School History

An amazing amount of social history can be found within the school log books of Kirk Smeaton Church of England School.

In the log book covering the period March 1864 to October 1890 you can read all about the various Masters who had run the school - some of them leaving in scandal! You can also learn about how child labour was used in the fields and at home, of the sickness and death that swept the villagers and the River Went swelling on a regular basis so that Little Smeaton children couldn’t attend school.

Back then it cost money to send children to school and many pages are spent discussing the costs and problems of enforcement. In 1873 the fee was 2d for labourer's children and 4d for Farmers and Tradesmen children. There is even evidence from 1875 of children being required to pay double fees due to poor attendance!

If you would like to know more about the history of the Smeatons through the eyes of the school, a seven page article is available. Click through for an article on the School Log Book.