Education

EDUCATION

The town grammar school has its origins in a school maintained at St. John's college in the Middle Ages. Its monopoly was upheld against several unlicensed schools in the liberty between 1304 and 1306, and in 1458 a man was forbidden to have a school in the town. (fn. 1) Later, other schools may have included a petty school proposed by the corporation in 1572 to relieve the master of the grammar school from elementary instruction. (fn. 2) An unlicensed schoolmaster was teaching in one of the minster parishes in 1586. (fn. 3) Another elementary school was allowed in 1609 to the vicar of St. Mary's, who had infringed the monopoly of the town's school by teaching grammar, (fn. 4) and later in the century the school was apparently conducted in the church. (fn. 5) A schoolmaster in St. Nicholas's parish was mentioned in 1600. (fn. 6)

In Beverley, as elsewhere, philanthropy was responsible for the opening of new schools for the poor. The Charity school was probably founded in the late 17th century and a spinning school in the early 18th. Private-venture schools, too, were mentioned from the mid 18th century (fn. 7) and some of the dame schools later benefited from Graves's and Nelthorpe's charities. (fn. 8) By the 19th century the town had many day schools wholly supported by parents. In 1833, for instance, in St. Martin's parish there were 11 attended by 210 children, in St. Mary's 9, mostly established since 1824, with 354 pupils, and in St. Nicholas's one attended by 18 girls, including boarders. (fn. 9)

Most of the new elementary schools opened in the 19th century were provided by the Church of England working through the National Society. Two charity schools opened in 1810 under the will of James Graves, incumbent of the minster, (fn. 10) complemented the society's efforts and eventually also became National schools. An East Riding District Society affiliated to the National Society was formed at Beverley in 1812; it opened its first school, for boys, the next year but abandoned proposals for a girls' school when Graves's girls' school adopted the National system. The local society's secretary Joseph Coltman, (fn. 11) assistant curate and later incumbent of the minster, also took an active interest in the grammar school and the Blue Coat school. (fn. 12) The East Riding District Society was succeeded in 1840 by the Beverley District Board. (fn. 13) The rented accommodation in which the National school was still conducted in the 1840s made it ineligible for government grants and as a result the town-wide school was closed and speedily replaced by two parochial National schools, in 1848 and 1849. (fn. 14) The provision of Church education on parochial lines probably resulted in part from earlier controversies involving W. T. Sandys, who, as vicar of St. Mary's, championed non-sectarian education in his parish. (fn. 15) The non-sectarian British and Foreign School Society had established a branch at Beverley by 1838, when its first school was opened. (fn. 16) Though a later school, near Wood Lane, seems also to have been a British school, the society's contribution to education in Beverley was slight beside that of the National Society. In 1865 the elementary schools of the town were said to provide an excellent education for children of the labouring class and those of the class immediately above. (fn. 17) Foremost among those schools in the later 19th century was the Wesleyan school, with its advanced curriculum and excellent results. (fn. 18)

Largely because of the grammar school's deficiencies a new endowed school, the Foundation school, was opened in 1861. The union of the Foundation school and the grammar school was recommended in 1865 (fn. 19) and an unsuccessful attempt to divert a charity to education in the early 1870s led to an inquiry into the educational endowments and in 1877 to a proposal to reform all three endowed schools. The endowments of the Foundation and Blue Coat schools, neither of which was regarded as satisfactory, were to be used to put the grammar school on a better footing, (fn. 20) but before that could be achieved the grammar school was closed. It was refounded in 1890, when the Blue Coat and Foundation schools were closed and their endowments amalgamated with those of the former grammar school by a Charity Commission Scheme. (fn. 21) The middle-class demand for education between the late 18th and early 20th century was met largely by up to a dozen private schools. (fn. 22) In 1851 private schools were attended by 471 children. (fn. 23) They included two commercial schools attended by 109 pupils in 1818 (fn. 24) and the late 19th-century Beverley High school for boys in Keldgate. (fn. 25) An infants' school held in the former theatre in Lairgate in the 1840s may also have been private. (fn. 26) Another school was begun at the barracks for soldiers' children in the 1880s. (fn. 27) A girls' school was conducted at the convent in Norfolk Street until the 1930s, when there was also a school for foreign students run by another order of nuns. (fn. 28) The most enduring of the private schools was probably that for girls run from the 1820s until 1926 by successive Misses Stephenson; its last home, Holland House in Register Square, was occupied from c. 1866. (fn. 29)

Additional elementary school accommodation required after the 1870 Act was supplied mostly by the enlargement of existing schools, but a new school for c. 200 girls was built to replace the Wood Lane school, which was found insufficient by the Education Department. (fn. 30) The Department also forced the replacement of the Catholic school in 1897-8 and the enlargement of St. Mary's infants' school in 1899. The adequate provision achieved by the various voluntary bodies, including the Wesleyan Methodists, made a school board unnecessary in Beverley (fn. 31) but under the 1876 Act a school attendance committee was established for the borough and another for its neighbourhood. (fn. 32) The Church schools of the minster parish were brought under a single management committee in 1892 and those in St. Mary's and St. Nicholas's parishes under a similar committee in 1900: (fn. 33) in both cases the individual schools were later sometimes regarded as departments of a single parochial school. (fn. 34)

