- Introduction
- The Chantry School
- KM Free Grammar
- Malham
- Malham Girls School
- Scosthrop
- Malham Tarn
- KM United School
- Airton
- Lee Gate & Bordley
Clicking on most pictures will show a larger version
Walter Morrison MP and school benefactor
Note from Walter Morrison accompanying the summary of building costs below.
Summary of the cost of setting up the school.
Bill for the Constables for the 1892 election of Governors
Bill for beer and sandwiches for the Constables!
Aerial photo of the school pre 1960
Albert K Turner with his pupils
1896
Miss Turner with the younger boys 1896
1908 senior class with Mr Albert K Turner, the head teacher of the United School. (named)
Kirkby Malham School 1919
Pupils and staff pictured in the early 1920's
Girl's PE in the playground circa 1923
Mr Winnerah and Miss Bell with the Kirkby Malham United School pupils circa 1927 (named)
Inter schools relay race champion team circa 1927
L-R back: Jimmy Hall, Norman Heaton
L-R front: George Hayhurst, John Yeadon
Early 1950's? Do you recognise anyone?
"Little Red Riding Hood"
Craven Herald article about the school in 1958 when Mrs Johnston was head teacher.
1963 (named)
1966 (named)
1967 (named)
Centenary appeal- 1974
Centenary Celebrations Invitation
1974 - School Centenary celebrations, staff, children and guests
Staff and pupils in 1986 (named)
The History of Education in Malhamdale
Kirkby Malham United School (1874 - present)
By the late 1860s it had become necessary to completely reorganise the
education provision in Malham and Kirkby Malham. The two old endowed grammar
schools in Malham and Kirkby Malham were both having difficulties. Both
premises were inadequate and the endowments were insufficient to maintain
and improve two schools to the standards which were expected at that time.
One of the chief instigators of the need for reform was Mr Walter Morrison
of Malham Tarn, who was a Governor of the Kirkby Malham School.
After much discussion it was decided by the Endowed Schools Commission
to unite the two foundations under one management with a single Foundation
or Trust. This ‘United’ school was to have new, purpose built
premises which it was felt would enable the education of the children
of both villages to progress. Walter Morrison had offered to provide the
new buildings at his own expense.
The Commission had originally hoped to include Malham School for Girls,
with the endowment from Thomas Clapham, into the united scheme, but due
to certain conditions imposed on the endowment this was not possible.
However, very soon after the scheme came into operation, the School for
Girls was merged into the United School and the endowment was used for
the general benefit of the new school. It was not until after the death
of Thomas Preston who administered the endowment and was also a Governor
of the United School, that the capital sum was finally transferred on
29th June 1892, and became part of the overall endowments for the United
School.
The documents for the uniting of the two foundations were finally approved
by Queen Victoria with the advice of her Privy Council at the Court at
Osborne House on 8th August 1872. The scheme set out the conditions for
the amalgamation of the endowments and for the management of the school.
The Governing Body was to consist of seven people, of whom three were
to be elected by the ratepayers, and four co-opted. The four co-opted
Governors were to be :
Walter Morrison MP of Malham Tarn House
Rev Thomas Clark Henley, the Vicar of Kirkby Malham
Thomas Preston of Scosthrop House, Bell Busk
John Bonny Dewhurst of Skipton.
Walter Morrison and Rev Henley were to serve for ten years and Thomas
Preston and John Dewhurst for nine years.
The scheme stipulated that the Headmaster was to be a certificated teacher
and would receive a stipend of £70 per annum plus a further payment
for each scholar. He was also to be allowed to take boarders at a charge
of no more than £25 per annum. In return for this salary every Headmaster
was required to sign the following declaration in the Minute Book of the
Governors:
‘I declare that I will always, to the best of my ability, discharge the duties of Head Master of Kirkby Malham School during my tenure of the office, and that if I am removed by the Governors, according to the constitution of the said School, I will acquiesce in such removal, and will thereupon relinquish all claim to the mastership and its future emoluments, and will deliver up to the Governors, or as they direct, possession of all their property then in my possession or occupation.’
After the disputes between the Trustees of the Malham school and the last
headmaster, Mr Atkinson in 1856 and 1869 which involved the intervention
of the Charity Commissioners, perhaps it was thought wise to try to make
any new appointment within more rigid boundaries.
