicants. The income in 1957 was £77 10s. The alms-houses comprise a single-storey yellow-brick range with a low-pitched slate roof. There are 6 one-room dwellings, the two in the centre being surmounted by a pediment and an inscribed tablet dated 1795. The building has been extended at the rear and restored.

Mary Cox by her will proved 1889 gave £150 in trust, the income to be distributed among 6 aged women in Squire's alms-houses. The legacy was invested in £154 stock. The income in 1957 was £3 17s.

John Cossar, carpenter, by his will proved 1892 left the reversion of his freehold house in Forest Road after the death of his wife Susanna to the trustees of Squire's alms-houses for their repair. In 1894, when Susanna was still alive, the commissioners ordered that the house be sold within 6 months of her death. She died before 1919 and the proceeds of the sale was invested in £116 stock. The income in 1957 was £4 2s. 4d.

Mrs. Jane Sabina Collard by deed of 1859 gave in trust land in Maynard Road and in Pound Field, south of Shernhall Street. (fn. 315) The rents were to accumulate for 21 years and were then to be used to build alms-houses on the Maynard Road site for men over 60 years of age who had not been domestic servants nor received poor-relief. By 1876 the trustees had bought more land in Maynard Road and invested the accumulating rents in £333 stock. The income from rents and stock was then £37. (fn. 316) Mrs. Collard, who remarried after Captain Collard's death, died in 1865. (fn. 317) She left much property personally to the three trustees of her alms-house charity, who received these bequests between 1876 and 1881. (fn. 318) Two of the trustees, William Houghton and Arthur Foulger, apparently believed that Mrs. Collard intended the gifts to supplement her alms-house endowment and in 1881 or earlier gave £5,000 to the Collard trust. (fn. 319)

In 1881 brick alms-houses for ten men were completed on the north side of Maynard Road. (fn. 320) They form a single-storey range with central gabled porch. A scheme for their management was approved in 1885. Much of the charity's income, derived from rents and £3,360 stock, was provided by the auxiliary endowment of Houghton and Foulger, including most of the stock and ground rents bought in 1883–5 for £853. More ground rents were bought in 1889. In 1895 the alms-houses were included in the combined scheme for Walthamstow Parochial Charities, the alms-men to be chosen according to the terms of Mrs. Collard's gift. In 1920 the income from rents was £102 and from stock £67. The Shernhall Street field, occupied partly as allotments, was sold in 1947. The income of the charity in 1957 was £132 from rents and £283 from £9,175 stock.

General Charities.

William Hyll, vicar 1470–87, by will dated 1487 left an acre of meadow to the church on condition that the church-wardens kept his anniversary and those of his parents. In 1826 the rent, then £2 5s., was being paid into the general charities account. The land was sold in 1938. The income in 1957 was £12.

Robert Rampston (d. 1585) left £2 a year to the Walthamstow poor charged on Stone Hall, Little Canfield. In 1796 it was being distributed in bread, although the donor did not specify this use. Since 1895 it has been applied to the purposes of the general charities.

Thomas Colby, alms-priest (d. 1609), by his will left all his estate in trust for the poor of the parish and alms-houses. In 1633 an inquisition revealed breach of trust and ordered restitution of about £120 to the parish. With that money in 1636 the churchwardens bought 12 a. of land called Hellbrinkes (Hale Brinks) in Hale End Lane, which was let and the rent distributed to fulfil Colby's will. The value of the land rose from £7 a year in 1636 to £17 in 1786 and £50 in 1817. By 1895 it was let as allotments at £43. Part of the land was sold in 1924 and 1957, and a small part exchanged for part of the Belle Vue estate in 1938. In 1957 income from the land, still let as allotments, and stock was £142.

William Conyers by deed of 1623 conveyed a rent-charge of £7 10s. from lands at Hale End to the churchwardens to provide bread for 12 poor persons every Sunday in memory of his uncle, Tristram Conyers. The rent-charge was redeemed in 1926 for £400 stock which in 1957 produced an income of £10.

Richard Garnett by his will proved 1643 left a rent-charge of £3 from land in Marsh Street to provide bread and one or two pence for the poor on Sundays. In 1893 the rent-charge was transferred from the property in Marsh Street to the ground on which no. 33 York Terrace, Selborne Road, was built. The income was £4 in 1957.

