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Hall Green Schools

More memories - going to the playing fields on Fox Hollies Road to play football - I was hopeless - my grandad bought me some really heavy old fashioned football boots with leather studs and hard toecaps - nothing like the modern boots; being in the recorder group, and competing at Cadburys in the presumably Birmingham Schools competition and winning! Remember making handicrafts stuff in the top classes - weaving strings on cardboard formers, making notebooks - I was no good at that either.
Friends from that time - Phil Castleton, Steve Rochester, Lawrence Garvey whose dad was a Police Inspector, we used to sail our yachts on Bournville Yachting lake on Saturdays, our dads used to take it in turns to drive us; other friends - one chap had parents who owned the sweetshop at the Shaftmoor Lane end of Russell Road - good friend to have, so remember the tobacco (coloured strands of coconut) and Golden Nuggets, bubble gum in a little cotton bag. Don Lloyd, who lived at the far end of Russell Road, and whose dad ran a curtain shop on the Station Bridge. One special girl was Angela Wilmshurst, we used to kiss goodbye in the cloakrooms, the talk of our class - I've not seen her since we left!
 
I wonder if anyone can help with this enquiry from John, please ? Much appreciated.


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at the min i cant find a william henry benbow of school age living in birmingham in 1871...do we have his date of birth or parents names please..maybe john could view this post and give us some more info ..if we can find out williams address we could find out the nearest schools

lyn
 
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Astoness said:
at the min i cant find a william henry benbow of school age living in birmingham in 1871...do we have his date of birth or parents names please..maybe john could view this post and give us some more info ..if we can find out williams address we could find out the nearest schools

lyn
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Don't forget in 1871 Hall Green came under Yardley and was Worcestershire not Birmingham
 
It's complicated, but some of these extracts from British History Online might be of help.

The Charity Estates schools look to be possibilities, I expect Hall Green School the most likely. (The grammar school is too late and clearly 'Yardley' but was linked through the Charity). I've included the temporary board school too (this only took girls) as it might be of interest to others.

HALL GREEN YARDLEY CHARITY SCHOOL. In existence 1819, with 39 pupils.(2) Possibly identical with Hall Green School, q.v. In 1833 the master received £40 a year and a good schoolhouse etc. from the trustees of the Yardley Charity, and taught freely all children sent by them. He was allowed to take 4 paying boarders. A garden and playground were rented for the sch. by the trustees.(6) Received annual grant from 1881. A.a. 1881: 26.(1) Closed 1898 and pupils transferred to Hall Green Bd. Sch.(21) See also Yardley Charity Estates Sch.

HALL GREEN (TEMPORARY) BOARD SCHOOL. Hall Green Church Sch. There was a National Sch. at Hall Green in 1833, with 30 G in attendance.(3) The sch. was said in 1877 to have been built about 46 years before and established 40 years before (i.e. 1831 and 1837) and to have been thoroughly repaired 1877. It was rented and comprised one schoolroom. It was for G, I only. Fees 1d.–2d.(22) Received annual grant from 1881. Accom. 1881: 42. Transferred to Yardley Sch. Bd. 1890 as Hall Green (Temporary) Bd. Sch. Closed 1893 on opening of Hall Green Bd. Sch.(21)

YARDLEY CHARITY ESTATES SCHOOL, Yardley. Yardley Free Sch. A deed of Yardley Charity Estates of 1575 refers to the schoolhouse (see V.C.H. Worcs. iii. 238). In 1766 some of the income of the estates was set aside for the maintenance of a schoolmaster to teach the children of Yardley freely. He was to be unmarried and to have a rentfree house. In 1819 n.o.b. varied between 40 in summer and 70 in winter: the master was then said to refuse to take children who could not read or G unless they paid fees.(2) From then the sch. was for B only: there appears to have been no criticism of this.(6) In 1846 there was one schoolroom with n.o.b. 69.(30) By a Scheme of 1878 not more than £240 a year were to be spent on this sch. and the Hall Green Yardley Charity Sch. This was raised in 1882 to £280 and after the Hall Green Sch. closed 1898 it was all to be applied to this sch.(21) Received annual grants from 1879. Apparently enlarged 1894: (1) by 1907 there were 2 schoolrooms and 2 classrooms, one of each on each floor. Bd. of Ed. condemned building 1908, and sch. closed on opening of Church Road Council Sch.(21)

