CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS SOURCES
Gravestone Author
Datestone Muiravonside Author
Gravestone, Mr. Watt Author
Old School Badge M. Gibb/Author
Old School Author
Class Photograph T. B. Hunter
Class Photograph T. B. Hunter
Class Photograph S. Whitrick
Class Photograph 1911 T. B. Hunter
Class Photograph Maddiston Local History Group
Teachers 1927 Miss Smart
Welfare Maddiston Local History Group
Mr. Fyfe Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph 1932/3 L. Hynds
Class Photograph 1935/6 J. Donaldson
Gala Day Queens 1949/50 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day Queens 1951/52 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph 1951 M. Gibb
Gala Day Queens 1953/54/55 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph L. Hynds
Gala Day Queen 1956 Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day Queen 1957
Gala Day Queen 1958 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day Queens 1959/60/61 Maddiston Local History Group
Twins Mrs. Scobbie
Gala Day Queens 1962/ 19 ? Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day Queen 19 ? S. Whitrick
Gala Day Queen 1965 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph 1966 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph 1970 Maddiston Local History Group
Teacher 1981/82 J.
Gala Day Queens 1971/72 Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day Queen 1973 M. Denton
Class Photograph 1980 J. Close
Class Photograph 1982 M. Gibb
Mrs. Hotchkiss J. Wilson
Gala Day Queen 1974
Gala Day Queen 1975 M. Gibb
Gala Day Queen 1976 R. Brown
Mrs. Torrance
Gala Day Queens 1988/89 Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day King & Queen 1990 M. Gibb
Gala Day King & Queen 1991 M. Gibb
Gala Day Queen 1992 Author
Gala Day King & Queen 1993 M. Gibb
Gala Day Queen 1994 C. Gray
Class Photograph 1995
Gala Day Queens 1995/96 Author
Centenary Cake
Centenary Children
Plaque Unveiling
Street Party A. McDermott
Assembly A. McDermott
Tea Room Author
Class Photograph 2005
Class Photograph 2006
Mr. McLennan
Mrs. Granville
Nursery Class A.M
Nursery Class P.M.
Class Photograph Pr1M
Class Photograph Pr1R
Class Photograph Pr2B/M
Class Photograph Pr2M
Class Photograph Pr3R
Class Photograph Pr3H
Class Photograph Pr4
Class Photograph Pr5/4
Class Photograph Pr5
Class Photograph Pr6
Class Photograph Pr7B & 7N
Twins & Triplets
Linda Blair
New School Badge
New School Author
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the pupils and staff of
I’d also like to thank the people of Maddiston and Rumford (past and present) who have been a tremendous source of information throughout the years the History Group ran and still are now. Nothing could have been done without those who could name “everybody and their dugs” sadly some have passed away but there are still enough of them left to help on occasions such as this.
The Log book of Muiravonside School Board gave me lots of information on Muiravonside Parish School, it now resides at Callander House Museum but at the time I sourced it it was in Central Region Archives in Stirling, Moray House College of Education proved an invaluable help through their website with information on early education and the Fife Family History Society website helped with information about David Watt and The Dictionary of Scottish Architects website for information about the Architects involved in building the school.
To all the people who have helped or contributed towards this book, my wife Rona, who seldom got tired of my prattling on about Maddiston and Rumford, our friend Mary Gibb and her husband Alex, who it must be said often got tired of our prattling on about Maddiston and Rumford (the snoring gave you away Alex !).
To Lucy and John Hynds for their contribution about a day at the school in the 1930’s, thank you.
MUIRAVONSIDE SCHOOL
Education has always been important to the people of the parish and many children wound there way to the Kirk every morning after the formation of the parish in the late 1600’s and before that to Linlithgow or
A school serving the whole Parish of Muiravonside existed as early as 1723, somewhere near to the Parish Kirk. Parliament had decreed around 30 years before that “every parish not already equipped with a school was required to establish a schoolhouse and to provide for a schoolmaster”. There is in the Churchyard, a memorial stone to Thomas Greenhill who was the Schoolmaster of the Parish for much of that time. It is of course difficult to say just who attended the school as most of the children were at work especially in the mines where women and children were much preferred to adult males for much of the work.
