A New Era.
On the resignation of Mr. Blakiston, in March, 1866, the Rev. Thomas
Bramley, an Assistant Master, was appointed temporary Headmaster. The
Charity Commissioners had been asked for their advice, and had expressly
stipulated that the temporary office should not carry with it any
freehold. After holding this position for eighteen months, Mr. Bramley
sent in his resignation in October, 1867. The Governors held a meeting
to consider the position, and a letter was read voicing the opinion of
the inhabitants of the neighbourhood that a permanent Headmaster should
be appointed. They shewed that the numbers of the School proved that the
education received had value in the eyes of the locality, and they
suggested that a permanent Headmaster would be more likely to take a
close interest in the boys. The Governors replied that they could not
see their way to making a permanent appointment, until the
Boarding-house had been completed and the regulations drawn up for boys
who wished to reside with strangers in the neighbourhood.
[Illustration: THE HOSTEL, 1869.]
The Plans for a Boarding-house had been going forward rapidly, and in
May, 1867, the Charity Commissioners had sanctioned the expenditure by
the Governors of £6,400. The income of the Trust had for some years
shewn a surplus of revenue over expenditure, and this surplus then
amounted to over £1,200; the further £5,000 was obtained from the
proceeds of the sale of the Rise Estate, in 1863. The Boarding-house was
to be built by Mr. Paley, a grandson of the Archdeacon, and was to
contain Dormitories for forty-nine boys and studies for eighteen.
In December, 1867, Mr. Michael Forster was appointed provisional
Headmaster for a single year. It was particularly pointed out to him
that the position would not carry with it any claim to be appointed to
the permanent post, when it was determined that such should be filled
up. Mr. Forster had taken a First Class in Classical Moderations, and a
Second in the Final School, and in addition had won a Winchester
Scholarship in Mathematics at New College, and had "read Mathematics as
high as Plane Trigonometry."
The numbers of the School steadily increased, and in the Easter Term of
1868 there were sixty-six boys, and in the following Michaelmas Term
sixty-seven, of whom four boarded in the Master's House, and eleven in
Lodging Houses. The rest were day-boys living at home. The majority
were very young: twenty-two boys were under twelve, and forty-one
between the ages of twelve and sixteen.
In May, 1869, the Governors proceeded to the appointment of a permanent
Headmaster. Mr. Michael Forster had been continued in his provisional
post for a few months, and had witnessed a further increase in the
numbers of the School, which at that period stood at seventy-three. The
regulations for the conduct of the School had been drawn up, and the
Headmaster was to receive a House rent-free and an assured income of
£250, with a further additional sum for each boy, not exceeding fifty in
number, who should board for a year in the Hostel or in the Master's
House. The maximum would then amount to £750, but a further sum of £250
was possible, if the Governors deemed it expedient to build a second
Hostel to accommodate another fifty boys.
For the first time in the history of the School it was not necessary for
applicants to be in Holy Orders, but the master must be a member of the
Church of England, and a graduate of one of the Universities of Oxford,
Cambridge or Dublin. Under the new Scheme of Management the appointment
of Assistant Masters, but not their salaries, and the control of the
internal discipline and conduct of the School were to be in his sole
charge. But the regulations for the admission of boys and for the
subjects of instruction were to be made by the Governing Body.
A scheme had been drawn up by a Sub-Committee, whereby the charge for
Boarders was fixed at £80 per annum and £5 of each boarder's charges was
to be appropriated to Free Scholarships and Exhibitions. The division of
the School into an Upper and Lower Division was maintained and the
subjects in the latter were to be English in all its branches,
Arithmetic and the Accidence of Latin. The Upper School in time was to
consist of two sides, Classical and Modern. The Classical side had as
its especial object the preparation of boys for the English
Universities, whereas the Modern side was intended to give instruction
in Latin, French, German, English Literature, Mathematics, History,
Physical Geography, and, when the numbers of the School should increase,
Chemistry or some other branch of Natural Science. Latin could be
omitted with the concurrence of the Master and parents in individual
cases. Provision was also made for an increased and efficient staff of
Masters, some of whom should be resident in the Hostel.
