A HISTORY OF THE
BUXTON NEAR
By
Derick Mellor
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The
request to write this story of the
The
study of the diaries and daily log, covering a period of eighty years, has left
the writer with the greatest admiration for the men and women who float in and
out of the story; he feels quite unable to do justice to their work. Many of
them, like the headmasters, stayed for thirty or forty years.
It was
decided to write this history primarily for these whose work brings them into
contact with Red House. The material has been selected to interest them but the
story also has local historical interest. Part 1 concludes with the year 1937
and the death of the last of the Sewell benefactors. Part II will follow. The
author has been assisted by Mr George Buck and Mrs Jo Pike of the
A
chronology has been included in the following pages, as a guide to the contents
of this history. This is followed by a tree to show the connection between the
Wright and Sewell families. There is also a table to show the variations in the
purchasing power of the £; the fluctuations greatly affected life at the Red
House during and after the Great War. The sources of information are listed at
the end.
CHRONOLOGY FOR PART I OF RED HOUSE HISTORY
1816 John and Anne Wright, just married, came to
live at Dudwick in the parish of Buxton, near
1819 John's sister Mary married Isaac Sewe11 of
Yarmouth. They had two children; Anna Born 1820, authoress of "Black
Beauty'', Philip Born 1822, heir to Dudwick and Red House.
1850 John Wright assisted with the resettlement
of discharged prisoners and accepted prisoners on licence on his several farms.
1852 John Wright held a meeting of Norfolk
Magistrates and leading citizens in
1854 Parliament passed the first Youthful
Offenders Act. This authorised courts to commit to a reformatory (as an
alternative to prison) offenders under the age of sixteen, for terms not less
than two nor more than five years.
1855 Thomas Babington, first successful governor
of Red House Reformatory, appointed. He remained for 42 years.
1870 W E Forster, the brother-in-law of Matthew
Arnold, introduced the Elementary Education Act. In Forster
1870 Death
of John Wright the founder and owner.
1894 Mr. Herbert Asquith, the Home Secretary,
signs the order confirming Red House as an
1897 Death of the Governor Thomas Babington. His
eldest son, Thomas S had been his deputy for some years.
1898 Thomas S Babington left to become governor
of the
1906 Death of Philip Sewell, and financial
crisis at Buxton. Ted Sewell becomes owner.
1908 Parliament
approved "borstal” training for young offenders aged 16-21,
1911 Exceptionally long hot summer. Coronation
of King George V. Red House Manager knighted by the King in
1913 Cyril Burt, the world’s first school
psychologist, appointed in
1926 The first feeble-minded boys sent to Red
House. They had been weeded out of Home Office schools as not quite normal. The
mental tests used were first developed in McDougall’s post-graduate school at
1927 Alfred
Babington retires from Red House where his father had been appointed 72 years
earlier. Mr. Augustus Clement appointed as the new Headmaster.
1931 Red House gets electric
light.
1933 The
Children and Young Persons Act of 1933 came into force; a most important
event in the history of the treatment of delinquent and neglected children. 1st
November; Red House reclassified as an Approved School for 90 boys.
1937 Death
of Ted Sewell in January, the last Sewell owner of Red House. His
sister Margaret Sewell died that November.
TABLE A THE PURCHASING POWER OF THE £
In
the year 1914 prices in
|
|
s |
d |
|
1914 |
20 |
0 |
|
1916 |
13 |
8 |
|
1918 |
9 |
10 |
|
1920 |
8 |
0 |
|
1930 |
12 |
8 |
|
1937 |
13 |
0 |
|
1960 |
4 |
6 |
Average wages in
THE FOUNDING FAMILY
OF THE RED HOUSE
THE RED HOUSE SCHOOL
PREFACE
The
more I saw of the boys of the
The
invitation to write about the school was gladly accepted because it provided an
opportunity to find out more. I wanted to know how it was that the boys had
such an admirable regard for the staff and why the staff were so effective in
dealing with difficult children. It turns out that the foundation of the school
was the work of
This is not a full history but rather an
offering to new members of the school staff and others who are interested. To
be of value this account must stand on documentary evidence, not on opinions;
fortunately documents are available, also account books and registers from the beginning.
The school was founded by John Wright who owned farms round about and lived at
the nearby Dudwick House which later provided the setting for the children's
classic story "Black Beauty", written by his niece Anna Sewell. Her
brother Philip was heir to John Wright and thus became owner and manager of
Wright and Sewell directed the school and
found jobs for the leavers for over fifty years; this account therefore starts
by exploring the background of these two generous and farsighted men. In the
early days Wright had financial assistance from five of his friends, and their
families continued to assist from one generation to another; only on Philip Sewell’s
death did the extent of their generosity become known. Fortunately it was to
continue and in quite recent times masters
John Wright of Dudwick
The
Wrights, who were Quakers, had been
While at Yarmouth John, who was the eldest son, married Anne
Harford who had been a great friend of his sister Mary. They went to live at
Dudwick House, Buxton; this lovely house with a good estate had been left to
John by his father's cousin, another John Wright of Norfolk, who had been a
successful banker in the City of London> Back in Yarmouth one of father's
ventures had been to purchase a captured French vessel and have engines fitted;
then he and his younger brother Richard started Wright's Packet Service on the
river between Yarmouth and Norwich. This was said to be the first steam packet
on the East Coast. Two more vessels were added to the enterprise and John took
on a partner whose nephews were the captains. When a rival packet appeared the
nephews challenged it to a race, to take place on Good Friday. Alas, the
Wright's vessel had its safety valve lashed down and the boiler burst killing
thirteen people. This river accident was at
The Wrights now had to sell their big house
near
PHILIP SEWELL, ENGINEER AND MAN OF GOD
Anna had been born in
Charles Vignoles took young Philip
Sewell to
Now Philip got involved
in railway construction over the Pennines from Yorkshire to
Philip Sewell was a man of high principles
and great courage; his abiding concern was to better the lot of working people.
In his railway building on the Continent he had become known for his successful
management of both British and foreign labour. This is why he was pressed to
take on the task in the difficult fells of Yorkshire and Westmorland instead of
building a railway in
They had their first home high up in the
pleasant little town of
"Mr. Philip Sewell
had come from
In 1864 Philip Sewell retired from
engineering at the early age of 42; this was because Sarah had been ill for the
past two years. They came to live at Clare House, New Catton, with their seven
children. This house with its extensive gardens and fields became part of the
THE RED HOUSE FARM
Four parish boundaries
meet by the Red House Farm; the place is marked by a stone near the lane which
leads from the main buildings to the Buxton road and on to Dudwick House. It
was not long after the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815, that young John and Anne
Wright came to live in this lovely old house which had been rather neglected by
Cousin Wright
John and Anne Wright had no children of
their own, but they were very fond of them and she was undoubtedly good with
them; the lessons which she later gave to the Red House boys were exceedingly
popular so they were written up and published. The Wrights had earlier built
schools for the local children who paid one penny a week when they attended and
if they could afford it. Visitors should note the stone over the Buxton village
school which was endowed by the Wrights. The inscription was painted over in
1940 when all road signposts were taken down lest they should assist German
soldiers who were expected to land on the coast.
John was also active in
John and Anne Wright were deeply involved
with the huge Buxton workhouse which had been built in the previous century and
now served a union of nine parishes. Many children were lodged here and
tradesmen from
As a court magistrate John had wide
responsibilities which later became those of Local Authorities when they were
created. In September 1852 he wrote to all county magistrates suggesting that a
training school should be started in
"That an
establishment should be formed for the maintenance and religious and industrial
training of forty lads under the age of twenty. It was resolved that it was desirable
to induce habits of industry, including the cultivation of the land."
At
this meeting a committee was formed.
Sir Edward Buxton,
President
John H Gurney,
Treasurer
George Kett
John Wright
The committee was requested "to look
for suitable buildings in an eligible situation in the county, where a
sufficient quantity of land could be hired". Samuel Gurney and J Gurney
Hoare joined the committee. Land was obtained and buildings were erected a
short distance from the Wright
Financial help was provided by the members
of the committee; John Wright found the balance of the money required to run
the school and pay the staff and no public appeal was ever made.