The Scheme also stipulated that the school should be open to ‘all
boys and girls who are of good character and sufficient bodily health’
who would pay tuition fees of up to 9d per week. There was also provision
for an Upper Department ‘for the purposes of education higher than
elementary education,’ for which the pupils would pay between £2
and £4 per year. There were also arrangements made for various ‘Exhibitions’
or scholarships. The subjects taught in the Upper Department were to be
:
Mathematics
Mensuration and Land surveying
English Grammar, Composition and Literature
History
Geography, political and physical
At least one branch of Natural Science
Latin, or some foreign European language
Drawing
Vocal Music
Every year there was to be an examination of the scholars either by Her
Majesty’s Inspector of Schools or by an Examiner appointed by the
Governors.
From the date of the new scheme, Mr Christopher Edmondson was to cease
to be Master of Kirkby Malham school and was to receive an annual pension
of £15 for life. According to the report in the local paper at the
time of the opening of the new school, the numbers attending had fallen
so low that he didn’t think it worth his while to continue to teach
while the new school was being built. It appears that his few remaining
pupils went to Malham in the interim period.
Provision was also made for Mr Atkinson, Master at Malham, to be awarded
an annual pension of £20 for life.
Immediately following the acceptance of this scheme on August 9th 1872,
plans were put in place to hold an election on September 27th 1872 for
the three Representative Governors. There were five candidates :
William Gomersall from Otterburn, Landed Proprietor
Edward Taylor from Airton, Gentleman
Anthony Taylor from Airton, Gentleman
William Anderson from Hanlith Farmer
James Howarh from Capon Hall, Malham Moor, Farmer.
Edward Taylor, Anthony Taylor and James Howarth were the three elected
to serve for five years.
With a Board of Governors in place, the next problem was to find a suitable
site for the new building and the one chosen was Raw Riggs Meadow which
was part of the original endowment from Rowland Brayshaw for Malham School.
(In the old documents this was referred to as Rariggs.) This had the advantage
of being half way between the two villages. The population of the whole
parish according to the 1871 census was 930 and of these 700 lived within
two miles of the proposed site. In order to comply with the scheme Walter
Morrison first bought a piece of the land from the Trustees of Malham
School for £50. Work could then begin on the building to the design
by Messrs Paley and Austin, Architects from Lancaster. The contractor
was Mr Robert Sugden from Keighley and the T shaped building used Kirkby
Fell stone from the local quarry there.
The buildings consisted of a large room, a classroom and separate cloakrooms
and toilets for boys and girls. There was also the master’s residence
which had space for boarders if required. According to the report in the
local paper there were also recreation grounds ‘the boys being
separated from the girls by a high wall, while each are supplied with
a shed in case of wet weather.’
The new buildings were finished by May 1874 and the Charity Commissioners
authorised the Governors to exchange the site and buildings of the old
school which had been valued at £190, for the new site and buildings.
The cost to Mr Walter Morrison at the time of the exchange was £2874-3-10d
which covered buildings, furniture and fittings but he later had further
expenditure and the total cost was about £3000. It was certainly
a very generous gift to ensure the local children received a good education.
A
letter enclosed with the full accounts was sent by Walter Morrison
to Rev D Renwick Hall in April 1898. He says ‘I have come across
the enclosed on looking for another paper. Please to put it with the other
school papers. It will be interesting a century hence.’ How prophetic
a statement!
While the buildings were in the course of preparation, the Governors
turned their attention to the appointment of the first Master and Assistant
Mistress for the school. They had written to William Atkinson in December
1872 offering him the continued Mastership of the Malham School under
the new control and he held the position until the move to the new buildings
(see
page with various correspondence between W Atkinson and the Governors).
He appeared to find it more congenial working for the new Governing Body
than he had for the old Trustees.
The advertisements brought in 58 applications from all over the country
but of the 3 invited to attend for interview Mr Edwin Wheadon Hicks and
his wife Elizabeth A Hicks were selected. They were both Certificated
teachers from Calstock National School, Tavistock in Devon.
On Friday 7th August 1874 the celebrations were held for the opening of the new Kirkby Malham United School. It took the form of a tea followed by a concert. In a report about the event from the Craven Herald the writer describes the decorations in great detail.
