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.