The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS

FllOM ITS ORIGIN , 1788 , TO ITS CENTENARY , 1883 . ( GoiUinuecl from page 220 . )

However , the brethren did not allow the diffidence of the children , to which we referred last week , to stand in the Way of their determination to improve the course of instruction . On Bro . Binckes , who for some time previously had

taken an active part in the government of the School , and who , during the temporary illness of Bro . Crew , had acted as Secretary , bringing forward a motion at the Quarterly Court in January , 1858 , to extend the curriculum by the addition of French and Music , the

whole subject was referred to the House Committee , and at a special meeting of that body on the 28 th of the same month , at which the Earl of Zetland , G . M . and President , was present , an Educational Committee , consisting of Bros , the Eev . W . H . Lyall , J . Symonds ,

and F . Binckes , was appointed , with instructions to ascertain all possible particulars relating to other schools of a similar character in which French and Music were taught . The first step of this Committee was to issue a circular letter to the parents of all the children

who had left the School during the preceding ten years , Avith a view to ascertaining the nature of the duties which the girls had undertaken . They also examined the School Library , Avhich they reported as being very meagre , and suggested that it should be improved by

the purchase of standard school books , and that a separate library should be formed for the School Mistresses . In the July following they handed in their Report , which was read and adopted , and was to the following effect : —That Freuch should be taught

to the whole of the 1 st Class , and to those Girls in the 2 nd Class who possessed more than the average ability , the services of a French Schoolmistress being engaged to instruct the elder children , and also Miss Souter and her assistant teacher , Miss Kernot ,

until the latter were themselves qualified to teach . They further recommended as regards Music that two pianos should be bought , and that a teacher should instruct Miss Souter , Miss Kernot , and one or two of the elder children , "who in turn , when qualified , should

teach the rest ; the cost of the necessary music being defrayed by a fee of half a guinea per quarter from each girl instructed ; and that Drawing should be taught to the whole school , the time necessary to devote to this branch of study being obtained b y restricting the

needlework done by the girls to the making and repairing of their own clothes . The scheme , which was probably the best that could have been devised at the time , without seriously or suddenly

disturbing the system previously in force , was carried out by the House Committee , who engaged a Mdlle . Mesnard as French instructress , and Bro . Matthew Cooke as Music Master , and for a year or two the plan worked satisfactorily .

In the meantime other measures engaged the attention of the authorities . The greater demands , caused by all these changes , on the time of the Secretary , who then , as now , was the chief executive officer of the . Institution , rendered it necessary to reconsider the

amount of remuneration paid him for his services , and it was resolved that , in addition to his salary of £ 100 per annum , Bro . Crew should be paid an annual gratuity of equal amount . It was also resolved to concert arrangements with the Boys' School authorities

with a view to bringing the claims of the two Charities under the notice of the brethren in the Provinces . A Committee , consistin g of Bros . Lyall , Symonds , and Binckes , was accordingly appointed , and the following year they handed in fchciv report , in which they

recommended that each Province should establish a Charitable organisation , consisting of one representative from each of the lodges , with the Prov . CI . Master and his Deputy as President and Vice-President respectively , and that it should hold at least one meeting in the year .

The Secretary was also instructed to visit the Provincial G . Lodges ou the occasion of their annual meetings , and urge upon the brethren the necessity of supporting , or enlarging their support to , the Charities . These measures had the desired effect , and what with the

appeals thus made and the occasional visits of the children to Brighton and elsewhere , the School became as popular in the Provinces as in London . As a result , the subscri ptions flowed in more abundantly , and in October , 1859 . ou the motion of Bro . J . Udall ,

a most strenuous supporter ot the Institution , it was determined to still further increase the number of pupils to 80 . In the December following , it was resolved to present each girl on leaving with a gratuity of 10 s ., and with a further gratuity of £ 1 at the end of 12

months if the report of her conduct was favourable . At the Quarterly Court in July , 1860 , the age of the girls for remaining in the School was raised to 16 , and a few months later , the House Committee

made a further stop in advance and passed a resolution to the effect " That it is the opinion of this Committee that the School Mistress of the Institution shall in future be capable of efficiently teaching

The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls

French and Music . " Steps were at once taken to give effect to this determination , and Miss Davis , Head Teacher at the London Orph ail Asylum , was invited , and accepted the invitation , to become School Mistress at a salary of £ 84 a year , notice being given to Hiss Souter , Mdlle . Mesnard , and Bro . Cooke that their services

Avould not be required after Midsummer , 1861 . In the brief interval between this invitation and its acceptance , a serious accident befel Bro . Crew , which incapacitated him from remaining at his post , and his duties having been temporarily entrusted to a Committee consisting of Bros . J . Udall , W . Young , and E . H . Patten , and it having been

resolved to assign to Bro . Crew a pension for life of £ 200 , the oppor . tunity was taken to revise the duties and emoluments of the office the latter being fixed at £ 150 per annum , while it was arranged that in future the Secretary should attend at the offices from 11 a . m . to 3 p . m . on Mondays , Wednesdays , and Fridays , and the Collector , as

before , on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the same hour . In June , 1861 , Bro . E . H . Patten , P . G . S . B ., was elected Secretary , so that the new School Mistress and the new Secretary entered upon their respective duties as nearly as possible about the same time , Miss Jarwood ' s sphere of labour being henceforth restricted to the superintendence of the household arrangements .