‘A garland of evergreens hung gracefully on the walls right round the rooms, the tea-tables were plentifully adorned with the choicest hot and greenhouse blooms, while the numerous deep-bayed windows were literally crowded with a beautiful collection of pot plants from the conservatories of Mr Morrison, Mr J W Tottie, Coniston Hall, Mr Alcock of Newfield, and Mr J B Dewhurst of Aireville. In the evening when the lamps were lighted and placed promiscuously among the varied tinted flowers and plants in the windows, the scene was one of almost fairy-like beauty…’
All the local gentry were present and in all about 300 people attended.
The concert was a great success with a glee party from Skipton providing
part of the entertainment and even the new Master, Mr Hicks, contributed
by singing ‘The Last Rose of Summer’. Mrs Hicks had declined
an invitation to participate.
Mr Walter Morrison welcomed the guests and declared that the school would
open the following Monday, August 10th, at 9.30am, and would people please
pass on this information. It seemed quite a casual way to open a new school!
He encouraged parents to ensure children attended regularly, as 250 attendances
were needed by each child before they were entitled to sit for examination,
and this affected the size of the Government grant, which was so important
to the school. A profit of £20 was made on the entertainment which
was given to the school as a Prize Fund.
The new school building was a great improvement for pupils and teachers
alike, but from the log book it is clear that academic progress was all
too often sacrificed to necessity. The weather was often given as the
reason for the small numbers in school; many children would have a considerable
distance to walk and it is understandable that snow or persistent rain
could keep them at home. Often boys were absent in lambing time and hay
time. What we now call the summer holiday was called then (1874) the Harvest
holiday (ie. the hay harvest) and it lasted for four weeks, but that would
not always cover hay time. Additional holidays were two weeks at Christmas
and Good Friday and Easter week. Other reasons given for absence were:
gathering firewood, farm sales and Long Preston hiring days whilst holidays
were given for Skipton Show and the Malham Fairs. A child arriving late
after the registers were closed would be sent straight back home and marked
absent. It was noticed that many boys were missing when the foxhounds
or the beagles met locally.
Some of the older children were ‘half-timers’ working half
time at the mills, Airton or Scalegill, with the Governors’ approval.
They were obliged to spend three days or six half days in school. The
law concerning these part timers changed in 1892 so that any child who
was working with a part time labour certificate had to cease working on
his or her 13th birthday, unless or until they had passed the total exemption
standard, or else held a dunce’s certificate! From the following
year, no child under the age of 11 could become a part timer.
The number of scholars attending on any day varied greatly, from 31 the
first morning to 75, which was the highest number during the first 30
years. One boy could only attend from 9am to 11am ‘because he
has to carry letters to Malham Moor.’
Some entries from the school log stir the imagination: April 1876 ‘John
Parker came to say that he was about to work for his father, a mason.
Yet he is not ten years old and has not passed Stage II’ and
May 1877 ‘Margaret Hyde … gone to service in Clapham although
only nine years of age.’
Other entries show us the harsh realities of life in those early days.
The log records the deaths of five children between 1878 and 1905. An
entry for June 3rd 1878 records the death of Margaret Robinson aged 15.
On the day of her funeral all the school walked in procession before the
hearse and six girls were dressed in white and carried flowers to strew
on the coffin. She was described by the Headmaster as truthful, honest,
obedient and diligent and gave a motherly attention to the wants of the
little ones in wintertime.
Illness caused many absences. Sometimes the school was closed for three
or four weeks during a measles epidemic. Whooping cough took its toll
as did the common cold. The children had plenty of fresh air from their
walks to and from school, but in school the atmosphere must have been
dense at times. There are many references to the smoke from the stove
and fires and various boys were appointed to stoke and riddle them, but
it was such an unpopular job that the Governors agreed to pay 4d a week
to boys who attended to the fires in the daytime.
In December 1890 a Governor, Mr George Sedgewick wrote ‘I visited
the school. All the children are shivering with cold. The stove at 11am
gives as little heat as though just lighted.’ On dismal days
and particularly no doubt when the stove was smoking badly, certain work
had to be abandoned because of bad light.
