Farnworth Grammar School

"It's always good to have your Rs to fall back on" (Miss Fritton, Headmistress, St. Trinians, 1954-1957).  Perhaps less eloquently, in the build up to his first electoral triumph, Tony Blair's clarion call: "Education. Education. Education", is believed by many to be central to any sustainable economic model. This would have surely resonated with the members of the Qu'est-ce Que C'est? Club. It is therefore unsurprising that the foundation of the Chemical Industry, exemplified by the mid-twentieth century might of  Imperial Chemical Industries, ICI, (discussed in great detail in D.W.F. Hardie's "A History of the Chemical Industry in Widnes"), parallelled the reformation of public education in the UK. In fact, on the 17th February, less than a month after the first meeting of the Qu'est-ce Que C'est? Club, Mr. William Forster MP (caricatured above), gave the first reading of the Elementary Education Bill in the House of Commons. By summer, before parliamentary recess, the Bill had become provision of schooling for all children between the ages of 5 and 13.

Sources....In order to fully appreciate the role played by those individuals and institutions supporting education in Widnes, it is instructive to briefly review the origins of the Farnworth Grammar School, the employer of Mr. James Raven. [Another Farnworth Grammar School exists in Bolton; the two are distinct, but it seems on occasion, that the two have been confused: Farnworth School in Widnes had been open for 200 years before the school of the same name in Bolton opened its doors]. Bob Roach, an enthusiastic champion of all things historical and chemical in Widnes, has been quick to point us in the direction of the recent research into the development of Farnworth and its citizens, by Alan Foster of the Widnes Historical Society, who has published a couple of excellent books on this topic. In addition, we have drawn on two earlier sources of information, G.E. Diggle's History of Widnes (1965) and C. Poole's Old Widnes and its Neighbourhood (1905), both of which provide considerable, and complementary, insights into a rich, local history of Church-led initiatives, that ultimately paved the way for the first Grammar School in Farnworth, in the north of the town. Finally, we have found "The History of Farnworth Grammar School" by former pupil and Headmaster, C. Richard Lewis, published in 1905, to be invaluable for the personalised and chronological accounts of the headmasters from the founding of the school until its demise at the start of the twentieth century, after 400 years of educating young scholars.

In the beginning... it was probably a combination of the tuition skills and the influential "opening of social and political doors" by the mother of Henry VII, Lady Margaret Beaufort (pictured left), that paved the way for the phenomenally successful career of William Smyth (the "founding benefactor" of Farnworth Grammar School), in the early years of the 16th Century. Smyth was probably born at Peel House, one of a handful of small, but substantial properties in the Parish of Prescott, just south of Farnworth's historic church. Richard III was on throne in the year of Smyth's birth and by the time of Smyth's death in 1514, Henry VIII had yet to fall out with the Pope and shake up the monasteries. If the hints in historical documents associated with the Crown and its court of the time have been correctly interpreted, the greatest advantage that Smyth enjoyed was the patronage of Lady Margaret. By her fourth marriage, this extraordinary woman who seemed to have combined piety with scholarship and had secured a level of financial, social and political influence, that Peter Mandelson could only dream of! It is most likely that the "wheels" of Smyth's career were "oiled" by Beaumont's son, Henry VII and later by her favourite grandson, Henry VIII! During his lifetime, Smyth accumulated significant wealth and privilege, which he used to support the development of institutions for health and education at a level rarely seen before.

Map, based on early OS maps of Farnworth with Peel Hall and environs to follow shortly

As Smyth (RHS) climbed the clerical and political ladder, he began to make shrewd investments of both money and energy, into the development of the Lichfield Hospital in the Midlands, and in Farnworth, helped provided for the construction of the Cuerdley Chapel, to thank the small flock of Christian worshipers from his family "seat" at Cuerdley (North of Farnworth). However, we are here concerned with his politically astute endowment of funds for the establishment of a school and schoolmaster to be administered annually by the good burghers of Chester. Bishop Smyth of Lincoln (as he had become), managed to successfully navigate the challenges of the courts of Henry VII and VIII, leading up to one of the most politically volatile periods in the History of the Church in England. By placing the governance of the Farnworth Grammar School in the hands of the legislators of Chester, he had effectively protected his investment in perpetuity. In retrospect, an annual inflationary percentage increase, might have enabled the school to survive a little longer, but other forces were to come into place long after Bishop Smyth was interred by the west door at Lincoln Cathedral.

Smyth's legacy in Farnworth was partly an educational framework that provided the necessary skills for local families to secure their commercial success, but in addition, he co-founded Brasenose College Oxford, and this set in place a route for the brightest sons of the most influential families, such as the Bolds, in the parish of Prescott, to the great colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. It is believed that the original school was one of the earliest to be founded in England, and is possibly the first Grammar School to be established in the North West of England. If you are interested in this aspect, "A History of Farnworth Church, its Village and Parish" by Alan Foster is a "must read".


It was against this historical backdrop, that around 350 years later, the governing body of the grammar school appointed Mr. James Raven of Lexham Norfolk, to the position of Headmaster. By 1860, Widnes was well on the path to prominence in the world of industrial chemistry.  John Hutchinson, "the father of Widnes" (portrait on the LHS), was in his prime, with two significant factories in the town and several substantial plots of strategically acquired land. [A separate article on John Hutchinson's life and his key role in the town's industrial heritage is in preparation].