Muiravonside School, built 1817
MR. MATHEW M. HENDERSON 1830-40 - 1873
The site of the second
The dominie had tenure for life; dismissals were uncommon, usually on grounds of religion, politics or morals or an over enthusiastic punishment of pupils with his tawse. There is a record of one Invernesshire schoolmaster who began teaching at the age of 29 and died 70 years later still in post. The dominie’s teaching would be subject to an annual scrutiny by local dignitaries until 1840, thereafter by government inspectors. Tradition has it that the dominie typically wore black clothes: dark trousers, frock coat all covered by his academic gown. His local salary would be augmented by the fees paid by the children, although the poorest could be supported from parish funds. He might also undertake other community responsibilities such as acting as clerk, book keeper, surveyor or factor; or he might provide private tutoring or even write textbooks. For some, the role of teacher was a steppingstone to higher things. The minister’s status and salary were a particular attraction and dominies often undertook further theological studies.
Mr. Henderson hailed from Milnathort in Kinrossshire, as well as being the Head-teacher of Muiravonside School Mr. Henderson was also the Registrar and Inspector of the Poor, as headmaster he had a reputation for being over strict. Of twelve fathers summoned before the School Board to explain why their children weren’t at school, eight complained that their children had been punched and kicked around the back and face and that the children were not being taught properly, one saying his 11 year old son couldn’t read or write. The clerk of the School Board instructed that all the children be sent back to the school and that all complaints be sent to him.
The last mention of Mr. Henderson in the minutes of the School Board is a report by a Dr Hunter on a child aged 8 whose parents had lodged a complaint on Mr. Henderson of cruel treatment; he retired soon after on an allowance of 30 guineas. Mr. Henderson stayed on in the district as he can be found in the 1881 census living at Dykenuek Cottage in The Loan.
Monitorial systems developed at the end of the 18th century in response to a shortage of teachers and the increasing number of pupils in school classes. Someone from the older and more able children would undertake the role of monitor. These children would receive additional instruction from the schoolmaster and in turn they would instruct a group of children. An account of one school using this system described it thus “the desks were arranged around the walls of the schoolroom. The remainder of the space was empty except for the schoolmaster’s desk. One half of the scholars sat at the desks with their faces to the wall, employed in learning to write or cipher, while the other half stood on the floor, either reading or practising the rules of arithmetic. The classes on the floor were arranged in groups facing the schoolmaster with a monitor keeping order over each group. At the end of an hour those at the desks would change over with those on the floor. Writing would be carried out on slates, although the older children might use paper”.
Whilst monitorial systems overcame the teacher shortages and were inexpensive to run they had major drawbacks. They were regimented and involved rote learning and repetition.
The mechanical routines of instruction also prevented an understanding of words and language.
The 1872 Education (
The existing parish and burgh schools were taken over by the state and managed by locally elected School Boards (anyone was allowed to stand for election as long as they had property worth ٢). The new system was co-ordinated nationally by the Scotch [sic] Education Department with the curriculum emphasising the teaching of reading, writing, and arithmetic (the three ‘Rs’). The churches made a crucial contribution to the new system by handing over their schools without charge to the School Boards.
The first Muiravonside School Board members were, in 1873;
John Logan Coalmaster Candy
David Rodger Bookkeeper
Andrew Reid Farmer
George Gray Esq. Proprietor Windyyett
T.Livingston-Learmonth Proprietor Parkhall
Rev. George Keith Minister Muiravonside Manse
William Orr Farmer Boxton
M.T. Hamilton Land Stewart Callander
J.G. Urquart Proprietor
A. S. Aisling (or Ainslie?) Proprietor Muiravonside House
The schools in the Parish were;
- A subscription school at Avonbridge with accommodation for 62 but had 70 at this time.
