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Yardley Schoolhouse
- Thread starter ALB10N
- Start date
For info. The same postcard on eBay is dated c1907. Viv.
Radiorails
master brummie
A 2014 view.
Radiorails
master brummie
The Work of William Albert Green 1907 - 1984
oldbrit
OldBrit in Exile
That's how I remember it
A 2014 view.
Dennis Williams
Gone but not forgotten
THE MEDIEVAL SCHOOL
Apart from the church, the Old School is Yardley's only other major visible survival from the medieval period. On architectural grounds it is generally considered to date from the latter part of the fifteenth century.
However, in 1512 Robert Swifte bequeathed xiid 'toward the makyng of the church howse of yardeley', and this is more than likely the building in question. The first documentary use of the term 'schoolhouse'
does not occur until 1575.
Standing immediately alongside the south perimeter of the churchyard, this fine timber-framed building is a narrow, two storied oblong of four bays. A brick extension-once the schoolmaster's house, now the curate's-was long ago added to the east end, while the south elevation is concealed beneath brick facing, except in its easternmost bay, and by the porch wing which is modern. This means that only the gabled west end and the north side, facing the church, approximate to their original appearance.
On the north the jettied upper floor is supported by five curved brackets which spring from the main ground floor uprights, these last having small octagonal shafts cut on their faces. The interior, also, which originally comprised two large rooms-one up and one down-has been much altered in modem times, but the upper part remains open to the roof, with its massive oak trusses, cambered tie-beams, and collars supported by curved struts.
We know the parish had a school in the early years of the fifteenth century, at which time it was probably held in the church nave. William Smyth ‘scolemayster’ witnesses a deed in 1402, and again in 1403/4, when he is described as 'scole magistro de Yerdley'." The William Scolemayster cited in the bailiffs account of 1418/19 was probably the same person, his paternal name by now having been dropped in favour of the office he had exercised for so long. Later in the century a John Scholemaster held Yardley charity land in the manor of Bordesley."
Yardley was lucky to have a school thus early. Although the Council of Westminster had decreed in 1200 'that priests shall keep schools in the towns and teach the little boys free of charge', the majority of parishes remained without educational provision throughout the middle ages. Two of Yardley's five neighbours had schools: King's Norton and Aston (the school attached to the Gild of St John the Baptist, Deritend). On the other hand, the nearby market towns of Solihull and Birmingham were without.
How then did the Yardley school come into being? It does not seem to have developed in connection with chantry or gild foundations, as at King's Norton and Deritend. Nor is there any justification for associating it with the monks of Maxstoke or Pershore notwithstanding the modern stained-glass shield in the north aisle of the church which depicts a monk-schoolmaster teaching in 'an exact representation of the schoolroom', with the arms of Maxstoke and Pershore below."
We know that from the seventeenth century the school was financed out of charity lands and administered by the feoffees of the charity estates. Lay educational provision independent of gild, chantry, or any other ecclesiastical institution-was unusual, but by no means unknown in the later middle ages." So it is at least possible that something analogous to the seventeenth-century arrangement had obtained from the beginning.
It is also possible that the school did not in fact have a continuous history. After William and John, no further schoolmasters can be traced until William Billingsley in the late sixteenth century."? Some have maintained that during the interim chaplains taught the school, and this idea cannot be ruled OUt. On the other hand, as far as the documentary record goes, the school here could equally well have lapsed for a century or more.
Within the churchyard itself stands Yardley Old Grammar School. Built in the 15th-century as the church house, it was rebuilt in 1512 as a two-storey timber-framed building, and is now Grade II* listed. Its use as a school is first mentioned in a deed of 1575. In 1766 it was recorded that the Yardley Trust were to pay for a schoolmaster who was to be unmarried, given a rent-free house and who would teach the children of Yardley at no cost to their families.
In 1819 there were nearly eighty children attending during the winter months, but the figure was halved in summer when children were needed for farmwork. However, the master began to refuse children who could not read and girls who did not pay their fees. Subsequently the school was run for boys only. By 1846 69 boys were being taught in a single classroom. The building was enlarged in 1894 and by 1904 there were two schoolrooms and two classrooms, one on each floor. However, the building was condemned by the Board of Education in 1908 and closed the following year when it was replaced by Church Road Council School. Nos. 422-424 to the rear of the school were the schoolmaster's house of late 19th century. Although Yardley churchyard was largely cleared of upright gravestones in 1959, one that still remains in the south-east corner is that of the schoolmaster, James Chell.