YARDLEY COUNTY GRAMMAR SCHOOL, Warwick Road, Tyseley. Yardley Council Secondary Sch. (sometimes known as Sparkhill Secondary Sch.) opened 1904 by Worcs. C.C. in Sparkhill Institute. New building in Warwick Rd. opened 1910 (V.C.H. Worcs. iv. 535). War damage repaired 1953.(28) It started as a mixed secondary sch. with a pupilteacher centre attached, although science and other facilities were considered inadequate for the latter, which closed 1913. Until 1910 partly maintained by Yardley Educational Foundation (see also Yardley Charity Estates Sch.). Under a Scheme of 1910 half Foundation's net income was devoted to maintenance of exhibitions at the sch. N.o.b. 1914: 180, 1961: 592.(28) In 1911 81 per cent. and in 1939 99 per cent. pupils came from elementary schs. Fees £3 until 1907, and £12 by 1939. In 1914 58 per cent. pupils paid fees, by 1939 none paid full fees. Average leaving age 1910–13 and 1938: 15–16 (ex inf. M. of Ed.).


References

2. Digest of Returns to the Select Committee on the Education of Poor, vol. ii, H.C. 224 (1819), ix (2).
3. Education Enquiry Abstract, vols. ii and iii, H.C. 62 (1835), xlii, xliii (relating to 1833).
6. Twenty-Sixth Report of the Commissioners for. . . Charities, H.C. 681 (1833), xix — King's Norton, Northfield, and Yardley parishes.
21. Ministry of Education School Files for Birmingham.
22. Ed. 7/128 — preliminary statements for Birmingham schools, arranged under the school numbers used in Board of Education lists.
28. Information provided by Birmingham Education Department. Accommodation figures for 1955 relate to January of that year, and those of 1961 to May.
30. National Society, Church Schools Enquiry, 1846–7. Copies of this and of the annual reports used were then in the possession of the society.
 
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Here's another message from John. I've given a little explanation, so hopefully he will be able to make any further posts on this thread.

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Being next to the Shoes (actaully called The Horseshoe) makes it fit this map of 1883
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By 1903 the Horseshoe Hotel was in its place
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The problem is that at the time Hall Green came under Yardley and was in Worcestershire not Birmingham so the directories are not as helpful.
 
Intriguingly I found this image on Acocks Green History Society website. Cole Bank Lane (now Road) is the name given by 1903 to the road almost opposite the site of the Horseshoe. Maps do not have a school marked on Cole Bank Lane so I am wondering if this is, in fact, the "plain Georgian building" referred to by Bill Dargue. But I have no way of knowing for certain at the moment, There is no date on the photo either.
colebank school.jpg
 
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Searching online for info on Colebank school there is a suggestion that:
A charity school from 1721 to 1881, it then became a public elementary school until around 1898, then a private high school until around 1910
As the Horseshoe was in existence by 1900 either this school is the wrong one or it existed and the pub was built alongside it. This is quite likely as there is a plot of land at the side of the pub occupied today by Kwik Fit
1735387422247.png
 
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1908 Kelly's directory. (NB Church Lane is now called School Road). So Colebank school was right on the corner but we still don't know for certain if that was the school we want.
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1871 census lists William Eades next to the Horse Shoe Pub so seems to indicate that the school was most likely on that piece of land now occupied by Kwik Fit.
1735392641537.png
 
Thank you so much Janice. That has been most helpful. I located an old photo of the Horseshoe Pub for comparative purposes and I am very confident that the building on the right of the photo of Colebank School, Hall Green which you posted is one and the same Horseshoe Pub. While the School photo is undated, the schoolhouse built in the Georgian style certainly looks like it would have been built well before 1872. So I have concluded that you found a photo of my Great Grandfather William Benbow's School and confirmed that Mr W Eades who signed his book certificate in 1872 is the same William Eades who was the young 26 year old Headmaster at the School in the 1871 Census.

Thank you once again for your research. It is greatly appreciated.

John
 
The pub is still there but no longer a pub. It is being converted to a Costa Coffee.
There is a thread with photos on tge Forum here
Vivienne14

Thread 'Horseshoe Hotel Stratford Road'

This postcard of the pub looks to me about 1920s/1930s. Surprisingly it's still standing on Stratford Road. The front has undergone much alteration (and some extension) but it's still very recognisable.