A TURBULENT BEGINNING
There was more than one
unsuccessful attempt to get a capable Governor. In 1853 a governor (or
superintendent) of the Red House was appointed; we do not know his name, only
that his time there was "stormy"! In February, 1855, when the snow
was on the ground, the youths "mutinied", according to newspaper
reports, and they locked the governor in a cupboard. Another member of the
staff then rode over to Dudwick to tell John Wright. He came to the school at
once with another man who was staying at the time; this was Mr. Thomas
Babington, a lay reader who had been preaching locally. One account states that
Babington
After this incident the
governor was dismissed and Thomas Babington accepted the appointment. Wright
said that governors were meant to last. Babington remained for 42 years and his
splendid wife filled the appointment of matron for a long time. The account
book shows that the salary for the two of them together was, to start with only
£3.6.8d per month. Other items in the school accounts of their first month
include 7 tons of coal - £7.7.0, 2 pigs - £1.7.6, candles - 8/- Mr. Saye,
ploughing field in 3½ days - £1.4.6d. Then
there were materials for the school tailor who made the clothes, the shoemaker,
the baker, the cook and the farmer. The baker, by the way, later founded a well
known
This school had to pay
rates to the local authority yet the latter made no contribution towards the
upkeep of boys from
their area who were sent to the school. The account book records the
all-important contributions received from the sponsors.
Thirty young "criminals" were sent to the Red
House in the two years before Babington became governor; most of them were aged
17 to 22 on arrival. After this time the entry age dropped and twelve became a
more usual age; but in the register I see a boy aged eight, sent for stealing
rope and iron bolts. His father is paralysed and his mother hawks herrings in
Babington
kept a careful record of every boy with notes about his background and
progress; even after a youth had left the record was continued when the
governor visited old boys or their employers. At the Red House most of the boys
learned farming while a few were trained by the school
The
strength of the school was about forty boys and the register shows that by the
year 1870 well over two hundred had been admitted. The majority seem to have
made good after leaving. Many went to
Now and
again the school received a boy who seemed to be "crazed", to use
Babington
It is
natural to ask how much of the early achievements of the Red House came from
men like Wright and Babington and how much from the women; one must also ask
what inspired them. We know that their work was firmly rooted in deeply
religious feeling, but Wright
THE SPIRIT OF BENEVOLENCE WAS
GROWING
The School had been started at a time when intelligent
people were worried about social and economic conditions. The Industrial
Revolution had caused an all too rapid change in
An ever increasing number of children were appearing
before the magistrates for stealing, in
The many letters from old boys who were overseas showed
that most
Of them
did well and had a much better chance than they would have had in
assist
boys to obtain the tools of their trade on leaving and in later years some were
provided with bicycles when this was necessary to get to work. The school was
ahead of the times in the practical help which it provided, but their first aim
was always to train the youngsters in an occupation which they could follow and
so earn their keep. Such training seemed to build self-confidence in boys who
had none.
John
Wright and his friends were satisfied that whereas delinquent boys needed
organised help, on the Red House lines, girls could always get training in
household duties and then go into service with understanding people. Anne
Wright, who was well travelled and had a countrywide circle of friends, was of
the opinion that girls did not do well in institutions. Their nephew Philip had
seen village-homes in
THE END OF AN ERA
It was a
great shock to the Babingtons and the small Red House staff when John Wright
became seriously ill with what sounds like flu followed by pneumonia. He was
not only the owner of the school but the main provider of the money. His wife Anne nursed him night and day. He
eventually recovered but she took ill and died within a few days. Her pony and
chaise were presented to the Babingtons.
Her death was a great loss to the school because she had contributed in
so many ways. In a letter to a friend, Anne
We also
read that Anne used to take the boys on expeditions both for natural history
and geology lessons. We know that they made a good collection of fossils and
there is an account of younger boys being sent out to collect the materials to
try and make a copy of a bird
After his
serious illness John Wright once again urged his nephew and heir, Philip
Sewell, to return to
Before
getting on to the Sewell era it is worth considering the achievements up to
this time, as seen by Government Inspectors. As early as 1856 the Inspector of
Convict Prisons had visited the Red House after inspecting the
By 1868 there were over fifty boys in the school and the
small staff was not sufficient to cope; but old John Wright could not now
afford more. The Inspector of Reformatories at this time was a man who did not
agree with Babington about punishment.
He reported "I regret to find that the habit of absconding has not
been cured; seven boys deserted in six months. I believe that a sound whipping
would be a far better remedy for this offence than two or three month’s
imprisonment in
Babington
From the
earliest days Babington, whom they nicknamed the
A boy
would be sent by the magistrates to the Red House for a specified number of
years. If the school considered that a boy had performed well and should return
home before his term was up then they could ask the Secretary of State to order
his release. Several of these early Secretary of State releases are recorded.
Babington
"Joe, age 22, came to his
death through a mass of earth falling on him alongside the railway cutting at
Dunston. Poor Joe. I hope he was prepared. He was a good boy and always
thoughtful about his soul. I have often heard him pray when he was not aware of
it."
There is
no doubt that Thomas Babington had complete faith.
John
Wright lived to see the passing of the Elementary Education Act of 1870, when
he was aged 76. This act established the
concept of a nation-wide education service extensively supported by public
funds but locally administered by school boards. This delighted him because it would give all
children a real chance. He died in the
following year but not before Philip Sewell had been able to increase the Red
House staff, by one "naval instructor" and a second craft instructor
among others. Furthermore, some new buildings had been planned. The Government Inspector
PHILIP SEWELL INHERITS THE RED HOUSE
In 1871
Philip became owner of the
Philip
had only recently re-married when he inherited the Dudwick estate and other
property which brought with it several problems. There was no question of moving
his family to Dudwick; it was too far from
A history
of Buxton tells us that "Mr. Sewell was a good landlord of Dudwick, though
not resident there, and good to the village where he built a reading room and
provided it with a good billiard table for the men. He enlarged the village school which his
ancestors had built and endowed to provide pay for the teachers". It is
good to know that when this school was finally taken over by the Norfolk County
Council, in 1921, the endowments were used to create the John Wright
Scholarships for the children.
When
Sewell first became squire of Buxton the business of the village was conducted
at Vestry Meetings. The village
officials were the Surveyor who planned the upkeep of the roads and bridges,
the Constable who apprehended law breakers and the Overseer who dealt with
applications for assistance for the poor of the parish. In the 1880
To his
contemporaries Sewell was a travelled man with great experience of employing
large numbers of men, often in wild country.
His success as a builder of railways owed much to his concern for the
men he employed; he never worked them on Sundays and was always remembered for
this, particularly in
The job
of the Manager was to see that the Superintendent could do his job without
undue worry, and to take responsibility; this was Sewell
The road that Philip Sewell took from
With a Superintendent so highly regarded and so long established
as Thomas Babington hasty changes were not to be expected at the Red House:
however, the new owner did make a start with some bathrooms. For many years the
boys had bathed once a week in
Things were now changing faster in
be world beyond Buxton. The Great Eastern Railway was running excursions from
It was not until 1879 that the railway station was opened
at Buxton; this provided an easy route to
"Is there no nook of English
ground secure, from rash assault by railway……”
The railway did bring one advantage to all: the price of coal came down. There was an amusing story about the first
days of this railway in
The improved travel facilities in
In the year 1877 it was estimated that there were 30,000
destitute children roaming the streets of
IMPORTANT SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENTS
The years from 1870 to 1880 had brought three developments
which affected both the Red House and the outside world from which its boys
came. These were the start of local
government, the beginning of trade unions and higher education for women. The last of these three was of current
interest to Philip Sewell and his second wife Charlotte, because his daughter
Margaret was a gifted young woman; later she was to make a marked contribution
at Buxton after considerable experience of social work in
Back in 1864 a Royal Commission had been set up to
investigate `further education
The second social development which had a bearing on the
work of the Red House concerned trade unions.
The first union for agricultural workers was started in Norfolk, in the
villages around Aylsham; the life of its founder floats in and out of the Red
House history over many years so it is worth drawing together some of the
events. The story begins in the year that Babington became Superintendent of
the school when a destitute Marsham family named Edwards had been taken into
the workhouse. One child, George, was
allowed to start work at the age of six, scaring crows for 3 pence a day. When
he reached the age of sixteen in 1866 he was earning 6 shillings a week, at the
age of 22 he founded a local union for land workers. The Eastern Weekly Press
and the Peoples Weekly Journal helped to spread the movement. The union
One of
those who helped George Edwards was Charles Louis Buxton; he was Liberal Leader
in
"Bolwick Hall, Aylsham"
"Dar Mr. Edwards,
I was delighted to hear yesterday
that your employer had withdrawn his notice for you to leave your work and
house. I hope that everything will go on smoothly and that you will be quite
happy and that we shall have no more of this kind of victimization.
