According to writing on the back of one of the pictures below the pictures were drawn by Tom Bradley at  a Night School in Bacup about 1835. Its probable that this night class was one being held in the school that once existed on the same site as that of the Mechanics Institute or what we today know as the library. The Mechanics was founded in 1839 the present building being opened in 1846 and it was added to in 1867 and 1873. The building was acquired by the council in 1909 and in 1931 the ground floor was taken over as the public library. Previous to this from 1863 to 1931 the Bacup Cooperative store had provided a newsroom and lending library. In 1931 the store library was closed and the Cooperative store gave it's collection to the corporation.

 

 

                 

 

 

By 1913 -1914 various day schools were also open in the evening for what were known as Evening Continuation Classes. These classes were open to any pupil aged 12 over who was no longer on the register or attending a day school, secondary school or pupil teachers centre and lessons were taught in various subjects for a Fee.

 The sessions for 1913 commenced on Monday September 15th 1913 and were held for Female students at Central, Western, Northern and Britannia schools, and for Male students Britannia, Mount, Western and Northern schools. As with today's students those on what was considered a low income could apply for help with travelling expenses to the Board of Education. For those pupils who had left day school in 1913-1914 the fee for the evening classes would be wavered if  the parent of employer signed a form stating that the fee would be paid by them if the pupils attendance was not satisfactory. Some of the subjects open to pupils for study in the various schools were as follows.

 

Britannia Council School Evening Class Time Table Females.

 

Mount Council School Evening Class Time Table Males

As can be seen in the table above the courses in general for women were those of a Domestic Nature these courses were open to girls aged 13 to 16 and would have cost 2 shillings. Had one of your female ancestors  been studying Laundry this is  just a small sample of the work she would have had to do to complete the course.

Theory Work

1 General Rules for washing and finishing table, body and bed linen.

2 Use of Soda, blue, melted soap, starch and borax.

3 Making a hot water starch and the use of each ingredient used.

4 Cleaning and heating of irons, management of fire, arrangement and of ironing table.

Practical Work

 

1 Wash and iron a pocket handkerchief.

2 Wash and iron a silk hander kerchief.

3 wash, starch , fold and mangle a small table cloth.

4 Iron a calico undergarment previously washed.

5 Make hot and cold water starch and soap jelly.

 

Again as can be seen above the Male courses were based on subjects such as Woodwork which again cost 2 shillings.  To gain a Elementary Grade in woodwork the pupil wood have to do the following.

 

Woodwork

1 Drawing Freehand sketches of familiar wood-working tools, the whole or parts saw, plane, chisel, gouge, mallet, hammer try-square.

2 Freehand sketches of  the leaves of the common broad leaved trees such as Oak, ash elm, beech and sycamore.

A practical exercise which consisted of the student being presented with a sawn piece of wood which they would have to reduce by saw, plane, or chisel to any simple form shown by dimensioned sketches.

 

Apart from the subjects already shown in the tables there were of course many other subjects and examinations that they could take if they wanted to below is just a small selection.

 

A City and Guilds in Cotton Spinning , Carpentry and Joinery, Principles of Art, Typography, Lithography, Plumbers Work.

Manchester University Certificate in Technology.

Electrical Engineering. 

Union of  Lancashire and Cheshire Institutes.

Practical Geometry

Theoretical Mechanics.

Building Construction

Principles of Mining

Hygiene

Physiology.

 

Many Prizes and Scholarships were available for pupils to win for their efforts during the evening school year. such as the Mechanics Institute Scholarship which was a prize valued at £60.00 in addition to which the the Board of Education made a grant valued at £25.00.

The winner of this Scholarship in 1913 was Mr Wm Herbert Blythe.

Another worthy prize was the Greenwood Scholarship which had a value of £5.00 to £10.00.

Did your ancestor win a Greenwood Scholarship?

 

 

 

 

In 1865 only about 800 children attended ordinary schools, about 200 attended private schools with an average weekly fee of 4d. A headmistress pay in 1894 was about £1 a week or less. Many received £40.00 a year. In 1895 a proposal was put forward  to raise the school leaving age from 11 years to 12 years. The Bacup town council was against such a move. The mayor said the children were so happy at their work that he would be sorry to deprive them of it until they were 12. The editor of the Bacup Times commented

" If it is so splendid I wonder why well to do people keep their children away".

 

 

 

Bacup National School

Was built in  1828 and stood on Burnley Road  in the place that is now occupied by  St Johns Sunday School. The school was used as a temporary place of worship in 1877 due to  St Johns church having collapsed £ 300.00 was raised to renovate the school which was also in a poor state of repair. Eventually despite the repairs the school collapsed  and the present building was built in its place and opened as a Sunday School on October 10 1909.