In direct contrast to last time's stormy tale when the Watnall estate's Crow Hill farm cottage was having its windows blown out by a gale, today's tale finds us in the deep, drowsy summer of 1834 with sheep nibbling at the turf, milkmaids a-milking and the distant dinner bell of Watnall Hall sounding everyone to come and eat...
In the middle of writing a letter up at the cottage is the new teacher at Bogend infant school, Miss Frances Rolleston. Her great aunt Rosamund Rolleston had founded the school almost 100 years previously and Frances sees it as her Christian and family duty to help teach the poor children of the area there. She is contemplating inviting a London friend up to stay in her idyllic but isolated dwelling but is not sure if parochial daily events in rural Watnall will be quite her cup of tea...
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| Miss Frances Rolleston - the only image of her published with her letters after her death |
"My visits are already planned till next May; each interval I hope to spend here, where I am as happy as the day is long. I begin it by breakfasting at eight, and reading alone the Scriptures and commentaries for an hour afterwards. We don't dine till half-past seven, so the day is pretty long. Direct to me Watnall Cottage for the present, where, as you perceive, all my habits are blown out of the window already. It is a great compliment that I sit writing to you now, on this magnificent summer's day, with such a sheep-fed turf, so airy, so shady, on which to enjoy the open air and fine view; it makes me very idle, and the sheep-shearing, the milking! - all the detail of a "pastoral farm, green to the very door," in which the sword is metaphorically turned into a sheep-crook, though literally it hangs with a great pair of stag's horns against the wall.
The [Watnall] Hall dinner-bell has just announced that the family there dine early, and probably meditate drinking tea with us this evening, and by them, after a day or two, this letter may get to the post, so I shall close it on the prospect, for our communication with the post is like that in the days of our ancestors, who are said to have gone to church (one mile) with four horses, and baited half way, for the badness of the road. Parcels come as well again, your last to wit. I must tell you, my latitude here is so well known that though directed to Woodborough it arrived here quite safely. We have excellent errand-carts, but no postman."
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| Bogend schoolhouse - one of the earliest pictures shows (if you look closely) a top-hatted figure, perhaps Mr Attenborough the schoolmaster, with dog and child. |
Teaching style and the "Violet Lesson" at Bogend school
The walk to school takes Frances down the hill to Giltbrook and along the valley. She describes the wildflowers - lilies and violets - along the stream by the small footbridge at Bogend. It is a description you would still easily recognise walking down there today.
She has a gentle touch with the children, using the stream and flowers as a teaching aid to give the children an appreciation of nature and as inspiration for her own poetry. It's a teaching style at odds with the harsh discipline of the birch and bible-based rhetoric that local teacher DH Lawrence and others write about... "Tway birchen sprays; with anxious fear entwin'd," or "spare the rod and spoil the child".
Touched by a child's perceptive new interpretation of a poem, Frances decides to keep the new line as the purer of the versions...
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| The bridge at Bogend over the Giltbrook - poetic inspiration |
"The lily loves the pleasant sound, by running waters made"
accompanied by the lively music of "the brook that babbled by" with so expressive a glance at the rippling stream, and turning her ear to it in such a manner that, said I to myself, that settles the matter, and the line shall stand. It was originally thus written, but was afterwards altered to
"The lily of the vale , the sound, by running waters made"
lest the children should not understand it. I have given many copies of it in that way formerly, but of late, since my experience among peasant children in their own sweet abodes, surrounded by sights and sounds of nature, I have restored the version the little girl so evidently felt and understood: she well knew the "pleasant sound" of that clear murmuring brook. I would not alter a syllable that the children repeat with that look and tone, for all the critics "in populous cities pent" to whom the voice of nature comes but in the echo of poetry; we alone who hear that voice in the solitude of hill and dale, wood, field and forest, can judge of the truth of the echo. Four or five of the little ones at once went over the hymn, something in the style of the ancient catches and glees; so much so as to make me really persuaded that catches and glees were taken from the life."
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| Mr John Arthur Attenborough, Bogend's long-serving schoolmaster from at least 1827 (aged 27) to 1881 (aged 81) He was born in 1800 and died in 1886 |
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| Stone tablet rather wordily sets out the school's founding principles... |
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| Another early picture with Mr Attenborough(?) posing by the steps this time, with the stone tablet clearly visible above the door... |
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| Bogend on the OS map of 1881 still marked as a school |
On the south wall of the church tower is a tablet setting out how the bequest of the Rev. John Mansell shall be applied... "This charity is now merged with the Rolleston Bog End School endowment and is administered by a body of trustees of which the Vicar of Greasley is an ex-officio member."