Under the 1902 Act the attendance committees were replaced by two new local education authorities. (fn. 35) The county council, as the authority immediately concerned with secondary education, opened the high school for girls in 1908 at a total cost of c. £13,000. (fn. 36) At both of the fee-paying secondary schools scholarships were offered, and others, for Wesleyan Sunday school pupils attending elementary schools, were later extended to higher education. (fn. 37) The corporation, as the other L.E.A., also made grants to the secondary schools (fn. 38) but its primary responsibility was with elementary education. The existing elementary school buildings were improved or replaced by the L.E.A. and the voluntary bodies to meet the standards of the Board of Education. By 1915 the corporation had built two new schools and modernized another at a cost of nearly £12,000, and nearly £7,000 had been spent on the Church schools since 1913. (fn. 39) Centralized teacher-training, which had been started in the 1890s, (fn. 40) was continued by the county council in 1904 at the Wesleyan school and from the 1920s in a building in Lord Roberts Road which housed the corporation's domestic subjects centre and school clinic. (fn. 41)

Under the 1944 Act (fn. 42) the county council became the sole L.E.A. and took over the corporation schools in 1945. Voluntary schools were to be helped financially after their recognition as Controlled or Aided schools; Controlled status was granted to St. Mary's schools in 1948 and to the minster schools in the same year or soon after, while St. John's and the grammar school became Aided schools in 1949 and 1950 respectively. (fn. 43) A programme of school building begun in the 1950s with the provision of two new secondary schools for the Beverley area was continued in the 1960s and 1970s, when practically all the existing primary schools were replaced. (fn. 44) Additional accommodation was also provided at the grammar school, already much enlarged in 1936, and the high school was later largely rebuilt. On the reorganization of secondary education in 1973 Longcroft and the high school became comprehensive but the governors of the grammar school refused to accept the L.E.A.'s proposals and retained selection until 1974. (fn. 45)

Adult education was provided in the town from the mid 19th century, when instruction in technical and scientific subjects was given by the Beverley and East Riding Mechanics' Institute. Weekly lectures were begun in 1842 and classes in 1846, but the institute failed in its aim to attract artisans; the classes declined in the 1850s and the lectures, which soon became less technical and more popular, were only occasional by the 1860s. The institute's educational efforts were probably weakened by the proliferation of other societies with similar objects. (fn. 46) In the mid 19th century, too, elementary instruction was given to male and female prisoners in the East Riding house of correction. (fn. 47) Elementary schooling for adults was provided in evening schools held at the minster boys' school between 1863 and 1871 and at the Wesleyan school c. 1870; both were supported by a government grant. (fn. 48)

The provision of technical education by voluntary bodies was encouraged in the late 19th century by grants from central and local government and by the growth of a local university extension movement. (fn. 49) Under the Technical Instruction Act of 1889, the county council from 1891 made grants towards the work of the local bodies and the Yorkshire College, in Leeds. (fn. 50) The corporation also appointed a technical instruction committee, which received a county council grant for organizing classes in technical and other subjects at the guildhall and the corn exchange and in domestic economy at houses in Newbegin (fn. 51) and Grayburn Lane successively. After the corporation's withdrawal in 1899 the Newbegin house was continued for a few years as a residential school by the county council. (fn. 52)

Under the 1902 Act the corporation's classes became the direct responsibility of the county council. (fn. 53) In 1905 there were c. 40 on the roll of the corn exchange evening school; it was closed in 1922 and woodwork classes were later held successively in Morton Lane, George Street, and from 1925 Lord Roberts Road. (fn. 54) Another evening school, held in St. Mary's boys' school, was given a grant by the county council from 1900. (fn. 55) It was moved to the Wesleyan school in Walkergate in 1905, when about 80 students were enrolled, (fn. 56) and again in 1923 to the minster boys' school, where numbers increased markedly to c. 250 in 1925-6. It was known as the Evening Institute by 1936, when its accommodation in elementary school buildings was criticized by the Board of Education. (fn. 57) The institute was resumed after the Second World War with classes in various premises, including from c. 1950 the new Longcroft Secondary school. There were then c. 1,200 students enrolled. (fn. 58) It was renamed Beverley Technical Institute in 1950 and moved in 1960 to new buildings adjoining Longcroft Hall, which were extended in 1966. The institute became Beverley College of Further Education in 1971. (fn. 59) Temporary accommodation was used from the 1970s and in 1979 Longcroft Hall was vacated by Longcroft school and adapted for the college. (fn. 60) From 1982 premises in Grovehill Road were leased for the college and used as an industrial training unit. In 1985-6 there were 3,491 full- and part-time students enrolled. (fn. 61)

Schools

Beverley Grammar.

