Chapter 14
1859, the first week of November Friday It has been cold and wet these last few weeks. Too wet to get out on the fields. No work to be had anywhere. I’m hoping for some hedging work before too long. Mind you, the ditches will have to dry out a bit first. No vegetables left in the garden. We have a few potatoes, turnips, carrots and beetroots in clamps. The wife has some salted beans and some pickles on her shelf. Some folk are lucky to have a few apples in store. The blackberries were good this year. They have long gone now. It’s going to be a long hard winter. It has been a happy time in the village. The excitement about the school being built continued with the Schoolmaster arriving. Then the school opening in September. Folk talked about there being a breath of a fresh air. A new beginning for Piddington. Anyone would have thought it would be a lot quieter with half of the children in school. It’s as if those kids not going to school make twice as much noise. Folk reckon that they are keen to show the scholars how much fun they are missing. Some of the kids gave school a go when it first opened, then found it too difficult to sit still for more than ten minutes. A good few boys took exception to having their hands, faces, hair and necks inspected as well as being told how to blow their noses. There may be a few who will return now the days are colder. They know that it is going to be warm in school when they get the coal fire going. Apparently, it was quite a time before any lessons got underway. The kids found it hard to learn about putting their hand up and only speaking one at a time. Just listening to what they were being told proved difficult for many. Holding the slates and pieces of chalk didn’t come easy to everyone. The wife has been talking with some of the other mothers about sending their children to school. Most families find it hard to find the money for the children’s pence. Ruth Hillsden told her that with four children she would have to find four pence a week. It would be alright if her husband had work one week. Impossible if there’s no work. She didn’t want young Susan, William or Abraham to start school and then have to tell them they couldn’t go any more. She said that the cost of putting kids into shoes and decent clothes is beyond them. She told the wife that this is a worry for a lot of mothers. I guess we are in the same boat with young Petal. She is the only one of school age. The two boys still at home are working. Well, they are when they can get work. Both bring some money in. We decided to send Petal to school and she really enjoys it. She is a bit frightened of the Schoolmaster. She likes the schoolmistress and her daughter Barbara who looks after the younger ones. Finding the money for shoes is the hardest bit. Mind you, Cobbler Wiggins and John Gunn have done well out of it. The two shoemakers have had a new lease of life since the school opened. Saturday The wife has just come back from talking with Old Sarah Parrott. She was keen to hear all about Edwin’s wedding this last Wednesday. Edwin and Sarah were married at Waddesdon. This was on account of Sarah’s father, Richard Fenemore, farming there. The Fenemores are really a Launton family. Old Sarah said it was a lovely church service. She was pleased to have all her family there. Her daughter Sarah was there from Ludgershall as well as Edward and two of his littl’ns. She was pleased that old Hercules made the trip. He pulled the cart to Waddesdon and back. A lot of villagers gathered to see them setting off. Hercules and the cart were decorated with flowers and ribbons. A swarm of kids chased after them down the track. Old Sarah said that William Parrott and his wife Sarah were there, as well as George and his wife Sarah. She reckoned that at the end of the service there were five Sarah Parrotts in the church if you counted her daughter with her maiden name! Sarah was especially pleased to see her daughter Mary and catch up with her news. She and her husband travelled there from the other side of Aylesbury in their cart. She told the wife that Edwin was always Mary’s favourite brother. He was always kind with her. Sarah said that the church was over half full, what with the Parrotts from Piddington and the Fenemores from Launton. John Freeman and his wife Ann from Cowleys were there. Me and the wife hadn’t appreciated that Ann was a Fenemore before she became a Freeman. She is Sarah’s aunt. Old Henry Jorden was there as well. Old Sarah said that he wasn’t for being kept away on account of him being sort of related to the Fenemores. He reckons that Joseph Fenemore who used to farm Chilling Place was his brother-in-law. The wife was interested in where they were going to live and what Edwin might do for work. Sarah talked about Edwin not having a second thought about the wheelwrights or carpentry. She said that he and Sarah are hoping to start farming. He has a bit of money put by and there is a dowry they have got from the Fenemores. She said that they will be lodging in Launton for a while. Sunday Tipped down with rain again last night. Water is flooding off the fields. It is a job to see where the lane finishes and the brook starts. The kids are having fun though. There was quite a crowd in The Stars last