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| Thomas George Webster, A Dame's School, in England 1845 |
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| 1841 census for "Bog Town" shows the Attenboroughs and their 10 children |
Illegitimate Attenborough grandson - blame the squire, the butler or the butcher of Oxton?
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| William Harland Attenborough, illegitimate grandson of the old schoolmaster, who was a colliery clerk, and is shown with wife Emma, who lived at Bogend c.1900 after it closed as a school. |
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| John Edmund Attenborough, great-grandson, a butcher and farmer, shown with his wife Maria. |
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| Bogend with Connie Attenborough 1940's |
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| "D.G with father at Bogend" c.1940 |
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| Bogend late 1940's |
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| Two pictures of Bogend with the plaque c.1955 |
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| Farmyard at Bogend 1960's |
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| Bogend School in more recent times as a private house. The slate is still in place above the door. |
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| Bogend for sale c.2019 Much extended and even has a swimming pool The school kids would have loved it! |
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| The Gazetteer and Directory of Nottinghamshire for Watnall from 1832 shows some of our characters Mr Attenborough, Col Rolleston at the hall and his brother Christopher at Watnall Cottage whith whom stays cousin Frances Rolleston |
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Notes and sources
Thanks to all who have helped with information and pictures, Lynn Henstock, Maggie Swanwick, the Attenborough family and offspring and all who have been in touch via Facebook with stories and tales.
Ancestry.co.uk - for certificates etc
Frances Rolleston potted biography and letters
Frances Rolleston's letters https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mNMxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR1&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage
Frances's cousin Col. Lancelot Rolleston the squire at
Watnall Hall and South Notts MP spoke up in Parliament for the rights of
factory children and their lack of education. He was no doubt influenced by his
ancestors as the Rolleston family were infant school pioneers. His great aunt
Rosamund had set up and financed one of the area's first infant schools on the
doorstep of Watnall Hall at Bogend in 1752. His cousin Miss Frances Rolleston
set up 4 other schools around the country and taught at the Bogend school
while living with Lancelot and his family in the late 1830's.
She'd seen for herself the effect of factory work on her
children in Matlock "from the door of my infant school, with a
feeling of horror since I witnessed the sad suffering of the factory
children...Oh, the sad sight of the sallow, bending, rickety, dwarfish
children, rushing out of the palace-like manufactory on a fine balmy summer’s
evening, bringing a sickly pestilential taint to the air along with them".
The Rolleston schools taught children "to read write and
account" with a gentle touch at a time when most church-run
Sunday schools just studied the Bible with a harsh code of discipline designed
to reinforce the child's place in society.
In previous articles, we’ve seen that 19th century
Nottingham was a hot bed of public protests, marches and riots with working
people fighting for improvements in their rights. Traditions of public
duty and a moral code have often been foremost in stories of the Rollestons.
Col. Rolleston’s cousin Frances Rolleston (1781-1864) is foremost among them...
Into the fray stepped a small group of upper class
Anglicans who sought to improve society through social and
political means. They wanted to abolish slavery, help people get out of
debt, raise the moral consciousness of the upper classes and educate the poor. They
were sniffed at in Parliament as “the Saints.” Many of them lived in or near
Clapham, a community southwest of London. Its main leaders, John
Thornton and William Wilberforce, were relatives of Frances Rolleston on her
mother’s side, hailing from around Hull in Yorkshire. Frances aligned
herself with the group—for anti-slavery and education of the poor—sharing in
both its adulation and ridicule. Entering her forties, Frances
pioneered infant schools in England. She began this work near London,
ten years later relocated to continue that work among her father’s people in
Nottinghamshire, and her mother’s people in Yorkshire. This work entailed
locating building sites, finding people to underwrite the costs, preparing
curricula and training teachers. It required diplomacy as well as time, for she
worked with people from differing religious denominations and political
persuasions. She also promoted infant schools in Sierra Leone and among Native
Americans and negroes. At age 67 Frances ended her work with infant
schools and relocated to Keswick
https://www.sahs.org.uk/ppl-frances-rolleston.html
Full article from the Scarborough Archaeological and
Historical Society
Miss Frances Rolleston (1781-1864)
Between 1836 and 1846 she established infant schools in Scarborough, Filey and
other areas of Yorkshire. [In 1845 a Infant School had been erected in Wassand Hall, there was room for 100 children with an average attendance of 72.] Frances’ book Mazzaroth is today at the centre
of a controversy between those who accept her solution to the origin and
purpose of the constellations, and those who reject it. And sadly, on both
sides are Christians whose faith is most akin to Frances Rolleston’s own.