- A school in Maddiston which was situated down the close right in the centre of the village (variously mentioned as
- A shared interest in the school at Slamannan which had accommodation for 50.
- A shared interest in the school at Brightons (a Free Church School, which was just passing into the control of Polmont Parish School Board), 94 children from Muiravonside Parish were in attendance there.
- A school at
- A school for Roman Catholic children in St Anthony’s Chapel in Rumford.
Muiravonside School-- No Photo
10 children were being educated privately and 40 children were not attending school between the ages of 5 and 13 (some of those were in employment at “public works”). The Board reckoned there was upwards of 600 children in the Parish of school age in 1873, this is nearly double what the estimate was only two years before. Muiravonside Parish School Board was capable of providing education for 352 children (allowing eight square feet of flooring for each child).
The Board advertised in the Glasgow Herald and Review -
“Wanted by the
Certificated teacher, as a successor to the Parish Schoolmaster.
Emolument;
A salary of 㿣 0s 0d
Apply;
Mr. John Roberts, Manual Mill Linlithgow”
There were 36 replies, the Board cut the leet down to three and agreed to meet the traveling expenses of the candidates who were interviewed in “Mr. Johnston’s Temperance Hotel in
The Board unanimously agreed on Mr. Coutts from
Sponsors
MR. DAVID B. WATT
Staff at
The new Head-teacher was Mr. Watt; this was his second appointment since graduating in 1870 the first was in Newmains, Lanarkshire where he met his wife Janet Turner, who became the Sewing Mistress at Muiravonside. A new school was built in 1876 almost opposite the old one on land already belonging to the Board; the school was built to accommodate 174 pupils.
The population of the Parish had increased to 2900 by now, 650 of who were children of school age; education had now become compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 13.
Mr. Black, the architect proposed that “the present school be converted into rooms which may either be used for a female teacher or be used by the master, a new front door is to be opened. The present byre is to be converted into a scullery with a back door and a retaining wall is to be built at the back of the garden”.
The Board allowed each school in the Parish £5 per annum for cleaning School Houses and lighting fires.
The parents were paying fees of around 8d per annum, for their children’s books, and were paying for fuel for the classroom fires (4d per annum although no family was to pay more than 1/- per annum), door fees are also mentioned but no amount given.
To try and save money the Board put the School Glebe land up for sale but when no buyer was found for it, the Board made the decision that Miss Prentice the assistant teacher at
Maddiston School Room closed around 1879, a new assistant teacher Miss Jessie Murray was taken on at £35 per annum and it was around this time that a young man by the name of James Wilson became a Monitor in Drumbowie School (more of him anon).
Education was still not free of course but a memo from the Scotch (later Scottish) Education Department made it clear that no child should be excluded for not paying fees but any fees not paid should be collected, even if a parent produces a weekly fee as an installment and declares he is not able to pay more, the installment should be accepted. There was of course someone to chase up absentees, an attendance officer who called in at the school to receive a lit of those not at school then visit their houses to see what was wrong. Mr. Forsyth is the fist name mentioned in connection with this task around 1897 until his retrial in 1903. Fees were not stopped until 1889 then schools were paid out of probate duty at 5/9d per head for Muiravonside.
In the minutes of the School Board in 1889 it seems that Mr. Watt had been carrying on where his predecessor left off by acting as Inspector to the Poor and he ended up in trouble. The School Board called for his resignation, no action was taken but the board stated in 1892 that if things didn’t improve a change of headmastership would be taken into consideration.
The same year Miss Binnie the assistant teacher was asked “to procure another situation at her earliest convenience because of the state of the relationship between her and the headmaster”, Miss Binnie resigned.
It seems that Mr. Watt remained in the parish after he retired as Headmaster; it’s probable that he had a liferent of the school and remained there until he died in 1936 as the schoolhouse became a private residence in the 1930’s.
Mr. Watt’s Grave, Muiravonside cemetery.
