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THE MONOUX
FAMILY: ARMS AND CREST.
We know very little of the early days of
George Monoux, but according to Heralds' ' College he was descended from John
Monoux of Stanford, in the County of Worcester. There is no evidence of his
place of birth, although several writers say he was born in London. However, we
do know that he spent the best part of his life as a London citizen, and showed
himself a man of considerable ability. He had much influence in the City and
became possessed of great wealth. His first wife, Joan, probably died in 1500,
and he afterwards married Ann, the former wife of Robert Watts, but of this
"some-time consort" we know little. George Monoux had two sons-Thomas, who died
in 1537, and George who also died before his father and left a son, William,
who died without issue. 'The heir to the property of Monoux was George, the son
of Thomas, who was born in 1529. Monoux had also two daughters-one married to
William Woodball, and Elizabeth, who was twice married, first, to Sir Thomas
Denny of Hoo, in Norfolk, and, secondly, to Robert Dacres of Cheshunt in
Herts.
There were other branches of the Monoux family, and for a long time
they flourished in Bedfordshire. In Sandy Parish Church there are several
monuments to various members of this family, which came to an end by the death
of Sir Philip Monoux, Bart., in 1814.
The Monoux Arms and Crest are as
follows :-ARMS : Argent, on a Chevron Sable, between three Fig Leaves, Vert,
three Besants, Or. On a Chief Gules, a Martlet between two Anchors erect,
Argent. CREST: A Bird Blue, Beak and Legs Gules, Wings Or, in his Beak an
Acorn-slip proper.
MONOUX IN
WALTHAMSTOW.
George Monoux probably began his residence in
Walthamstow in the early years of the sixteenth century, and he resided at his
seat, known as "Moones" in Moones Lane, now Billet Lane, near Chapel End, till
his death on 9th February, 1543-4. "Moones" is described as a spacious
building, moated around, with several enclosures of land and many large
meadows. This estate was sold in 1589 to Thomas Hale, from whose family it
passed in 1596 to Ralph Harrison. Eventually, in 1635, it came into the
possession of the Rowe family of Higham Hill. The last reference I can find to
the house is in 1817, when it was sold with other property belonging to
Salisbury Hall. The house no longer stands, but "Moones" is still marked on the
Ordnance Map. Such was the home where Monoux passed the years when he was
playing his part as Citizen, Alderman, Lord Mayor, and Member of Parliament for
London.
MONOUX AS LORD
MAYOR OF LONDON.
Monoux became a member of the Drapers' Company
in 1507, and was Master no less than seven times, viz.: in 1508-9, 1516-17,
1520-21, 1526-27, 1532-33, 1539-40, and in 1544, the year of his death. He was
Alderman of Bassishaw from 1507-41, Sheriff of the City of London in 1509- and
Lord Mayor in 1514-15.'~ Monoux was re-elected Lord Mayor in 1528, and on the
l5th October following it was necessary to address a letter to him to take upon
himself the office. On 28th October he was ordered three times to appear and
take the oath of office, and on his failing to do so he was fined £1000.
On the 6th May the next year, he petitioned, owing to ill-health, to be
discharged from both the offices of Mayor and Alderman. His request was agreed
to by the Common Council, but does not appear to have been carried into effect,
as we find from the City Records that the Lord Mayor would not give his assent
thereto. Eventually, however, Monoux agreed to continue to be an Alderman, and
the City undertook to release him from the Mayoralty. He continued Alderman
until his resignation in 1541, or seventeen years after he had described
himself as "aged and feble yn his lymes." It is evident, however, that Monoux
did not concern himself about his Ward towards the end of his Aldermanry, for
we find in 1540 that there was complaint of "moche evyll and vycyous rule" in
Bassishaw. He had previously been Merchant and Mayor of Bristol.
MONOUX AS M.P.
FOR LONDON.
George Monoux was M.P. for the City of London in
1523. The Parliament of that year was memorable. Sir Thomas More was Speaker of
the House of Commons, and the members refused to give the King the subsidies he
requested. We may well believe that Monoux voted against the encroachments of
the King just a~ strongly as he refused to be Lord Mayor the second
time.
MONOUX AND KING HENRY
VIII.
The sturdy character of George Monoux was well known in
the City, for in 1538 Sir Richard Gresham and some other citizens were wanting
some of Monoux' city property about Lombard Street in order to build a City
"Burse." There is a letter extant in which 'Gresham describes Monoux to Thomas
Cromwell as "of noe gentyll nature," and asks that a letter "sharply made"
should be sent to Monoux requesting the sale of his property. On l3th October,
1538, Henry VIII himself wrote to Monoux asking him to dispose of his property,
which was required for the commonweal of merchants of the City, and he urged
him to come to terms with Gresham. Monoux was offered twenty marks per annum,
but he refused the sum. Another letter from the King followed, urging Monoux
not to stand in the way of a project " to the beautifitye " of the City. Monoux
at length gave way, and received the cordial thanks of the King on the 25th
November, 1538.