Yours truly,
C, L. Buxton."
In
To cut a
long story short, when the Liberals won the General Election in 1885 farm
labourers were enfranchised. George
Edwards was invited to
When
Louis Buxton died in 1906 it was George Edwards who took his seat on the
Norfolk County Council as representative of the Buxton Division; later he was
elected to Parliament. The union which
Edwards had formed in 1872 eventually collapsed, as did the other unions which
represented farm workers elsewhere. This was at a bad time when wages came down
because farmers just could not make things pay.
Some years later Edwards was invited to reform the
The full
story of George Edwards is particularly interesting because it describes the
background from which many Red House boys came in the early days and to which
they would have returned but for the after-care provided by the Babingtons.
"How little do we know of what we are,
How less, what
we may be,"
The last
of the three social changes was the development of local government. The first
County Council elections in
At the
first provisional meeting Philip Sewell of New Catton was elected an
Alderman. By the Local Government Act of
1888, the administration of county affairs, which had long been the
responsibility of the magistrates, was transferred to an elected representative
County Council. The council became
responsible for such matters as education, county police and main roads. On the social services side the 500 parishes
of
It had
been hoped that the various services would be less costly when they became the
responsibility of a lesser number of larger authorities. The Police within the county had cost £12,000
a year and main roads some £45,000.
However, within a year of the new County Council taking over, the cost
of the Police had doubled. The writer
has not gone into the reasons for this; the cost of living was certainly not
responsible for it had been falling slowly ever since the 1870’s, and it
continued to do so for some years.
THOMAS BABINGTON' S LAST DAYS
In the
1890
The older
Buxton boys were well aware of the hazards of the sea for sailing vessels were
still being wrecked on the
Sunday
24th March 1895 brought a severe gale; it damaged the Red House roof and tore
up trees. The Dudwick estate lost more
than 2,500 trees, mostly from the Marsham plantation: here the wind had cut a
path through the wood as if a way had been prepared for a new road. In Buxton village the roof was blown off the
Sunday school and many of the cottages in the village were left
The
eldest son, Thomas S. Babington, had for some long time been his father
THE NEW GOVERNOR MAKES A GOOD START
Alfred
Babington was a robust man and full of fun; he was a `chip off the old block
The new
Governor made a good start and old Philip Sewell was delighted when he received
a very good Home Office inspection report; he drove over to the school that
evening to give it to the Babingtons.
Good news was most welcome because Mrs. Sewell had been very ill for
some time and died on 22nd August.
Philip, who was in his 78th year, had been showing marked signs of the
strain but in spite of his age he was still attending the bank and his
many
Perhaps
this is a good time to have a look at the school and its buildings through the
eyes of some Home Office visitors who had seen the place a year or two
earlier. They recorded that: "The
school premises is a homely red-brick building of farm-like appearance,
old-fashioned and below modern requirements.
Deficiencies in buildings do not seem to have affected the general
health. There is a good garden, a farm of 51 acres and a considerable amount of
stock including pigs and poultry".
The report continues; "Health has been extremely good, the record
of punishment light, the tone of the school sound, the appearance of the boys
cheerful. Eighty boys were present in the school."
Old
Philip made a great recovery after the strain of his wife
This
building programme had been delayed for several years due to uncertainty about
the number of boys who would be committed to the school. The need for places
for delinquent boys had been declining because there were now fewer
The Act
of Parliament which governed reformatories and industrial schools stated that
"Reformatory Schools are for the better training of juvenile
convicted offenders; industrial schools in which industrial or agricultural
training is provided, are chiefly for vagrant or neglected children not
convicted of theft." Parliament had
decreed that various authorities which dealt with neglected children should
contribute towards their maintenance when they committed a child to an industrial
school. Parents should also contribute
if able to do so. Red House found themselves trying to recover fees from very
many different bodies such as Parochial Boards, Guardians of the Poor, newly
formed Local Authorities and School Boards. Philip Sewell had two daughters
living at home and one helped with this correspondence; but he always had to
make up the very substantial difference between fees collected and the actual
cost of the school. No wonder the Home
Office was worried about what would happen after his time.
It is
interesting to note that the Home Office was having doubts about the wisdom of
accepting in the same school "poverty children unconvicted of crime
together with juvenile delinquents."
There were recommendations that each reformatory and industrial school
should be more accurately classified, and that there should be a system of
matching children to the most appropriate school before they were committed.
This was in the 1890’s. At that time
there were, in
SEWELL’S PHILOSOPHY
Alfred had not been long in his new post when old Philip
asked him to consider the boys and discuss with him "their wants, their
fears and their longings." This was
in connection with planning the school expansion and an increase in staff. Food, clothing, health and conduct were all
reviewed, but Sewell laid even more stress on removal of fears, on friendship
and having something to look forward to.
He advised the new Governor not to dwell only on the problems of the
boys but to reflect on the "fine acts of the staff and all the
helpers". The school diary is full
of little incidents which shine out from the pages and give a happy feeling
about the staff.
Feeding was no great problem on a
The boys were well clothed; outer garments, shirts and
boots had all been made at the Red House up to this time. The diary for Sunday 17th November says:
"The boys looked warm and comfortable with their woollen scarves and
gloves on their way to church this morning." This came after a very long hot summer; in
July the boys had been putting cabbage leaves under their caps when working in
the fields. On 9th July Alfred writes:
"I am giving each boy a rush sun-hat for field and garden work. The little
cloth caps afford so little protection from the sun. The boys are highly pleased." 6th August: "We began wheat harvest this
morning with the usual Thanksgiving Service in the field. - The boys in their
rush sun-hats looked very workmanlike.
The boys bathed in the river each week in warm weather,
but what really excited them were the visits to the sea. On 26th July:
"All stirring betimes this morning in order to start early for the
sea-side at Bacton. The five wagons got
off by 7.30. Six old boys went with us.
I gave each boy two bottles of ginger beer. Full justice was done to the good food
provided. We had a good view of the
Channel Fleet - a sight to be remembered!
At 5 o
There
were several events of a
Christmas
provided nearly a week of excitement. The Governor
THE NEW SCHOOLMASTER AND SCHOOLMISTRESS
The year
1901 saw the beginning of an advance in education at the school. The Governor
writes on 22nd August:
"Our Schoolmaster, Mr. Chester, left us this morning.
After morning prayers the boys and officers assembled in the dining room to bid
him goodbye and to present him with a little keepsake in the shape of a pair of
fish carvers in a case."
the
record continues!
"Jeckell thatching the barley stack, boys serving
him.
Mrs. Woods, a grandchild of Elizabeth Fry, visited
use" 31st August- "This morning
The
outcome of this visit was the appointment of Mr. Cox as schoolmaster and Deputy
Governor, and his wife, Maud, as schoolmistress. Their joint salary was to be
£70 a year with rations and a rent-free house.
William and Maud Cox moved in during September and stayed for 27
years. Mr. Cox was delighted with the
new schoolroom, commissioned only a year before; later this room became the
northwest dormitory. He was also pleased with Sewell
An old
Red House boy, who is now a senior octogenarian, has explained that Mr. and
Mrs. Cox expected and achieved a high standard of behaviour; they developed an
incentive scheme which was later written-up by the Inspectors for other schools
to copy. The scheme allowed school officers to deduct conduct marks when a boy
misbehaved. Scores were reviewed at a monthly meeting with all boys present;
healthy competition developed. Awards were made on the following
Scale:-
|
Marks lost in
month |
Badge |
Award |
|
No marks lost |
Gold button |
3 pence |
|
1- 14 marks lost |
Silver button |
2 pence |
|
15 – 28 marks lost |
Copper button |
1 penny |
|
29 and over |
No button |
nil |
Mr. Cox also made a gift of a silver
medal to any boy who went for twelve months without losing a mark. Marks loot
could be regained by exemplary work approved by the Governor.
Another Cox innovation was the
allotment scheme which was also recommended for other industrial schools to copy.
Home Office notes tell of this development.