A grammar school may have been founded along with St. John's college in the 10th century. (fn. 62) A schoolmaster was mentioned, as a minster officer, in the 12th century and he was later appointed by the chancellor. Choristers were taught free but fee-paying pupils also attended the school. There were apparently at least 33 pupils in the mid 15th century. (fn. 63) By 1391 there was also an usher or assistant master. One of the masters evidently received an endowment from St. William's chantry, founded c. 1500. (fn. 64)

The school was apparently continued after the suppression of the college in 1548, for payments were made by the Crown to two masters until 1554. (fn. 65) The school was, moreover, provided for by the Crown grant of profits from confiscated minster lands made in 1552 in response to a town petition for the means to support the minster and a school. (fn. 66) The master was later paid by the town and in 1575-6 his salary was £21. (fn. 67) From the mid 16th century classics were presumably taught free to sons of burgesses, who were later called free or foundation scholars, (fn. 68) but by 1674 a minimum quarterage of 2s. was charged. (fn. 69) The master also received £10 a year from Metcalfe's charity from the 1650s. (fn. 70) Subscriptions towards the master's salary were solicited from 1736 and the town's M.P.s later contributed all of the £20 a year received. (fn. 71) Masters included John Hunt, who was admitted in 1564 after being found competent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. (fn. 72) Puritan masters later appointed by the corporation were John Garthwaite in 1614, John Pomroy in 1626, Robert Steele in 1645, Christopher Nesse in 1649, and Francis Sherwood in 1652. (fn. 73) There were c. 50 pupils in 1670. (fn. 74) Under the Revd. Joseph Lambert, master 1674-1716, the school flourished and was much patronized by local gentry. (fn. 75) Numbers had declined greatly by 1736 but a renowned master, the Revd. John Clarke, 1736-51, revived the school, which had c. 100 pupils in 1743. (fn. 76) Both schoolmaster and usher frequently held Church office in or near the town. (fn. 77)

The school was attended by John Alcock (d. 1500), bishop of Ely and founder of the grammar school at Hull, and John Fisher (d. 1535), bishop of Rochester. Later pupils included Dr. Robert Metcalfe (d. 1652), Regius Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge, Michael Warton (d. 1688), John Green (d. 1779), bishop of Lincoln, and George III's physician H. R. Reynolds (d. 1811). (fn. 78)

Fellowships at Oxford and Cambridge, founded in the 14th and 16th centuries respectively for natives of Beverley or the neighbourhood, were not specifically for the school but those at Cambridge at least later benefited its pupils (fn. 79) and as early as 1602-3 the town supported students at Cambridge. Eleven exhibitions for pupils of the grammar school were later provided by Robert Clarke, Margaret Darcey, Robert Metcalfe, Margaret Ferrer, Dr. William Lacie, William Coates, Lady Elizabeth Hastings, and John Green, of whom both Metcalfe and Green were themselves former exhibitioners. (fn. 80)

The medieval schoolroom was presumably close to but not in the minster (fn. 81) and it may have been the same room that was mentioned from the 1570s. (fn. 82) A new schoolroom was built in 1606-10 (fn. 83) evidently in the south-west corner of the minster churchyard, where it was enlarged in 1702-3 (fn. 84) and extensively repaired in 1736. (fn. 85) A new school was built in 1816-17 beside the master's house in Keldgate and the old one was demolished. (fn. 86)

The grammar school was still 'in considerable repute' in 1823, when the head master was paid £100 a year, mostly by the corporation, and received some £2 a year from each free scholar for classics and the same for writing and arithmetic. (fn. 87) Under the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 corporation support was withdrawn in 1842 and the school, left entirely dependent on fees and a small endowment, later declined. (fn. 88) Basic fees had been raised to £6 6s. a year for free scholars and a minimum of £10 10s. for other pupils by the 1860s, and numbers had fallen from the earlier 19th-century level of about 40 boys, including boarders, to only 15 day pupils in 1865. The school was then little more than an inferior elementary school with a 'lifeless and disheartening' aspect. (fn. 89) The school was closed in 1878 (fn. 90) and the building later demolished; (fn. 91) attempts to refound it (fn. 92) finally succeeded in 1890, when it was housed in the former Foundation school, in Albert Terrace. (fn. 93) The new school was helped by grants from the county council from 1891. (fn. 94) Despite enlargements in 1892 and 1895 (fn. 95) the building was inadequate and it was replaced by a new one for c. 80 boys, designed by John Bilson of Hull and opened in 1902 on a 6-a. site in Queensgate. (fn. 96) It is of red brick with stone dressings in a plain gabled style. The old school was later used as a drill hall. (fn. 97) The former master's house, now no. 54 Keldgate, was used for boarders from 1913. (fn. 98) Additional accommodation at the school was provided in huts c. 1920, (fn. 99) and the grounds were twice enlarged. (fn. 100) A new building was opened in 1936 (fn. 101) and extended in 1965. (fn. 102)

The average attendance was 40 in 1893 and there were 52 on the roll in 1906. Numbers rose to 76 in 1916, 164 in 1924, and 340 in 1941. (fn. 103) There were 610 pupils on the roll in 1987. (fn. 104) The school became comprehensive in 1974 and in 1979 its sixth form and that of the high school were amalgamated, with teaching later taking place at both schools. (fn. 105) Accommodation difficulties after 1974 were met partly by the use of mobile classrooms but further permanent accommodation was opened in 1976, 1978, 1980, and 1982. The building of 1902 was refurbished in 1987. (fn. 106)