MONOUX A MAN OF
WEALTH.
It must not be thought that Monoux was not a good
citizen of London. Assuredly he was; for if we measure his services only by his
many offices, and the long period over which they ranged, we shall feel that
London owed much to him. At one time he gave his brewhouse, near Bridge House,
Southwark, to the Corporation, and in his will he left some tenements to the
City for the repair of London Bridge. Monoux was not only a wealthy City
merchant, but he was also a large landowner. Besides his City property he was
possessed of manors and estates in several counties, especially in Norfolk,
Hertford, and Essex, and we know from his own Ledger Book how carefully he
conducted his business as a landlord.
MONOUX
AND A CAUSEWAY OVER THE MARSHES.
Having considered the part
Monoux played in the City and in Parliament, let us return to his life as a
resident in Walthamstow, which, we may conjecture, he reached through Hackney
and Clapton, over Lea Bridge, and thence along Markhouse Lane and Blackhorse
Lane to his seat at "Moones" in Billet Lane. There is no doubt that in driving
home from the City his progress was often impeded by the roadway through the
Marshes being flooded. So, we are told by Strype, in 1694, that "he made a
Causeway over Walthamstow Marsh to Lock Bridge over the River Lee for the
conveniency of Travellers from those Parts to London, and left wherewith to
continue and keep it in Repair ; but that also is lost and the Ruins now only
to be seen.'' Besides constructing this causeway, Monoux built two bridges
called the " three arches" and the "eight arches," which carried the flow of
water beneath the Lea Bridge Road. It is interesting to note that an ancient
ferry, known as Jeremy's, existed on the south side of the present Lea Bridge,
which was first built in 1757. In order to keep the bridge in repair, a toll
was taken for horses and carriages throughout the week, and for passengers on
Sundays only. At the end of the eighteenth century this road and bridge were
considered among the greatest improvements that had been made near; London; and
it was remarked that "when the passage was over a ferry it was disagreeable and
dangerous, whereas now it is one of the best roads near
London."
MONOUX AND HIS
SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS WORK IN WALTHAMSTOW..
Monoux was the
leading man in the Walthamstow of his time. He was concerned with its social,
educational, and religious progress, and no one who has studied his good work
in our parish can hesitate to rank him very high among our worthies and to
praise him as a very famous man. He was of a practical character, as is
evidenced by his many reforms. In a collection of "Anecdotes" relating to him,
written by some one in the eighteenth century, it says that "George Monoux was
possessed of a considerable estate at Walthamstow, and very much resident at
his seat called ° Moones,' to which he brought a constant supply of fine
spring water from a spring in Brandands, the upper part of Mill Field, through
all the fields, then his possessions, conducted through earthenware pipes and
in the form of long hollow bricks." Here then we find him as the purveyor of
pure spring water, which was not only for his own benefit but for that of his
dependents and neighbours at Chapel End. '
It is also pleasant to think of
Monoux as a firm believer in the encouragement of the social life of his fellow
parishioners. I find that he " built a kitchen, galleries and a large room in
the Churchyard for parish feasts and wedding dinners, and also furnished the
same with necessary utensils. The room in the master's house was furnished with
great spits and irons and pewter and other necessities for the dressing of the
said dinners." For the benefit of his neighbours he showed his thoughtfulness
by leaving money " for a salary for ever for ringing the great bell at a
certain hour in the night and morning the winter half-year."
Monoux was
also in considerable favour with the ecclesiastical authorities, for in
Strype's `°Life of Cranmer" there is the following passage: "The Archbishop
granted a Licence dated July the 24th, with the full consent of Richard
Withipole, Vicar of Walthamstow in Essex, to George Monoux, Alderman of London,
and Thomas his Son, to have the Sacrament administered in his Chappel or
Oratory, in his house, De Moones, now a Farm near Higham Hill, in the said
parish of Walthamstow. Indulging therein to the Wife of the said Thomas to be
purified or churched in the same Chappel."
MONOUX AS CHURCH RESTORER.