There were four principal applicants for the Headmastership and on May
26, 1869, the Governors elected as Headmaster the Rev. George Style,
Fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge, who since the beginning of 1868
had been an Assistant Master at Clifton College.
The staff of Masters consisted of Mr. Style, the Headmaster, Mr. C. H.
Jeaffreson, late Scholar of Lincoln College, Oxford, the Second Master,
without however a freehold, Mr. Arthur Brewin, who was still in charge
of the Lower School, which at this time came rather to be known as the
Junior or Preparatory School, and Herr Stanger who visited the School on
certain days each week in order to teach German.
When Mr. Style came he found fifty-six boys in the School; of these,
three became boarders in the Hostel, fifteen were boarding in various
houses in the neighbourhood and the rest lived with their parents. In
March, 1870, at the Annual Meeting, the Headmaster reported that there
were sixty-one boys in the School of whom nine were in the Hostel and
sixteen in private Boarding-houses. The system of Private
Boarding-houses constituted a difficulty common to many of the older
schools in England at this period. It was not possible to put a sudden
stop to a practice that had been prevalent for the most part of three
centuries and yet the accommodation in many of these lodging-houses was
inadequate and the sanitary arrangements most prejudicial to health. It
is only necessary to glance at the regulations which the Governors
thought fit to make to realize how unrestricted had been the life of
the boys who lodged in such houses. Henceforward no boy could live in a
house, other than his parents', unless the tenant had received a license
from the Governing Body. No boy was to be allowed to leave the house
after 7-0 p.m. in Winter, and 9-0 p.m. in Summer. No boy should enter a
Public House, or smoke or play cards, and any breach of the rules was to
be forthwith reported to the Headmaster. This was the first occasion on
which any rules had been laid down. Eventually the private
Boarding-houses gave place to the Hostel, where greater opportunities
existed for study and discipline; in 1871 only four such private
boarders remained and soon afterwards there were none.
[Illustration: A HOSTEL STUDY.]
[Illustration: CLASS ROOM.]
As soon as the Endowed Schools Act had been passed in 1869 the Governors
of Giggleswick began to consider a new scheme for the management of the
School. On May 30, 1870, Mr. D. R. Fearon, an Assistant Endowed Schools
Commissioner, came down to confer with the Governors. He suggested that
the foundations of Giggleswick and Sedbergh should be amalgamated and
that out of their joint funds two first-grade schools should be
established, one Classical, one Modern; and that in some respects it
would be more convenient that Sedbergh should be the Modern School,
because at that time it was almost in abeyance and therefore the
difficulties would be less great. If the Governors of Giggleswick had
not already expended large sums in building, the Commissioners would
have approved a scheme for removing both schools and establishing one
central foundation for Classical and Modern studies, but this was then
impossible. It was proposed that the Governing Body should be increased
and no teaching be gratuitous, but in order to provide for the
satisfaction of local requirements a Third Grade School should be
established in Settle either as a separate school or as an upper branch
of the National School or alternatively they should annex to Giggleswick
School a Junior Department with a lower fee and a limitation of age.
Further, in consequence of the twelfth clause of the Endowed Schools
Act, some provision was to be made out of the Giggleswick Endowments for
the education of girls. These suggestions were not all carried out. The
two foundations were treated separately, except that Sedbergh was
established as a First-grade Secondary School with Classics as its main
subject, and Giggleswick was similarly established on Modern lines.
The new regulations for the government of the School came into force in
1872. The Governing Body was to consist of sixteen members; eight were
to be Representative Governors, and were to consist of the Justices of
the Peace in the Petty Sessional Divisions in which Giggleswick and
Sedbergh were respectively situated; representatives nominated by S.