The policy thus inaugurated proved so beneficial that the Committee continued it with an energy and spirit Avhich cannot be commended too highly . Chving to the change of governesses , no examination of the children took place in 1861 ; but in 1862 the Rev . Mr . Dyer , who had succeeded Mr . Gleimy as Diocesan Inspector of Schools , was

iirvited to test the progress made by the School under the new arrangements , and his report Avas most favourable , the unnatural shyness to which his predecessor had draAvn attention having entirely disappeared . At the same time the Committee made up their minds to augment the number of children , and having taken

counsel Avith the late Bro . S . B . Wilson , Avith a vieAv to providing the additional accommodation that Avould be required , they determined that his plans , by Avhich 20 more children could be admitted , should be carried out . And as the Festival in May resulted in subscriptions amounting to £ 2670 , the tender of Messrs . Patrick and Son to erect

the new premises for £ 1410 Avas accepted , and the Avork Avas commenced fortliAvith . Later in the same year , a sum of £ 500 Avas received from the West End Railway Extension Company , being the amount aAvarded by the umpire as compensation for the

appropriation by the railway of a few perches of the land belonging to the School , so that the cost of the new buildings did not trench very seriously on the resources of the School , and the process of augmentation was earned out gradually dining the tAvo folloAving years , the last increment , made in October , 1864 , raising the number of girls to 100 .

Early in 1865 the House Committee suggested the propriety ot purchasing two or three additional acres of ground fronting the Institution , and Lord Zetland Avas requested to communicate with the lord of the Manor—Earl Spencer—Avith a view to ascertaining

if the latter were inclined to regard any application of the kind Avith favour . Lord Spencer , hoAvevcr , though AVCII disposed towards the Institution , and though he promised that no other buildings should be erected on the ground in question , did not consider himself justified , in the then state of public feeling Avith reference to the

preservation of Wandsworth Common and other open spaces , m entertaining the proposal , —a result which , must have caused the Committee to regret they had not accepted the offer of Mr . Whiting in June , 1859 , to sell them an additional 2 j acres of land for £ 1100 .

In the meantime other changes—all of the same beneficial character—had been adopted . In the spring of 1862 AVC hear for the first time of the Festival Stewards formally visiting the Institution and the prizes Avon by the Girls being publicly distributed , hi 1863 Bro . Jabez Hogg , having tendered his services as oculist to t-lio

Institution , was appointed to the office , and a lew months latci , vu the special recommendation of the Grand Master and President , » Avas resolved there should be a Chaplain , and Bro . the Rev . " Woodward , AVIIO had been Master of the Boys' School , and Avas at the time its Chaplain , received the appointment , with an honoraria

of £ 20 per annum , his duty being to attend once a Aveek to train w children in religious knoAvledge . The comforts and p leasures ot tuo children Avcrc also studied , and every noAV and then Ave read of the ' visiting some place of popular resort , as in 1862 , Avhen the Stewan

presented £ 25 and the Shakespeare Lodge £ 10 to enable them sec the Great Exhibition , or as in the summer of 1863 , Avhen * Brighton lodges invited them to spend a day at that favourite seasu town . Then the School , Avith its improved organisation , bee " '

more Avidely known and appreciated , the Secretary being from ^ . to time requested to visit the different Prov . G . Lodges and »| known its claims to the esteem and support of the brethren tW assembled . But all these changes entailed additional labour on part of the officials , and a revision of their salaries became u P ^ ative . the Snerntn . vv vrw . ivnifr . in nrlrlilimi tn his fixed stipcn ,

£ 150 a year , a commission of 5 per cent , on all subscrip tions ^ donations—except those of Grand Lodge and Grand Chaptei ~^) C excess of £ 2000 paid during the year , Avhile the salaries o Matron , the Head Governess , and the Assistant Governess Avere 1

portionately increased . The rate of commission payable ^ to ^ Collector Avas also regulated in accordance Avith Avhat Avas paw , Collectors of the Boys' School and Benevolent Institution , the u ' , the time being , especially as regards the Schools , that , so ' ^^ possible , the two should stand before the Masonic public on a » ' equal footing . ( To be continued . )