This last reference brings me to the
great work of Monoux in our parish, viz., the restoration of St. Mary's Church
and the founding of the Grammar School and Almshouses. And perhaps the best
introduction to this section will be in the words of Strype, who wrote thus in
1694 : " I the rather mention this, that it may serve to recall the memory of
that pious and charitable Citizen and Draper, Sir George Monoux, who built the
fair steeple of that Parish Church. He built also the North Aisle of the said
Church, in the Glass-windows whereof is yet remaining his Coat of Arms. In the
Chancel his Body was interred, under a fair altar monument yet standing." I
make some reference in church work of Monoux so that here I need only mention
that besides building the Tower of red brick and the north aisle, in 1535, he
also founded a Chantry in Walthamstow Church, the revenues of which, at its
suppression in 1547, were valued at £6 13s. 4d.
THE MONOUX BRASS
IN ST. MARY'S CHURCH.
This brass, now on the chancel pillar in
the north aisle, was originally mural and affixed to the wall above a fair
altar monument of stone at the east end of the Monoux Chapel. The effigies of
George Monoux and his lady are well engraved: each is represented as kneeling
before a fald-stool, on which is an open book. The original brass inscription
is lost, and that now cut on the stone of the pillar is of later date and not
accurate. The inscription is: "Here lieth Sir George Monox, Knt., sometime Lord
Mayor of London, and Dame Ann his wife: which Sir George died in 1543 and Dame
Ann in 1500." The shields with the arms engraved are of- (1) The City of
London, (2) Monoux, (3) The Drapers' Company, (4) The City of Bristol,
and-merely cut in outline on the stone-Ipswich.
It may be well to remark
that there is no evidence that George Monoux was knighted the "Sir" was
probably used in courtesy; and in his will and later documents he appears as
George Monoux, gentleman. His wife, Ann, was alive when he died in 1543, and
the date for her death should probably be 1560.
MONOUX AS
FOUNDER OF THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL AND ALMSHOUSES.
It may be
interesting if I introduce the following account of the Monoux Grammar School
by giving a summary from the Founder's own book of the beginning of the School
and the Almshouses. A Record of Delivery was made on the third Sunday in June,
19 Henry VIII. by the prior and convent of Christchurch, London, patrons and
owners of the rectory and vicarage of Walthamstow, Essex, with the consent of
Thos. Hickman, LL.B., incumbent there of a piece of ground on the north side of
the Churchyard of Walthamstow, for the erection of 14 rooms for a schoolmaster
and 13 poor men and women. "All whiche premises I will shalbe always for ever
ordered-and kepte by my executors and feofees of my last w lle and testament."
When the building was finished we do not know. ' Here then in 1527 we have the
beginning of the Monoux Grammar School and the Monoux Almshouses, buildings
with which we are all so familiar, and whose bricks and tiles have mellowed to
a delightful red, presenting a charming picture when seen through the greenery
of the churchyard. The piece of ground so granted was in length, from east to
west, 192 feet; in breadth, at the east end 40 feet; in the middle and at the
west end, 34 feet. The Faculty for the grant of the ground is in the London
Register of Bishop Tunstall. Fol. 151.
It will be gathered from earlier
remarks that Monoux was a man of considerable wealth, and he followed the
example of other wealthy London citizens by endowing almshouses and a school.
One needs but a slight acquaintance with the history of the Tudor period to
realise that the Renascence manifested itself by the impetus given to education
as well as the quickening of ecclesiastical life, It is quite probable that
Monoux was led to found his Grammar School by the example of Colet, dean of St.
Paul's; 1504-19, who founded St. Paul's School, 1509, and : wrote for it a
Latin Accidence. There is not space in this sketch of the work of Monoux to do
more than mention some of, the educational improvements of that period; but to
those who wish further to pursue this question of Schools at the Reformation, 1
would recommend Mr. Leach's book on the subject. In that valuable work we are
told that of 204 schools mentioned in the Chantry Certificates, 132 still
exist, though 19 of them have been degraded to Elementary Education, and four
are only Exhibition Funds. It is certainly of great interest- to us that the
Monoux School has lived through four centuries and that its work has left its
mark on our town.
THE ENDOWMENT OF
THE MONOUX FOUNDATIONS.
Now we will consider the question of the
Endowment of the Almshouses and Grammar School, which must be treated as one
foundation for many purposes. George Monoux was possessed of "divers messuages
and tenements, lands and hereditaments" within the ward of Langbourne in the
City of London, and " were situate near the Church of All Hallows Staining, in
a certain lane there called Craddock Lane, otherwise Star Alley, leading into
Mark Lane, and from thence turning by the Church on the left-hand side into
Fenchurch Street." This property in London and the suburbs was left to
Trustees-Giles Bragg, Robert Alford, Edward Brooke, William Monoux, Richard
Monoux and Richard Vaughan. The property so devised produced about £50 a
year, and with this sum the trustees were to keep in repair, among other
buildings, a Chapel and the Almshouses built by Monoux, and to pay out
£42 17s. 4d. for the following purposes :-
| (a)To an honest
priest, who should keep the Free School of young children (20 to 30), and to
sing and pray " for the soul of me, George Monoux, and Dame Anne Monoux, and
Joan Monoux my late wife, and for the soul of Robert Watts, sometime the
husband of the said Dame Ann " |
£6. 13
4 |
| (b) To the Parish
Clerk, in case he assists in teaching |
£1. 6.