John's College, Cambridge, Owen's College, Manchester, and the Governing
Bodies of certain neighbouring Grammar Schools. The remaining eight were
to be co-optative. The Vicar of Giggleswick ceased to be an ex-officio
Governor and the Bishop of Ripon was no longer the official visitor of
the School. His powers were henceforward vested in the Crown. The
Headmaster had no freehold but was liable to be dismissed at six months'
notice without cause assigned by a two-thirds majority of the Governing
Body, twice assembled for the purpose. But on the other hand he was
given complete jurisdiction over the whole internal management, teaching
and discipline of the School, and full power to appoint and dismiss his
Assistant Masters.
[Illustration: HOSTEL.]
The question of free education at the School was settled finally. Every
boy admitted into the School had to pay an entrance fee not exceeding £3
and a tuition fee not less than £12 or more than £24. Fees for boarding
in the Hostel were not to exceed £45. Certain exemptions from tuition
fees could be granted as the reward of merit, and in a few instances the
boarding fees might be remitted for similar reasons and to a limited
extent. If the state of the Trust Funds permitted, a leaving
Exhibition, to be called The Giggleswick Exhibition, might be awarded
for the purpose of fitting the holder for some profession or calling. It
was to be given on the results of an examination in Mathematics, Natural
Science or Modern Languages.
The most important clause in the scheme was that which inaugurated the
Shute Exhibitions. Giggleswick had been founded as a Free School, and
the fundamental alteration of its character had been vigorously opposed
by the inhabitants of the neighbourhood for close upon ten years. They
were fighting a losing battle. It was clear that no school could
maintain the efficiency of its education without the imposition of fees.
One of its two original characteristics must go. Either the education
must cease to be free, or it must lose its former liberal element. For
three hundred years and more a Grammar School education had been such
that by its very breadth it endeavoured to fit men for whatsoever walk
in life they intended to adopt. But in the nineteenth century education
was becoming more expensive, and the old ideals could not be maintained
at the old cost. It is always an odious task to change the character of
a benefaction, and to deprive people of long-standing privileges, but on
the other hand it is essential to look at the matter from a different
standpoint. Did the imposition of fees rob many boys of the chance of an
education by which they were likely to profit? The answer is almost
certainly in the negative. That there were some few to whom a higher
education would be a gain is equally certain, and for these provision
was made. The bequests of Josias Shute had been made in order to enable
poor scholars to go up to the University, and for two hundred years the
money was used in this way. But in 1872 it was diverted. It was
henceforth to be applied to the payment of the tuition fees of such boys
as had for not less than three years been educated at one or other of
the Public Elementary Schools in the Ancient Parish of Giggleswick, and
who should be deserving of it. These boys were to be called Shute
Exhibitioners. The change has limited the numbers of boys from the
neighbourhood who have been educated at the School, but the results have
been excellent. Many Shute Exhibitioners have been enabled by this help
to fit themselves for various positions in life, in which they have
afterwards distinguished themselves, and it is improbable that any have
been kept back by their failure to gain an Exhibition. The Governors
further determined to change the character of the Lower School and make
the education received there similar to that of a Preparatory School.
In order to carry out the second aspiration of the Endowed Schools
Commissioners, namely to "promote the education of girls," the Governors
were ordered to pay £100 yearly to some girls' schools, which should be
chosen later. This sum was paid to the Endowed School for Girls at
Skipton.
[Illustration: THE LIBRARY.]
The subjects of instruction at the Grammar School were fixed according
to the ideas prevalent for the promotion of "Modern" Education. Natural
Science was included, and Latin found a place. Greek did not form part
of the regular course, but the Governors could accord permission to
learn it to such boys as needed it to qualify them to enter an
University. The permission was frequently granted, and in such cases
Greek was taken in place of German.
The establishment of the new scheme was followed by a great development
in the numbers of the School. Whereas in March, 1871, there were only
fifty-eight boys, in the following March there were sixty-seven, and in
December, 1873, one hundred and one. Never before in the history of the
School had the numbers, so far as is known, reached a hundred, and the
rapid increase justified the decision of the Governors to build the
Hostel and to lower the boarding fees. It is a remarkable fact that
although in the early part of 1872, no boys had been required to pay
any money for tuition, yet no boy left the School when fees were imposed
later in the same year in accordance with the provisions of the scheme.