It was not until 1903 that it was noted that ‘the new heating
apparatus acts admirably – the temperature today has not fallen below
50F.’ but in 1904 the inspector found the underfloor heating
apparatus ‘inconvenient’.
But however maligned, the stove won good marks for providing ashes to
‘deodorise the closets’. Shortly after the school was
opened it is recorded that a ‘Boy was to be paid 3d per week for
putting earth in daily or as often as needed’.
Whilst in school the children did not always make the best use of their
time. According to the school log, one boy ‘unscrewed a desk and
let it down.’ He was ‘suitably punished’. Who,
boy or girl, was responsible for the ‘nest of paper and rubbish
containing five young mice, all dead’ found on the harmonium
keys? One Thomas Greenwood was chastised and sent to the bottom of his
class for a month for ‘using a very indecent word’.
Some offences were more serious such as the damage done in the plantation
and the school garden in 1881. Investigations by the policeman and Mr
Morrison’s steward had ascertained that three boys, James Peacock,
William Clarke and Robert Coates were responsible and the Governors decided
that a letter should be sent to the parents. The letter stated that each
boy should make a public apology at the school entertainment at the time
of the presentation of the school prizes, and that one pound one shilling
be paid by each child for the cost of the damage. Failure to comply with
these conditions would result in summonses to appear before the Magistrates
in Settle. Fortunately all three boys complied!
Boys did seem to court more punishment but the girls were mentioned too.
In February 1875 it was found that ‘notes were passing between
the boys and girls, the latter most to blame’ and in May 1876
‘Anne Peacock and other girls had penalties for waiting in the
road last night so that Edward and John Gomersall overtook them, then
chased them and finally John Gomersall kissed Anne Peacock. For this he
and his brother were caned.’
The curriculum taught in the early days was wide. All scholars had to
achieve the standards in the 3Rs as laid down by the Government Inspectors
grading from Standard 1 to Standard VI. In addition to the 3Rs, there
are references in the early years of the School Log to geography, history,
drawing, singing, religious knowledge, drill for the boys and needlework
for the girls, plus French and mathematics for the Upper Department. During
the headship of Reuben Moss 1879-95, the Upper Department were studying
Latin, Euclid and algebra, and Mr Turner who came in 1887, taught elementary
science to the older scholars covering ‘from foodstuffs, manufacturies,
plants animals to weather and general agriculture’. The Government
Inspectors visited the school every year to test the standards and an
inspector organised and paid for by the Governors also visited annually.
Some of these subjects were considered unnecessary by parents. In 1887
Thomas Parker’s parents sent to say ‘They did not wish him
to learn drawing as it would be of little use to him’. They obviously
had a down to earth job in mind for their son!
The Governors’ choice of staff seems to have caused some problems
over the first twelve years. Mr and Mrs Hicks who were the first teachers
appointed in 1874, gave notice in 1879 due to the ill health of Mr Hicks,
‘making a removal to a milder climate desirable’. There
were 84 applications for the post and Mr and Mrs Reuben Moss were appointed.
However in 1885, after an unsatisfactory Inspector’s report and complaints
about the general dirty state of the school premises, Mr and Mrs Moss
offered their resignations and the Governors again set about the task
of finding replacements.
From January 1886 Mr John Rebanks was appointed Master and his daughter
Jane was appointed Assistant Mistress. All appeared to go well until June
1886 when the Governors unexpectedly received a letter from the Education
Department asking if they had received satisfactory testimonials from
Mr Rebanks and were they aware of the circumstances under which he had
left his previous school, Asby near Penrith. The reasons proved to be
that he had falsified the registers in order to qualify for a larger Government
grant, for which offence he was asked to resign. However, just before
he left, he replaced the offending pages in the register with the consequence
that the school lost the grant for the last nine months of his employment
at Asby.
That letter from the Education Department started six months of accusations,
counter accusations and recriminations which must have caused great concern
and division in the dale, and despite a petition on Rebank’s behalf
from 58 of the local householders, he was finally removed from office
at the end of 1886, and Mr Albert K Turner was appointed master and his
sister Emma was appointed Assistant with the appointments lasting until
1919. At last the Governors were getting the stability they hoped for,
and in the 33 years of the rule of the Turners, the Government Inspectors’
reports went from lukewarm and sometimes critical, to satisfactory to
good. A Diocesan Inspector’s report found: ‘The religious
knowledge work wonderfully and consistently good, in fact in a country
school it is unsurpassed’.