8 |
| (c) To 13 Alms
Poor, 8 men and 5 women, 7d. to each weekly, per ann |
£5. 0.
0 |
| d) To ditto. ditto
in Coals |
£19 14
4 |
| (e) To the Priest
for an Obit |
£5 13 4 |
| Sub
total |
.£38. 7. 8 |
| Thus leaving a
residue of |
.£4. 9. 8
|
| Total |
£42. 17. 4 |
*The
Schoolmaster was also to "pay the almsfolk 7d. each weekly, and see that they
kept the rules, and said duly their 5 Paternosters, 5 Aves, and a Creed daily
in honour of the 5..prineipall wounds of our Lord Jesus
Christ:"
.
UNFAITHFUL
TRUSTEES AND LITIGATION.
Everything seems quite straightforward,
and Monoux evidently left more than enough money to produce the necessary
yearly income for the support of his charities. The trustees, however, did not
deal faithfully with the charities, and it is reported that "for some time the
poor were deprived of many of the privileges connected with the, almshouses. .
. . . This seems to have been owing to Richard Vaughan . . . . who afterwards
died in the parish miserably hating the sight of light, and most perplexed with
fearfull speaches concerning affrightment by the devil." Another trustee,
Robert Alford, died, and his son, Edward Alford, succeeded to his father's
share of the devised premises, and afterwards purchased the shares of the other
trustees, which were conveyed to him by them. Being thus in possession of the
premises, Edward Alford made a further charge upon them of £9 for the
benefit of the Charity. This, however, was the beginning of trouble, for 1 find
that Edward Alford detained the annuities from the almsfolk, took money from
the poor people to be put in the houses, and even brought in people for this
purpose from distant parishes. A grant to new trustees under Alford's will was
made on 8th October, 2lst James I., and there is nothing further of interest
till some law proceedings in 1658, when an effort was made by the parishioners
to get the Monoux Charities properly administered. On 24th March of that year a
Commission was issued to William Conyers, Serjeant-at-law, Robert Smith, John
Brewster, Francis Higham, John Trafford, and Thomas Preston, before whom an
inquisition was taken at Leytonstone. The parishioners lost the lawsuit and
borrowed money to pay the costs. The following is the entry ~ " Walthamstow,
Essex, 5 day of April, 1659. Ordered at a general meeting of the parishioners
of the said parish that the Churchwardens for the present year borrow the sum
of £30 for the prosecuting a cause concerning an argument for the
almspeople, etc."
This entry is signed by Thomas Cartwright (Vicar), John
Searle, Robert Christmas (Churchwardens), and Wm. Batten, Wm. Conyers, R.
,Cooper, Wm. Holcroft, Wm. Harlow, Robert Shipman, Michael Garnett, John
Stanton, Lewis P. Powell, John West, William Johnson, Edward Brantley's mark "
E," John Overal's mark °` E."
LEASE AND
RELEASE, 1782-1876.
From this last entry there is nothing of
interest' relating to the Monoux School and Almshouses till 1782, when a Deed
was drawn up respecting this Charity between the parish and the owners of the
property, charged with its support. Briefly this Indenture of 30th September,
1782, released to the parish the North Aisle and Monoux Chapel in the Church,
and the Grammar School and Almshouses in consideration of the Rent Charge
payable by the Monoux Trustees from .£41 14s. 4d. per year to £21.
The £41 14s 4d. was to be made up to the Schools by rent of pews in the
Chapel and North Aisle and from other dues payable to the Churchwardens and
Overseers of the parish. The whole of the £41 14s. 4d. was still to be
paid to the Almsfolk except £6 13s. 4d., which was to be paid to the
Almspriest School- master and £1 6s. 8d. to the Parish Clerk, in case he
should assist the Almspriest. This *' I have a note that at an Inquisition
taken 8th June, 1699, there was only one Executor, viz., Sir William Scawen.