The appointment of the local schoolmaster, or dominie, was an important responsibility of the parish. The schoolmaster, because of his scholarship, was a key member of the local community, second only to the minister himself. More often than not he had studied at a university, although poorer parishes were not able to afford such a scholar.
All had to subscribe to the Confession of Faith - a 40 page document. Some parishes set an examination for their prospective dominie. In some parishes the tradition was for the new schoolmaster to teach their first lesson in the presence of both the children and their parents and local dignitaries. He would then be presented with the keys of the school together with rent free accommodation in the school house.
The local dominie often worked in isolation from others in his profession. Devising his own methods he would endeavour to teach his class despite its wide range of ages and abilities. He might take the older more able boys in a special class before or after the rest of the school. Some of these would progress to the larger burgh schools and a few to university usually at the age of 14 or 15. Here they would find even larger classes, with knowledge drilled in by the lecturer. Many lasted only one or two sessions before leaving for a job.
In 1883 the school leaving age was raised to 14 and most children were now being educated.
MUIRAVONSIDE, MADDISTON PUBLIC SCHOOL
The case for building a school at Maddiston was now reaching a climax and it was a new Board member Mr. Murray who first proposed to the School Board the need to build a primary school at Maddiston in 1894.
The following year the decision was taken by the Board to build the school and Messrs Binnie, Murray and Bryce of the School Board went to see Mr. Livingston-Learmonth of Parkhall who agreed to “fue Muiravonside School Board ¾ of an acre of land on the east side of the road from Rumford to Maddiston at ٦ an acre for the erection of a school house the frontage to the road to be about two chains”, on the following conditions;
1 That the children be kept from trespassing on any adjacent land at all times and to be assisted in doing so thus
2 A wall not less than 6’ high to be built on all sides of the fue
3 The drainage to be done entirely at the expense of the School Board.
It’s interesting to note that a plebiscite was held to find out what kind of school the parents wanted, i.e. a
The Architect was James Strang of Denny who had his business in
The contractors for the new school were;
Messrs McLachan Builders
William Thomas Joiner
Walter Doig Paintwork
The school was opened in September 1897 by Mr. Murray (who died the following year) and, as far as can be ascertained it consisted of the head-teachers room and two classrooms, accommodation for around 100 children, the school was built at a cost of ٟ,171.
MISS BEATTIE 1897 TO 1898
The first Head-teacher was a Miss Beattie from Jedburgh, she and an ex pupil teacher Miss Elizabeth McKay, had charge of 78 children, infants only, the older children continued to attend Muiravonside school. The increasing role of the government in teacher training is reflected in the Council of Education’s Minutes for 1846 introducing a national pupil-teacher scheme. Schools could select from their most promising thirteen year old students those most likely to be able to undertake an apprenticeship of up to five years duration. During the day they would follow the school’s curriculum and then receive additional instruction outside school hours on the art of teaching from staff appointed for this purpose. The most able students, selected through a competitive examination, were awarded a Queen’s Scholarship. Successful male students were awarded a grant of £25 and female students two thirds of this. These grants supported their maintenance at the Normal School (the name given to the teacher training school). The school’s curriculum at this time was a broad one and included subjects such as drawing and music. At the end of their course the students would take an examination in both general and professional subjects conducted by Her Majesty’s Inspectors. The achievement of a Leaving Certificate carried with it an enhanced salary funded by the government.
Whilst not initially welcomed (‘it assumed a child could do two exacting things at once’), the pupil - teacher scheme, especially for elementary school teachers, was an improvement on the previous monitorial model, guaranteeing a minimum level of personal knowledge and achievement of recognised teaching skills. Certificated teachers were able to organise and teach the large number of children in sessional and subscription schools.
In 1858 the regular curriculum of the Normal Schools was extended to two years by regulation, with training ending in December instead of June. To qualify for their ‘parchment’ students, in addition to their Leaving Certificate, had to undertake a further two years of work teaching in a school. The final grade obtained depended on both their examination performance and the report of the HMI on their schoolwork.
