Visitor Centre - Conwy, Gwynedd, Wales - Former Schools on Waymarking.com

Former school, now a visitor centre on Rose Hill St., Conwy.

"On December 18th 1837 the Town Council decided that 'Scubor fawr and the land upon which it is situated be given for building a National School and house for the master, provided sufficient funds can be procured for the purpose.'(Norman Tucker ibid p. 132)

The school building was erected in the years 1838/39 and opened as a National School for boys and girls in 1840. It was located on the south east side of Rose Hill Street between Porth y Felin and the railway station. The land was povided by Conway Borough council and paid for by Sir David Erskine. The cost of the building (£380) came from voluntary contributions. Robson's 1840 Directory lists an Infant School at Mount Pleasant and the National Boys and Girls School in Rose Hill. No other information regarding the Mount Pleasant site for Infants has been found but it may eventually have transferred to Plas Mawr because the school there also became known as the Infants National School. In the 1840 Directory, Miss Connor and Miss Crawford are named as the school teachers in the Infants School at Mount Pleasant and Mr. James Foster and his wife Mrs. Foster in the National School, Rose Hill. By the time the 1844 North Wales Directory was published Mr. Thomas Roberts and Mary Jones are named as the teachers at the National School and Elizabeth Humphreys is listed in charge of the school at Plas Mawr."

SOURCE - (visit link)

"Conwy Visitor Centre occupies the former National School, opened c.1840. Previously the town’s National School was in a building on the site later used for the Guildhall.

One of the earliest headmasters was Thomas Roberts, who also wrote Welsh poetry under the bardic name "Myrddin". You can read more about him and his poetry on this page (visit link) in our mini-tour of Conwy churchyard, where he is buried.

Some of the pupils came from Conwy’s workhouse, on Bangor Road. In April 1888, master William Allen reported that all of the workhouse children who attended had received full marks in their exams and their behaviour was “exceedingly good”.

Relations between the two institutions had worsened by 1909, when the workhouse guardians demanded an explanation from the National School’s headmistress after a child suffering chronic ear trouble claimed to be in worse pain after being hit on the ear by a teacher. The teacher denied the accusation, but some of the guardians said it wasn’t the first time workhouse children had been beaten at school.

Mr Allan devoted his career to this school, being master here for 40 years. It was estimated that half of Conwy’s population attended his funeral in 1911. Our page about his grave is here (visit link) .

National Schools were created by a charity with a long name (the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church in England and Wales). It was formed in 1811 and stipulated that the national religion should be the main thing taught to poor children. The creation of the National School in Conwy, as elsewhere, was overseen by members of the local Anglican church including the vicar.

In 1835 Conwy’s National School had 50 boys on its register. The schoolmaster received his £32 annual salary from vicar. At that time Conwy had a separate girls’ school, where the mistress received £11 a year from the vicar. This school opened in 1829 and taught 89 children in 1835. Children at both schools contributed to a weekly “penny club”. The proceeds were supplemented by income from subscriptions so that the children received new clothes every Christmas."

SOURCE - (visit link)

Address: Conwy Visitor Centre 19 Rose Hill St Conwy, Gwynedd Wales LL32 8LD Web Site: Not listed

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