One of the major landmarks in the history of the school came in September
1891 when the Education Department offered a Fee Grant to the school.
This was a sum of 10s per pupil and was to replace the fees collected
from the parents, which at that time at Kirkby Malham, amounted to 13s
1d. The Governors decided not to charge the parents the extra 3s 1d and
from that time onwards the education was free.
Throughout the Minute Book of the Governors, are references to the election
of the three Representative Governors as required by the Scheme. If more
than three candidates were proposed an election was held and those eligible
to vote were the ratepayers of the parish of Kirkby Malhamdale who registered
their votes at either Airton, Malham Moor or Kirkby Malham school, presided
over by three of the Co-opted Governors. This is what happened on October
15th 1892 where there are records of payment for two constables at 4 shillings
each with 2s 2d for mileage (presumably on bicycles!) and an account from
the Victoria hotel for one dozen beer and stout at 2s 6d and sandwiches
at 3s provided as ‘Refreshments to poll clerks and policemen’.
The idea of two policemen being needed for an election of school governors
seems quite extreme but obviously the elections were taken very seriously.
Changes in the administration of the school were to be necessary following
the Education Act of 1902 which had a section relating to voluntary schools.
The Governors, led by Walter Morrison, strongly opposed some of these
enforced changes and much correspondence was exchanged between them and
the Board of Education, with even some reference in the minute book to
the possibility of testing the validity in a Court of Law.
This did not happen, but an Enquiry was held under Mr G B M Coore, an
official of the Board of Education, on December 2nd 1904 in the Kirkby
Malham Church Hall, to enable the Governors to state their case. Their
concern was that they were to lose some power over the administration
of the endowment income. More correspondence followed with a Draft Scheme
being drawn up by the Board of Education and the Governors again objecting
to certain sections. It was not until 1913 that a Scheme for Administration
of the Endowment was approved by His Majesty in Council and the affair
was finally settled.
As a result of this new Scheme, there was a residue from the Endowment
Income and the school was given a grant to start a library, which was
supplemented yearly by a grant of £5. Part of the residue was used
for the relief of rates in the villages of Hanlith, Malham and Kirkby
Malham, this until 1944 / 45, when the Governors thought they would need
the money for the possible expenditure on the buildings under the new
Education Act of 1944.
Under the Scheme, money was also to be spent on further education and
for many years the Governors financed past scholars to go on courses in
dairywork and dressmaking. One boy learned bootmaking and other apprenticeships
were sponsored and many evening classes and lectures were financed including
one in 1920 on ‘Improvements to Grassland’. Money was
given to scholars who furthered their education at Skipton Grammar School
and occasionally for an ex pupil to go to university. Money was given
each year to the prize fund and leaving grants were given to all school
leavers who had satisfied certain requirements. Many people in the Dale
had cause to be grateful for this generosity.
When Mr and Mrs Turner retired in 1919, the Managers were overruled in
their desire to have another master as head of the school, a female teacher
earning a lower salary than a male at that time, and finally Mrs Johnson
was appointed. She remained until 1923, followed by Thomas Braithwaite,
1923 – 26, and John Whinnerah, 1926 – 31. On his resignation
the Governors were told that the numbers did not justify a male teacher,
and although the Governors suggested that they themselves may pay the
difference in salary, the next five head teachers were all female.
It was while Mrs Johnson was Headteacher in 1921, that Walter Morrison
died at the age of 85. He had been a most generous benefactor to Malhamdale,
supporting not only Kirkby Malham School, but also Malham Tarn School
and St Michael’s Church. Despite all his interests and his commitments
as an MP he found time to be Chairman of the Governors of the United School
for nearly 50 years, and his interest in the welfare of the school was
remarkable.
It was just following the introduction of the new Scheme in 1913, that
the school got a new water supply piped from Pikedaw. The work was carried
out by Mr G W Parker and the Education Authority requested that the old
earth toilets could then be converted to water closets. The Governors
responded saying ‘…the difficulty would be with frost in
having water closets in a high situation such as Malhamdale’.