Beverley High School for Girls

The 100-place school was opened by the county council in 1908 in buildings put up in the 12-a. grounds of Norwood House, which became a boarding house for teachers and pupils. (fn. 107) One and briefly two other boarding houses were maintained elsewhere in the town. (fn. 108) The school, which had 19 pupils in 1908, included a mixed kindergarten and a junior department. (fn. 109) There were 57 day pupils and 16 boarders in 1916 and 145 and 20 respectively in 1924. (fn. 110) Temporary accommodation was added in 1919. (fn. 111) The boarding house in the town was closed in 1926 and Norwood House converted to classrooms for the junior department in 1934. (fn. 112) There were 345 pupils on the roll in 1942. (fn. 113) After the 1944 Act the junior department was phased out and admission became wholly selective. (fn. 114) The school was repeatedly enlarged with temporary buildings from the 1940s but a permanent chemistry laboratory was added in 1953. (fn. 115) The school had 400 pupils in 1961. (fn. 116) It became comprehensive in 1973. (fn. 117) The sixth forms of the high and grammar schools were amalgamated in 1979 with teaching later taking place at both. (fn. 118) The school was virtually rebuilt from 1974. New science laboratories were added in 1975 and other new buildings came into use in 1976, 1979, and c. 1980, and practically all of the remaining temporary buildings were removed in 1986. The nearby former St. Mary's girls' school was used from 1975 and was later taken over for the school. (fn. 119) There were 699 on the roll in 1986. (fn. 120)

British (Minster Moorgate).

A boys' school, opened in 1838, (fn. 121) was supported partly by the quarterage of its 160 pupils in 1840. (fn. 122) No more is known of it.

British.

(Wood Lane). See St. Mary's (Wood Lane).

Charity or Blue Coat.

A school to teach children of 6-8 years to read and make bone-lace was set up late in 1693 or soon afterwards. Its supporters included Sir Michael Warton, who contributed £10 'for carrying on the business of bone-lace making in the Charity House', (fn. 123) and the corporation, which gave the pupils blue coats. By May 1694 teachers had been hired at £1 a year for each pupil. (fn. 124) Nothing else is known of the school or its location.

The Charity school, a boarding school for poor children, was founded with the encouragement of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge by promoters who included the former M.P. John Moyser. (fn. 125) It was opened in rooms in the sessions house and the guildhall (fn. 126) in 1710. (fn. 127) It was called the Charity school in the 18th century and usually the Blue Coat school in the 19th. (fn. 128) The school was soon endowed by several bequests. (fn. 129) It was managed at first by the subscribers but later by the corporation, which was trustee of much of its endowment and supported it financially. (fn. 130) Income also derived from the spinning work of the pupils. The school was attended by 26 boys and 4 girls in 1710. (fn. 131) The girls may have been taught separately by 1717, when a spinning school was proposed elsewhere, and such a school certainly existed later in the century. (fn. 132) The 12 children recorded at the school in 1743 may still have included the girls, for spinning was said to be taught, but in 1764 all nine pupils were boys, (fn. 133) and the school was later exclusively for boys. The school was moved elsewhere c. 1744 (fn. 134) and was evidently held in the former Dominican friary in 1774. (fn. 135) It benefited from collections taken at sermons founded by John Green (d. 1779), bishop of Lincoln, (fn. 136) who also provided for the maintenance of two boys. (fn. 137) The school may have been held in Hannah Frankland's house in Flemingate c. 1805. (fn. 138) It was moved again in 1808, (fn. 139) probably to Highgate, where a house was rented for it the next year (fn. 140) and later enlarged with a schoolroom. (fn. 141) An attempt to change the school into a day school c. 1840 was challenged successfully by the trustees of Warton's charity, which formed part of the endowment. (fn. 142) There were usually about eight boarders in the 19th century, (fn. 143) but c. 1840 they were briefly reduced to two and about 30 day pupils were admitted free; the latter included girls, who were taught in a building in Walkergate. (fn. 144) About 10 fee-paying day boys attended the school and two girls received commercial tuition c. 1870. (fn. 145) The school was closed in 1890 and its endowments used to refound the grammar school. (fn. 146) The building in Highgate was a dwelling house in 1987.

Corn Exchange Council.

In 1904 the corporation opened a school in the corn exchange for infants transferred from St. Mary's girls' school. It then had 103 pupils. The temporary accommodation was replaced by Walkergate council school in 1906. (fn. 147)

Corn Foundationor Middle Class.

A boys' school was founded and endowed with the income of Archer's charity by a Chancery Scheme of 1854, its promoters including the Liberal councillor Joseph Hind and Thomas Crust. (fn. 148) The school was built in Slutwell Lane (now Albert Terrace) (fn. 149) in 1860 and opened the next year. It is of red brick with stone dressings in a plain Tudor style. It offered a curriculum aimed at the town's tradespeople, but including some Latin, at annual fees of only £2. The number of pupils was limited to 40 and admission restricted to the town parishes; average attendance was 36, including boarders. The school was closed in 1890 and its endowment and building were used to refound the grammar school. (fn. 150) The building was used as a health centre in 1987.

Graves's (for boys).

