by Helen Purcell

All Saints’ School.

In November 1851, a schoolhouse was erected in Walker Lane to educate impoverished inhabitants of the parish of All Saints. Facilitated by grants and charitable donations, the school is an exemplary example of the nineteenth century culture of philanthropy.

This excerpt from the Derby Mercury not only depicts a level of comfort in the warm, light, and well-ventilated schoolhouse, that was constructed with the wants of the poorest in mind. Walker Lane certainly was “conveniently situated” to make education more accessible to children of the slum – or perhaps to keep poverty confined and concentrated. A capacity of “upwards of five hundred children and adults” was a rousing success for the parish mission to deliver worshipful education to the lowest classes. Although, this exceeded the 360-capacity recorded in Glover’s directory; moreover, ‘upwards of’ suggests room for a higher capacity. Depicting a more cramped, than comfortable, environment. Susannah Wright’s research shows that the slums “worried, appalled and fascinated concerned citizens” and that a combination of ‘scientific’ works – such as the mapping of slums by figures like Charles Booth – and stories from travellers and the media, curated perceptions of slum inhabitants as “a race apart”.¹ Curiosity of the middle classes, informed the philanthropic culture – which facilitated the schools – yet also inspired the need to confine poverty to close quarters.

The overall tone of the article seems positive, talking about comfort and opportunity for the most impoverished children and adults, with children particularly being seen as victim.

However, an agenda lies within: this is a celebration of the character of the wealthier classes, without whom there would be no school. Moreover, it is a celebration of, and advertisement for the Christian mission. This excerpt also shows that this schoolhouse was a magnet for poverty drawing it inward to walker lane, benefiting nearby parishes, like St. Michaels.

The deserving, and undeserving, poor.

Poverty was considered in the context of the deserving, and undeserving poor. Children were typically seen as the deserving poor as accountability was informed by levels of dependency/independency.

Here, a young boy living on walker lane has broken a window. The court suspended his charge on the promise of restoration of justice, a lenience that reflects lesser accountability. However, punishment for impoverished school children was not always lenient, at school discipline was “only maintained by brutal and constant use of the cane”.² To the court his mother is the source of blame by not “obliging” her son to attend Sunday-school for exposure to good character. The level of accountability for the mother, is reflective of middle-class attitudes to the poor as deserving (victimised), and undeserving (responsible).

Debt and government intervention.

The 1870 Education Act saw government intervention which sought to improve conditions, and quality of education, with a non-denominational approach. ³ However, for the All Saints School the cost of improvements needed to meet government requirements, had resulted in debt.

Board schools had more support, and this caused a divide which was enhanced by the divide between denominational and non-denominational approaches.⁴ Amongst improvements, the parish identified the need for more children. Susannah Wright highlights the connection between poverty, criminality, and truancy. Children who slept out or were being held for crimes were unlikely or unable to attend. Limited supervision from parents contributed to the issue, and this further reflected the culture of parental responsibility for the child’s depravity.⁵ This line of thought however, did not acknowledge that the parents of these children had predominantly grown up as children of poverty too.

Support from the wealthier members of the parish was again imperative, as support within the church seemed to wane.

Schooling in slums across the country was “hopelessly inadequate and horribly overcrowded”⁶ and despite some efforts to improve, All Saints was no exception.

The workhouse.

Workhouse conditions in the nineteenth-century were foul by design to deter people from using them unless absolutely necessary.⁷ This was down to middle-class attitudes towards the deserving, and undeserving, poor, where relief was often seen in the context of punishment for perceived accountability.

Prior to the New Poor Law of 1834, parish workhouses were typical; however, the new legislation called for bigger Union workhouses to support national efficiency in tackling poverty, depravity, and criminality. ⁸

Most parish workhouses were put up for sale once the Union workhouse had been established in 1837.⁹ Although, the All Saints workhouse continued to operate, housing men only.¹⁰ Parish workhouses were required to give relief, only to the poor of that parish.¹¹ Yet in 1837 the All Saints parish workhouse, was ordered to take in all the unmarried men from St. Peter’s parish.¹² A move that once again, would draw poverty in to walker lane. In 1841, the All Saints workhouse placed for auction. Despite the workhouse’s inevitable closure, the building remained not only as lodgings, but also a hub for depravity.

The workhouse was finally demolished in 1925, to make way for the leisure centre, changing the face of Walker Lane forever.

1. Susannah Wright, “The Work of Teachers and Others in and around a Birmingham Slum School 1891–1920,” History of Education 38, no. 6 (November 6, 2009): 729–46, https://doi.org/10.1080/00467600903305558. ↩︎
2. Stone, Lawrence. “Literacy and Education in England 1640-19001.” Past and Present 42, no. 1 (1969): 69–139. p,93 https://doi.org/10.1093/past/42.1.69. ↩︎
3. The 1870 education act – UK parliament, accessed December 16, 2023, https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/school/overview/1870educationact/. ↩︎
4. Alastair Wilcox, The Church and the Slums: The Victorian Anglican Church and Its Mission to Liverpool’s Poor (Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars, 2014), 20. ↩︎
5. Susannah Wright, “The Work of Teachers and Others in and around a Birmingham Slum School 1891–1920,” History of Education 38, no. 6 (November 6, 2009): 729–46, https://doi.org/10.1080/00467600903305558. ↩︎
6. Stone, Lawrence. “Literacy and Education in England 1640-19001.” Past and Present 42, no. 1 (1969): 69–139. p,93 https://doi.org/10.1093/past/42.1.69. ↩︎
7. Lindsay, J  M. “Excellent Order throughout: Derby Workhouse, 1834-1844.” The Derbyshire Archaeological Journal 100 (1980): 95–102.
   Available at: Derby Local Studies Library ↩︎
8. Lindsay, J  M. “Excellent Order throughout: Derby Workhouse, 1834-1844.” The Derbyshire Archaeological Journal 100 (1980): 95–102.
   Available at: Derby Local Studies Library ↩︎
9. Lindsay, J  M. “Excellent Order throughout: Derby Workhouse, 1834-1844.” The Derbyshire Archaeological Journal 100 (1980): 95–102.
   Available at: Derby Local Studies Library ↩︎
10. G M Cross et al., “The Formation of the Derby Poor Law Union,” Derbyshire Miscellany: The Local History Bulletin of the Derbyshire Archaeological Society 6 (1972): 55–68, https://doi.org/www.derbyshireas.org.uk/DM06-03.pdf. ↩︎
11. indsay, J  M. “Excellent Order throughout: Derby Workhouse, 1834-1844.” The Derbyshire Archaeological Journal 100 (1980): 95–102.
    Available at: Derby Local Studies Library ↩︎
12. G M Cross et al., “The Formation of the Derby Poor Law Union,” Derbyshire Miscellany: The Local History Bulletin of the Derbyshire Archaeological Society 6 (1972): 55–68, https://doi.org/www.derbyshireas.org.uk/DM06-03.pdf. ↩︎