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Bank House, Cawood - was a charity school for girls until 1923.
This photograph, taken at the turn of the 19th/20th century,
shows Market Place, looking up Sherburn Street. Bank House is on the
left in the foreground. At this time, it was still the Duffield
Charity School. Beyond it is the butcher's shop, and the Jolly
Sailor public house, Mill House at the end covered in ivy.
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| Bank House is first mentioned in the will of the Vicar of
Sherburn dated 24 June 1731, who left all his "messuages,
lands and hereditaments" in the parishes of Sherburn, Cawood and
Barwick in Elmet to trustees for the use of his issue; on failure of
issue, his personal estate to be used for founding of charity schools for
Girls in Sherburn, and at Cawood.
The Cawood school is now called Bank House, but
for almost 200 years it was known in the village as the "free" or charity school. The cellar has stones from
Cawood Castle in
the foundations, and the back garden wall is built on the original
castle wall.
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When the house was built, the Royal Navy had a
monopoly on oak for their ships. All the beams and joists are therefore
from shipwrecks, as can be seen by curved struts in the attic (below)
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In 1923, the trustees decided there was no longer
a need for a school for poor orphan girls, since there were adequate state
schools in the village. The house was sold to Annie Sidwell, who had been
Headmistress since 1888. After her death in 1929, her executors sold it to
Barclays Bank. During the second world war, the bank was closed,
the house was sold on; we have been living here since April 1988. |
| In the Charity
Commissioners' Report of 1829, the main trustee had a "double
vote" for his own relations' children to be admitted to the charity
school, children from Sherburn and Cawood had priority to attend the
schools. The Cawood school premises were let to the Headmistress for a
modest rent, in return she received an allowance from the trustees for
each child in her care. Children were admitted at seven years of age,
taught reading, sewing and spinning, and remained at school until they
were sixteen. On quitting school, each pupil was provided with a full suit
of apparel. |
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Bank House on the right hand corner - the road
was put through in 1897 when the next door house was knocked down.
Below left is much the same view, 100 years later. |
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| By 1857, the
Headmistress received £84 per year for clothing, feeding and instructing
six daughters of labouring people of Cawood, they resided in the house
with her, being admitted at the age of 10 or 12 and leaving at 16 to go
into domestic service. By the end of the 1890's, the Headmistress
received £40 per year salary as well as the use of the house rent free,
and an amount for each child - admitted at the age of 6 or 7. She would
also employ one of the girls as a housemaid when they had finished their
education.
When we bought the house, there were still local people
who remembered the free school, and told us stories - how the girls would
attend church three times on Sunday, and how the headmistress would shut
naughty girls in the cellar - at that time, there were no lights in the
cellar, and when the river flooded, the dyke would flood the cellar.
(Right - old stones in the cellar)
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Census of 1871 - extract for Market Place
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| Mary Emmett is the head of the household, with Eleanor Emmett, her
daughter, and 5 other girls - "scholar"
Bank House at the end of the lane behind High Street, right and below
(the tall chimneys) |
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 High
Street backs |
As well as Bank House, the Duffield Charity also
owned properties in Sherburn, which were rented out, and Mattram Hall Farm
on the Cawood to Sherburn road. In Cawood there was arable land of around
26 acres in seven "closes" as well as the School House. Some of
the premises were copyhold of the Lord of Lotherton Hall, Major Gascoigne
- I wonder if his family gave their name to Gascoigne Wood? The charity
report states that they paid poor rates, cemetery rates and a Selby Dam
rate for the property in Cawood. |
| This is the description of the school house at
the end of the 19th century: "The buildings consist of a house in
Market Place separated by one house from the Selby Road, containing on
the Ground Floor a schoolroom, 14 by 15 feet, the matron's sitting room,
the girls' sewing room and a kitchen; on the first floor three bedrooms
for the girls, a spare bedroom for cases of sickness, and the matron's
bedroom; and a capacious attic of one room. Separate from the house, and
in a very small brick-paved yard, are a washhouse, coal-hole, and other
offices. A flight of a few steps leads from the yard to a plank bridge
across Bishopdyke leading to a patch of grass a few yards square, which is
unfenced from the neighbouring property." |
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Bishopdyke, Cawood - 19th century
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The house separating the school house from the
Selby road was knocked down in 1897 to widen what is now Thorpe Lane;
because there was an adjoining property and the open dyke at the
back, there was a passageway through the house from Market Place to the
back yard to allow access to the rear. The chimney breast is supported by
a wide brick arch as it has to negotiate an angle of 45° to follow
the line of the outside wall to the roof. Evidence of the "other
offices" was unearthed when we dug up the garden and found a brick
floor 2 feet below the present upper garden level, with a channel to
allow water to drain into the dyke. |
| The schoolmistress received money from the
trustees for each girl to lodge and feed her; bedding and furniture was
provided by the trustees. The girls wore a simple uniform of a dark blue
serge dress and a white cap and kerchief. They were instructed along
similar lines to the Public School elementary standards, including
freehand drawing and singing by ear; reading, writing, arithmetic,
cooking, sewing, washing and all branches of a housemaid's work. The
schoolmistress would provide a servant at her own expense, usually one of
the girls who had just left. One of the original trustees was Bacon
Morritt, he has a memorial in Selby Abbey. The Duffield Charity still
continues, and currently provides funding for local apprentices, etc. |
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Every once in a while, they have an "open day" at
the castle - a good opportunity to take a picture of Bank House from a
view point rarely seen! |