The trustees of Graves's charity opened a boys' school for St. Martin's parish in a room near the fish shambles in Saturday Market in 1810. Like Graves's girls' school it was said to have later served the other town parishes as well. In 1814 it was moved to a former theatre in Register Square (later Cross Street), which it shared with the girls' school. There were then 88 boys in the school, which was run on Lancasterian lines and supported by school pence. (fn. 151) In 1826 the school was moved to the National school in Minster Moorgate in an exchange of premises. (fn. 152) The attendance was 70 in 1833. (fn. 153) By 1840 the school had evidently been moved again to a building in Holme Church Lane, then also occupied as a minster Sunday school but originally built as a Wesleyan Sunday schoolroom. (fn. 154) In 1846 it was apparently converted to a National school. (fn. 155)

Graves's (for girls).

The trustees of Graves's charity opened a girls' school for St. Martin's parish in a room in Wilkinson's Yard, Toll Gavel, (fn. 156) in 1810. In 1814 it was moved to a building in Register Square, which it shared with Graves's boys' school. There were then 122 girls in the school, which was supported by school pence. (fn. 157) About the same date the National system was adopted and the school was later united to the Society. (fn. 158) In 1826 the school was moved to a room in Minster Yard North, built the preceding year by Joseph Coltman, the incumbent of the minster, for a Sunday school, and it was later sometimes called Minster National school. (fn. 159) The attendance was 86 in 1833. (fn. 160) Before the opening of a school in that parish, girls from St. Mary's were allowed to attend and in 1840 there were said to be c. 140 pupils. (fn. 161) In 1842 the school was moved to the former National school in Minster Moorgate, which Graves's boys' school had also occupied for a time, but it was returned to Minster Yard North in 1845. There were 65 pupils in 1846-7. The room was enlarged in 1850, increasing the accommodation from 90 to 137 places. (fn. 162) An annual government grant was received from 1858-9. (fn. 163) The management of the school was given up by Graves's trustees in 1861 and the school evidently continued as Minster National school for girls. (fn. 164)

Longcroft County Secondary.

The first of two new secondary schools for the Beverley area was built on a 53-a. site adjoining Longcroft Hall and occupied from 1949 before its completion. (fn. 165) In 1958 the other school, Molescroft County Secondary, was opened as Longcroft's lower school and in 1960 the combined school was renamed Longcroft school. (fn. 166) In 1973 a new building was opened, increasing the accommodation by 350 to 1,700 places, and the school became comprehensive. (fn. 167) The sixth form was housed in Longcroft Hall after the withdrawal of St. Mary's junior school in 1972 until 1979, when the upper school was adapted to receive it. (fn. 168) There were 1,200 on the roll in 1986. (fn. 169)

Manor Nursery.

The nursery class of Walkergate County Primary school became a separate school in 1950. A new school providing 60 places was built nearby and opened in 1973. There were 22 full-timers and 88 part-timers on the roll in 1986. (fn. 170)

Minster Church of England.

The school was formed in 1970 by the amalgamation of the minster boys' and girls' junior schools and was at first housed in the old buildings. In 1972, when the infants' school was also joined with it, it was moved to a new building for 360 pupils in St. Giles's Croft. (fn. 171) Children from Weel attended until 1975, when they were transferred to St. Nicholas's Primary school. (fn. 172) There were 285 on the roll in 1986. (fn. 173) The former boys' school was later demolished and the girls' school was used as a parish hall.

Minster National (for boys).

The school, built on a site in Lurk Lane given by Thomas Denton, was opened in 1848, (fn. 174) replacing the National school in Holme Church Lane and taking boys of St. Martin's parish who had attended the National school in Cross Street. (fn. 175) It was supported by subscriptions, donations, and school pence, and by income from Eden's charity, for which some boys were taught free, (fn. 176) and from Graves's and Tymperon's charities. (fn. 177) An annual government grant was received from 1849-50. (fn. 178) The classroom was enlarged in 1852 and another for c. 40 boys was added in 1871 to designs by William Hawe of Beverley. (fn. 179) The building was altered in 1885 and further enlarged in 1889; (fn. 180) a classroom for 60 boys was added in 1902 (fn. 181) and another built in 1913. (fn. 182) The site was enlarged in 1927. (fn. 183) Average attendance was 117 in 1849, 140 in 1865, and some 220 c. 1890; it was usually 250-330 between 1906 and 1936 but fell to 216 in 1938. (fn. 184) In 1958 the senior pupils were transferred to Molescroft County Secondary school (fn. 185) and in 1970 the junior school was amalgamated with the minster girls' school as Minster Church of England school.

Minster National (for girls).