Indenture of Lease and Release was signed by the Rev. Edmund Marshall and
Joshua Marshall, representing the Monoux Trustees, and by Joel Johnson and John
Haffey, Churchwardens of Walthamstow, and other gentlemen representing the
parish. The Commissioners who were appointed to inquire into Charities in 1832
~ say of this transaction that "it was effected without any sufficient
authority, and could not be upheld in a Court of Equity. The parish could have
no right to release or convey away any part of the endowment which Sir George
Monoux had provided for his Charity." However, the deed was signed and carried
into effect, and in 1821 it is recorded that "Sir Thomas Richard Dyer is now
possessor of the Estate in Star Alley, etc., and pays the sum of £21 per
annum, the Parish of Walthamstow having agreed to pay the remainder." This
arrangement continued from 1782 to 1875, "when the Rent Charge was redeemed in
consideration of the purchase of £700 6s. Consols, now standing in the
names of the official Trustees of Charitable Funds."
We may here note that
on 23rd May, 1876, thirteen Trustees were appointed by Order of Charity
Commissioners, and it is then recorded that " the agreement by the Trustees to
pay the remainder of the Rent Charge as stated in the Deed of 1782 has not been
performed."
REPAIR OF THE
BUILDINGS.
Now let us retrace our steps to 1815, when meetings
of the Trustees began, and from which year the Minutes have been entered in the
proper books to the present time. There is nothing of striking interest in
these records, which are concerned with the almspeople and their troubles, the
school and its masters working with and against the Trustees. The buildings
fell into disrepair, and it was not till 1842 that the funds were obtained to
put them into proper condition. It appears that the Northern and Eastern
Railway had infringed the Marsh Rights of the inhabitants of Walthamstow, and
as compensation they gave the sum of £450. After paying expenses there
was a residue of £429, and this was appropriated to put the Monoux
building in substantial repair. The work was of a conservative character, and
nothing further of importance was done till a few years ago, when the roofs
were re-tiled and new and incongruous casement windows were inserted, in lieu
of the old diamond-paned windows.
When the Charity Enquiry of 1832 was
held, it was found that eight of the alms- houses were for men and five for
women. The inmates received their annual payments from a sum of £99 6s.
9d., besides gifts of coals and bread. It will thus be seen that other
Charities had been left for the Monoux almsfolk, and their position was
considerably improved at later dates, when there were new schemes for the
administration of Charities in Walthamstow.
THE MONOUX ALMSPRIEST SCHOOLMASTER AND THE COURSE OF
INSTRUCTION.
We get the first glimpse of the Monoux School and
its Schoolmaster from the Chantry Certificate of 1545, where it is stated that,
"Londes and tenements in. Waltham Stowe . . . Put in feoffament by George
Monox, gentleman, to the Maintenance of a Priest, the seid priest to singe
masse in the Church of Waltham Stowe aforeseid, and also to teache a free scole
their during the term of 20 yeres. And one Sir John Hogeson, clerke, of the age
of 40 yeres, and of goode vsage and conversacion, litterate, and teachethe a
scole their, is now incumbent thereof. . . ." Here then we find that the
schoolmaster was the vicar of Walthamstow, and it is quite probable that he was
the only man who was capable of filling the office. We have no means of
ascertaining what was the course of instruction given in the school when it was
founded, for neither the Will nor the Ordinances of Monoux prescribe anything
on the subject. We do know, however, that the trustees placed schoolmasters "
who were not able to teach the Latin tongue," and we also know that in 1658, it
was ordered that a man should be appointed who was " an able scholar " and "
who was a graduate of Oxford or Cambridge and should be able to teach the Latin
and Greek tongue." Further, we know that this "honest Priest" was "to keep a
Free School, and to teach therein from 20 to 30 young children, and not more,
but at his own will and pleasure," and for this he was to receive yearly
£6 1.3s. 4d. and the assistance of the Parish Clerk, who " in case he
assists in teaching " was to receive £1 6s. 8d.
MONOUX SCHOOLMASTERS BEFORE 1782.
There is
no proper record of the masters of the Monoux School before 1782, but I have a
list of the surnames of those who were almspriests after Hogeson. The first is
Colby, who is said to have died of the plague in 1609, and then follow-Yarner,
Dawson, Groom, Cain, Aaron, Harris, Davis, Cook, Mattocks, Walker,'~ Lewis,
Forbes, Johnson, Ford, Birdsey, Vandeleer, Moody, Carter, Briercliffe, Tough,
Archer, Tate, Mills, Gawthorne, and Cunningham. Of all these little or nothing
is known, but there is a tablet in the Church in memory of Matthew Tate, B.A.,
Master of Walthamstow School, 1720.
THE SCHOOL
FROM 1782 TO 1815.