1902 "A new venture has been
the allotting of fair-sized plots to a few boys for the growing of vegetables
on business lines. A good experiment this which deserves to be successful.
1903 "The allotment experiment
is proving a most valuable practical benefit~ The boys keep profit and loss
accounts and are allowed to enjoy what profit they make."
Another report says -
"The Red House has an
allotment scheme which is worth traveling many miles to see and study. Each
plot is worked by two boys, one as owner and one as employee. Accounts are kept
showing the cost of seed, plants and wages against the value of the crop when
sold".
Some of the new boys were upset
when the
ALL WAS GOING WELL
The Red
House seemed to be going through a particularly good period with many new
buildings, a devoted staff and local friends who helped. One of these was Mr.
Birkbeck of Stratton Strawless Hall who presented a new pony when old Kitty had
to be put down. An earlier pony had come
from Anna Sewell and the original pony and trap from the founder
"October 21st: The Red House
football team played against some Aylsham players headed by the Rev Wathen in
Babington
did not see the match but went to
The
Inspectors were frequently reporting that the food was good and health
excellent, so it was interesting to find this note in the log about Sunday
dinners: "The boys had hot boiled bacon and potatoes for dinner today in
lieu of cold boiled beef and bread, a change that was highly appreciated by
them." Another winter entry in the
log records that "Mr. Coe from
About
this time the Red House achieved some successes which pleased them all. The Navy was accepting boys for the training
ship H.M.S. Ganges which was moored at Harwich; there was a stiff medical
followed by a written examination and interview. Two Red House boys were successful. Less able boys went to
For some
years the Red House had excelled at carpentry and cabinet making, winning first
prizes in school competitions. The
Inspector reported that "The manual instruction of this school may be
classed among the best." The Home
Office seemed to be pleased with everything. They noted that cricket and football
and other games were to the fore, also that the boys were now well catered for
during the winter evenings and a school magazine had been started. A report of December 1905 concludes with the
words. "Mr. and Mrs. Babington deserve the highest credit for the
admirable work they are doing here".
This was the last official report that old Philip Sewell was to receive
about the school which had been his "first care" for over forty
years.
On Sunday
4th February 1906 Ted Sewell wired Babington to say that his father was very
ill. The old man died two days later, in
his 84th year. The funeral service was
at Catton where he was senior churchwarden and had long been accustomed to worship. The cortege with the chief mourners then went
to Buxton by road where they were joined by a large body of mourners who had
travelled by special train to Buxton for the burial. It was frosty and the ground had a light
covering of snow. The boys of the Red
House joined the procession at Dudwick Lodge and the children of the Buxton
schools lined the path leading from the gate of the churchyard up to the grave.
Very many
tributes were paid during the following weeks; one or two are worth reporting
here because they add something to this Red House story and possibly to local history. The first is by the Chairman of the Norfolk
County Council:
"Perhaps you will allow me to express to you my sense
of the treasure that the county possesses, if only the younger generation will
see it, in the example and memory of Philip Sewell. He has been on the County Council and
Education Committee ever since their first start. He was an ideal Christian with a quiet
disregard rather than distrust of symbolism and he never lost the manly
optimism which is the foundation of perfection in the Christian man. He was modest in offering advice, but when he
was asked for it he gave it with lucidity which native shrewdness and the
experience of business rendered doubly valuable."
"Those of us, who like myself, may be beginning to
feel that our local parliaments cannot keep up their high standards without
recruiting young blood and brains from our great commercial houses, as well as
from our farm houses and halls, will carry to the grave a feeling of gratitude
to the traditions of the house of Gurney for having helped to send to our
Council such a combination of level-headedness and philanthropy as we have had
among us in Philip Sewell."
The old
building in Bank Plain, where Philip had worked for so long, was still known as
Gurney
There were tributes from the very many organisations which
Philip had actively assisted; it is natural to wonder how he did all this
before the days of the motor car. The
Home Office recorded that "for thirty years Mr. Sewell drove from his
house at Catton to the school and did this twice each week and sometimes also
on a Sunday, eighteen miles there and back." Their tribute concludes by saying: "In
some ways this is the most remarkable farm school under inspection by the
Department.
1906 THE YEAR OF CRISIS
A few
weeks before the death of old Philip Sewell, Mr. Buxton had got together an
enlarged committee to help the school which was about £400 overspent. The first meeting was attended by Frank
Barclay, Jack Gurney, Eustace Gurney and Margaret Sewell; her brother Ted acted
as secretary and Louis Buxton took the chair.
The immediate task was to meet the deficit, then to make provision for
the future. Louis had already had a word
with other members of the Buxton family and they, together with Frank Barclay
and the Gurneys, agreed to do what was necessary.
There
were local problems with the farm and neighbouring land which they had always
used rent-free. To assist over these
matters Major H, S. Marsham of Rippon Hall agreed to join the committee. His estate was adjacent to the school. The Rector of Marsham, Mr. Wathen, also
accepted an invitation to join; he already did a great deal for the
school. The Red House had recently been
licensed to take 90 boys and the accounts indicated that the running costs
would be covered if the proper fee was received for any number over 80;
however, there were only 65 boys at this time.
Margaret
Sewell undertook the task of getting the numbers up by writing to those local
authorities which seemed most likely to need places. She had recently retired from her work as
Warden of the Women
Clare House, Catton, which had been the Sewell home for
the past thirty years, passed to the City of
The Red House staff felt that they had been through a
crisis, but it was not a catastrophe because the new committee had saved the
school. Enquiries had even been made to
see if the Norfolk County Council would take over the place but they
refused. This had been a most worrying
and strenuous time for Louis Buxton who had organised the financial rescue operation; Alfred Babington thought he looked tired when
he rode over to see him and did not get off his horse. Then tragedy struck; Mr. Buxton died very
suddenly at Bolwick, at the early age of 60.
Major
Henry Marsham, who was a Deputy Lieutenant of
These
troubled times were too much for some of the older staff; The tailor and the
shoemaker left; then Allen, the excellent instructor and cabinet-maker,
resigned after being refused a salary rise.
The school doctor was asked to reduce his very big bill but refused, so
a replacement was appointed. This was Dr
Wright who was interested in the work of the school and eventually became a
manager. He agreed that his fee would be
five shillings a visit and half this amount if there was more than one
case. He was to be both medical adviser
and adviser on physical development.
Every one of the staff had made representations about their
salaries. These are given below, for
interest.-
Red House Salaries 1906
(All with rent-free accommodation and rations
|
Governor and wife who was matron |
£125 |
|
Schoolmaster and wife who was
schoolmistress |
£103 |
|
Farm Bailiff |
£35 |
|
Cook/Baker |
£45 |
|
Shoemaker |
£45 |
|
Tailor |
£41 |
|
Workshop Instructor (no
accommodation) |
£112 |
|
Servant and Charwoman |
£9 |
N.B. The farm bailiff was told
that his salary of £35 a year was equivalent to £68 when his bonus and house
with food was taken into consideration. He got free eggs and agreed to stay.
BETTER TIMES
About
this time the reformatories and industrial schools got together through their
Society and urged the Government to increase the maintenance allowance for
boys; eventually an extra two shillings a week was allowed. The Norfolk County Council was one of the
local authorities that agreed to do the same; this made a very great difference
at Buxton for it, came at a time when the numbers were coming up well. Many improvements now became financially
possible; salaries were increased, a periodical dental inspection was started
and the Committee sanctioned a number of Margaret’s recommendations. Hot and cold water was laid on to the wash
tubs, boys were to have night-shirts and counterpanes would be purchased for
the beds. She asked that boys who left
in winter should be given greatcoats, leavers had long received a new suit, 2
new shirts, five shillings and a box for their belongings.
The
Committee arranged for the boys to have a winter outing; the first one was to
The lack
of facilities to train young offenders, who were beyond reformatory age, had
worried one young man in the Home Office as long ago as 1890. He was Evelyn Ruggles-Brise, a friend and
relative of both the Buxtons and Gurneys; he became Private Secretary to the
Home Secretary at the early age of twenty-six and served four ministers in this
capacity. Evelyn’s concern for young
offenders became more widely understood with the Publication of the report of
the Gladstone Committee in 1895; this recommended that offenders who were
between the age of 16 and 21 should be trained in a penal reformatory. In these
places there should be training which would be based on "a system of
progressive trust, provision for education
and training to acquire a useful skill and to improve physical and mental
fitness."