The former Graves's school in Minster Yard North was evidently continued after 1861 as a National school, with financial support from Graves's trustees. (fn. 186) It also received subscriptions, donations, school pence, (fn. 187) and the government grant awarded earlier. (fn. 188) The room was enlarged to hold 163 by 1863 but was still 'quite inadequate' in 1865 and a nearby room was hired from 1867. (fn. 189) A new school was built in 1885 next to the original room, which was then taken for use as a parish room. The new building, designed by F. S. Brodrick of Hull, is of red brick with stone dressings in a 14th-century style; accommodation was increased by 100 places. (fn. 190) The parish room was reoccupied temporarily from 1896 until 1900, when a classroom was added. (fn. 191) A playground was provided in Highgate in 1913 and the school was altered in 1914. Nevertheless in 1915 some of the juniors had to be removed to Minster Moorgate infants' school. (fn. 192) Besides those from St. Martin's parish, pupils from Molescroft township in St. John's parish also attended the school. (fn. 193) Average attendance was 115 in 1865 and 203 in 1885-6. It was usually 260-300 from the 1890s to 1914 and 210-30 from 1918 to 1938. (fn. 194) Senior pupils were transferred to Molescroft County Secondary school in 1958. The parish room was again used as additional accommodation in the 1950s and 1960s, when another room was also hired, and in 1970 the admission of pupils from St. Nicholas's County Infants' school was stopped. (fn. 195) The junior school was amalgamated with the minster boys' school as Minster Church of England school in 1970.

Minster National (for infants)

An infants' school was begun in Minster Moorgate in 1845 in the former National school, which both Graves's schools had occupied in turn. It was united with the National Society and supported by subscriptions, donations, school pence, and income from Graves's and Tymperon's charities. (fn. 196) An annual government grant was received from 1864-5. (fn. 197) A classroom for 40 more pupils was built in 1871. (fn. 198) In 1880 the school was rebuilt in red brick with white brick and stone dressings in a plain Gothic style to designs by Hawe & Foley of Beverley. (fn. 199) It was altered and enlarged with four classrooms in 1914-15, largely to take juniors transferred from the girls' school and some of the infants who would have attended the recently closed school in Flemingate. The enlargement included the addition of a playground. (fn. 200) Average attendance was 140 in 1857 but fell to 96 in 1865. Between the 1890s and 1914 it was usually 150-90, exceeding 200 in 1918-32 before falling again during the 1930s. (fn. 201) In 1972 the infants' and junior schools were amalgamated as Minster Church of England school in a new building. The former infants' school was later mostly demolished but the facade was retained.

Minster National or Beckside (for infants)

A building in St. Nicholas's parish was evidently used by 1847 for an infants' school (fn. 202) and it may have been the same school which was in union with the National Society in 1846-7: 97 girls were then taught by volunteers and the school maintained by subscriptions. (fn. 203) There was a salaried mistress at Beckside by 1848 supported from Graves's charity. (fn. 204) The school was replaced in 1852 by a plain new building of grey brick in Flemingate, in St. Martin's parish. (fn. 205) The school was united with the National Society (fn. 206) and supported by subscriptions, donations, school pence, and income from Graves's and Tymperon's charities. (fn. 207) An annual government grant was received from 1865. (fn. 208) The building was enlarged in 1871 to designs by William Hawe of Beverley. (fn. 209) Average attendance was 80 in 1863 and c. 115 between the 1890s and 1914. (fn. 210) The school was closed at the end of 1914 and replaced by St. Nicholas's Council school early in 1915 (fn. 211) and the other minster infants' school in Minster Moorgate. The building was used as a factory in 1987.

Molescroft County Secondary

Another secondary school for the Beverley area was built next to Longcroft Secondary school and opened in 1958 as part of Longcroft. (fn. 212)

National (Holme Church Lane).

Graves's boys' school in Holme Church Lane was bought in 1846, apparently by the National school trustees, (fn. 213) and was united to the National Society by 1847. (fn. 214) It was replaced in 1848 by Minster National school. (fn. 215).

National.

(Minster Moorgate, later Register Square). The East Riding District Society opened a boys' school in Minster Moorgate in 1813. The building was enlarged in 1817 (fn. 216) and the school attended by c. 160 pupils in 1818. It was supported by subscriptions, donations, school pence, and income from Sykes's charity and, after 1825, from Eden's charity, for which some pupils were taught free. (fn. 217) In 1826 the school was transferred to the Graves's schoolroom in Register Square (later Cross Street) in an exchange of premises. (fn. 218) The school, which was attended by 240 pupils in 1833 and 160 in 1846-7, (fn. 219) took boys from all the town parishes (fn. 220) until its closure in 1847 or 1848. (fn. 221) It was replaced by two parochial National schools, Minster National school, opened in 1848, and St. Mary's and St. Nicholas's National school, which was built on the former National school site in 1849.

St. John's Roman Catholic.

A mixed and infants' school was opened in a room near the chapel in North Bar Without in 1860; it was supported mostly by donations and the school pence of the 40 pupils. (fn. 222) An annual government grant was received from 1861-2. The school was closed c. 1865 (fn. 223) but re-established in 1883, and a second room was built for the infants in that year or the next. (fn. 224) A government grant was received again from 1885-6, when the average attendance was 69. (fn. 225) In 1897 the school was held for a few months in the temporary chapel in Dyer Lane and then returned to North Bar Without to take over the refitted redundant chapel. The former school had meanwhile been demolished to provide a site for the new church. (fn. 226) The school was taught from 1883 by sisters who about that date established a branch convent in the town. (fn. 227) Average attendance was 120 in 1897 and usually 80-100 between 1906 and 1938. (fn. 228) The nearby parish room was used in the 1940s. (fn. 229) Senior pupils were transferred to schools in Hull in 1956 but later pupils from the school went to secondary schools in Beverley. (fn. 230) The primary school was moved to a new building in Wilberforce Crescent in 1962. (fn. 231) It was enlarged in 1974 and the school had 86 on the roll in 1986. (fn. 232) The former school was later used as a parish hall. (fn. 233)

St. Mary's and St. Nicholas's, later St. Mary's (for infants).

