Ryburgh Schooldays
It is extraordinary just what turns up due to the internet and the increasing desire of people to trace their ancestral origins. It was just such research into the Oughton family that revealed the following images which turn out to be the earliest yet seen, and were part of an Oughton family archive that I have so far been unable to locate except for multiple sharings across the Ancestry genealogy website. I sought permission to reproduce the following from what seemed like the source of the images but they do not have the originals and thus with the exception that they demostrate a direct link to Great Ryburgh they can only be taken as found with regard to the identification of the subjects:
The earliest image has been badly cropped by the original contributor but contains sufficient information to speculate that the man with the beard might be Arthur Henry Bradley headteacher. He first joined the school on August 4th 1873 until 21st December 1875. A press report from the Norfolk Chronicle on Saturday July 4th 1874 shows that Ryburgh School was not all sweetness and light. Log book reports of corporal punishment are seen regularly on its pages. In this instance the situation on JUne 12th. had got decidedly out of contol:
Arthur George (this should be Arthur Henry) Bradley, Great Ryburgh, schoolmaster, was charged with assaulting and beating Robert Jarnes Kendall, son of Philip Kendall. of the same place, ale-house keeper, on the 12th ult. Defendant admitted that he punished the boy, but said he did not exceed his duty. He gave the class a Bible lesson to learn. Some of them performed the task and others did not, complainant was one of the latter. He then told the defaulters to write out four verses of the Bible. Complainant refused to perform the task, and he desired him to hold out his hand for punishment in the usual way. He refused, and then he (defendant) struck him the back with stick, about as large as his own little finger, and on the side of the head with his fist.—Mr. Kendall said that seeing his son sobbing the yard he asked what was the matter, when his son replied. " Look here." and showed him the back his ear, which was swelled and evidently in great pain. He said Mr. Bradley had done it. He (Mr. Kendall) went to the clergyman, Mr. Tatham, who said the boy had been disobedient and must be punished. When he returned home his wife told him that the boy's head was as nothing compared with his back. He had the back stripped, and found it all bruises down to the seat. He took his son to Dr. Damont, who gave him the following certificate ( handed the Bench): " I hereby certify that I have this day examined Robert James Kendall, aged 13 years, living in the parish of Great Ryburgh. and I find nine severe oontusions on the shoulder, back, and loins, and a very severe contused wound behind the right ear. Signed, T. V. DAMONT. M.D.. &c. &c. June 12. 1874.—Ann Spalding, aged 13 years, a very intelligent little girl, who spoke in a very clear and satisfactory manner, said she was in the school at the time, near to Mr. Bradley, and saw the beating given the boy with the stick, and also the blow on the head with the fist. It was not the open hand but the fist. The boy fell down, and Mr.Bradley struck him when he was down. In reply to Mr. Bradley, she did not see the boy's head strike the desk as he fell.—Defendant called Herbert Hamond and Same. Widdows to prove that wound behind the boy's ear was caused by his falling against the desk, but their evidence on this point was not clear and satisfactory, particularly so as they differed in describing the fall ; and as the Bench expressed a wish to hear Dr. Damont's description of the state of the boy when he examined him, a messenger was despatched for him. The Doctor was soon in attendance, and. in reply to the Bench, said when he examined the complainant there was a contusion behind the right ear, which he believed had been done by the fist, the blow would be sufficient to knock the boy down. There was, no doubt, undue violence. The boy had been unmercifully beaten. Had the blow behind the ear been nearer the eye it might have caused considerable injury. He also saw the back of complainant. There was a straight mark in the centre, and one by each side of it, besides others. He had no doubt these were caused by a stick, not a cane. In reply to defendant, the blow behind the ear could not have been caused by falling against a hard substance such the desk, because in that case the ear would have been injured as well. Nor could it have been done by the flat or open hand, because the ear would also in that case have been injured. He had no doubt it was caused by the knuckles of the fist when the hand was closed. —Defendant said the boy was disobedient and unmanageable, and he felt it necessary to compel his submission, or his own influence in the school would be seriously impaired. A testimonial, in his favour. signed by certain inhabitants of the village whose children attend the school was handed in; and Mr. Mesney. one the oldest managers of the school, spoke very highly in his favour. —The Bench believed all that had been said and written in his favour. Still they could not dismiss from their minds the conviction that great violence had been used, and especially so after the evidence given by Dr. Damont. The boy had, doubtless, given great provocation ; still, reference to the parents, the managers of the school, expulsion, or even the birch rod. would have been preferable to the violence which had evidently been used. They were willing to give defendant credit for the best and purest intentions. Still, punishments had their limits, and children must protected from cruel inflictions. Only very recently two cases had occurred in which the boy's actually died in consequence of the violence of their schoolmasters; and the Bench did not feel they would be justified without inflicting in this case a fine of I s., with 11s. 6d. costs, and 21s. the fee of the Doctor would make 33s. 6d. The amount was immediately paid.