A pity the porch details have gone, although it looks like the pillars are still there. The chimneys are unusual, but they too seem to have been altered. Other small details such as those on top of and underneath the gables has disappeared too. It's possible there was once a stable block to the right of the pub. Modern view is also attached below. Viv.

image.jpeg
image.jpeg
  • Appreciate
 
Now I've had time to look more closely at the photo of Colebank Scool the Horseshoe is also in the photo. So definitely the school referred to by Bill Dargue
 
Thank you so much Janice. That has been most helpful. I located an old photo of the Horseshoe Pub for comparative purposes and I am very confident that the building on the right of the photo of Colebank School, Hall Green which you posted is one and the same Horseshoe Pub. While the School photo is undated, the schoolhouse built in the Georgian style certainly looks like it would have been built well before 1872. So I have concluded that you found a photo of my Great Grandfather William Benbow's School and confirmed that Mr W Eades who signed his book certificate in 1872 is the same William Eades who was the young 26 year old Headmaster at the School in the 1871 Census
Astoness said:
at the min i cant find a william henry benbow of school age living in birmingham in 1871...do we have his date of birth or parents names please..maybe john could view this post and give us some more info ..if we can find out williams address we could find out the nearest schools

lyn
Click to expand...
Hello Lyn,
You were asking for some more information on William Henry Benbow (date of birth, names of parents etc.). This is where my Great Grandfather's story gets a bit mysterious. My grandmother (Doris Elizabeth Lukin nee Benbow), daughter of WH Benbow, thought that her father was born in Birmingham on 20 October 1862 and I understand that she tried without success to get a birth certificate for him. WH Benbow's parents were said to be George Benbow and Sarah Jennings, daughter of Michael Jennings. However, family tradition has it that parents George and Sarah Benbow died in a typhoid epidemic within six months of each other while William was very young. His grandparents George Benbow and Mary Coles, then raised their orphaned grandson and later he was taken in by his aunt and uncle Charles William Benbow (b. 13 February 1842 at Bordesly, Warwickshire bp. 20 May 1842 Bordesly, Warwickshire) and Aunt Elizabeth Jennings (b. 2 Jan 1845). Uncle Charles Benbow and Aunt Elizabeth were said to be brother and sister respectively of young William Benbow's birth parents according to the family story passed down to me. Charles and Elizabeth were married on 11 August 1866 at Aston Juxta, Warwickshire. (See https://winsomegriffin.com/Benbow/ChasWBenbow.html) I'm sure places like Bordesly and Aston Juxta mean more to you than they do to me without local knowledge.

Given that my grandmother quite late in her life went to the trouble of trying to get a birth certificate for her father (WH Benbow), we think she might have doubted the story about her father being orphaned or the story of his parentage. We have also had difficulties trying to track down WH Benbow's parents George and Sarah. On the other hand, if William Henry Benbow was an orphan it might be the reason he went to the Hall Green Yardley Charity School - possibly with free tuition.

An inscription in another book given to my Great Grandfather WH Benbow states that it was given to him by his Sunday School teacher on the occasion of him leaving England in June 1875. I understand the family were Wesleyans, but I don't know where they lived or attended Sunday School.

William emigrated to Wellington, New Zealand with his Aunt and Uncle in 1875.

If you can solve the mystery of my Great Grandfather's birth and parentage you would have made a great breakthrough.
.
Thank you once again for your research. It is greatly appreciated.

John
 
I have moved posts about the Benbow family history to their own dedicated thread in our Surnames Interest section. Here is that thread

J

Thread 'Benbow family'

Edited post from Hall Green Schools thread
Astoness said:
at the min i cant find a william henry benbow of school age living in birmingham in 1871...do we have his date of birth or parents names please..maybe john could view this post and give us some more info ..if we can find out williams address we could find out the nearest schools

lyn
Click to expand...
Hello Lyn,
You were asking for some more information on William Henry Benbow (date of birth, names of parents etc.). This is where my Great Grandfather's story gets a bit mysterious. My grandmother (Doris Elizabeth Lukin nee Benbow), daughter of WH...
 
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