Thomas Gamuel by his will dated 1643 left about 6 a. of copyhold land in trust to provide 12 penny loaves weekly for the poor, the balance to be distributed yearly in money. In 1786 the income from the land, Prior's croft or Honeybone field in Markhouse Road, and part of Markhouse common, was £4 15s. The property was enfranchised in 1855. A small piece was sold in 1873 to build St. Saviour's school, and in 1883 Walthamstow school board leased land to build Gamuel Road school. (fn. 321) Honeybone field was let as allotments. More land was sold in 1925 and 1956. In 1957 the proceeds of sales represented £885 stock and the income from rents and interest amounted to £237.

The Inhabitants Donation was established in 1650 when several unnamed parishioners gave £95 in trust to buy land for the relief of the poor. The Breaches or Winsbeach field (16 a.) south of Hagger Lane was bought. The vestry seems to have replaced the original trustees and to have let the land. Apparently one acre of the land which was copyhold may have been lost to the parish by failure to declare the trust in the court rolls. In 1832 the land was found to be about 13 a. let at £49. A small piece of land was sold in 1877 to the railway company. The rest was let soon after on building leases and developed as Hempstead, Fyfield, and Forest Roads, and 'Fernhill' (later Fernhill Court). (fn. 322) Much of the land was sold in 1953–7. The income in 1957 from stock and ground rents was £587.

Edward Corbett by will proved 1676 left land let at £7 a year to the poor of Walthamstow, and land let at £3 to provide annually on his birthday £1 to the minister for a sermon, 5s. to the clerk, and £1 10s. to the churchwardens for a supper. It was stated in 1832 that the last mentioned payment was never so applied. The income on the land in Wyatts Lane and Wood Street was £85 in 1832, when part of it was let on a building lease at a nominal rent of 1s. Most of the income was applied to coal and monthly pensions of 10s. to 10 poor widows. In 1918 the rents produced £172. Part of the land in Wyatt's Lane was sold in 1949. The income in 1957 from stock and rents was £583.

Henry Maynard (d. 1686) by his will dated 1686 left £950 in trust to buy land to provide income for the minister (£400), the schoolmaster (£200), and the poor (£300), and small annual gifts to the parish clerk, churchwardens, and overseers (£50). In 1690 his executor bought Higham Hill farm (52 a.) for £1,000, but although a Chancery order in 1691 apportioned the estate the charity had not been settled by 1706, when the court ordered that trustees be appointed to whom it should be conveyed. Lengthy Chancery proceedings over the arrears (fn. 323) and their distribution were concluded soon after 1714. In 1719 a copyhold farm called Stretman's (30 a.) at Hale End was bought with £450 of the arrears. From 1758 the income from the two farms was divided into nineteen parts allotted proportionately to the purposes of the will. In 1809 the vestry ordered the parish officers to distribute the share of the poor as coal or food instead of money. (fn. 324) By 1832 it had for many years been distributed in coal. Stretman's farm was enfranchised in 1890. Small pieces of land at Higham Hill were sold to the railway company in 1871, the water company in 1900, and Metropolitan water board in 1905. In 1921 the urban district council compulsorily purchased 16 a. at Higham Hill and by 1957 most of the land had been sold, and the income from the remaining land, let as allotments, and stock was £1,456. The income in 1969 was £1,836.

Anthony and Dinah Compton by wills dated 1703 and 1706 left £20 and £5 respectively in trust to buy bread for the poor on New Year's day. Thomas Turner of Aldersgate by will dated 1711 left £130 to Walthamstow, where he was buried, in trust for the upkeep of his tomb and to pay 15s. to the churchwardens of St. Botolph's, Aldersgate (Lond.), if they attended St. Mary's church once a year. Any remaining income was to be spent on bread for the poor of Walthamstow every Sunday. In 1729 the vestry sold for £187 the stock (£175) which represented the capital of the Compton and Turner gifts (fn. 325) in order to buy land on Church common and build a workhouse, and agreed that an annual sum representing 5 per cent interest on £180 be provided from the parish rate to buy bread, maintain Turner's tomb, and pay the churchwardens of St. Botolph's, according to the donors' wills. An account of the workhouse is given elsewhere. (fn. 326) A piece of the garden was sold to the railway company in 1873. The workhouse land and buildings were sold in 1944. The scheme of 1957 permits continued payment to the churchwardens of St. Botolph's as directed by Turner's will. The income in 1957 was £84.

