30. Village Schools
A Sunday school was established in Harley by 1799 when it was kept by John Corfield of Castlehill, but by 1818 it was supported by the Rector. At this date 50 children attended, 20 from Kenley but the numbers had fallen to 26 by 1846.
Mossenden Carter taught at a school in Harley in 1693; the location is not stated. This was a day school attended by 12 children in 1833, but had closed by 1846.
A National school was built in 1859 (now the Village Hall) with funds provided by the Lord of the Manor. The school is built in the Gothic Revival style which mimics the architectural style of churches. It was John Ruskin who advocated and campaigned for this style of building which was adopted wholesale in the Victorian period for many public buildings.
The school was financed by voluntary contributions and school pence in 1877 and was in receipt of a government grant by 1892, when school pence had been abolished. 18 children attended in 1871, and 40 by 1906, but only 12 children were on the books in 1959. The school was closed in 1961 when the children were transferred to the Cressage School. Victoria County History.
The village school had, and still has, a School House built and attached to the rear where the Schoolmaster or Mistress lived. The last Head Mistress or Head Teacher as they are now called, was Zillah Hughes, one of the many in Harley with the name Hughes. A stern disciplinarian by all accounts Zillah Hughes was the Mayor of Shrewsbury in 1975 and 1976 to the delight of the residents of Harley. She authorized the demolition of several timber framed cottages of 1640 vintage in the village, probably along Mill bank, as she said they lacked the necessary modern facilities.
A certain Miss Trevor had two similar cottages demolished, these being the last buildings along Domas Lane in order to build a brick single storey house of doubtful character. This has since been improved, with stables built alongside.
Cyril Hughes b.1907 d.1984 who was born and lived at 1, Glebe Cottages all his life attended the school from 1912 to 1926 assuming he left at age 14. He never mentioned it in his last 11 years.
Hilda Preece was a primary school teacher. She wrote an account of a life lived in the village entitled ‘Diary of a Shropshire Villager’. In it she relates her experience of attending the village school in the early 1900s.
She wrote :- There was one large room which housed all ages, the infants part of it, being platforms, one above the other. A large fireplace was the only means of heating, and, in the winter, parts of the room were bitterly cold. Ages taught were 5 to 14.
The schoolmaster was George H. Grosvenor who lived in the schoolhouse at the rear. There was a large schoolhouse garden and George was a wonderful gardener. His wife, who was an infant teacher, would read bible stories in the garden which Hilda likened to the Garden of Eden.
George met his death on Harley Bank. He accepted a ride from a farmer on his way back from Wenlock. Coming down Harley Bank in a small pony and trap, it overturned, killing the schoolmaster and the pony.
Hilda Preece went on.
Old Harley was agricultural. There were five farms and a few smallholdings… Nearly all the cottages were tied. In the village there were two small shops, one being the post office (on the middle Wigwig road)
There was a windmill, and a watermill which was no longer in use. The windmill and oasthouse were attached to Harley Towers (now Harley Court). They were demolished after the Second World War. (Shrewsbury Museum say 1929.)
There was a Baker, a Butcher, a Fishman and a Draper. There were no buses, the only way, apart from walking, to get to Wenlock was by horse and trap.
There was a Carpenter. His small workshop was demolished in the 1960s or 70S. She does not say where it was but she does say it was near to two parish cottages for the poor. So very close to Glebe Cottages. See the 1735 Map of the centre of Harley.
There was also a Blacksmith who occupied the Old Smithy (and who was still functioning in 1973)
Life was lived almost entirely in the village. To have lived in the valley Wenlock Edge seemed to infant eyes, the ending of the world. There was no thought then of what lay beyond.
There was a pathway called the Jenny Wind which led up Wenlock Edge. The theory was that it took its name because Jenny was the old name for a donkey which was used to carry burdens up the path.Note that the old track called Jenny Wind connects Blakeway over Wenlock Edge to Wenlock Abbey and this would have also have connected to the long distance footpath from Madeley Court to Ludlow Castle which is now a road running along the top of Wenlock Edge.
This was my school and we lived next door. Zillah Hughes, my teacher was wonderful and loved Catherine Ferrier she used to play her music to us.
She travelled a lot and had stories to tell us, now I feel a little sad for her because she was never married and if course I was too young to know if she ever had a love that was maybe lost in the war?
We lived next door to the school, across the road was the ‘Smithy’ and we opened the first village shop.
My Dad wrote this blog – but I grew up in the village too and remember the Smithy – even used it to shoe my horse. The village was so different back then in the 1970’s when I was a child, and I imagine when you were at school more so.. at least we have the record of what it was like.. am sure that life was good for Zillah..with or without a husband! She had all you lovely children..and a vocation.