Discover Punishments in Victorian and Edwardian Schools, as part of the Quantock Landscape Partnership Project
Punishments in Quantock’s Victorian and Edwardian Schools
Whilst researching schools on the Quantocks I came across references to how children were punished for poor behaviour in a Victorian Sunday school. This led me to investigate further, and I found a village elementary school whose punishment book for 1904-1927 was in the archives. These two documents give a small window into children’s’ school life in Victorian and Edwardian rural Somerset.
My interest was initially sparked by a document Williton Wesleyan Sunday School 1820 – 1920 (D/N/wsc 5/4/2). The information about punishments in this blog refers to the early years of the school, which was founded in the same year as Williton’s first Methodist chapel. In the 1820’s seventy to eighty children attended both morning and afternoon each Sunday. Their parents were fined if they did not attend. They were primarily taught to read the Bible and spelling. Teaching was conducted by a large group of congregants under the supervision of a superintendent.
Instructions on punishment include putting “a mark of disgrace on them and place them in a conspicuous part of the school or make them kneel on a form.” However, the children were also to be awarded merit tickets for punctual attendance. The superintendent and the teachers were also fined for being absent or late and “for various omissions and commissions”. Fines were abolished in 1878.
The second document I investigated was Punishment Book – Nether Stowey 0904 – 1927 (C/E/4/166/3). I had to seek special permission to view this archival material as it is possible its entries could refer to people still living; therefore, no names are included in this article. I decided to look at what happened in one calendar year, 1910. The children were punished for a wide range of actions, for example cheating, carelessness with work, lateness, lying, wasting time during lessons, talking in lessons, passing notes, fighting during playtime, bad language, and the girls were punished for chasing the boys during playtime and kissing them.
Punishment came mainly in two forms depending on the perceived severity of the poor behaviour, and the child’s age. Punishments appeared to be applied to both boys and girls similarly, although fewer girls were punished. Children were caned on the hand one to six times for minor misdemeanours. The flat of a ruler was used for young children. For serious misbehaviour such as fighting, spitting at other children, being rude to their teacher and robbing an orchard of apples during dinner time, children were whipped with a cane, again one to six times. In 1910 there are forty-eight punishment records: forty-three were strokes on the hand records; and five relate to whipping. These records frequently referred to groups of children being punished together for a group misdemeanour, and often involved both boys and girls.
In all in 1910, ninety-seven boys and twenty-five girls were caned on the hand, whilst six boys and one girl were whipped. The list of children being punished contains many repeat names for both boys and girls, the record showing it was predominantly a small group of children who were repeatedly punished, suggesting it had little deterrent effect. In 1911 one mother removed her daughter from school because she had received one stroke on the hand with the cane for persistent lateness. Otherwise, there is no comment in this early twentieth century record on these physical punishments in this village school being considered too harsh or unusual. The use of the ruler across the hand was still used by some teachers in my primary school in the 1950’s/ early 60’s and occasionally one of the boys was caned on the bottom for fighting.
Most of the children’s misdemeanours recorded in both these documents are like those children commit in school today, however, this blog illustrates the change in society’s attitude to children’s misbehaviour and physical punishment of children in schools over the last two hundred years.
Information taken from C/E/4/166/3