In 1782 the School was put on a new basis,
after a long period of neglect by the proper trustees, and one is pleased to
find this entry in Joel Johnson's "Anecdotes": "The Free School was
re-established 1782: 22 boys were on the Monoux Foundation, and eight on
Maynard's." The parishioners further decided to educate 20 girls " who were put
to School by voluntary contributions," which was an idea that never entered the
brain of Monoux, and 1 think I am right in saying that in none of the old
Foundations was provision made for the education of girls. Joel Johnson, who
was much in evidence at this period, "clothed 25 boys and 13 girls at his own
risk," and the balance sheet for 1782 shows that £26 8s. 8d. was spent on
boys' suits, hose for boys and girls, serge for gowns, caps for boys, hats for
girls, etc. The money was raised by collections at the Parish Church and by
voluntary contributions. This continued from 1782 to 1789, and during that
period "church people and dissenters both contributed." Mr. Lloyd was then
almspriest and resided in the apartments at the almshouse, where he took
boarders, to whom he gave classical instruction. The free school was under a
distinct master or usher, and no Latin was taught there except to a few pay
scholars, who were instructed by a teacher from a neighbouring school and who
paid him for their instruction. The free scholars' instruction was " that of a
common English School-reading, writing, and arithmetic," and the '* Alexander
Walker received a salary of £37 in 1698. small payments were as follows
:-" Pens and ink, 1s. 6d. per quarter ; copy books, about 2s. a quarter ;
ciphering book once a year, 2s. 6d. ; firing, ls. 6d. ; in all, 18s. a year."
Some difficulty arose in 1789 and disturbed the harmonious working of
churchmen and dissenters. It appears that " on a certain Lord's Day the son of
a dissenter attended the Meeting House with his father," and for this the
scholar was chastised by the Headmaster, "So on Sunday, March 8th, i789, the
Protestant Dissenters held a meeting and determined to start a school for the
teaching of both sexes in the principles of religion, as professed by
Protestant Dissenters." The Society was called the Philanthropic Society, and
the children were admitted on April 8th, 1789. About £40 was raised, but
the Society did not flourish and came to an end in August, 1790. I have
referred to this little episode as it tends to show that our parish had its
religious troubles in those far-off days.
A
TRANSITION PERIOD : THE TWO ENQUIRIES OF 1832 AND 1866.
There
are no minutes of the Grammar School earlier than 1815, but 1 find that the
Rev. F. Parsons was appointed almspriest in possession of the School on April
29th, 1819. In a short time the trustees found that as Mr. Parsons "neither
instructed the boys himself . . . . nor employed proper assistance for that
purpose," they would be under the necessity of dismissing him unless he made
improvement. Evidently he did not make improvement, for in the following year
the Rev. James Foulkes Roberts was appointed as almspriest and schoolmaster at
a salary of £65 per year, and for a period of sixteen years he was a
thorn in the side of the Vicar and his co-trustees. Mr. Roberts put a queer
construction on the nature of his duties, for, when questioned as to his actual
work, he said that " he attended the school on an average once a week," that
"the education of the children was efficient but not by himself," and that "he
superintended and gave some instruction." He was a most recalcitrant pedagogue,
and I should think no master was ever more often dismissed by the trustees and
then re-appointed on promising to do better. After one dismissal, Mr. Roberts
waited on the trustees and said " he did not understand he was to attend the
whole of the school hours, but after September 29th he would attend from the
period the boys went into school till when they came out." He did not keep his
promise, and then it is recorded, "In consequence of general neglect of duty by
Mr. Roberts, the situation of schoolmaster be declared vacant." He did not
resign, but secured another lease of office for a time. It was during the
headmastership of Mr. Roberts that the Charity Commissioners made their enquiry
into the School, and they report that there were only five boys on the
foundation, three of them brothers, and the other two the master's sons. It
appears that Mr. Roberts had had no boys under Maynard's Charity, and but few
under Monoux's. Mr. Roberts taught Latin and Greek to every scholar, but made
an annual charge of six guineas to each scholar for instruction in reading,
writing, arithmetic, geography, history, and mathematics. The unsatisfactory
state of the school called for special notice by the Commissioners, who
suggested that Mr. Roberts should give gratuitous instruction in the common
branches of English education to all those poor scholars who should be
appointed by the Monoux and Maynard trustees. Mr. Roberts, however, refused to
do what was wanted, and, after much forbearance on the part of the trustees, we
find in 1836 the following resolution was carried into effect : " That . . . .
the Rev. J. F. Roberts be forthwith dismissed from the situation of almspriest
schoolmaster." This was the end of the career of Mr. Roberts, who had
shamefully neglected his duties as schoolmaster, who had frustrated the
intentions of the Founder, and who did not "read prayers in the Church, or
assist the vicar or curate in the performance of service there."