Apart from the church, the Old School is Yardley's only other major visible survival from the medieval period. On architectural grounds it is generally considered to date from the latter part of the fifteenth century.
However, in 1512 Robert Swifte bequeathed xiid 'toward the makyng of the church howse of yardeley', and this is more than likely the building in question. The first documentary use of the term 'schoolhouse'
does not occur until 1575.
Standing immediately alongside the south perimeter of the churchyard, this fine timber-framed building is a narrow, two storied oblong of four bays. A brick extension-once the schoolmaster's house, now the curate's-was long ago added to the east end, while the south elevation is concealed beneath brick facing, except in its easternmost bay, and by the porch wing which is modern. This means that only the gabled west end and the north side, facing the church, approximate to their original appearance.
On the north the jettied upper floor is supported by five curved brackets which spring from the main ground floor uprights, these last having small octagonal shafts cut on their faces. The interior, also, which originally comprised two large rooms-one up and one down-has been much altered in modem times, but the upper part remains open to the roof, with its massive oak trusses, cambered tie-beams, and collars supported by curved struts.
We know the parish had a school in the early years of the fifteenth century, at which time it was probably held in the church nave. William Smyth ‘scolemayster’ witnesses a deed in 1402, and again in 1403/4, when he is described as 'scole magistro de Yerdley'." The William Scolemayster cited in the bailiffs account of 1418/19 was probably the same person, his paternal name by now having been dropped in favour of the office he had exercised for so long. Later in the century a John Scholemaster held Yardley charity land in the manor of Bordesley."
Yardley was lucky to have a school thus early. Although the Council of Westminster had decreed in 1200 'that priests shall keep schools in the towns and teach the little boys free of charge', the majority of parishes remained without educational provision throughout the middle ages. Two of Yardley's five neighbours had schools: King's Norton and Aston (the school attached to the Gild of St John the Baptist, Deritend). On the other hand, the nearby market towns of Solihull and Birmingham were without.
How then did the Yardley school come into being? It does not seem to have developed in connection with chantry or gild foundations, as at King's Norton and Deritend. Nor is there any justification for associating it with the monks of Maxstoke or Pershore notwithstanding the modern stained-glass shield in the north aisle of the church which depicts a monk-schoolmaster teaching in 'an exact representation of the schoolroom', with the arms of Maxstoke and Pershore below."
We know that from the seventeenth century the school was financed out of charity lands and administered by the feoffees of the charity estates. Lay educational provision independent of gild, chantry, or any other ecclesiastical institution-was unusual, but by no means unknown in the later middle ages." So it is at least possible that something analogous to the seventeenth-century arrangement had obtained from the beginning.
It is also possible that the school did not in fact have a continuous history. After William and John, no further schoolmasters can be traced until William Billingsley in the late sixteenth century."? Some have maintained that during the interim chaplains taught the school, and this idea cannot be ruled OUt. On the other hand, as far as the documentary record goes, the school here could equally well have lapsed for a century or more.
Within the churchyard itself stands Yardley Old Grammar School. Built in the 15th-century as the church house, it was rebuilt in 1512 as a two-storey timber-framed building, and is now Grade II* listed. Its use as a school is first mentioned in a deed of 1575. In 1766 it was recorded that the Yardley Trust were to pay for a schoolmaster who was to be unmarried, given a rent-free house and who would teach the children of Yardley at no cost to their families.
In 1819 there were nearly eighty children attending during the winter months, but the figure was halved in summer when children were needed for farmwork. However, the master began to refuse children who could not read and girls who did not pay their fees. Subsequently the school was run for boys only. By 1846 69 boys were being taught in a single classroom. The building was enlarged in 1894 and by 1904 there were two schoolrooms and two classrooms, one on each floor. However, the building was condemned by the Board of Education in 1908 and closed the following year when it was replaced by Church Road Council School. Nos. 422-424 to the rear of the school were the schoolmaster's house of late 19th century. Although Yardley churchyard was largely cleared of upright gravestones in 1959, one that still remains in the south-east corner is that of the schoolmaster, James Chell.
Attachments
Don’t know if this is the very old school referred to. But it might be of help. It seems to be next to a church. This postcard image is dated 1913. Viv.
Last edited:
Thanks Janice, shall move it if you find anything. Viv.
pjmburns
master brummie
Feel free to delete or edit this post Viv. There is a thread for Yardley School House. https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/schoolhouse-yardley.48818/
1916 map of Yardley wood has no school by the church;
but 1905 map of St Edburgha's Yardley does show a school.
1916 map of Yardley wood has no school by the church;
but 1905 map of St Edburgha's Yardley does show a school.
