Education, education, education!

Lovely stroll around Dunster Castle with a glimpse into the life of the privileged few. Dunster has a remarkable educational history. Robert the schoolmaster was recorded at Dunster in 1355, that's early for village schooling and in 1605 a man ran an unlicensed school. Not sure what Mr Gove would have made of that! A nonconformist taught English c. 1698 and in 1713 there was a licensed Latin and English school. A school sometimes known as a charity school was started in 1819 and was attended by 78 boys and 63 girls. Another school taught 30 girls daily and on Sundays and 30 children attended the Wesleyan School. So education was big in Dunster.

The National school for 300 children opened in June 1872. The master received £100, of which £20 came from church collections, and was assisted by three pupil teachers and a monitress. An evening school for boys was held 4 times a week. The curriculum included drill and history. In 1885 school meals were introduced for 1d. a head. The school boasted singing, a museum and new desks, and midday meals and cocoa were provided with parishioners donated dinner tickets for needy children. In 1903 the school had five teachers, four rooms for 132 children and 351 infants and a playground with a horizontal bar and flush toilets. Cookery lessons were introduced in 1906 and electricity was installed in 1911. In October the school closed for the potato harvest.

Some great ideas here, flushing toilets, horizontal bars, cocoa, a school museum, free school meals and closing for harvest. Ah, the good old days!

And afterwards, as we're in Somerset, cream tea at the most idyllic setting ever, hence the blip.

And Elwin, if you haven't lost the will to live and are still reading, look at the extra photo & tell me where it is and why these aren't issued as standard to new clergy.