He returned in 1883 having been in Somerset and Yorkshire in the meantime where his two eldest children were born. He writes in the school log book:
The staff of the school 1888 are listed in the following image:
If the date of 1888 the photo is correct, then the central female figure with the child upon her knee could well be Mrs Rose Bradley and their youngest daughter Elizabeth May born in Ryburgh in 1885.
It is a shame that the cropping has robbed us of an image of what might have been the complete staff of Ryburgh School.
Although unwell Arthur Bradley remained in post until 1st December 1890 and in January 1891 a temporary head was in place due to his continued illness. He was unable to resume his duties and he died on April 6th 1891 at which point Albert Foster took over, initially on a temporary basis and was offered the post on a permanent basis on July 24th 1891.
It is Albert Foster that we now see in this image dated 1896:
Writing in 2015, this was the earliest depiction of Ryburgh Schooldays; a photograph dated 1905 taken outside the schoolhouse where Albert Foster the headteacher (1891-1928) is posing with the winning team members holding the newly inaugurated Marshall Trophy awarded at the Mileham Sports. The team members are too old to still be at the school but would have been past pupils. Unfortunately the surviving registers don't begin until the beginning of the C20th. There is a complimentary press report which names the team members:
The Board reads:
Ryburgh
Winners of
MARSHAL TROPHY
Mileham Sports
~~~~1905~~~~
Believed to be pictured from Left to Right
1
2
3 Charles T Steward?
4 George Salisbury
5
6
7Albert Foster
This photograph dated 1907 from the Oughton collection is the earliest school team photo to have come to light to date:
It is to be hoped that yet more will come to light in the future!
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The majority of the early depictions are anonymous groups of children on postcards as follows:
Post 1903 and Pre 1911
Post 1911
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The Great Ryburgh Scrapbook at Gressenhall Museum had the following clipping taken from a paper in 1977 and shows Ryburgh cricket team from not later than 1922 complete with remembered names:
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Ernest Bernard Saunders was the headteacher from April 1928-1932 and is seen on photographs of both football and cricket teams of the period. These two images kindly donated by the late David Howe were both produced by the Scholastic Souvenir Co. Ltd. of Blackpool and possibly date from the same year 1930.
Back Row:
Ernest Saunders -- Jack Harris -- Nolan Toll -- Chris Howard -- Fernley Bear
Middle Row:
Jack Whiteside -- George Primrose -- Douglas Nelson -- Fred Stacy -- E Ashmore
Fron Row:
Reggie Fellowes -- Arthur Sizeland
The cricket team certanly has some of the same faces. Can you name any?
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This splendid group depicting the 1931-32 Stool-ball team has just been sent in to us by the then 11 year old Thelma Scott, daughter of William Scott who worked as a foreman platelayer on the Railway, first at Ryburgh and then at North Elmham. Thelma is on the front row, second from the right.
Also on the picture Joan Beck, back row far right; Marjorie Eggleton, middle row, far left and Irene Jude , front row far left.
The teacher was Miss Florence Plummer later to be Mrs. Florrie Barnes who taught at the school for many years.
Thelma started at Ryburgh in the last years of headteacher, Albert Foster. She was there for the whole of Ernest Saunders' headship and for the start of Ronald Skipper's. She also remembers Mervyn White who taught at Ryburgh before becoming headteacher after Ronald Skipper.
The game of Stool-ball is an early forerunner of cricket and is still played today
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The photograph below another of the late David Howe's collection is taken just a little after the above photo in 1934 of the school athletics team. Miss Florrie Plummer is again on the far left standing and headteacher Ronald Skipper (April 1932-1937) is on the far right.
June Clark contacted us after seeing this photograph and supplied us with a few names as her older brother Noel Hudson was in the photograph and it was the year he won the Victor Ludorum at the school sports
Do you recognise any more of the children?