122 – Looking for the Hoylake School (and Eleanor Edwards) Part 2: 16 December 2024

Richard Roberts and Eleanor Edwards were the couple who established the Newlands Hoylake School at Clydesdale Road, Hoylake, Cheshire.  Alfred Pearson’s Postcard was addressed to Eliza Hankin at “Newlands” in Clydesdale Road, Hoylake.  

Eleanor was certainly the driving force behind the establishment of the school.

I took this photo on 23 September 2024.  The house shown in this photo is located at 3 Clydesdale Road Hoylake, Cheshire.  I think the Newlands School was located in the residence on left hand side of the photo.

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Eleanor Edwards was born in Chalmers Street Liverpool on 18 September 1863.  Her birth was registered by her mother Eleanor Edwards (nee Jones) of 6 Chalmers Street, West Derby on 16 October 1863.  Eleanor’s father William Edwards was a “Railway Guard”.  Eleanor the mother of Eleanor Edwards was unable to read or write so she made her “mark” on the birth record.

Chalmers Street no longer exists, but it was located not far from the eastern end of Upper Parliament Street.  Travel east along Upper Parliament Street (A 562) to its eastern end and head left (north) along Tunnel Road (A 5089) to Widney Close, the first street on the left (west) along Tunnel Road.  Turn left (west) into Widney Close and turn right (north) when Widney Close forms a T junction with a street which is also called Widney Close.  The former location of Chalmers Street is on the left (west) approximately 50 metres from this T junction.  Chalmers Street used to run from east to west starting from what is now Widney Close.  This area is in the Liverpool suburb of Wavertree.

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Eleanor Edwards was recorded on 2 April 1871 with her parents at 10 Maynard Street, Toxteth Park, West Derby, Lancashire in the 1871 Census.  This is a summary of the 1871 Census return for that address.

 

Name	Family Relationship	Marital Status	Stated Age	Calculated Year of Birth	Occupation	Where Born
William Edwards	Head	Married	45	1826	Railway brake man	Flintshire, Wales
Susannah Edwards	Wife	Married	46	1825	Railway brake man’s wife	Corwen, Wales
Eleanor Edwards	Daughter	Single	7	1864	Unstated	Liverpool, Lancashire
Julia C Edwards	Daughter	Single	6	1865	Unstated	Liverpool, Lancashire

 

Although Maynard Street, Toxteth Park, like Chalmers Street, no longer exists, it was close to Devonshire Road, where Eleanor’s mother Susannah Jones was recorded in the 1861 Census.  Head east along Upper Parliament Street (A 562) to the intersection of Kingsley Road/ Crown Street.  Turn right (south) into Kingsley Road and then turn left (east) into Selborne Street (second street on the right after entering Kingsley Road).  The third street on the left (north) is an unnamed dead end street.  Maynard Street used to run from east to west parallel to Selborne Street from about the end of this now unnamed street.

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Eleanor Edwards was recorded on 3 April at 24 Longfellow Street, Toxteth Park, Lancashire in the 1881 Census.  This is a summary of the 1881 Census return for this address.

 

Name	Family Relationship	Marital Status	Stated Age	Calculated Year of Birth	Occupation	Where Born
William Edwards	Head	Married	54	1827	Railway goods guard	Ysceifiog, Flintshire, Wales
Susannah Edwards	Wife	Married	55	1826	Unstated	Corwen, Merionethshire, Wales
Eleanor Edwards	Daughter	Single	17	1864	Pupil teacher	Liverpool, Lancashire
Julia C Edwards	Daughter	Single	16	1865	Milliner	Liverpool, Lancashire

 

Longfellow Street Toxteth Park, where Eleanor was recorded in 1881, does still exist and it was a short walk from Maynard Street, where the family lived in 1871. 

Follow Selborne Street east to the intersection of Selborne Street and Lodge Lane (A 5089).  Turn right (south) into Lodge Lane.  The second street on the left (east) is Longfellow Street.  Number 24 Longfellow Street is on the right (south) side of the street before the intersection of Longfellow Street and Newstead Road.

In the 1881 Census, Eleanor Edwards had commenced training as a primary school teacher.  She was a recorded in this Census as a “Pupil Teacher”.

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The Pupil Teacher system was established in England in 1840.  Under the Pupil Teacher system, children finished elementary (primary) school at age 13 and were apprenticed to train as teachers in their primary school for a 5 year period. During the 5 years, they had to work as teachers during school hours and also receive 1.5 hours of instruction five days every week from the school principal.  This teacher training instruction was supposed to occur either before or after school hours.

Pupil teachers were paid a starting salary of £10/-/- in the first year; yearly increases of £2/5/0 took their salary up to a maximum of £20/-/- per year. Teachers who were responsible for instructing pupil teachers, were paid an allowance for doing this. 

To be eligible for consideration as a Pupil teacher, candidates had to:

·         Be age 13;

·         Be able to read fluently;

·         Write neatly and spell correctly;

·         Have knowledge of elementary geography and the first four rules of arithmetic;

·         If female, they had to be able to sew and knit;

·         Teach a junior class satisfactorily;

·         In Anglican schools, Pupil Teachers had to be able to repeat the Catechism and be             acquainted with the outline of Bible history.

There was a specified syllabus for each of the five years of pupil teacher training, with annual assessment of progress.

After completion of the five years training, pupil teachers were assessed by examination. If successful, the Pupil Teacher could enter a training college to continue education and training for two years.  Alternatively, the Pupil Teacher could work either as an assistant teacher or as a provisionally certificated teacher.  Pupil teachers who went to the teacher training college received a Queen’s Scholarship which paid a maximum of either £20/-/- or £25/-/- per year.  The scholarship money was paid to the training college.

 By the date of the 1881 Census, Eleanor was age 17 and she was due to turn 18 on 18 September 1881.  Assuming she commenced the pupil teacher training at age 13, her pupil teacher training period ended on 18 September 1881.  I have found no information about the school at which Eleanor undertook her pupil teacher training.

At the end of her pupil teacher training, Eleanor would have been eligible to be granted a Queen’s Scholarship to undertake an additional two years of training at a teacher training college.  Based on where she lived, it is likely that Eleanor attended Padgate Teacher Training College, Warrington.  Padgate was then located in County Lancashire.

As yet, I have found no records for any additional teacher training undertaken by Eleanor, but it is certain that she did undertake further teacher training.  That Eleanor established her own school confirms that she did the two years of additional training after she had finished her apprenticeship as a Pupil Teacher.

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Like her husband Richard Rees Roberts, Eleanor Edwards was brought up in abject poverty. Because of great talent, she left that poverty behind.

While researching this work, I developed great respect for Richard Rees Roberts and for Eleanor Edwards.  What they had in life, they acquired through extremely hard work and talent.