night. Quite a few were there to keep warm, not wanting to put a fire on at home. Old Henry was at the bar when I arrived. He was busy telling everyone about the wedding and Waddesdon. He was trying to explain to the Maycocks how the Fenemores were related to everyone. I asked Henry about Edwin and Sarah lodging in Launton. He said that he had already heard that they were living with John Coles, the baker. He is one of his late wife’s relatives. He lives right next door to James Coles, the grocer, Phoebe’s brother. He started to talk about the Launton butcher as well, set right next to the bakery. Henry said that he thought Richard Freeman, the Launton butcher, must be related to John Freeman from Cowleys. His cousin, he thought. Jim Maycock made a point of asking Old Henry a question out loud. He said “Does the Launton butcher have a sign in his shop saying Piddington Rabbits for Sale in the same way as you only sell Launton rabbits?” That brought a few cheers. Richard Sulston was in The Stars last night. The first time for a while. He was getting some ribbing about his son Freddy spending a night locked up in Bicester. Everyone knew the story by now of how Freddy set fire to his grandfather’s hay rick down at Cowleys. Jim Maycock asked Richard if he could have plenty of notice if he planned to set fire to the pub. He wanted to give the Bicester fire engine a good chance of getting here before it burned to the ground. Richard took it in good heart. He’d said that we should be alright tonight as there is plenty of water in the brook and lots of tankards on the shelf. A lot of talk last night was about the school. It must be four months now since the schoolmaster, Francis Green and his young family arrived in the village. A crowd gathered to watch them move into the schoolhouse. Two boys and two girls and little Julia, less than a year old. It hadn’t taken long for Old Henry to find out where they had come from. Francis’s wife, Barbara, the Schoolmistress, had been a regular customer at the butchers. He told us that Francis and his wife were originally from Somerset. They moved to Piddington from Combe, the other side of Woodstock. Francis was the Schoolmaster there. He had also been Schoolmaster at Kirtlington and Dorchester before that. The whole village take a lot of interest in the new family. Folk comment on the smart clothes they wear every day of the week. Old Henry has been reporting back on the news from the vicarage. He hears a lot about the comings and goings of the Curate and his family from their live-in housekeeper. It seems that most Sundays the Green family are invited to lunch. Those that go to church talk about Francis Green as a serious church-goer. The family have a regular place, sitting in the pews close to the front. He often does the readings. They say that he isn’t to be messed with when it comes to warning folk of the ten deadly sins. As always, opinion in The Stars was divided about the children going to school. Some were all for it. Others against. Many of the labouring families just couldn’t afford it. Mind you, some of the labourers were quite happy to spend whatever money they had on beer. The talk was about paying the Schoolmaster’s wages and keeping up with all the other costs of running the school. Thomas Gibbons said that a lot of thought had been given to raising money for the school to be built but that’s just the start of it. He said that he expected the Schoolmaster was on a good wage. Old Henry piped up. “£10 each quarter year, I’ve been told. That is for him and his missus. Quite fair, I would say, when you think that the young Curate is on £25 each quarter and he only works one day a week. Both of them have no rent to pay!” Richard Sulstan chipped in with, “Don’t forget that Vicar Hill was getting three times the Curate’s wages. I reckon that the young Curate is doing a good job!” Jim Maycock put an end to that debate with “none of them spend any of their wages in here!” Old Henry said that there would be a small grant coming from the Diocese. Reckoned that it wouldn’t go far. Richard Sulston thought there would have to be some fund raising to make ends meet. Henry thought there might be something a’ foot. He has heard that William Gilbert has invited all the farmers to the Vicarage next week. Sources & Inspirations The number of children in school: the 1861 census shows that of the 100 Piddington children aged between 4 and 12, only 50 were recorded as “scholars.” The odds were stacked against the girls. 