By community reporter
There was a packed house for this year’s Heritage Open Day when the Lancasterian School Room hosted a fascinating talk on Joseph Lancaster and the Lancasterian Monitorial system of schooling. Â
The venue, at Moor Top, New Farnley, saw Bee Smyth, the Curator of the British School Museum in Hertfordshire, speak as part of Heritage Open Days.
With his then novel focus on writing, reading and arithmetic, his use of star pupils as monitors to teach younger children, and his rewards-based system gifting simple toys to the greatest achievers, Joseph Lancaster brought forth an educational system that transformed a generation. This system transformed education for poorer children in the 19th century in Britain and beyond.
The afternoon started with Sally Coe speaking on behalf of the current trustees to acknowledge their debt of gratitude to the late Michael Meadowcroft for the many varied talks he had delivered over the years at the Lancasterian School Room as part of the Heritage Open Day scheme.Â
This was followed by a short talk on the history of the local area prior to the Lancasterian School being built by public subscription in 1815, and finally Bee Smyth’s riveting presentation on Joseph Lancaster. Â
Since it was built in 1815 The Lancasterian School Room has been supported by a board of trustees, who have worked on a voluntary.
Current secretary Maggie Thompson invited any interested parties to contact the board by emailing Lancasterianschoolroom@gmail.com or viaFacebook messenger @Lancasterian School Room Moor Top to get involved with supporting this lovely little gem of a building.