It is probable that the provision made under the Scheme for the teaching
of Natural Science contributed largely to the increase in numbers. In
January, 1872, the Headmaster had appointed Dr. W. Marshall Watts, as an
Assistant Master, to take charge of the Science subjects, viz.:
Chemistry, Physics, and Botany in the Upper School. At the same time
arrangements were made by the Governors for the building of the first
part of the Chemical Laboratory. The plans for the buildings and all the
arrangements were carried out in accordance with the advice and under
the personal supervision of Dr. Marshall Watts, who brought to bear upon
the subject the experience which he had lately gained at Manchester
Grammar School. In consequence the Laboratory, which cost about £1,500,
was excellently adapted to its purpose. While the building operations
were in progress, the Science teaching was begun and carried on under
difficulties in two or more rooms at Craven Bank, which was then empty.
A new residence for the Headmaster had been provided by the Governors in
1872. Holywell Toft had been built by the Rev. Rowland Ingram, a son of
the former Headmaster, and he had used it as his residence while he was
Vicar of Giggleswick; when he resigned the office, his sister Mrs.
Kempson remained there. In 1871 the Governors were given the opportunity
of purchasing it for £2,000, and in the following year it was used as
the official residence of the Headmaster.
[Illustration: CLASS ROOMS AND LABORATORY.]
The additions to the Hostel, rendered necessary by the increase in
numbers, were sanctioned by the Charity Commissioners in 1874, and a sum
of £10,000 was named to provide for the same, and for the provision of
further accommodation in the Laboratory. The Hostel already provided
accommodation for forty-nine boys, but with the additions, which
included, besides other buildings, the whole of the South Wing, and on
the North the present Dining Hall and the Dormitories above it, room was
made for about sixty-six more boys. From this time also the three-term
system was adopted. Previously the School had assembled in the middle of
August until Christmas, after which they came back for a long term
extending from January till July, with only a short holiday at Easter.
The holidays were now lengthened from eleven or twelve weeks in the year
to fourteen.
In 1876 the numbers had increased to such an extent that it was found
necessary to build new Class-Rooms. Teaching had been still carried on
in what is now known as the Old School, and the accommodation for some
time had been so inadequate that rooms in the Hostel itself had been
utilized. The Governors therefore determined to build rooms sufficient
for one hundred and twenty boys, and to add a Lecture-room to the
Laboratory. A difficulty arose about the site. It was at first proposed
to lessen the expenditure by adding to the Old School, where there was a
sufficient space, but such an addition would have permanently divided
the life of the School, and apart from the question of finance, it was
clearly of the utmost importance that the Class-rooms should be adjacent
to the Hostel. This course was finally decided upon, and six Class-rooms
were built. The total cost of these buildings and of the Hostel
additions reached over £13,000, and the Governors were empowered to sell
certain of their North Cave Estates, and to borrow £6,000 from the
Governors of Sedbergh. This debt was finally paid off in 1881 out of
surplus revenue, which was so great that in 1878 Fives Courts were built
out of it, and three years later £1,100 was spent in alterations and
additions to the Headmaster's House. In spite of this considerable
expenditure the Governors were still able to put aside each year the sum
of £800.
[Illustration: CHEMISTRY LABORATORY.]
[Illustration: THE MUSEUM.]
