By Roy Fallows
Education in the 19th century in Armitage was provided by the National School situated on the corner of Rugeley Road and Church Lane. It was erected in 1839 and catered for children aged 5 to 13. In addition, there was another small infant’s school in what is now a private address in Hood Lane operated by a charity.
By the beginning of the 20th century it had become apparent that these schools were no longer adequate for the village. The National School became very overcrowded and had to close occasionally to help stop the spread of diseases such as measles and dyptheria. They did not have the benefit of injections to prevent these diseases breaking out in the first place. It was decided that another school was needed to take infants from the two existing schools and close the charity school in Hood Lane.
On 12 February 1914 the Trustees of the Lady Francis Cecil Estate agreed to sell a half acre piece of land on the Rugeley side of the Methodist Chapel in Rugeley Road, Armitage. The land cost £125 and was ‘to erect on said land a school with the usual outbuildings and appurtenances thereto.’
Tenders for the erection of the school were invited and the contract was awarded to Charles Mason, builders from Albion Street in Rugeley (where AVH shop is now).
Erection of the school cost £1425.15s.5d. The heating was to be installed by Gough and Felgate of Uxbridge Street in Burton at a cost of £56.5s. Gough and Felgate were also responsible for boring a well to supply water for drinking and other purposes.
On Tuesday 26 January 1914 at 6.45pm the first meeting of the body of Managers took place in the school. Present were prominent local people; Miss Glennie, Rev E Samson, Mr HW Gardner, Mr S Morecroft and Mr J Peate. The Rev Samson was elected Chairman and HW Gardner was elected Vice Chairman. The Clerk explained that he had been appointed by the County Education Committee on 21 November 1913.
The Clerk reported that Miss E Griffin (previously head at the charity school) had been appointed Head Teacher at a salary of £90 per annum. Mrs AE Oram had been appointed as Supplementary Teacher at a salary of £30 per annum. A caretaker, Mr Hawkins, had also been appointed at a salary of £1 per month. The meeting also decided to buy fuel for the heating system at ‘the best possible price’ from the Rugeley Gas Works (coke) and Brereton Wharf (coal).
The clerk said, ‘Armitage Infants Council School was built to replace the infant department at the Church of England school and would be opened on 1st February 1915. It provides accommodation for 90 children in two rooms divided by wooden sliding partitions, together with necessary toilets. Heating by low pressure hot water. ‘Offices’ (toilets) are earth closets. Water from 100foot deep well on site. Water quality reported as ‘excellent in all respects’ for drinking and domestic purposes.’ Messrs Morecroft and Gardner from the management committee will carry out necessary inspections of the cess pit.
On 15th February 1915, no doubt due to the unpleasant nature of the job, a Mr Hawkins (possibly the caretaker) was appointed to empty the cess pit at 6 shillings a month.
Entries in the school log book give a good insight into the goings on at the school ie;
- 19th July 1915 Decided to allow Miss Phillips to attend classes to gain insight into teaching methods to become an efficient Supplementary Teacher.
- 27th October 1919 Miss Oram (Supplementary Teacher) requested and was granted a salary increase. Miss Griffin (Head) shortly to retire and Miss Mary Klein of Abbots Bromley will succeed. (Miss Klein took over on 1st April 1920).
- 7th March 1922 Miss J Smith had resigned and, after interview, Miss G Williams from Merthyr Tydfil was appointed as Assistant Uncertified Teacher.
- 9th December 1922 Miss Peate appointed Supplementary Teacher in place of Miss Oram who had resigned.
- 12th January 1923 Miss Williams resigned.
- 29th January 1923 At a Management meeting held at The Towers. Miss FBA Walker appointed uncertified teacher replacing Miss Williams. Miss Teace appointed temporary uncertified teacher.
- 1st March 1923 Under the Chairmanship of Mr Sam Morecroft the school management decided to increase the salary of the caretaker, Mr Hawkins, to £1.19s.0d., and his wife 9/- per month respectively.
- 1st March 1923 A letter of protest was to be sent to the Church of England school after their gardening master emptied the school ‘offices’. No doubt to be used in the school garden as fertilizer as a great deal of produce was grown there.
- 24th February 1924 A letter to be sent to Miss Klein and staff congratulating them on His Majesties Inspector’s report being ‘Highly Satisfactory’.
The children were granted a holiday on 9/10 July 1924 for a trip to the Wembley Exhibition. This exhibition was opened on 23rd April 1924 and its intention was to showcase the British Empire and the ties between all its peoples and attracted over 27 million visitors, making it the world’s biggest. Most of the children would have never left the local area so this trip would have been a major event for them.
Researched and compiled by Roy Fallows for the school centenary
I remember my father, Graham Morecroft, talking about the trip to the Wembley Exhibition. The exhibit he most talked about was the sculpture – in butter ! – of the Prince Of Wales ( future Edward V111) He was absolutely fascinated by that !
But was very impressed and amazed by the section on cars, trains and – he said – an enormous crane!