Friends School, Warrington

[aggiebagwash]

Does anyone know what type of school the Friends School, Stocks Lane, Penketh, Warrington was? I have found a relative who was registered there on the 1891 census but I don't know why she wasn't with her family. Was it actually an educational establishment or a training school or even an orphanage under another guise please can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks

Margaret

[madpants]

Friends' School is a name given to Quaker schools as they call themselves Friends.  There are still some left, I went to one that closed in 1997 

This is a link to a biblography list of Quaker Schools and yours is there.

http://www.quaker.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=90043

They were boarding schools mainly which is why she would not be with her family.

[madpants]

From a website about Penketh

One of Penketh's first schools was The Friends School on Stocks Lane which was founded in 1834 and due to the changing need of the Quakers was closed a century later. The building has since been used for a children's reform centre and is now part of a retirement home.

[madpants]

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/benjaminbeck/fandbf.html  this site has the following;

Advertisements for schools are particularly common. For example the following appeared in The British Friend in August 1893:

"PENKETH SCHOOL.

Considerable improvement has recently been made in the accommodation of this institution.

There are a few vacancies for the children of Friends, or of those who attend our Meetings, but are not in membership.

The Committee invite Applications, especially on the Girls’ side.

Apply — Albert Pollard, B.A., Penketh School, near Warrington.

Friends House Library has a card index to the schools which appear (mostly) in these advertisements. Many of these are small establishments run by Friends but not as specifically Quaker schools."

They were ahead of their time in not agreeing with single sex schools, the one I went to was founded in 1841 and catered for both boys and girls from the beginning, there are two single sex schools, The Mount and Bootham in York but they are relativly close to each other and do things together.

[aggiebagwash]

Thank you Madpants

I can see I will be having a busy afternoon looking at all the information you have given me. I will have to see if I can find out why she was sent there from Oldham as all I know about her is that on the 1901 census her occupation was milliner on own account. I wonder if she learned the trade at the school?

Thank you once again.

Merry Christmas

Margaret

[madpants]

It could easily be that she learned it at school.

There's a link to my old scholars site that shows a form group about the time your girl would have been at school.

http://www.manannan.org.im/aosa/archives/archives_form_photos/archives_form_photos_page1.htm

http://www.manannan.org.im/aosa/archives/archives_school_life/archives_sch_life_page1.htm

the second is slighly later but shows what it was like at the time.  If she went to a boarding school the family were obviously not poor.

[aggiebagwash]

I can't understand why she went to the school as her parents only worked in the local mill so weren't affluent. The name, age and birthplace fits so it has to be her.

Thanks once again.

Margaret

[km1971]

Hi All

I lived near Stocks Lane until recently. The retirement home was re-developed a few years ago to provide housing.

Ken

[Elaine168]

''I can't understand why she went to the school as her parents only worked in the local mill so weren't affluent. The name, age and birthplace fits so it has to be her. ''

I wonder if she had a Quaker benefactor?  Someone slightly better off who felt she had potential?  Wonder if the school records would show if fees were paid for her?

Warrington was quite a centre for non-conformists.  Priestley College, in Warrington, set up by Joseph Priestley was for Non-conformists as at one point only Anglicans could attend University

Elaine