Ruggles-Brise
was made a Prison Commissioner and before he was forty he became their
Chairman. Even before becoming a
Commissioner he had set about implementing the Recommendations of the Gladstone
Committee; without his drive it was said that nothing would have happened. He took over an old convict prison which was
near the
Evelyn
Ruggles-Brise was knighted and continued as Chairman of the Prison
Commissioners until 1921. It was his
early research which caused the Red House and similar establishments to be
pestered for information about success rates.
They were asked for facts about the proportion of old boys who kept out
of trouble for various periods after leaving.
There were arguments about the value of such information without
considering the earlier history of each case.
One conclusion seemed to be this: the proportion of boys who kept in
touch, after leaving the reformatory or industrial school, was a good
indication of the success of the school.
This may be why so many letters from old boys were preserved or
recorded,
Some of
these letters were accompanied by a photograph of the girl to whom the young
man had become engaged. The Governor and
his wife were so pleased to receive these snapshots for they knew the secret
fear of so many of their boys; this was that no nice girl would have anything
to do with them because they had once been in trouble with the law,
Although
Ruggles-Brise was sure that the reformatory system had been a success, and
worth copying, it was hard to prove it.
This made it difficult to get the 1908 bill through Parliament. A study of the Red House record shows that it
is often necessary to follow a man’s career for many years before concluding
that the time spent in the reformatory or industrial school had been worth
while,
Some 80
boys, who had been sent to Buxton by the courts, completed their time and left
the school in the four years 1902 – 1906.
Until reaching the age of 18 they were then out on licence to a named
employer but were still under supervision of the Red House. The occupations of these 80 youths were as
follows.-
|
Farming |
16 |
Carpenter |
9 |
|
Gardening |
9 |
Domestic (hotels) |
10 |
|
Army |
13 |
Errand Boy |
1 |
|
Navy |
5 |
Artisan |
4 |
|
Merchant Navy |
3 |
Organ Builder |
1 |
|
Dock Labourer |
1 |
Fisherman |
2 |
|
Blacksmith |
1 |
Labourer |
6 |
|
Died |
1 |
Total |
80 |
The
school was required to keep records to show if old boys again appeared in the
courts; more often than not the register recorded much happier events such as a
request to return for Christmas or to stay for a few days during leave from
overseas. In the case of those who were
licensed to farmers or hotels there were often a lot of entries during the
first two years. These employers would
accept a lad for two years but they frequently tried to find an excuse to get
rid of him when the harvest was in or when the hotel season had come to an
end. Sometimes a trumped-up charge would
land the lad in court; Babington would attend if he heard about it, or write to
the local police who were usually very understanding and would return the youth
to Buxton.
A glance
at the records which Babington kept for these particular years shows two cases
with a great many post-school entries.
One entry refers to someone who is now aged about ninety and known to
the writer. It may be possible to obtain
his permission to tell his story; not long ago he was awarded a decoration by
the Queen. The other case refers to a
boy who is here called Clive. He was
sent to Buxton when just thirteen, small for his age and underweight, but
intelligent. He could read, write and
calculate so the Governor recorded.
When he reached the age of sixteen he went to a farmer in the
In a
study of boys who had recently left Red House young Clive might have been
classed as a failure up to the age of nineteen.
It was only when he got to Ted Sewell
Now this
story must leave Clive
TWO GLORIOUS YEARS
It was
the Governor, Alfred Babington, who described 1910 and 1911 as two glorious
years. There were two good summers,
There
were numerous cricket matches when the Red House boys entertained their
visitors to tea, which was something new.
The away matches included one at Bolwick with a strawberry tea provided
by Mrs. Buxton, the widow of the late Chairman.
A cousin of the Buxtons had just been elected Member of Parliament for
The
school felt that 9th November, 1910 was a red letter day because their great
supporter, Mr. Eustace Gurney, was elected Lord Mayor of
The new
Lord Mayor had been the moving spirit in arranging with the Royal Agricultural
Society of England that the Royal Show should be held at
"Thursday, June 22nd. The Coronation of King George V
and Queen Mary. Long may they reign in
health and happiness! We sang the National Anthem and dressed the mast with
flags. We attended a service at the
"Friday, June 23rd.
Festivities held in Dudwick Park this afternoon. The boys also marched in the Pageant
Procession, F. Edward Sewell providing a
sumptuous tea, sports and a grand display of fireworks. Miss M. A. Sewell presented the prizes. The boys stayed (with the exception of the
younger ones) until the last and had a right good time.”
We know
from Margaret
On the
following Wednesday King George V arrived by Royal Train at Thorpe Station
where he was met by the Lord Mayor and Lord Leicester, the Lord
Lieutenant. There was a state drive to
St Andrews Hall where Alderman Gurney surrendered the sword of State to the
King in accordance with ancient custom and presented an address to His Majesty
which was read by the Recorder. The King
replied to the address of welcome and stressed his own interest in agriculture
and his support for that industry. He then
asked for a sword and that of the Officer Commanding the Royal Norfolk Yeomanry
was handed to His Majesty who now conferred the honour of knighthood on
Alderman Gurney, the Lord Mayor. After
this they all drove out to the Show in their open carriages, with a Sovereign
There was
great excitement at the Red House when they heard that the King had knighted
“their" Lord Mayor; they promptly sent off a telegram of
congratulations. Half of the school
staff with some of the boys visited the show on the following day. The log relates that each boy carried a
little parcel of refreshments and an entrance ticket which had been provided by
Miss Sewell. This party was somewhat
overwhelmed in the enormous crowd of 75,000 people. The remainder of the officers and more boys
went on the last day when the crowd was much smaller and the boys could see
everything.
These
celebrations had come during hay making on the farm; a few days later Babington
was writing: "I cooled the barn roof with water from the fire-engine. I feared that the combination of iron, tarred
felt and match-board might catch fire in the great heat." The school farm was worked on the traditional
Norfolk four-course system which had been developed in this county before
spreading to the rest of England and then to much of Europe. At Red House wheat
was grown in the first year, then turnips which were followed by barley in the
third; under sown with clover and rye-.grass; this was grazed or cut for feed
in the fourth.
Day by day the events of farm and gardens were always
recorded; Here are some extracts for the year 1911:-
|
July 14th |
The new season’s honey is for sale 10d a section |
|
July 17th |
Bought 40 lambs at 28/m each. They were walked over from
Eaton. A nice looking lot, a few are road lame and some have sore noses: all
are being attended to by William Jeckell |
|
July 24th |
Bought 10 pigs at 15/6d each, not a good price but their
food is dear |
|
July 31st |
I took the Matron and children for a row on the river.
(Note. The Governor, when writing in the school diary, always referred to his
wife as Matron |
|
August 2nd |
We are hoeing the turnips and cutting the headlands of
the wheat field in readiness for the harvest |
|
August 4th |
Thomas Savage dipped the 40 lambs for which I paid him
6/- |
|
August 8th |
Finished cutting the wheat this evening. We are very pleased with the working of the
"cutter" which was bought last autumn |
|
August 11th |
Cutting barley. Governor out for a half-day fishing |
|
August 13th |
Sunday. A very "old boy", Fred Platfoot
and his son motor-cycled over from Thetford. Nearly 30 old boys have visited
us this year. It has been a good year. |
Agriculture
continued to prosper in
Miss
Sewell
An old boy of the school has given
his account of what it was like to be a Red House boy over sixty years
ago. He recalled that most lads came
from very unhappy homes or had no homes; the Red House gave security with a
real opportunity to make friends and learn a trade. His memories of those days were of simple
happy occasions such as a visit to Hevingham church where the rector had said
they might collect sweet chestnuts on a Sunday afternoon in autumn. This old boy said that the tree is still
standing today; sure enough it is, but it looks as if it might fall in the next
gale. The records show that this old
monster of a Spanish chestnut was planted in the year 1610, in the times of
King James I.
THE GREAT WAR
In the
year 1913 war broke out in the Balkans, then from August 1914 the Great Powers
of Europe were all at war. This was the
beginning of the Great War which was soon to lead to an unprecedented amount of
human destructiveness. To begin with the
Red House documents only mention the hastily provided £1 bank notes which
replaced the gold sovereign that August; then we read that their local M.P.
was wounded while on a peace mission to the Balkans. Although it was the first year of war the
Buxton lads still got their Christmas dinner; the fare was roast beef and plum
pudding, in that order for the first time.