Sigismund Trafford by will dated 1723 left £10 rent-charge to pay the sexton 10s. a year to clean his monument in the parish church and to raise £50 stock for the repair of the monument and vault, the surplus to be distributed as the minister and churchwardens saw fit. The balance was added to the general charity account. The income in 1957 was £10.

Edmund Wise by will dated 1732 or 1734 left to the churchwardens 6 a. freehold land at Holloway Down in Leyton let at £5 yearly on condition that they maintained his and his mother's tombs. In 1832 the land was leased at £21 yearly and the balance paid to the general charity account. In 1827–8 £15 10s. had been paid in 10s. pensions monthly to poor widows. In 1828–9 £20 19s. was distributed in potatoes. In 1869–77 the land was let on building leases. In 1957 the income was £124. Much of the land was sold in 1959–65.

Jeremiah Wakelin (d. March 1736/7) by his will dated 1735 gave the rents of 1½ a. of copyhold land in Pound field, Shernhall Street, to the churchwardens to be distributed in bread or meat on New Year's day as long as his heirs retained his pew in the parish church, the use of his grave under the gallery, and the privilege of erecting a family monument. The land was let in 1786 at £3 and in 1832 at £12 10s. It was enfranchised in 1862. In 1873 the church-wardens bought a strip of land to gain a right of way from Pound field to Maynard Road. In 1885 the land was leased for £44 to the school board, which built Maynard Road schools on the site. (fn. 327) The income in 1957 was £44.

Thomas Legendre, draper, by his will proved 1753 left £600 in trust to buy land to provide coal for the poor, preferably widows, and the residue of his estate to his executor John Fisher. The charitable bequest was void under the Mortmain Act, 1736, but John Fisher gave for the purposes of the will £564 stock to be transferred to the trustees of Katherine Woolball's charity.

Katherine Woolball by her will proved 1756 left £400 in trust for the benefit of the poor at Christmas. Stock to the value of £445 was purchased which, with the addition of Fisher's gift, provided £1,009 stock vested in the same trustees. In 1832 the joint income of £30 5s. 4d. was usually distributed in coal. In 1890 and 1895 the stocks of Woolball's and Legendre's charities were converted into annuities of £13 7s. 3d. and £16 18s. 1d. respectively.

Thomas Sims by will proved 1782 left £100 in trust to repair his family monument. It was so applied in 1827–8. In 1832 the surplus was being paid to the general charity account. The annuity was transferred to the Official Trustees of Charitable Funds in 1879 and under the schemes of 1895 and 1957 applied to the purposes of the general charities. The income in 1957 was £2 10s.

James Holbrook, (fn. 328) brewer, of St. Botolph's, Aldgate (Lond.), was providing in 1786–88 10 sixpenny loaves weekly for the poor of Walthamstow. By deed dated 1805 he gave £39 charged on land at the bottom of Marsh Street for a weekly gift of bread. The earlier gift seems to have led to the belief that only 10 loaves were to be bought weekly and the residue was applied to other gifts. In 1832 the charity commissioners stressed that the whole sum was to be spent on bread. The land became part of the reservoir in Coppermill Lane (fn. 329) and the rent-charge of £39 was being paid in 1957 by the Metropolitan water board.

John Rigge by will dated 1806 left £100 in trust to repair his family vault. In 1832 the surplus was being paid to the general charity account; this use was permitted under the schemes of 1895 and 1957. The income in 1957 was £2 10s.

John Morley by his will proved 1845 left £300 stock to the vicar and churchwardens in trust for the maintenance of his family monuments in the parish church, the surplus to buy bread for the poor. The income in 1957 was about £8.

William Cluff by his will proved 1874 gave £1,000 in trust to be invested to buy 5 sacks of coal each for 30 poor people at Christmas and as much bread as the balance would buy. Since 1957, when the income on £471 stock was £14 it has been applied to the purposes of the general charities.

Daniel Maclaurin by will proved 1877 left £150 in trust for the poor. The income in 1895 was £4 5s. In 1902 most of the stock was sold to buy land in Havant Road which was let on a building lease. The income in 1957 was £27 11s.