The numbers continued to increase rapidly, and in 1884 the Charity
Commissioners agreed to the proposal of the Governors to extend the
Class-rooms. Those already standing had been built in such a way that it
was an easy undertaking to add to them. The road up High Rigg alone
stood in their way, but permission was obtained to divert it and make a
better road further South. On the ground-floor two new Class-rooms were
built and connected by a corridor on the West side, while above it Big
School, eighty feet long by thirty feet broad, absorbed one of the
former Class-rooms, and supplied what had previously been a great defect
in the arrangements of the School. It was capable of holding between
three and four hundred people, and was thus of the utmost use on Speech
Days and other great occasions, besides providing a fit place for
assembling the whole School for Prayers and Concerts. At the southern
end of the building a transverse addition was built, of which the lower
half was to serve as a Library, and above were two Class-rooms opening
into the Big School. Thus in addition to the Science Block, the School
Buildings now consisted of Big School and nine large Class-rooms, each
of which was capable of holding from twenty to twenty-five boys. Another
long-felt need was also supplied. A large Covered Playground was erected
on the West side of the Class-rooms. It was one hundred and five feet
long and fifty feet broad, with a height of forty feet; its floor was
paved with wood, and its walls were cemented. There a large proportion
of the School could amuse themselves on days when the inclemency of the
weather made out-door pursuits difficult. The cost of these buildings
was defrayed out of the Trust Funds, but at the same time a Gymnasium
and Changing Room were added by money provided by the subscriptions of
Old Boys and other friends of the School, and in particular of Mr. John
Birkbeck, one of the Governors. The cost of this part alone amounted to
over £1,300.
The twenty years from 1866 to 1886 saw the whole character of the School
transformed. A complete set of new buildings had been erected with
boarding accommodation for one hundred and fifty boys, and Class-rooms
for two hundred and forty, all within one central space. Over twenty
thousand pounds had been expended, and yet it had been found possible to
meet these many claims without unduly depleting the total revenue
arising from the Estates in the possession of the Governors in the
East-Riding. The rental in 1894 was over £700, and shewed a decrease of
a little less than £500 a year. That such a sudden and swift development
should have been possible reflects the greater credit on the foresight
of Sir James Kay Shuttleworth and his fellow Governors and on the energy
and enthusiasm of the Headmaster.
[Illustration: BIG SCHOOL.]
No branch of the School life failed to grow during these eventful years;
in work and in play success was pre-eminent. Dr. Marshall Watts was
possessed of new buildings and up-to-date apparatus, and he did not fail
to use them to the full. Mr. Style himself superintended the
Mathematical work of the School, and both Mathematics and Science turned
many a Giggleswick boy towards paths which brought honour and
distinction to himself and his School. Between the years 1880 and 1891
five Scholarships were won for Mathematics, and nine first-class
Mathematical Honours. In Natural Science thirteen boys won Scholarships
at Oxford or Cambridge, and eleven took first classes. One Classical
Scholarship was gained, the Junior Mathematical Scholarship at Oxford
and one Mathematical Fellowship at Cambridge. Two boys passed into the
Indian Civil Service direct from the School. Many others won
Second-class Honours or Exhibitions or Scholarships at other places and
several were placed extremely high in the Honours List of the London
University Matriculation. These successes speak for themselves, and
cover only a period of eleven years. The last decade of the century was
almost as fruitful.
At this point it will be as well to picture more definitely in the mind
the characteristics of the School. A contributor to the _Giggleswick
Chronicle_, in June, 1893, has described the conditions as he found them
on his admission in 1871. The Dining-room stood where the Senior
Reading-room now is, but it extended further back, including what is now
a passage and the Servants' Hall. The eight Studies at the end of the
lower passage formed a single large room for evening preparation and for
prayers. Gas was not used, but oil-lamps were in every study and the
school-room in the Hostel was lighted by candles fitted into tall metal
candlesticks heavily weighted. The Old School was the chief place for
work and the practice was continued of having the Junior School, which
corresponded to the more ancient Lower School, upstairs and the Upper
School consisting of three classes worked on the ground floor. The
Class-room and Library were soon called into use and as the numbers
rapidly increased two large rooms at the South end of the Hostel which
had been recently built were also used. Science Classes were held in
Craven Bank.
[Illustration: FIVES COURTS.]