52 of these 100 children were girls. Sadly, only 19 of the 50 “scholars” were girls! Within all of the 8 to 12-year olds we an equal number in school and in work: 20 Scholars, 13 Agricultural Labourers, 5 Lacemakers, 2 Nursemaids and 1 House servant. The youngest “worker” we can find in 1861 is 8-year-old Richard Parker, an Agricultural Labourer. There were 29 children aged between 13 and 15. Of these, only 3 were at school. Coal Fire in school: School accounts show coal purchased in November and December 1859 and January 1860 Children’s Pence: Many of the National Schools sought a contribution from parents for their children’s attendance. This became known as “Children’s Pence”. Most often this was one penny per week per child. Some schools offered “a discount” for multiple children from the same family. Some required that farmers’ children paid more. Piddington School accounts record income from “Children’s Pence”. More on this subject to follow. The Hillsden children: Source 1861 census. I could have chosen from a large number of families who were not able or decided not to send their children to school. More on school attendance at a later date. The shoemakers: Jim Wiggins, Shoemaker and his wife Elizabeth, Shoebinder. Source: Still going strong two years later at the time of the 1861 census when they were recorded as 73 and 59 respectively. John Gunn, Shoemaker and his wife Sarah, Shoebinder. Again 1861 census: 47 and 45 respectively. Marriage: Edwin Parrott and Sarah Fenemore: Waddesdon 2nd November 1895 Edward Parrott’s two littl’ns. I have recently been taken by surprise by a third child, Henry. I found him at the age of 16, living with his father in London. I have yet to find a baptism record for him. He certainly wasn’t baptised in Piddington. He would have been two years old when his mother died. In earlier chapters I have referred to Edward looking after two young children, Clara and William, after the death of their mother Emily in 1858. The 1861 census shows the two children living with Edward in Piddington. I managed to find young Henry, aged 6, living with his grandmother, aunt and uncle in Birmingham. Henry’s Aunt Elizabeth and her husband Thomas Cull had moved to Birmingham in 1856 as evidenced by the birth of one of their children. I think it is likely that young Henry was taken by his Granny Brooks to live in Birmingham shortly after Henry’s mother died. Bicester Herald Friday September 9th1859 A Fire at Cow Leys’ Farm, Piddington in the occupation of Mr Andrew Sulston, took place on the morning of Monday last. It arose from stupid carelessness, and was caused by Frederick Sulston, a young man of 17, son of Mr Richard Sulston, carrier, Piddington, who for sport, sent lucifer matches from the back of his knife into the air, one of which set fire to a rick of hay of about 60 tons, and near which there were other ricks. There was help near at hand, and a portion only of the rick was destroyed. Mr Sulston is insured. The Bicester engines were fetched, but, from there being a delay in procuring horses, they were not at the spot until after the fire was got under. The originator of the fire was forthwith taken into custody, by the Inspector of Police, and taken before Capt. Style, R.N., at Bicester, who remanded him till Tuesday. On Tuesday, in the absence of proof of any malicious intent, the accused was (on the surety of Mr. Rd. Sulston, his father, in the sum of £20) released on condition that he should appear to the charge whenever required so to do. The Schoolmaster and his family It was a very interesting journey tracing the extraordinary life of Piddington’s first Schoolmaster, Francis Green. From the 1861 census you can identify that he was born in Mells, Somerset. Of the five children that came with them to the village, the eldest two, Barbara (1846) and William (1852) were born in Mells. The younger three were born in Oxfordshire: Elizabeth (1855) in Kirtlington, Alfred (1857) in Dorchester and Julia (1859) in Combe. Francis’s occupation was recorded at the baptism of each child. This information shows how Francis’s career developed. It is probable that little of this was known in Piddington at the time. He was born in 1821, the son of Maria Green, unmarried. His father is not recorded on his baptism record. At the age of 21 he married Barbara Trusler, a daughter of a tool maker. Francis was a labourer probably working at the same ironworks as his father in law. Fussells Ironworks was a major employer, located just outside Mells, manufacturing tools that were exported around the world. The 1851 census shows Francis aged 30, living in Mells with Barbara and his first son John, an Iron Worker. The census also shows his mother Maria Green, aged 59, living in close proximity with Barbara, her granddaughter, aged 5. Maria is listed as a Pauper and Stocking Maker. The baptism records of his children in 1843, ‘46 and ’51 show Francis to be a labourer and yet in 1859 he is appointed as Piddington’s first Schoolmaster. From the baptism records of his next three children we know that Francis became the Schoolmaster at Kirtlington (1854), Dorchester (1857) and Combe (1858). I believe the explanation for such a transformation in Francis’s fortune may lie in his religious knowledge and fervour. I have therefore portrayed Francis as a serious churchgoer and someone who would not visit The Stars! More of the Green family’s history at a later date. Author’s Notes A long time since my last chapter. I needed to take a break from the 19th Century after a long hard slog in the Spring and early Summer. I am now enjoying being back amongst some old friends and keen to tell the tales surrounding the start of Piddington school. I am not committing myself to a regular publication schedule, but I do intend to provide something of interest in the run-up to Christmas and the New Year. I have recently printed off a copy of “Close to the Brook”, including the first 13 chapters. It has started to do the rounds of villagers who are interested and are not into electronic media. |