After dinner, according to the diary, “Miss Sewell presented the school
with a medallion portrait of her father, Philip Sewell, which is to be
permanently fixed in the centre position on the wall of the new dining
hall.” Within a week there were bombing
raids by German zeppelins and complaints of bright lights coming from the
school, particularly from the large window of the new dining hall.
At this
time of national crisis the Red House felt that they had a
Margaret
longed to make changes so that the lads at Buxton "could feel they were
members of a large family." This
would have meant reducing the size of the school and that could only be
contemplated if the authorities would contribute more. It now seemed that these improvements would
have to wait till the war was over; at this time many people thought that this
might take another year or more. Lord
Kitchener, who was Minister of War, was however calling for soldiers to
volunteer for three years service or the duration; he alone of the government
ministers seemed to foresee a long war.
The good news was that the British Navy had secured command of the seas
while the French had established a firm defence line; what was more the
Russians had overrun some German forces in the East. People pinned their faith on
The
Babingtons and the school staff were worried most of all by the rising price of
food; hoarding had caused the government to fix maximum prices which were
reviewed each month, but always upwards.
Cheese
had been 1/6 a pound, butter 10d and sugar 3d. (Approximately one new penny for
a pound of sugar!) After twelve months
of war food prices had increased by one third, the school staff asked for a
rise in wages but the money was just not coming in to make this possible. Mr. Cox pointed out that it was nine years
since he had had an increase so he was now granted a second week’s holiday each
year.
In March
1915
The
Babingtons had been feeling the strain of having one hundred boys in the school
and having to visit the increased number out on licence; however there was no
difficulty about job-finding. So many
men had volunteered for the armed forces that there was now a country-wide
shortage in agriculture, in the factories and the mines. Parliament had recently sanctioned the payment
of separation allowances for the families of soldiers. This was 12/6 for a wife plus 5/- for the
first child and lesser amounts for others.
In December 1915 the conscription of bachelors was started. Margaret thought that conscription should
have been introduced in 1914; by depending only on volunteers for the forces it
had become a disgrace for young men to be at home although many of them were in
essential war work. Since April 1914
thirty-six Red House boys had joined the Army and twelve the Navy.
The Home
Office inspection for 1915 was carried out by a man whom the school considered
to be `out of touch`. When the report
arrived the covering letter said that owing to shortage of staff there would be
no inspection in 1916. In spite of
mounting difficulties the managers were able to make some progress. Beds replaced the hammocks and later the
canvas covered frames; each boy was provided with a pair of gym shoes and
caning on the hand was discontinued. The
managers
Throughout
1916 things got more and more difficult at Buxton due to rising prices; the
value of the £ was falling fast and tradesmen said that they could not supply
the school with the quantities of meat, coal and lamp oil which they had
contracted to deliver. The boys were
supposed to have fish three days a week in order to save meat, but there was no
fish. Eventually, in April 1917, the
Germans sank one million tons of shipping in one month; the government now
brought in rationing by means of food tickets.
The Red House was supplied with special food permits by the Home Office;
they raised ten tons of potatoes on their farm and sold the surplus to local
people at one shilling a stone.
By 1918
the purchasing power of the £, had fallen to half its 1914 value; the Treasury
now authorised a considerable increase in the maintenance allowance for each
boy. It was to be 17/- per head per
week, provided local authorities would pay half. The managers were at last able to increase
the salaries of the staff. The Governor
received £250 and his wife, as matron, £50.
Mr. Cox, as head teacher and deputy, received £180 and £60 for Mrs. Cox
the assistant teacher. Both families had
their houses rent free; they were entitled to purchase provisions from the
school at contract rates but they paid for their fuel and light. At the same time the Home Office announced
the terms of a superannuation scheme which was to be started. The staff thought that this would be
worthless if we did not win the war which was now going badly for the Allies.
The Kaiser fled to neutral
The war
years had been a great strain on the staff but most of them got over it, in
time. Alfred Babington, who was aged 55
in 1918, served on for another nine years and lived to be 81. William Cox was 47 when the war ended; he
served a further ten years and lived to be 95.
The school staff must seem tiny, by modern standards, considering that
they had one hundred boys to look after for all the war years. The list was as follows:-
|
Red House Staff - December 1918 |
|
|
A. M. Babington |
Superintendent |
|
Wm. Cox |
Schoolmaster |
|
E. Cox |
Assistant Schoolmistress |
|
J. Lusher |
Baker and Gardener |
|
W. Jeckell |
Farm Bailiff |
|
J. Whitewood |
Drill Instructor and Handyman |
|
L. L. Babington |
Matron |
|
E. A. Lloyd |
Assistant Matron |
|
H. Jarmy |
Tailor |
|
M. Babington |
Clerk |
|
M. Prockett |
Assistant Cook |
THE RED HOUSE CHANGES
TO MEET CHANGING CONDITIONS
Now that
the war was over it was widely believed that everything was going to be better,
for example, jobs were promised for men demobilised from the forces. Very few of these dreams came true; however,
some Red House old boys did benefit from the Land Settlement Act of 1919. This Act provided money for local authorities
to buy smallholdings for ex-servicemen with the government paying any losses
for the first four years. Most of the
men who were settled in this way made a success of it; others who returned to
work for farmers in
Farming
had been important to the Red House for three reasons. Their farm had usually ‘made a profit’ which
helped to improve the standard of living of the boys. Secondly, many boys subsequently went into
farming. Finally, those managers who had
subsidised the school depended on the prosperity of farming among other
things. Before the
1914-18
war farming had been prosperous and during the war it had been subsidised, but
now, in the 1920"s, things were very different. The guaranteed prices for farm produce had
been withdrawn, the Red House farm was not doing well and the managers were no
longer able to give the same financial support to the school.
At this
time Local Authorities and Guardians were also
Throughout
these difficult postwar years there were too many visits by inspectors. The Home Office inspectors were helpful even
if they sometimes recommended things which the place could not afford. Other
inspectors were less welcome these included the inspectors of corn crops, of
machinery and of hygiene. Then there
were the auditors. They all wanted
returns but the only clerical assistance that the elderly Babingtons then had
was from their young son. In 1923 it was
agreed that the school could have a telephone;
Alfred
Babington had thought of retiring in 1922 when he reached the age of 60 but
then elected to stay on till he reached the age limit of 65. He still enjoyed parties and outings although
these were not on the scale of his younger days. His October blackberry walks for the boys went on to the end, with the picnic lunch at a farm
on the heath. One outing to the sea-side
had a sad ending. A boy found a
detonator and brought it back to Buxton, it exploded doing serious damage to
his left hand. This was an L.C.C. boy
and they said that the managers should provide compensation, which they
did. From them on they took out an
insurance policy; this provided indemnity up to £500 for 100 boys for a premium
of 7/6d.
In two
successive years the school estimates were slashed; for example, the doctor’s
fees had been running at £60 a year when he had done a terrific amount through
two bad influenza epidemics and one of diphtheria. Now only £25 was to be
allowed for medical fees. Once again
there was no money to increase wages and in many occupations under government
control the wages were being reduced.
The Red House managers agreed a concession for the resident officers;
they were to be allowed a late pass till 11 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. when not on
duty! In order to assist in supervision
and to help develop senior boys, some were appointed monitors. More local voluntary help also came
forward. One of these helpers took some
little boys out for the afternoon and bought them white mice; these multiplied
and it was some time before the school got rid of them.
The
gardens and horticultural side were doing well; they sold 11,000 narcissus
blooms at one go and tomatoes sold very well.
The Horne Office agreed to a second large glasshouse being built but it
was a further four years before they would pay for a heating system! At this time the school had just got an
excellent man who had been with the
The
number of boys at Buxton had come down from 100 in 1918 to 60 in 1924; then it
fell dramatically to 38 in September 1925. The managers wanted to know what had gone
wrong: Miss Sewell, who was constantly in touch with local authorities, saw
that the situation had changed. More use
was being made of the Probation Act and the country now had a surplus of places
in reformatories and industrial schools.
She wrote a personal letter to the Chief Inspector of the Home Office
Children
The
outcome of this visit was a proposal for a trial scheme to meet the growing need for places for dull
and backward boys. Some staff changes would be required. The Home Office would
send;-
(i) Boys weeded out from special schools as not quite
normal but not certifiable as mentally deficient.