In 1877 the death of Sir James Kay Shuttleworth robbed Giggleswick of a
firm friend. His position as Chairman of the Governors had enabled him
largely to mould the destinies of the School during its very difficult
and important period of transition. He had been the most strenuous
supporter of all who had the true interests of the School at heart, and
he had fought amongst the foremost in the struggle for a new Scheme. Sir
James Shuttleworth came to Giggleswick free from local prejudice and
trained in educational work and the success that attended the School
from 1872 onwards is largely due to the broad-minded sagacity that he
displayed.
Lord Frederick Cavendish succeeded him as Chairman and for five years
gave Giggleswick of his best. He was followed by his brother Lord Edward
Cavendish, who held the office for nearly nine years till his death in
1891. In that year Mr. Hector Christie entered upon his long term as
Chairman. Ever since the Scheme of 1864 the Governing Body had been an
exceedingly strong one. In addition to those already mentioned there
were at different times Mr. Morrison, Mr. C. S. Roundell, Rev. H. I.
Swale, and Mr. John Birkbeck, junior. All these men took a great
individual interest in the School and as a body they were generous and
progressive.
From time immemorial the School had attended Giggleswick Parish Church
for services on Sunday, and during this period two pews, one for the
Headmaster and one for the Second Master, were set apart immediately on
the North and South sides of the Communion Table. Boarders sat in their
respective Master's pew or overflowed into other seats in the Church.
But with increasing numbers it became difficult to provide seats for the
School without interfering unduly with the convenience of the general
congregation. Accordingly at the beginning of the year 1875 the School
was allowed to have the use of the Church on Sundays for a special
service at 9-0 a.m., but they still attended the ordinary afternoon
service at 3-0. This system continued for five years until in 1880 the
Governors laid on gas in the Church and put in suitable fittings. The
School was then enabled to have a second special service at 7-0 p.m. A
few years later the Rev. W. H. Coulthurst, the Vicar, consented to a
plan for the restoration of the Church, and it was only fitting that the
School should take a special interest in the work. The Headmaster issued
an appeal for financial help to the Old Boys and to the School; £120 was
collected for the General Fund, special contributions were made to the
new organ, and the Headmaster and Boys, Past and Present, gave the
Church a clock with S. Mary's chimes. This clock replaced an old one,
which was put in the School Museum. Its works were made partly of wood
and it required daily winding by hand, a process which occupied a
considerable time. The School services during the progress of the
restoration were held in Big School, while the Old School had been given
over to the Vicar for the holding of the Parish services. The Church was
re-opened on May 11, 1892, by the Bishop of Richmond, and on the
following Sunday the sermon at the first School service was preached by
the Rev. Delaval Ingram, a son of the former Vicar and a grandson of the
Rev. Rowland Ingram, the former Master of the School.
[Illustration: LORD FREDERICK CAVENDISH.]
During Mr. Style's Headmastership Athletics also became a permanent part
of the School life. The Cricket-field had been purchased in 1869, and
had been used for both Cricket and Football. Unfortunately it was a
fair-weather ground. Its foundations rested on peat, and continuous play
all the year round did not improve it. The first matches that were
played took place in the early seventies, when the Hostel had as yet
only fourteen boys, but in spite of their small numbers a match was
arranged between them and the rest of the School. Later on other School
fixtures were mapped out, and the great days of the year were when
Sedbergh, and, for a time, Lancaster School were the opponents. Between
the years 1871 and 1895 forty-six Cricket Matches were played against
Sedbergh, of which nine were drawn and seventeen won. Similarly during
the period 1880-1895 twenty-four Football Matches took place, and
Giggleswick won ten. The two Schools were equally matched, and the
football of both reached a high standard. The Swimming Bath had been
built in 1877, and was roofed in for use in winter. The Fives Courts
were well attended, and Golf was begun on the playing fields at a later
time. In 1893 a new Football Field was bought and an adjoining one
rented. This was a material help to the School Athletics, for it was one
of the few level fields in the district that was not in the winter
almost permanently a marsh.
[Illustration: THE SCHOOL BUILDINGS.]
