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Q. The act that you were talking about just
now, that was the one of 1870 was it?
A. The free education act. It came into force before I went to
the school. I was wondering about those little schools they must
have kept going after the act for a short while. If you come to
look at it, there must have been something of the sort. You look
at this small room down here (village shop – see fig. No. 3)
and the one at Berry’s Maple. They would never have taken all
those children there was in Ash, so they must have paid their
2d. per week for their education such as it was rather than be
sent to the charity school. You know how ‘ticular they used to
be in those days about charity.
Q. Would Mr. Rogers remember his father saying anything about
going to Berry’s Maple?
A. Oh. Mr. Rogers has often told me about his father going down
to Berry’s Maple, because what |
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they used to do; there used to be a lot of
hunting around here and as soon as the hounds came down, they
could see all across to White Ash Woods, and as soon as the boys
heard the hounds they all jumped out of their seats and the
whole school would be gone like a stream and poor old Mr. Fields
would come hobbling out and take his wooden stump leg off and
throw it after them. That was goodbye to them for the day.
Q. There must have been some form of education in Ash as far
back as 1811 as there is a record of a charity then?
A. I should say that’s what it was. Them two little schools
we’ve heard about were for those people that wouldn’t accept
charity. They was a little more sticklish about class then than
they are now. ‘though I don’t know they’ve got to be so
proud about their children to go to school with the serfs. |