An infants' school was opened in Lairgate in 1838 and had nearly 100 pupils in 1840. (fn. 234) A new building for c. 150 children was erected in Lairgate in 1842. It is of red brick with stone dressings in a simple Gothic style. It was enlarged c. 1871 and again on a larger site in 1899. (fn. 235) From 1880 the school was called simply St. Mary's. (fn. 236) It was supported by subscriptions, school pence, and income from Tymperon's charity. (fn. 237) An annual government grant was evidently received from 1874-5. (fn. 238) There were 130 pupils in 1846-7 and 120 in 1865. (fn. 239) Average attendance was usually 110-40 between 1907 and 1919 and 50-100 from 1921 to 1938. (fn. 240) A new infants' school in Eden Road was opened in 1972 and in 1974 the Lairgate school was closed and its pupils transferred there. The school, which accommodated 90 children, had 88 on the roll in 1986. (fn. 241) The old building was used from 1975 as offices by the county council. (fn. 242)

St. Mary's and St. Nicholas's National, later St. Mary's National (for boys).

The former National school in Cross Street was bought from Graves's trustees in 1849 and rebuilt as a National school for the parishes of St. Mary and St. Nicholas. The building, of red brick in a Perpendicular style, was designed by J. L. Pearson. The school was supported by subscriptions, donations, school pence, and income from Eden's charity (fn. 243) for which c. 8 boys were taught free. An annual government grant was first received in 1849-50 and the school was later also supported by income from Tymperon's charity. (fn. 244) In 1865 the attendance was 150. (fn. 245) The school was enlarged with a classroom and playground in 1870 and extensively enlarged again in 1880. (fn. 246) From 1880 it was called simply St. Mary's National school. (fn. 247) Average attendance was some 200 c. 1890 and usually 260-300 between 1906 and 1912. (fn. 248) About 60 boys, comprising the lowest form, were transferred to the Temperance Hall in 1905. (fn. 249) In 1913 a new school, designed by B. S. Jacobs of Hull, was opened in Mill Lane for 350 boys, (fn. 250) and the old building later became part of county hall. Juniors from Walkergate Council school were transferred to the school in 1918 to make up the numbers. Average attendance was usually c. 280 in the 1920s and 1930s. (fn. 251) The Mill Lane building was abandoned after a fire in 1946 and the school was moved to Longcroft Hall. (fn. 252) Accommodation was increased in the mid 1950s. Senior pupils were transferred to Molescroft County Secondary school in 1958. (fn. 253) In 1970 the school was amalgamated with the girls' school as St. Mary's Church of England Junior school.

St. Mary's and St. Nicholas's National , later St. Mary's National (for girls).

A girls' school formerly held near Wood Lane was revived in the same building by the vicar of St. Mary's as a National school c. 1873, when there were 98 pupils. (fn. 254) An annual government grant was evidently received from 1874-5. (fn. 255) In 1875 a new building, designed by J. B. & W. Atkinson of York, was erected on a site in Norwood given by Thomas Crust. (fn. 256) It is of red brick with stone dressings in a late Gothic style. The school was also supported by school pence and income from Tymperon's charity. (fn. 257) From 1880 it was called simply St. Mary's National school. (fn. 258) It was evidently also attended by infants until 1904, when they were transferred to the corn exchange school. (fn. 259) Average attendance from the 1890s to 1927 was usually c. 200, approaching 250 in the 1930s. (fn. 260) Rooms in Tiger Lane were rented for additional classrooms before the transfer of the senior pupils to Molescroft County Secondary school in 1958. (fn. 261) In 1970 the school was amalgamated with the boys' school as St. Mary's Church of England Junior school.

St. Mary's Church of England

The school was formed in 1970 by the amalgamation of St. Mary's boys' and girls' junior schools. (fn. 262) Mixed classes were at first housed in the existing buildings. In 1972 all the pupils at Longcroft Hall and some of those at Norwood were transferred to the first instalment of a new school in Eden Road. The 400-place school was completed in 1975, when the classes remaining at Norwood were moved into the new school. (fn. 263) There were 252 on the roll in 1986. (fn. 264) The former buildings at Longcroft Hall were later used successively for Longcroft school and Beverley College of Further Education and the old girls' school was taken over by the high school.

St. Mary's (Wood Lane).

A girls' school for St. Mary's parish was opened in 1840 in the former Quaker meeting house. (fn. 265) The undenominational school was usually said to be a British school (fn. 266) and was supported by subscriptions, donations, school pence, and collections taken in St. Mary's church. The school, which had 71 pupils in 1846-7 (fn. 267) and 100 in 1865, (fn. 268) was closed in 1872 but revived shortly afterwards as St. Mary's and St. Nicholas's National school. (fn. 269)

St. Nicholas's Council.