Just as the above picture this is from the School at its earliest period there are no names for any of the children but as in the last photograph we can narrow down the staff to a couple of names, Miss Beattie, the Headmistress of 1897/8 or Miss McKay a pupil teacher who started in 1897.
This new system of teacher training began to have a major effect on Scottish education. Newly qualified and certificated teachers were sought after and reasonably well paid. Their training gave them a wider knowledge than many parish schoolteachers previously and this in turn enabled them to teach a broader curriculum to children. The link with the churches was also lessening with increased government funding and the abolition of the need for teachers to sign the Confession of Faith.
Miss Beatties' salary was £65 (rising to £70 maximum) per annum and that of her assistant, Mrs. McKay £35-£40(rising to £50 maximum) per annum.
The children continued to leave Maddiston aged eight and a half, their education continued at Muiravonside until reaching the age of 11 when they sat the Leaving Certificate Examination, “The Quali” when the ‘brightest’ children had the chance to take their education further by going to Falkirk High School which was of course fee paying ( some applied and got bursaries) or just staying at Muiravonside till you were 14.
MISS J D BAXTER 1898 TO 1905
Miss Beattie was replaced the following year by Miss J.D. Baxter of Portobello.
The parents in the village welcomed the new school, but worried about the effect a two-mile walk to school would have on the "older" children in all weathers, but there was still the spectre of the attendance officer for those who were less than keen on attending school, Mr. Mutter who came from Drumbroider near Avonbridge was the man now chasing up the absentees.
Towards the end of the 19th century secondary schools were developing as an identifiable sector and in 1901 the school leaving age was raised to 14. Students could leave schools with a variety of qualifications, including an Intermediate Certificate for those taking courses in industrial, commercial, rural and household subjects, and a Leaving Certificate for those intending to take up a profession.
Standards 1 & 2 were taught at the school and the pupils moved to Muiravonside at eight and a half years of age.
MISS ANNIE ALDISS 1905 TO 1911
This Class photograph shows Robert Clayton at the extreme right of the back row.
The Headmistress in this photograph is Miss Annie Aldiss.
In 1905 permission was granted to use the school for a marriage and Miss Annie Aldiss of High Blantyre took over as head-teacher.
1910 brought matters to a head when Carron Company intimated to the School Board their intention to build 48 room and kitchen type houses between Rumford and Maddiston and four houses of room and kitchen and a manager’s cottage of five apartments at Craigend.
The School Board calculated that at least another 120 children would need to be accommodated in the school and it was time to expand. A census of school children held in August 1910 showed there to be 1209 in the Parish and 91 were attending schools outwith the Parish.
Sponsors
MR. JAMES S WILSON 1911 TO 1926
This next development was in 1911, when the school was enlarged to give the full front of the building still seen to day, doubling the capacity of the school.
The Architect chosen this time was Alexander Malcolm who came from Millbar, Polmont Station and had his practice at
The school now consisted of five classrooms, the hall ( the original plans were for a central corridor not a hall), staff and head-teachers room and the porches for the girls and boys entrances with the dates of the extension on them above (not as most people think, the date when the school was built), a part at the back (a description of which must remain rather vague) which seems to have run the full length of the back of the school, but was only one storey high, and was used for cookery and handwork.
Mrs. Gillespie of Muiravonside House presented the new school with a flag staff, the school opened on the 1st October 1911.
Mr. Wilson (he was known in the village as “Cocker”
The school cleaner was dismissed and received one months pay in lieu of notice plus 7/6d for extra work concerned with the extension, the post was advertised at £1.15s.0d per month.
Classes at the new school were to be up to and including the qualifying classes but no pupil attending qualifying classes at Muiravonside was to be enrolled at Maddiston.
Teachers’ salaries;
Minimum Maximum
Untrained Certificated Female £65 £85
Trained Certificated Female £70 £90
Infant Mistress