One of the most distinguishing features of the School was Music. The
first resident Master was Mr. Charles Frederick Hyde, who came to the
School in 1886, and for nearly seven years organized the music. With the
help of Mr. L. Watkins all branches of the subject were developed, and,
unlike the custom of most other Schools, music teaching was not cramped
or regarded merely as an unfortunate necessity, but was given
considerable opportunity. When Mr. Hyde died in 1893, his friends
combined together, and, collecting £560, presented to the School
Trustees a fine Organ, which was placed in Big School. This was a
striking testimony to the appreciation that he had inspired after just
seven years' work. Three men have up till the present succeeded to Mr.
Hyde's place, and musical enthusiasm has been maintained at a very high
pitch.
The School Library had been begun under Dr. Butterton in a room
especially built for the purpose. But as the centre of the School life
gradually changed and new Class-Rooms were built near the Hostel, the
Library was transferred to its present position. For a time each boy
paid a small terminal subscription to maintain it with a supply of
books. Reading in the Library was never compulsory, but a number of boys
would go there on wet afternoons or at other free times, and it proved
itself very valuable. Among the Books in the School's possession there
is a copy of the "Breeches" Bible; A Paraphrase and Note on the Epistles
of St. Paul, by John Locke, the Second Edition, published in 1709; An
Edition of Cocker's Arithmetic, and several of the first collected
Editions of Charles Dickens.
The establishment of the Preparatory School had led Mr. Style to
consider the question of providing a house for the boarding of younger
boys, who should in time come up to the Hostel. Bankwell seemed a
suitable building and was taken on a lease in 1887. Mr. G. B. Mannock
was placed in charge. There was an excellent garden attached and the
house had rooms for twenty boarders, while an adjoining field was
rented for games. Thus the boys living there were able to keep almost
entirely apart from the older boys in the School, except in school-time.
Two years later Holly Bank was also taken for the same purpose.
The Junior School had for a period of nearly forty years been in the
charge of Mr. Arthur Brewin, who had succeeded John Langhorne as Writing
Master in 1859. He had seen the complete development of the School and
had watched each of the many schemes of management mature. His own
department had been completely revolutionized. Formerly it had been a
Writing School, in which generally he had been accustomed to give an
elementary education, that in some cases was to be the only book
learning that the boys were ever to get; but he eventually found himself
teaching boys whose average age was under twelve and scarcely one of
whom left the School before going into the higher classes. In July,
1897, he retired.
In November, 1896, what might have proved an irreparable disaster came
upon the Laboratory. During the early hours of the morning a fire was
discovered in the Chemistry Room and it spread to the rest of the
building. Most fortunately the Class-rooms and Hostel, which were both
separate from the Laboratory, were not injured and the fire was quenched
by 6-0 a.m. The misfortune seemed only to inspire the Headmaster and
Dr. Watts to draw up plans for replacing what was already an excellent
Laboratory with a still better one. In the following term both the
Chemistry and Lecture Rooms were almost re-built and in 1899 a more
extensive scheme was carried out by which two new Class-rooms, a
Physical Laboratory and a Science Library were designed together with
some smaller rooms, and the building fitly completed the appearance of
the School.
An Educational Exhibition was held at the Imperial Institute, London, in
1900, and many of the Schools of England exhibited their ancient
documents and summarized their schemes of work. Giggleswick was allotted
a certain space and sent up a survey of its past history and a detailed
statement of its curriculum. In the Sixth Form, the thirty-two teaching
periods a week were divided thus: Latin was allotted six, Mathematics
eight, English and Divinity one each, Modern Languages eight, and
Natural Science eight. Boys who wished to take Greek omitted German. In
addition preparation for the next day's work was done each evening and
on Saturday nights an essay or theme was set. Drawing formed part of the
regular work of the School below the first three Forms. Singing was
taught to all the younger boys and a School Choir had been formed
consisting of boys and masters. Nearly half the School learned
instrumental music, chiefly the Piano, and there were one or two School
Concerts given every year and in addition concerts of classical music
were held every fortnight.
