The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1875-06-29 00:00:00

lIRIDPORT NATIONAL SCHOOLS.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE Or THE
NEW BUILDINGS.

Thursday teat was the day set apart for the pro-
ceedings in connection with laying the founilation•stone- -
perhaps it would be more correct to say memorial stone,
seeing that the walls are raised 10 the height of some four
or live feet —of the new buildings for the purposes of the
National Day and Sunday schooLs in Bei:bort. Vefore we
pra•eed, however, to detail the doings of the day, it MY
he, well perhaps, to take a retrospective ;dune... Smile rid
years ago was erected the building in Gunilry•lane,
which has since that period been used for wheel
feirpows in connection with St. Mary''. church. A
tablet in front of the building bears the following words,
"thidport Sunday School, erected 1 'w22," front which it
scene, that originally the building was only intended to
be tieLell as a Sunday school. Since that time a porch or
Libby has been erected, which gave increased accoin-
neelation inside, as it formed a kind of ante-chamber, and
this hears date 1142. The building consists of an upper I
and lower room, the upper floor being reached hy a flight
of atone steps in the rear on the outaide. ;eel this lint 11.111
used as a schoolroom for the I”ye, whilst the girls have
been gathered in the room en the grimed floor, the total
her of children for which are :.elation was pro-
. sided being 123 girls and a similar nuinherof Ise,. There
is 110 doubt, led that at the time this building am
erected it Wa..l hoke•l 111.011 :IA very iiiii imeliotiA, highly
convenient. iota likely I. serve the requin•ments :if the
tow. of Dridport far very many years. Ent Ilium, nee
greatly altered during the last fifty y1:1,1. ;111.1 where one
oat was I.ciii.eiluennel then, there 4 les something
like fifty nos, ior in those days the 1,1U1,11101, ..f children,
more imperially of girls, wax tautly negliscbsl. 1.111% is fully
borne out by tits nitinhur of middle-aged women, seine in
le •pardahle position.s 111 life, who cannot even now write
their own names, while many ars tuns' the art hem after
school days. For some consider:lde time the unsuitable-
ne-s of the building hasi been felt, and there has been a
constant longing ter, and looking forwaul to, "the goest
time coming, when the fnetula of the Establidonl
'lurch in Eridport ahoubl we their us.y clew to ereetnig
new and more suitable buililings, so that the work might
he carried .1/ with satisfaction to the pr.:meters ef educa-
tion, and with increased advantages to the ehililren them-
selves. With praiseworthy perseverance the subjeet has
not been allowed to deep, and as a reward for their
determination new building* are now in ionise f erection
which will be an ornament to that part the town awl a
credit to the people of Briflport. NO "his has laboured
more assiduously or energetically its the work thus 'ought
to be accompliahed than the Rev. E. .1. 1.. It. Ilenslowe,
who from the interest he•lsas taken in both the day and
' Sunday a hoot. sine •he has leen It•fetoi. leo had personal
knowledge of the very unsati-faetory shit, .4' sifitirs with
regard to at °dation, ni de especially tor the work
of the. Sunday whale. In his utfirti lieba been

cerakilly sitliported by a rtatT •if .wker... awl we
aincerely try:it that er.lten. the new echo are .ii,evitheir
. .

Feu-Iyd will be gained in having Lim ot know•
ing that enough funds have been raked to tinvt the entire
co,t. . . _

facts As
will to Lete.of
interesting.
grojuw,tht
p_resent schisilinaster and whooluei aw stre.s, Mr. l Mr, r„.
Marfee, entered upon their duties. At OA time the
number of day scholars on the hooks was Pm ; at the
at the present time the II 1111 l ber isIN, nears .1,11,1 c. In
the year ending March, la7:1, 1217 ss. was earned LA the
Government grant, but as the fees and sulsicrintions to
the school only amounted to .1:50 25., th.it wa • .11 that
was received from Govennnent • in Is7l. 1:10.1 as. was
earned, and ClUa I. ad. receivoi; and in INA. 1192 in
was earned. and .cial 10s. received. This is an iw.rease
of over tit* in three years, awl MOIL, /Hiked. le very
gratifying to all concerned. It wan only at the last
or:animation in March that Her Majesty's Inspector again
directed attention to the unsuit.slikniess of the accommo-
dation for the requirements of the pre,eut day ; as an
instance of which we may mention that n Tuesday last
Mrs. Slodee had 175 girls present in the girls' schoolroom,
which is only designed for the acconimmlation of 125.
But perhaps, after all, in the work of the Sunday grips,'
has the inconvenience of the present romus been mostly
felt., for there are at the present time the names of :141
children on the books of the standay school, in addition to
Bible classes of young men and young women, conducted
respectively by 3lr. J. Turner and Miss Good.
In view of building flaw $OlOOl4 Plana were sent to
Government and approved, with this exception—that
the schools 'ere larger than the town required for ilay
school.. This, perhaps, was true, but, altl ginthe people
of Bridport only required accomnimlatinn for :15.1 in the
day schoole, they wanted room for 400 in the Sunday
schools : and hence it was they determined, notwithstand.
log the Government withheld is grant, that they
would provide for kal. Ail praise to our brethren of the
Litablisbesi Church in Ilridport for their courage, and we
are sure they will have the hearty sympathy and co 11111 l and
the approbation and support of their co-workers through-
out the county Tha parochial churchmen and women
have enter;a 1 heartily into the work, and a society cola-
posed of ladies has resolved to raise J:3110 by penny
subscriptions,
The new buildings are being erected on glebe land, near
the old school, and Mr. Gerrard, the buildkr, has already
made great progress with the work, the walls haul( up