(ii) Boys from ordinary schools who were doubtful cases or
abnormally backward.
No
certifiable cases would be retained at Red House and boys sent would be
carefully examined each year by the Home Office, using "intelligence
tests". The proposals were
discussed in detail when the Medical Inspector of Horne Office Schools came to
Buxton for this purpose. The managers agreed and Margaret wrote to the Chief
Inspector to say that "the managers are prepared to fall in with your
scheme and to do all they can to make it a success. They think it may prove very interesting and
that it is a job worth doing. Our
doctor, too, is ready to take a very warm interest in it." These dull and backward boys were not to be
kept separate from the boys of normal ability; they were to be integrated with
them and all treated alike as far as possible.
Success would depend on each child being treated as an individual,
This
scheme had been agreed between the Home Office and the Red House within eight
weeks of Miss Sewell
1927, the
Babingtons’ final year at Buxton was a happy one. The cost of living was falling and the school
numbers were up to 50. Margaret Sewell
had taken over the correspondence about jobs for those due to leave and Alfred
had time to get his new home ready at Reedham.
In June he attended the Triennial Conference for Superintendents which
was held at
In July
1927 the managers advertised for a new Head who might be of either sex; this
provision was a surprise to some of the staff.
The notices appeared in The Schoolmaster, The Journal of Education, The
Certified Schools Gazette and The Times Educational Supplement. Well over one hundred applications were
received and carefully sifted by Margaret who selected twelve for examination
by all the managers. Six of the twelve
applications were sent to the Home Office who rejected three and the other
three applicants were interviewed by the managers in September. Two married couples attended also one man who
brought his fiancée. Mr. Augustus George
Clement and his wife were chosen on 24th September and the appointment was
approved by the Home Secretary on 1st October.
The starting salary was to be £378 and £80 for Mrs. Clement as matron.
The managers at this time included –
Major Henry Marsham who had been
Chairman since 1906.
Mr. P. E. (Ted) Sewell, J.P. of Dudwick House who was owner of the school and farm.
Miss M. A. Sewell, Dudwick Cottage.
Miss Margaret Marsham, daughter of the
Chairman.
Dr. Wright, school doctor in earlier
years.
Mr. A.
C, Rayner, Brampton Hall.
Mrs. V. Clutterbuck, Marsham Hall.
The Rev. Alex Crawford, Rector of Marsham.
The managers were now meeting once
each month; at their next meeting they agreed about their
leaving present to the Babingtons. They also
took note of Home Office Variable Grant approvals. £200 for
alterations to the Headmaster’s house, £55 for a chaff cutter and £12 for the school’s first typewriter. All the managers seemed to be doing something for the boys, either teas or
outings. Mr. Rayner took the older farm boys to a cattle show. At their committee meeting on 21st December 1927 the managers presented Mr. and Mrs.
Babington with a tea service and a silver salver with the following inscription on the back:
"Presented by the Managers to Mr.
and Mrs. Alfred Babington on their retirement after 29 ½ years of faithful service as Governor and Matron
of the
The superannuation scheme, which had
been started in 1917, provided Alfred with a lump sum of about £500 and an
annual pension of nearly £200 which he was to enjoy for his remaining seventeen
years. Mrs.
Babington, who had only contributed for a very short time, received a lump sum.
Alfred now left the school where he had been born and where his father had been appointed
Superintendent 72 years earlier.
At this time of change at Red House
it seems worth recording Margaret’s own description of the school, from a
letter she wrote to another special school:
"We
are primarily a Home Office Industrial School for normal boys between the ages
of 7 and 16, but as our numbers are low due to the extended use of the
Probation Acts and partly to increased costs of
maintenance, the Home Office suggests that we should
admit a certain number of feeble-minded children and we now have about 15 such. We
definitely do not take children who are certifiable as mentally defective, but lay ourselves out for the
The
departure of Alfred Babington marked the end of an era. His father had probably had an easier and
happier forty years at Buxton because John Wright and his nephew Philip Sewell
gave all the financial support that seemed necessary; with this support the
Governor and his wife could concentrate on the boys and their needs. During Alfred’s thirty years this financial
support almost vanished; furthermore he had the terrible war years and the
disheartening post-war period when the country was nearly bankrupt. In these circumstances great stress was laid
on economy and Alfred gave much of his time to the farm because it seemed vital
that it should be profitable. He had not
so much time left for the boys, but Mrs. Babington always found time for the
young ones.
Margaret
Sewell, though no longer young, was in touch with developments in other special
schools. She was still Chairman of the
Committee of the Women
Fellow
Managers and the various Inspectors now had to understand that there were more
important tasks for the school than the original one of "developing habits
of industry which would help to cure boys of delinquency". The school staff would have to adapt to new
ideas as experiments developed. Margaret
recorded her views that "The place is now well equipped but it is lacking
in human contact; the new Head must get to know every boy and his
problems. Every child wants to matter to
someone; their future depends on this school". This lady now proposed that, at her own
expense, she should build two houses for staff this would make it
easier to attract the quality of officers needed at Buxton for the future.
A MORE HOMELY ATMOSPHERE
Mr. and
Mrs. Clement started at Red House on 1st January 1928; before long Miss Sewell
was telling the Home Office that "already they have created a warm and
friendly influence in the school."
The Chief Inspector came down from
Mr. Cox,
who had started at Buxton in 1901 as Schoolmaster and Deputy Governor, now felt
that he should retire; he was nearly sixty and had been unwell for the past
year. It was agreed that he could have
the full pension in view of his long service before the scheme was introduced
and the fact that his health might have suffered because of the work. In August William and Maud Cox left Red House
after 27 years; he recovered his health and lived to be a very old man, always
keeping in touch with the school. His
replacement was Mr. Arthur Sparrow who had been with Mr. Clement at
Chislehurst; we read that he was "gentle and patient with the children.” He, too, was a keen hobbies man and was
himself skilled in so many things. Mr.
Sparrow introduced puppets and the boys became so successful at putting on
shows that these were in demand in neighbouring villages.
The year
1928 continued to be one of change and progress. With the numbers now up to 70 the appointment
of an experienced clerk was at last approved.
The builders were getting on fast with the first staff houses which Miss
Sewell was having built. There were
developments on the farm which was to have cows for the first time; by the end
of the year the farm bailiff, Mr. Rampley, had the boys milking. The competition in farming skills had
recently been widened to include harnessing of the horses and driving; now
milking the cows was added. Instruction
in horticulture was going well and seven boys were entered for the junior
examination of the Royal Horticultural Society which was for boys aged 14 to
18. By Christmas a successful concert
party had been worked up and they were invited to perform at Buxton, then at
Hevingham. For the first time the school
was gaily decorated and there was a large Christmas tree hung with presents and
lit by candles. The one sad thing was
the retirement, at the end of the year, of James Lusher, who had been baker and
head cook for 40 years.
The
Managers were delighted with the more homely atmosphere which Mr. and Mrs.
Clement had created in such a short time.
Two factors now combined to make things easier at Buxton; the cost of
living was falling while the number of boys in school increased steadily. Unfortunately the auditors discovered that
the school was now receiving more for maintenance than this actually cost. The outcome was that money had to be refunded
to several Boards of Guardians and Local Authorities. A new maintenance figure of £1.10s per week
was fixed for all cases.
For many
years the school had had their regular fire practices, and a few very small
fires; then on 30th November, 1929, they had a proper fire. The Head was about to inspect the
dormitories, as usual at 9.30 p.m. when Mr. Jarmy came to report a fire in the
newly equipped handicraft shop. The boys
got dressed and assembled in the office and surgery while Mr. Jarmy smashed a
hole in the door and tackled the fire with extinguishers. Mr. Sparrow then entered through the hole
while boys brought pails of water from the swimming bath. Mr. Sewell was phoned at Dudwick and he sent
two men with his estate fire pump. This
was used to tackle the wooden ceiling which was well alight. The fire was out and all boys back in bed by
midnight, after having hot cocoa and an exciting evening. There was no panic or undue excitement;
Messrs Sparrow and Jarmy with the senior boys had done splendid work. The Aylsham Fire Brigade had been phoned and
half an hour later the Police phoned back to ask if it was still needed. A Police Officer and one fireman arrived
later. The thoughtful Master of the
Work-house also came over with an offer to accommodate the boys should this be
necessary.