The
appointment of Mr. Roberts was terminated in 1836, and in the following year,
after much careful consideration, the trustees appointed the Rev. Thomas Waite
to the vacant office, after he had made a declaration that he would conduct the
school in strict accordance with the regulations, and that he would resign the
office whenever he was required to do so by a majority of the trustees. At this
time there were about twelve boys in the school, and in 1838 Mr. Waite obtained
leave to appoint a deputy. In 1842 Mr. Waite resigned his position on his
appointment to the Chaplaincy of Giltspur Street Compter, and then the Rev. W.
Wilson,, Vicar of Walthamstow and Chairman of the Monoux Trustees, announced
that, owing to increased ecclesiastical responsibilities and duties, he should
feel himself obliged to require the person appointed to fill the vacant office
of almspriest schoolmaster to assist him in reading prayers every Sunday and
Holidays in the Parish Church. The Vicar's request, in accordance with the
Monoux and Maynard wills, was agreeable to the other trustees, and the Rev. J.
N. Dalton, curate, was appointed to the office and allowed to have a deputy.
From 1848 onwards, each successive curate was appointed almspriest and
schoolmaster, until, in 1869, Mr. Hignett refused the appointment, on the
ground that as there was no additional remuneration he declined to undertake
the responsibilities involved in the office of almspriest and schoolmaster. For
many years before 1869 Mr. Griggs had acted as deputy school- master, and from
this year to his death in 1878 he was the Monoux schoolmaster, whom a good many
residents in Walthamstow still remember as a learned and painstaking pedagogue.
It was during Mr. Griggs's tenure of office as deputy-schoolmaster that
the school was visited in 1866 by Mr. Fearon, one of the Endowed Schools
Commissioners. We learn from his report that the deputy-master received
£30 from the endowment and £4 4s. a year from each scholar. There
were seventeen day scholars but no boarders, and the course of instruction was
modified to suit the boys' subsequent careers. The school work began and ended
with prayer, taken from various sources ;promotions were by efficiency ; and
examinations were held twice a year by the almspriest. The report adds that the
punishments were impositions, confinement, and rarely caning; that there was no
playground, and that no boy had gone to any university within the last five
years. The school time occupied 43 weeks per year, and the study covered 28
hours each week. Mr. Griggs reported to the Commissioner that unpunctuality and
irregularity of attendance were his chief difficulties, and that reading,
book-keeping, and arithmetic were the best subjects of the school. It will be
gathered from this report that the school under ;Mr. Griggs had become,to all
intents and purposes, a private school subsidised by a small endowment. After
the death of Mr. Griggs, the school was closed, and in 1880 the Walthamstow
Charity Governors came into possession of it. The endowment consisted of about
£36 a year, the master's house, and a school building, which was
picturesque but unsuitable for school purposes.
RENASCENCE OF THE MONOUX SCHOOL.
The school
was reorganised under a scheme of the Charity Commission in 1884. An increased
endowment had been provided by the Vestry voting £130 a year to the
school from the Inhabitants' Donation Trust, and by the Churchwardens and
Overseers giving £50 a year from the surplus income of Wise's Gift, a
fund left for the repair of a tomb. The new scheme provided that not less than
twenty scholarships should be maintained in the school, and as the old school
was found to be unsuitable for school purposes, the governors were empowered to
hire premises pending the erection of new 'buildings. The school was reopened
on the l4th January, 1886, in the Trinity Schoolroom, West Avenue, under the
headmastership of Mr. H. A. Allpass, B.A., who subsequently took orders and
became curate of St. John's. It may be as well to say that the great success of
the school was almost entirely owing to the personality of the headmaster. The
Rev. H. A. Allpass became a real social force in our parish, and the school was
soon filled to its utmost capacity. The temporary premises were vacated in
1889, when the building in High Street was opened. The foundation stone of the
new school was laid by Mr. J. F. H. Read, J.P., on July l3th, 1889, and the
Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London were at the opening ceremony on December l8th
of the same year. This was a red-letter day in the history of the school, for
in the evening the prizes were distributed at the Victoria Hall by Lady Leucha
Warner, and the music was under the direction of Mr. J. F. H. Read, a musician
and composer of considerable merit. The words of the Monoux School Song had
been specially composed, and Mr. Read set them to music. Since that first
opening of the new school, the annual winter prize-giving has been one of the
events in the social life of Walthamstow, while the athletic sports in the
summer have always attracted a large number of parents and friends.