An infants' school, designed by Thomson Foley of Beverley, was built by the corporation in St. Nicholas's Road and opened in 1915 to replace St. Nicholas's National school and the minster school in Flemingate. (fn. 270) The building is of red brick with stone dressings in a plain gabled style. Average attendance between 1918 and 1938 was usually 250-300. (fn. 271) In 1970 the school was reorganized as a junior and infants' school to relieve overcrowding at the minster girls' school. (fn. 272) Temporary accommodation was provided in 1972-3, and in 1976 a new 120-place infants' department was opened on a site north of St. Nicholas's church. Children from Weel were then transferred from the minster school. The original school was later used for the junior department. A nursery unit was opened in 1977 and in 1986 there were 256 full-time pupils and 80 part-time nursery pupils on the roll. (fn. 273)

St. Nicholas's National.

An infants' school was opened in 1880 in a mission and school room designed by Smith & Brodrick of Hull and built in Holme Church Lane the previous year. (fn. 274) It is of red brick with blue brick and terracotta decoration in a Gothic style. It was maintained by subscriptions and the school pence of 40 pupils, and from 1881-2 also by an annual government grant. (fn. 275) Average attendance was some 80 c. 1890 and usually 100-150 between 1900 and 1914. (fn. 276) The school was closed, presumably at the end of 1914 like the minster school in Flemingate; the pupils were transferred to St. Nicholas's Council school in 1915 (fn. 277) and the old building was later used as a parish hall.

Spencer Council.

The former Wesleyan school, in School Lane, was taken over in 1905 by the corporation, which then enlarged its site and renamed it Spencer Council school (fn. 278) after William Spencer, headmaster of the Wesleyan school 1848-87. (fn. 279) The infants were transferred to Walkergate at its opening in 1906. Average attendance between 1906 and 1927 was usually 300350, falling to 232 by 1938. (fn. 280) The Wesley Chapel Sunday school was used as additional accommodation in the 1940s. (fn. 281) Senior pupils were transferred to Molescroft County Secondary school in 1957 (fn. 282) and the junior school was replaced in 1967 by Swinemoor County Junior school. The building was later demolished.

Spinning.

A spinning school in Highgate proposed by John Moyser in 1717 (fn. 283) may have been intended for the girls of the Charity school, of which Moyser was also a promoter. A spinning school had certainly been established by 1787, when it was mostly supported by subscriptions and received £100 under Mary Appleton's will. (fn. 284) The same or another spinning school was held in Eastgate in 1805. (fn. 285) Another spinning school was established in Minster Moorgate by the Revd. H. W. Hunter 'many years' before his death in 1859. (fn. 286) It was perhaps the spinning school, supported by subscription and attended by six girls, which was returned under St. Martin's parish in 1833. (fn. 287) Hunter's school later became a sewing, knitting, and reading school; eight girls were taught in 1840 and six in 1859. (fn. 288)

Swinemoor County Infants.

The first instalment of a 360-place school in Burden Road was opened in 1967. Pupils were then transferred from the minster infants' school and Walkergate and St. Nicholas's. The building was completed in 1970 and there were 166 on the roll in 1986. (fn. 289)

Swinemoor County Junior.

The first instalment of a 480-place school to replace Spencer County Junior school was opened in 1967 on a site in Coltman Avenue next to the infants' school. (fn. 290) The building was completed in 1970 and there were 223 on the roll in 1986. (fn. 291)

Temperance Hall.

In 1905 the Temperance Hall, Well Lane, was rented by the corporation and some of the juniors from St. Mary's boys' school were transferred there. The temporary premises were replaced in 1906 by Walkergate Council school. (fn. 292)

Walkergate Council.

A junior and infants' school, designed by Thomson Foley of Beverley, was built by the corporation and opened in 1906, replacing temporary schools at the corn exchange and the Temperance Hall, and taking infants from Spencer Council school. (fn. 293) It is of red brick with stone dressings in a plain gabled style. Average attendance was usually c. 200 before the First World War. In 1918 the juniors were transferred to St. Mary's boys' school. (fn. 294) Attendance between 1918 and 1938 was usually 150-90. (fn. 295) A building in the grounds of St. Mary's Manor used as a nursery during the Second World War was taken over for a nursery class of Walkergate Primary school in 1946; (fn. 296) it later became Manor Nursery school. In 1986 there were 88 children on the roll at Walkergate. (fn. 297)

Wesleyan.

The unsectarian Wesleyan day school was begun in 1840 in a room at the Walkergate chapel. (fn. 298) It was moved to a new building in School Lane in 1844. (fn. 299) The mixed school was supported mostly by subscriptions, donations, and school pence, (fn. 300) and from 1849-50 also by an annual government grant. (fn. 301) Average attendance was 208 in 1867-8, some 270 c. 1890, and over 300 c. 1900. (fn. 302) The building was enlarged in 1859, 1865, and 1872, when 70 more places were provided; at least two of the enlargements were by William Harker of Beverley. In 1900 three new classrooms were built to provide 120 more places, including places for infants. (fn. 303) In 1905 the school was sold to the corporation, (fn. 304) which continued it as Spencer Council school.