One visitor
whom Mr. and Mrs. Clement were delighted to meet was Mr. Clarke Hall, the
Magistrate of the Old Street Police Court in
Red House he sent each one a card on their birthday;
occasionally he visited the school, often making a generous contribution to
some fund that helped the lads. Another
visitor, whom Margaret Sewell brought to the Red House, was Miss Irene Ho
Tung. The school was told that her
father was one of the richest men in
Dr Arthur Norris, the Home Office Chief Inspector with
whom Margaret Sewell had such a considerable correspondence, had been busy
preparing a new Children
The boys who were sent to Buxton
now included young hooligans who had been seeking adventure, lads who had been
unemployed and then drifted into a dishonest life, and boys with a real or
imaginary grievance against the community. These were the categories which Dr
Norris described as forming the bulk of the Buxton community; of the hundred
boys at the school in 1932 only some twenty were of very low intelligence. In those days delinquent boys were often said
to represent the failures of the educational system; however, it was the view
of Miss Sewell that these boys’ troubles could be attributed, in most cases, to
the unsatisfactory social conditions in
It had
made a great difference at Red House when electric light had been installed; it
was turned on for the first time on the 14th November, 1931. The one disadvantage was that it showed up
some dirty walls and ceilings! With the
better lighting available a new timetable was prepared for winter evenings;
|
Sunday |
4,50 |
Tea |
|
|
5.45 |
Church for Choir and Seniors |
|
|
6.45 |
Instruction about religion for
juniors |
|
Monday |
6.45 |
Preparation of songs for Norwich
Music Festival Gym Class. Rug making. Basketry |
|
Tuesday |
6.45 |
Seniors only evening classes Art.
Tapestry. Weaving |
|
Wednesday |
6.45 |
Choir Practice at school |
|
|
|
Baths for
juniors Seniors
hobbies Gardeners
class Theory of
Horticulture Senior
baths |
|
Thursday |
6.45 |
Choir practice at Church Seniors
evening class (English) |
|
Friday |
6.45 |
Bible class once each week by Revd.
John Lee |
|
|
7.15 |
Seniors evening school Juniors country dancing |
|
Saturday |
6.45 |
Juniors baths Seniors free |
|
|
8.00 |
Seniors baths |
The changes which were made at Red House in the 1930’s
owed much to the vision of Miss Sewell with her life-long work for
deprived families; having lived and worked in the poorest districts of
For more
than twenty years Miss Sewell had interviewed each boy soon after his arrival
and kept notes of his background and problems.
Soon after Mr. Clement
|
Age 11 |
2 |
|
12 |
6 |
|
13 |
20 |
|
14 |
44 |
|
15 |
30 |
|
16 |
10 |
The general idea at Buxton was
that education, together with games and hobbies could provide the lads with
alternatives to delinquency. The school
now had a sufficient range of activities to offer something to every boy; each
was free to try his hand at various hobbies and to choose between farm, and
horticulture for his trade training. The
aim now was that in everything a boy did at Red House he had plenty of contact
with adults who would encourage him to succeed.
At this time they certainly did succeed and were proud of their
achievements. The football, boxing and
athletics teams won their way to
In their hobbies the boys achieved
standards which allowed them to enter their work in local competitions; this
brought the boys into contact with other young people. The marionette shows,
which had been introduced to teach elocution, continued to be in demand in
neighbouring villages. The country dance
teams took part in the
THE YEAR 1937
Philip
Edward Sewell, who was always known as Ted in the family, was now an old man of
78. When young he had suffered a severe
riding accident which made him an invalid for several years. Doctors advised him to live in a warmer climate
so he went to
Margaret,
who was now an old lady of 85, was still totally alert. She had known Red House almost from its
beginning having been born in the year of its foundation. As a child she spent holidays with great uncle
Wright at Dudwick; when she was twelve years of age her father retired from
building railways on the Continent and brought his large family to live at
Catton. From there he managed the
estates which he later inherited, and the Red House Reformatory as it was named
in those days.
On her
father
In
January 1937, Ted became seriously ill.
He resigned as Chairman of the Aylsham bench of magistrates and died a
few days later. His going was a loss to
many public, philanthropic and artistic organisations and to music in
May 12th,
1937, was the Coronation Day of King George VI and his Queen Elizabeth. There were celebrations in Buxton and Miss
Sewell attended to see the Red House country dancers. Her last public act was to plant ceremonially
one of the lovely Japanese Cherry trees, Prunus Kanzan, along the Red House
drive. In November some of the boys were
at her house on her birthday; her death came quite suddenly a few days later. Her wonderful memory had remained unimpaired
until the end.
The Times
newspaper recorded that Miss Sewell was a pioneer in many branches of social
work and suggested that she should be chiefly remembered for the part she had
played in training students in social services.
She had realised from the first the importance of combining theoretical
knowledge of social administration with practical experience of existing
conditions. She had organised courses of
lectures for social workers which were the foundation of the University Schools
of Social Science, wrote The Times’.
For many
years Miss Sewell was on the executive committee of a movement called New
Ideals in Education, her hope was to gain public support for nursery schools or
infant sections of elementary schools. Her
experience; had led her to believe that many of the Red House boys would have
had a better chance if they had been seen by skilled teachers who could spot
handicaps and do something to compensate for them at an early age. She stressed
that these teachers would have to be specially trained to carry out this work.
This was only one of the many interests off this remarkable person who lived
long enough to see the fruitful outcome of some of the reforms which she had
worked to achieve. The Red House had
remained constant to the faith of its founders; the objective was much the same
but the methods of Mr. and Mrs. Clement were relevant to the times.
CONCLUSION TO PART I (1850 - 1937)
The story
of the Red House Reformatory started at a time when the social system of
For the
first eighty years the Sewell family and their friends spent a great deal of
money on the school. Was it worth it and
was the work a success? They certainly
thought it was and so do some of the very old boys who are still around to tell
of their earlier days. The Home Office
often discussed how to measure the success of a reformatory or industrial
school for youthful-offenders. In these
discussions it was usually agreed that the inspectors should try to judge how
well a school measured up to its objectives.
The difficulty was to define the objectives in terms which could be
related to a boy
Members
of the Red House staff, both serving and retired, treasure letters which they
have received from their old boys. Some
letters arrived with snap-shots of young brides and gave enormous pleasure;
these communications were a true indication of success and provided invaluable
encouragement to those who received them.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
|
1 |
Red House Log Books |
|
2 |
Reports
of Inspectors |
|
3 |
Minutes of Managers Meetings |
|
4 |
The
Norfolk Chronicle (See issue of April 5, 1817 re disaster at Norwich) |
|
5 |
Eastern
Daily Press Mr. Philip Sewell
February 7 and 9, 1906 also May 18, 1907) Mr. P E Sewell (Ted). January 7, 9, 11 of 1937 and July 7, 1938) (re Miss Margaret Sewell November 18 and 27, 1937 |
|
6 |
Miss Margaret Sewell
November 18 and 27, 1937 |
|
7 |
The
Times Mr. Philip Sewell Miss Sewell a pioneer in Social Services
November 19, 1937 |
|
8 |
The published works of Anne Wright (Mrs. John
Wright) including "What is a bird" (27 lectures for
Red House Boys) A Guide to Geology |
|
9 |
Mary Sewell’s “Reminiscences", dictated
by her at the request of her grandchildren, about 1882, with much about Red
House. She was one of the sisters of the founder, John Wright |
|
10 |
Mary Sewell |
|
11 |
The Life and Letters of Mrs. Sewell by Mrs. E B
Bayly, first published in 1880’s.
See also commentary on 1st Edition, by Margaret Sewell pointing out many errors of fact. |
|
12 |
The History of |
|
13 |
Three booklets "The Red House, 1906 also 1910 and
1911. These were the published annual reports by the managers. 1906 was the
first, 1911 probably the last. |
|
14 |
White |
|
15 |
Copies of all the above publications and manuscripts
(except the first three listed above) are now available at the Colman &
Rye Libraries of Local History which are housed within the Norwich Central
Library |
|
16 |
By good fortune there survive many
notes collected by Mr. Harry Jarmy
of Buxton. He was a member of staff
for about fifty years. |
|
17 |
From Crow-scaring to |
.