The School Museum occupied the place of the Library in the Old School,
and in it were some particularly interesting specimens. The Victoria
Cave which had been discovered in 1837, was carefully explored by Mr.
Tiddeman and other experts, and after five years' work the results were
presented in 1878 to the School Museum. In 1893 Mr. J. Walling Handby
sent a Collection of Forty-one Skins of New Zealand Birds, and Mr.
Clapham, of Austwick, gave a valuable Collection of British Birds. In
addition there were Collections of Minerals (notably the Keate
Collection), Fossils, Eggs, and South Sea Shells. The Museum was open at
certain times to the public. School Societies flourished. The
Photographic Society was instituted in 1876, the Debating Society in
1877, and a Literary Society in 1879.
Cricket, Football, Golf, Fives, Swimming, and Athletic Sports, all found
their place in the School year. The School Colours--Red and Black--were
worn by most of the School, but, as is common, distinctive colours were
assigned to members of the first two elevens in Cricket, and the two
fifteens in Football. Inter-School and Dormitory Matches were also
played.
[Illustration: BANKWELL.]
In September, 1897, an Old Boys' Club was formed under the presidency of
the Headmaster in order to maintain a closer union between past and
present members of the School, and to organize Meetings and Athletics.
The Scheme met with considerable support, and from time to time meetings
and dinners have been held.
For the most part of the last twenty years of the century the numbers of
the School had been too great for the Hostel to include them all. In
1894 there were two hundred and eight boys in the School, of whom only
twenty to twenty-five were Day Boys. Craven Bank had consequently been
used as another Dormitory. Bankwell, and for a time Hollybank, were
filled with some of the younger boys. The great difficulty under which
the School laboured was the frequent change of Masters, especially of
those who took the higher forms. It was therefore suggested that the
House System as opposed to the Dormitory System should be given a trial.
Hollybank was no longer needed in 1900 to take the overplus from
Bankwell, and a Master was put in charge of it, in the hope that older
boys would come. The attractions were twofold. In the first place it was
intended to give the Master in charge of it an opportunity of marrying
and the expectation of a sufficient income to make him content to
continue at Giggleswick. In the second place it was hoped that the fact
of a man being married would tend to induce parents to send their boys
more readily. Unfortunately the scheme was not wholly successful, and
was soon abandoned.
Every boy in the School attended the Gymnasium, which since its opening
in 1887 had been under the superintendence of Sergeant-Major Cansdale.
Many boys also learned carpentry in the Joiners' Shop, which had been
fitted with benches and lathes, and other necessary materials in the
upper room of the Old School.
This brief summary of the School life was depicted at the Educational
Exhibition and it was a worthy record for a small School. It will be
seen that the main characteristic of the School was that it was amongst
the first to adapt itself to modern needs. It is probably no
exaggeration to say that at that period no school in England could
approach Giggleswick in the practical teaching of Science; to this was
due a great measure of its success. In every branch of school life
excellence was attained, an unusual number of Scholarships were won and
the Football Fifteen for two successive seasons in 1894 and 1895 never
had a single point scored against them in any School Match.
Throughout the history of the School there have been very few signs of
literary exuberance. Only one School song has been written, called "Now
Reds" by Mr. J. R. Cornah for the _Giggleswick Chronicle_, April, 1898.
The _Giggleswick Chronicle_ was begun in 1880 but it was edited by
Masters and was intended rather to place on record the terminal life of
the School than aspire to literary eminence. As such it has achieved its
purpose and is a valuable and interesting record. But apart from
official matter boys have shewn themselves very loth to summon forth
their energies and write. With one exception no paper, written by boys
alone, has been published since the _Olio_ caused Sir Walter Scott to
smile.
The Boer War claimed a certain number of Old Boys, some of whom did
extremely well. Captain H. H. Schofield distinguished himself at the
Battle of Colenso, and helped to rescue two guns, for which he gained
the Victoria Cross, while Lieutenant S. A. Slater was largely
responsible for a clever and daring capture of Bultfontein. Altogether
at least nineteen boys went out.