In 1893
the scheme of 1884 was amended and the school placed under a separate body of
governors, who were fifteen in number, and consisted of the churchwardens and
overseers ex officio, seven representative governors, and four co-optative. By
a scheme dated March 3rd, 1896, the number of representative and co-optative
governors was altered to six and five respectively. The governors of the school
showed much interest in their work, and it may be mentioned that a very large
share of the success of the institution was due to the unfailing interest of
Mr. W. E. Whittingham, and the clerk to the governors, Mr. W. Houghton. The
chemical' laboratory and lecture room were the gift of the former in 1892, and
Mr. Houghton and some other friends gave £1.00 for the fitting up of the
room. In the school a brass tablet with a Latin inscription was placed, on
February 5th, I897, to commemorate the benefactions of Mr. W. E. Whittingham,
who died on September 7th, 1896. The initials in the four corners are those of
the donors :-Messrs. David and Eliot Howard, W. Shurmur (Treasurer and Vice-
Chairman), and the Rev. H. A. Allpass.
! The school continued its excellent
work till' 1903 under the popular headmaster, who then left owing to ill
health. He acted for some time as chaplain at Monte Video, and on returning to
England he became Vicar of Stanway. This appointment he resigned after a few
years, and then lived for a short time at Chingford, where he died in 1916,
much to the regret of his many friends and old scholars.
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DR.
SADLER'S REPORT AND THE CONSEQUENT CHANGES.
From 1903 to 1914,
Mr. W. Spivey, M.A., a colleague of Mr. Allpass from 1888, was the headmaster,
and he did all in his power to continue the traditions of the institution. He,
however, laboured under great difficulties, and found the resources and staff
quite inadequate to keep the school in a state of thorough efficiency. Dr. M.
Sadler, who made a report on the school in 1906, (There were then 193 boys in
the School. The net income from endowments was £146 7s. ; the Essex
Connty Council grant was £250 ; and that of the Board of Education
£387. 16)* said that Mr. Spivey "deserves high praise for the pluck and
tenacity with which he has contended against adverse conditions, and for the
unremitting care which he has devoted to his duties." The governors were unable
to provide the funds for the necessary increase of staff and for the proper
payment of the masters ; and, as a result, the constant demands of the Board of
Education made Mr. Spivey's work very difficult. He fought bravely, however,
till the end came in August, 1914. Mr. Spivey's friends and old Monovians have
placed a bronze tablet to his memory in the school, and the following is the
inscription on it :-
"Sir George Monoux Grammar School. This tablet was
erected by Old Monovians in affectionate memory of WILLIAM FRANCIS SPIVEY,
M.A., Assistant Master 1888 to 1903. Head Master 1903 to 1914. Died 30th
August, 1914. Aged 47 years. ` A good life hath but few days, but a good name
endureth for ever."'
The governors then appointed Mr. A. H. Prowse as
Acting Headmaster. He had entered the school as Senior Mathematical Master in
1892, and had assisted the school in many ways. It was under the care of Mr.
Prowse that the school was conducted till July, 1916, when it was transferred
to the Essex County Council. At that time there were i75 pupils on the books,
of whom 19 were minor scholars and five were on the foundation. The transfer of
the Monoux School was completed when the following were the governors :-Rev. H.
D. Lampen, M.A. (Chairman), and Messrs. W. M. Beck (Vice-Chairman), F. J.
Hitchman (Treasurer), A. Attwell, J.P., H. Chappell, G. E. Clarke, F. W. Cross,
J. Higham, T. How, J. Lyne, W. McCall, E. C. Seear, C. Watkins, and Mrs.
Elliott and Mrs. G. Reeve. The clerk to the governors was Mr. T. S. Taylor, who
had held this position for a period of nineteen years. It is only right and
proper that these names should be recorded in this monograph, for it is owing
to their action that this old Foundation starts on a new career to meet the
educational needs of our town.
" FLOREAT !
"
Here, then, I close the record of George Monoux and his
benefactions to Walthamstow, with the hope that this Tudor worthy may long be
remembered as a famous man in our town, which was his home ,'and resting-place
four hundred years ago. This sentiment is expressed in the school song, which
has been used during the last 30 years at all the school functions :-
" May
Monoux School for ever stand
To bear its founder's name :
Known far and
wide throughout the land,
From England's shore to India's strand
A
monument of fame."
The author expresses his indebtedness to Mr.
V.Hopwood for the use of the excellent photographs of the Almshouses and of the
interior of the old Grammar School, and to the proprietor of the " Building
News" for permission to reproduce the exterior of the Grammar School in the
High Street.
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