Introduction to a recent biography:
A group of young scholars stood in the British Museum,
absorbed by a newly arrived object. The Rosetta Stone promised to be the key to
the here-to-fore unreadable Egyptian hieroglyphs. The stele had been discovered
in 1799 during Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt, and surrendered to the British
upon his defeat in 1801.
One of that group of scholars was Frances Rolleston. She
would learn to read hieroglyphs fifty years later, but now as a student of
astronomy she was asking herself this question: If God created the heavens for
his own glory, as the Scriptures say, why is the celestial planisphere covered
with pagan images of heroes, gods and goddesses?
The discussion at the Rosetta Stone that day began for
Frances, who claimed a love for astronomy almost since infancy, a search for
the original star names and constellation figures. Finding that the science of
astronomy never existed apart from the constellations, she felt that her search
might turn up their original purpose. Already a linguist—a gift found elsewhere
in the Rolleston family—Frances traced those names and meanings back to their
earliest use. Developing a theory, supporting it with ten years of research at
the British Museum, and preparing for publication turned into a fifty-year
endeavor. One has to ask, what kind of person would put that much time and
effort into one book?
What kind, indeed! One motivated by her love of both
astronomy and the Bible, who kept current on discoveries and theories in both
science and religion, and who spoke out her convictions in newspapers and
journals. “Newspapers educate the people, and sway public opinion, therefore I
am indefatigable just now in sending ‘articles’ right and left, comforting
myself for people not reading my book with finding they do read my paragraphs.”
But there is much more to this woman than is guessed by those who know Frances
Rolleston only as the writer of Mazzaroth: The Constellations.
In late eighteenth and early nineteenth century England,
polarization in religion, politics and morals dramatically increased. Theories
within the new science of geology (and later, astronomy) challenged the
traditional understanding of Genesis. Since up to that time many scientists
were also clergymen, division marked the educated classes—those in the church,
particularly. John Wesley’s Methodism brought moral improvement to the lower
classes, while upper class morals degenerated. There was foment for more rights
for the lower classes and demand for freedom for women. Sometimes one led to
violence, and the upper classes (who controlled the government) pushed back.
Sometimes the demand for women’s rights led to the flagrant practice of free
love, which assaulted traditional values.
Into the fray stepped a small group of upper class Anglicans
who sought to improve society through social and political means. They wanted
to abolish slavery, help people get out of debt, raise the moral consciousness
of the upper classes and educate the poor. They were sniffed at in Parliament
as “the Saints.” Many of them lived in or near Clapham, a community southwest
of London. Its main leaders, John Thornton and William Wilberforce, were
relatives of Frances Rolleston on her mother’s side, haling from Yorkshire.
Frances aligned herself with the group—for anti-slavery and education of the
poor—sharing in both its adulation and ridicule.
Entering her forties, Frances pioneered infant schools in
England. She began this work near London, ten years later relocated to continue
that work among her father’s people in Nottinghamshire, and her mother’s people
in Yorkshire. This work entailed locating building sites, finding people to
underwrite the costs, preparing curricula and training teachers. It required
diplomacy as well as time, for she worked with people from differing religious
denominations and political persuasions. She also promoted infant schools in
Sierra Leone and among Native Americans and negroes.
At age 67 Frances ended her work with infant schools and
relocated to Keswick where she gave herself in earnest to organizing and
printing her notes for Mazzaroth. She also spent long hours exploring the Lakes
District, serving as an unofficial guide to tourists and painting “effects.”
Her writing included numerous tracts, fables, ballads, sonnets, letters to
newspapers and journals, and at least four books. Mingled with these pursuits,
she nursed the sick and collected for those suffering famine.
Although Rollestons were gentry and Frances rubbed shoulders
with men of science and letters, her life was not devoid of trouble. She
experienced threat of financial ruin, sickness and loneliness. She triumphed
through prayer and perseverance. She continued writing and painting until
confined to bed three days before passing peacefully from this life.
Two fountains stand at the extremes of Frances’ life. At the
beginning is Aldgate Pump, not far from St. Katherine Coleman Church in the old
city of London where she was christened in 1781. The fountain had long been an
important water source, known as far back as the days of King John. This
fountain represents, for me, Frances’ immersion in the history of England and
appreciation for her place in it.