James Raven,  and his new wife Sarah, who would give birth to their first child, Fanny, in 1863, was born and raised in West Lexham Norfolk, by his parents, William and Sharlotte Raven. His father was a farm bailiff, and it is unclear what brought him to Widnes, but by 1861, (although not entered in the census of that year), James was headmaster of Farnworth Grammar School (he may be entered as a boarder at the old school house and more information is needed here). The school was run from a dilapidated building that was over 200 year old, alongside the Church of St. Luke's (then Saint Wilfrid's). In the absence of any detailed account of Raven's formal education, the fact that his father in law's profession is entered as a retired architect some years later, it seems reasonable to assume that Raven was at least a bright scholar. During this period, the vicar of Farnworth church, the Reverend William Jeff, along with an august group of gentlemen presided over the governance of the school. The trustees are listed by Lewis at the time of Raven's appointment as:


The Reverand William Jeff (Vicar of Farnworth Church and Chairman of the Board James Ratcliffe and Joseph Whitfield (both farmers from Bold), William Naylor and Peter Longton (both also farmers from Cuerdly and Ditton, respectively), William Kidd (an established sail cloth manufacturer, originally from Farnworth, but recently relocated to Liverpool), Edward Young (a distiller from Birchfield House, Widnes), Edmund Ward (a solicitor from Prescott) and two "Gentlemen" from Sankey, Edward James Pemberton and William Tinsley. 

In his History of the Grammar School, Lewis, notes that, in accepting the position at Widnes, James Raven's contract was made between the aforementioned trustees citing his his previous, professional address as St. Mark's College, Middlesex. St. Marks College today forms part of the University of St. Mark and St. John, Plymouth, which has been rather unfortunately branded as "Marjon" (of which we shall say no more). In the middle of the 19th Century however, St Marks (pictured top left) was a progressive, teacher training college founded by the National Society (a Church of England, educational organisation). Its founding Principal was Derwent Coleridge, the son of poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who would hold that position whilst JR was a student. In addition, during Raven's time, the Vice Principal and precentor, was Thomas Helmore: famous as choirmaster and champion of the plainsong form in Church ceremony. A rarified atmosphere indeed, for the young James Raven!


It would seem that Raven was quite a catch for Farnworth and during the first few years of his term of office, the academic and economic fortunes of the school went from strength to strength. Having managed a handful of boys in the old grammar school premises, Raven relocated his family, staff and boarders to the large house at the corner of the present day Beaconsfield Road and Derby Road, all from his own pocket, without the financial support (or agreement it would later emerge) of the trustees. Beaconsfield Road at this time was an undesignated footpath towards Birchfield House (a now demolished mansion about a Mile North West of Farnworth), branching towards the ancestral estate of the Bold Family, with Cuerdley (Bishop Smyth's former "constituency" at the east end of the current Derby Road, then known rather amusingly as "Puzzle Pate". The new location for the school required refurbishment, which again James Raven financed, and the former Lunes Hey (from the French Lune and Haie: Moon Meadow) residence, backing onto a large field, became the school from which Raven would have operated during the period of the Qu'est ce que c'est club. 

Around this time, Farnworth village would have provided its inhabitants with refreshment in "spades". Within a five minute walk there were a dozen hostelries, most of which have been re-purposed! However, the other interesting feature of the village was its provision of schools, which reminds me of the way in which small specialist colleges surround the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. Once again, we must acknowledge Alan Foster's A Walk Around Old Farnworth Village: Past and Present, which  reminds us of the significance of Farnworth before industrialisation shifted the Institutions of Social Change towards the current site of Victoria Square, nearer the industrial heart of Victorian Widnes. In fact, apart from a short-lived existence atop of the Peel House Lane railway bridge, the Grammar School would finally yield to the march of progress at the Widnes Technical School, an integrated building alongside the town library, the church of St Paul and the "New" Town Hall (see image above from 1910). The buildings are all intact, much as they were when first built, but again re-purposing has turned the Civic Pride of the Town Hall into a large club, known in rather Orwellian language, as "The Establishment".

Before we leave this short account, it is worth mentioning the other seat of power in the town, separating the increasingly noxious fumes from the Hutchinson Estate at West Bank and Farnworth (on the Hill), was Appleton Village, a Catholic stronghold ever since the Reformation and also home to John Hutchinson (above). The elegant Catholic Church of St Bedes and its adjoining school, established around the same time as a Church of England school in Farnworth, would have been an attraction to those of the Catholics amongst the Industrial entrepreneurs of Widnes. In fact although John Hutchinson wasn't a catholic, he was a great friend of the parish priest at St. Bedes, and his remains lie at the original entrance to the church. We shall return to Hutchinson in due course. 

This introductory note is here to provide an insight into the rich history of education in Widnes, with its roots in Tudor England. The lives of the members of the Qu'est-ce que c'est club are a "work in progress" and these "Pages" will be updated on an ad hoc basis. Any comments from readers would be extremely welcome, especially from those who are following the family histories of the members and their associates. With the background information in hand, we can begin to explore the motivation of the members and the role the Qu'est-ce que c'est club played in the development of the post-Hutchinson industrial era in the North of England.

Thanks to Alan Foster for pointing out some earlier errors relating to Bishop Smyth (they have been corrected).