So it was not until 1925 that W Cs were finally installed and not until
1956, when the school was connected to the Malhamdale Water Scheme, that
it was possible to improve the cloakrooms and install a hot water system.
Added to these improvements, electricity had also been installed in 1938.
As had happened so often in the history of the school, changes came about
as the result of Education Acts, the 1944 Act being no exception. One
of the requirements of this Act was that education was redefined as primary,
secondary and further education with primary and secondary schooling to
be conducted in separate premises. Kirkby Malham School, like so many
others, kept pupils until leaving age, with the exception of the few who
passed the County Minor Scholarship and went to the Skipton Grammar Schools,
often as boarders.
In 1947 the Governors discussed the proposition that it was ‘…desirable
that the school be continued and that provision should be made for the
accommodation of between 23 and 30 junior mixed and infant scholars.’
As a consequence of this, the following year it was decided that the senior
scholars should be transferred to a senior school ‘with a rural
bias’. This was to be Barnoldswick Modern School, again with
the exception of the children who gained scholarships for Skipton Grammar
Schools. With the subsequent fall in numbers, the school had to loose
the services of one assistant teacher.
With the enlarging of Aireville School at Skipton in the early 1960s, Kirkby Malham scholars ceased to go to Barnoldswick, and the choice was then either Ermysteds Grammar school, Skipton Girls’ High School, Aireville Secondary Modern School or the comprehensive school which had opened in Settle in 1955.
In 1975 the LEA resolved that Kirkby Malham children should transfer
to Skipton schools at 11+, but over the years, with greater parental choice,
children now attend a variety of schools including Skipton, Settle and
Grassington.
Another aspect of the Education Act of 1944 was that it laid down certain
minimum requirements for accommodation, and in his annual church report
of 1945, the Rev Chick, who was also a Governor of the school states ‘Sooner
or later there will be building alterations to consider when the new Education
Act is applied. A considerable sum will have to be found then, otherwise
we shall not be allowed to retain control of the school.’ The
governing body did in fact ‘retain control’ of the school
and in 1953 it was granted ‘Aided Status’.
The alterations anticipated by Rev Chick in 1945 were finally completed
in 1961, giving the school a new dining hall, also used as additional
teaching space, a new staff room and toilets, and a new kitchen for cooking
dinners on the premises – these had previously been transported from
Hellifield. An invitation was issued to parents and interested parties
to view the extensions on 13th May 1961. Shortly afterwards a new playing
field was added to the school using part of Raw Riggs meadow. This had
first been discussed in 1949, so had taken some years to become a reality.
The new accommodation was soon to be outgrown however, and 1974, the
centenary year, was the beginning of a further expansion of the school.
A temporary classroom was erected as the numbers on the roll were increasing
from an average of 25 to 47, mainly due to the closure of Airton School
that same year. Also in the Centenary year, 1974, the Governors and Managers
launched an appeal for £2000 to provide a proper, safe turning area
away from the busy main road, quite a change from a hundred years before
when children walked miles to attend school!
A centenary celebration was held on Saturday 16th June that year to which
past and present pupils, parents, friends and dignitaries were invited.
There was entertainment provided by the children who were dressed in Victorian
costume and sang songs from the 1874 era, and the school housed a display
of items from that period. Afternoon tea was served, and an address was
given by Sir Alec Clegg, the former Chief Education Officer for the West
Riding.
From 1981 onwards it was clear that the school again needed to expand
to meet modern standards. Eventually in 1998 the Governors purchased a
larger temporary classroom, which was superseded in 2000 by a proper two-storey
extension to the school building, one classroom being above the other.
The school has been very fortunate in having staff who have been dedicated
to giving the children the best possible education. Noel Longbottom became
Headmaster in 1971 and served a remarkable 22 years in post (Read
his recollections). He was followed in 1993 by Paul Duke, then Richard
Wright and currently by Sue Benson. Throughout the years the Heads have
been supported by a team of equally dedicated staff, both teaching and
ancillary.
The school has certainly come a long way since Walter Morrison and others had the vision of a better education for the children of the Dale. It has embraced the IT revolution along with dozens of other changes in education. It has gone from strength to strength and enjoys an enviable reputation in the district. Our children are indeed fortunate.