Marking the end of Frances’ life is a fountain in Keswick,
Cumbria. The inscription on its stone arch reads IN MEMORY OF FRANCES
ROLLESTON. WHOSOEVER/DRINKETH OF THE/WATER THAT I SHALL/GIVE HIM SHALL/NEVER
THIRST./JOHN IV:14
The metal plaque on the fountain reads: “Frances Rolleston a
scholar/Who helped the People of Keswick.” Frances’ contemporaries celebrated
her for her kindness, and so this fountain represents the impact of her life on
her world.
Text supplied by Frances' biographer, Jane S Poole, author
of "Frances Rolleston: British Lady, Scholar and Writer of Mazzaroth"
published April 18, 2017. Find out more at https://web.archive.org/web/20221001170538/https://www.francesrolleston.com/
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/documents/collectionsindepth/archdeaconry/appendix%203-5.pdf
Title - Draft licence for Henry Fletcher as Master of the English or Petit School of Watnall in the parish of Greasley, 14 Oct 1786; with certificate as to his competence signed by the trustees and churchwardens, 4 Jun 1686.
Publication date 1786
Source - Manuscripts and Special Collections online catalogue
Identifier AN/M 5/16/32
- Sept 6th 1886 John Attenborough is buried at Greasley by Rev von Hube
BOGEND CHARITY SCHOOL
February 2004
Lancelot Rolleston gave £300 on 28th October 1748 to teach 12 poor children of this area to "Read, Write and Account". The money was invested in land so that the rents could be used to support a schoolmaster and to buy books and equipment. Mrs Rosamund Rolleston widow of Lancelot, built the schoolhouse in 1752 and obliged the schoolmaster to teach 12 poor children. Miss Francis Rolleston, Lancelot's sister, gave £100 to teach a further five children of the area.
The school stands on the left of the old Church Road just after the cattery which is on the right. The cattery is a former tannery, water being taken from the Willow Brook, which now runs beneath the two roads. As the brook approaches Giltbrook it then changes its name to the Gilt Brook. ("gold brook" due to the ironstone deposits to be seen on the bed of the brook). White's directory of 1832 states that the master now teaches 22 free scholars and has a house and garden and three acres of land in Litchfield and receives £6 yearly from the owners of the Derby canals. A later directory states in 1865 that the master now teaches 22 scholars free of charge for which he has a house and garden and five acres of land in St Alkmund, Derby. In 1828 total rents were £45 per annum and no fee paying pupils were accepted. In 1867, there were 40 boys and 7 girls.
In 1842, the district commissioner of mines visited the area and the schoolmaster reported that the collier children (these worked down the mines) were more tired and dull than the other, but equally anxious to learn. At this time, the local children who worked at the mines sometimes in excess of 14 hours per day, some were employed in working the steam engines operating the pit-cage, others were employed pushing and pulling the loaded tubs (underground wagons) from the coalface to the pit bottom and back again when empty. (It is more than likely the pit in question was Woodpit Colliery in Watnall Wood). The commissioners said the work produced muscle at the expense of the other organs, this resulted in stunted growth of the body.
There are several accounts of remarks of the children i.e. Robert Blount aged 10 years of Eastwood said "I am glad to get to bed every night my back and legs ache so much I would rather drive a plough or go to school than work in a pit". Ellene Wagstaffe of Watnall has five children variously employed, the youngest was not yet 7 years old when he first went to the pits. She said "most of my children have worked since they were 7 years old, and they have worked from 6am-8pm and from 6-2pm on half days with no mealtime on half-days". She also said "they were so tired one could not hear them speak and they often fell to sleep before they had finished their suppers". Some of these child miners worked down the mines in the morning and attended school in the afternoon, or vice-versa. The schoolmaster said, "sometimes the children fall to sleep over their lessons".
When Bogend school finally closed, the money was put into trust, and every year a certificate and the interest from the cash in the bank is divided and presented to children of the four schools who have attended for a whole year without any absences. Reverend John Mansell (Vicar of Greasley between 1776 and 1798) donated money for the benefit of the poor of the parish. His charity administrators combined with Rolleston's to form the "Rolleston and Mansell charity".
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| Bogend schoolhouse - one of the earliest pictures shows (if you look closely) the top-hatted Mr Attenborough the schoolmaster with perhaps one of his pupils |
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| Another early picture with Mr Attenborough posing by the steps this time |
Other sources
http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/books/vonhube1910/watnall4.htm
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/00071005.1974.9973404?needAccess=true
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