 | Eunice Aug 20 | This is one of two posts I intended to write ages ago but somehow they stayed in the 'planning stage' in favour of other things, however a recent comment on my December 2021 post about Angel Meadow has reminded me to finally do some research and writing. Situated in poor working class districts of rapidly expanding industrial towns Ragged Schools were established in the mid 19th century thanks to one man, Portsmouth shoemaker John Pounds (1766-1839) An accident while working at Portsmouth docks when he was only 18 left him crippled for life and meant a long period of recovery and unemployment, during which he spent the time educating himself, learning to read and write and studying a wide range of topics. Unable to return to work at the docks he became employed as a cobbler and after several years set up his own shop where he often allowed his young nephew and his friends to play while he was repairing shoes and boots. While the children were there John began teaching them to read and write, to learn simple arithmetic and general knowledge and as time went on more children joined his lessons - in 1818 and almost by accident John had become a teacher. He gave all his lessons for free, with slates, bibles and other materials donated by local churches and supporters who had got to know about his 'school'. He would also collect clothes from his many friends and supporters and give them to his pupils who very often wore just rags of clothing, a state of dress which eventually gave the Ragged Schools their name. Following John's death in January 1839 several more schools adopting his ideas and principles were formed in other parts of the town and the movement also spread to other parts of the country. In Scotland Rev. Dr Thomas Guthrie, who had seen a picture of John Pounds surrounded by children in his workshop, was inspired to build on John's work in his own home town of Edinburgh and his first Ragged School was opened in 1847. The Ragged Schools were non-denominational, providing basic and religious education, food and clothing to children who were too 'ragged' and scruffy to go to normal Sunday schools or church services. In the Manchester area of Angel Meadow two Ragged Schools were established close to what is now Angel Meadow park, a former 18th/19th century burial ground, with the first of these being in Sharp Street. Both buildings are still in existence and though neither of them are particularly beautiful to look at they both have some quite interesting history. Sharp Street Ragged School was established in 1853 by local businessman and philanthropist Christopher Sharp in a building which had previously housed a Sunday school. The curriculum was very basic, with lessons in reading, writing and simple arithmetic along with Bible-based religious and moral instruction but the school initially met with resistance from people with a vested interest in keeping the population of Angel Meadow ignorant and in need; one group of people even offered a higher rent for the building to try to price out the school but they weren't successful. 
In 1869 the school was rebuilt and the ground floor divided into two halves by a partition along its length, with one side reserved for reception classes for those children who were considered so scruffy and feral that they had to be tamed before they could be educated. The youngsters would attack the teachers as they walked down the street, throw stones through the school windows and leave dead cats on the doorstep but the staff didn't give up in their efforts to educate them. In 1870 the school was taken under the control of the local School Board following the Elementary Education Act of that year and it was made compulsory for children to attend from the ages of five to thirteen. The school didn't just help the children though - adults were also helped with literacy classes and free meals and were encouraged to stay out of the numerous pubs and beer houses in the area by signing the pledge and becoming members of the Band of Hope, a temperance movement which had been founded in 1847. By 1900 lessons in basket weaving and artificial flower making had been added to the school activities and various classes for mothers were established. Fast forward through the years and the school was disrupted during the First World War when classes were cancelled due to staff shortages; by the end of the war 65 members of the school had served their country with four being killed. In 1940 the school suffered substantial damage in a WW2 air raid but was repaired and two years later attendances increased when cinema shows were given after services, however attendances fell again when the Angel Meadow area was heavily bombed. In 1960 the school became a registered charity but by 1961 attendances were again falling due to people moving away from the area during the slum clearances. 
By the late 1960s Christmas Fairs at the school had become a popular event and many celebrities were invited to open them, with one being well-known singer Dusty Springfield who spent three hours at the fair and bought something from every stall, including two cakes from the homemade cake stall. In 1970 life imitated art when Coronation Street actress Violet Carson became the school's president - Ena Sharples, her character in the soap, was the caretaker in a mission hall just like Sharp Street School. In subsequent years several Coronation Steet actors including William Roach (Ken Barlow) Pat Phoenix (Elsie Tanner) and Michael Le Vell (Kevin Webster) also opened fairs at the school and in 1978 local comedian Les Dawson opened the Christmas Fair celebrating the school's 150th anniversary. From the late 1970s the school role also helped to tackle the problem of juvenile delinquency including muggings and football hooliganism and a report stated that the youth of the day ''didn't have the excuse of starvation to motivate them into crime like their Victorian counterparts''. In 1990 the building was restored, becoming Grade ll listed in 1994, then was later passed on by descendants of its founder to Manchester Cathedral with the proviso that it should continue to be run for charitable purposes, however after ten years of inactivity the Dean and trustees decided to put the school up for sale with the proceeds being used for ''charitable causes most likely involving young people''. Exact details are a little hazy here as the building seems to have been advertised for sale more than once over the space of five years or so, however it was eventually sold to a London property development company around 2009. This situation didn't go down well the the founder's descendants though. Appalled to learn of the building's sale to the developers they wrote to the Charity Commission, which oversaw the proceedings, to determine whether the sale was legal, believing that the building should only be redeveloped as a charitable organisation according to the terms in which it was handed over to the church by their family. A Charity Commission spokesman said at the time that the decision to sell had been taken because "no charitable purpose was being carried out in the building and it was falling into disrepair".  It seems that the founder's descendants weren't successful in challenging the sale though as the school was very soon redeveloped, and as of 2012 has operated as 'independent offices and creative spaces'. One can only imagine what the Ragged School's original founder would think of all this but in these modern times it seems that turning old Victorian buildings into high-end office spaces or apartments is very much the way to go. | | | |  | You can also reply to this email to leave a comment. | | | | |
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