Thomas Worton of the Cock, High Street, by will proved 1922 left over £45,000 to the poor of Walthamstow. (fn. 330) Under a scheme of 1924 £7,812 stock was transferred to the Connaught hospital to build and equip the Thomas Worton ward of 10 beds for the exclusive use, so far as possible, of the poor of Walthamstow. (fn. 331) The income from the remaining £30,208 stock was to be administered by the Walthamstow Parochial Charities trustees and applied to the general purposes of those charities, including the alms-houses. The income in 1957 was £1,128.

The Walthamstow Ecclesiastical Charity was formed under the 1957 scheme. £70 stock belonging to the Walthamstow charities was allotted to carrying out the provisions in Trafford's and Corbett's charities for cleaning Trafford's tomb and for paying the vicar for a sermon and the parish clerk for attendance on Corbett's birthday. (fn. 332)

Other Charities.

The following charities were not included in the 1895 and 1957 schemes.

Elizabeth Cooper's bequest under her will dated 1708 is described elsewhere. (fn. 333)

Mary Newell by will dated 1810 gave two-thirds of the income from £500 to apprentice one boy each year, the son of members of the Established Church. She left the remaining third to the Sunday school. (fn. 334) The income, which was received in 1818, (fn. 335) was £15. A scheme of 1942 permitted the charity to be used, in so far as it could not be usefully applied in apprenticing, to assist poor boys, sons of Walthamstow parents of the Established Church, preparing for or engaged in any trade, occupation, or service.

The Spade Husbandry charity was founded in 1834 when Lord Maynard granted about 11 a. of copyhold land in Hagger Lane to be let in ¼ a. plots at 8s. each a year and cultivated with the spade as allotments. The rents were to be used to reduce the poor rate. The land, popularly called 'Canada', was enfranchised in 1924. In 1939 3½ a. was sold to the Metropolitan water board. A scheme of 1941, which appointed the trustees of Walthamstow Parochial Charities managers of the allotments, allowed them to apply any income which could not be used to rent land to buy necessities for the poor, but not to relieve the rates. The income in 1969 was £160. (fn. 336)

Elizabeth Cass by will dated 1838 left £4,000 stock, reduced by expenses to £3,547 stock, to pay £30 annually to the vicar and churchwardens, who were to distribute the rest of the income to poor people of the Established Church not receiving parochial aid. In 1965–6 the capital was £3,547 and £60 was distributed to 58 people, many of them in alms-houses.

Sarah Hibbert by will proved 1884 left £200 for the poor of St. Saviour's parish. The legacy was augmented by public subscription and applied to buy land and erect an iron building for a soup kitchen. The property was sold in 1896 for £200 which was invested in £176 4s. stock. The income in 1965 was £4 8s.

Walthamstow Sick Poor fund was established by a scheme of 1955 by which the assets of the Walthamstow dispensary (fn. 337) were to be administered under that title, for the benefit of the sick poor, by the trustees of the Alms-house and General Charities. The income in 1969 was £322 8s.

Hale End District Association Sick Children's fund originated in the Hale End District Association Hospital charity founded by a declaration of trust in 1925. By a scheme of 1952 under the new title the income was to be applied to sick children of the deserving poor in the parish of All Saints, Highams Park, and, subject thereto, to sick adults. It is administered by the Walthamstow Alms-house and General Charities trustees. The income in 1969 from £1,754 stock was £43.

Sir William Mallinson (d. 1936) by deed of gift dated 1935 set up an endowment in aid of Connaught hospital. (fn. 338) It was represented by £8,740 stock in 1958, when a scheme divided it into four Mallinson Funds, in aid of the Walthamstow Alms-house and General Charities, the William Mallinson Scholarship Trust, (fn. 339) the Walthamstow Child Welfare society, (fn. 340) and the Connaught hospital amenities fund.

Lost Charities Matthew Humberstone by will dated 1708 gave £500 to erect alms-houses and a school. He also provided for an endowment of £14 yearly, pensions to the alms-people, and £10 for the poor. His widow paid £10 in 1710 but the rest of the will was not executed. (fn. 341) A lying-in charity either existed or was planned in 1797 (fn. 342) but nothing further is known of it.

Footnotes