This week, children have been visiting the amazing Ragged School Museum in London to take a step back in time to look at what life was like at School in yesteryear.
The Ragged School Museum is housed in a group of three canalside buildings which once formed the largest “ragged” or free school in London.
When Thomas Barnardo came to London from his home city of Dublin in 1866, intending to train as a doctor and then become a missionary in China, he was confronted by a city where disease was rife, poverty and overcrowding endemic and educational opportunities for the poor were non-existent. He watched helplessly as a cholera epidemic swept through the East End, leaving over 3,000 Londoners dead and many destitute.
He gave up his medical training to pursue his local missionary works and in 1867 opened his first “ragged school” where children could gain a free basic education.
Ten years later, Barnardo’s Copperfield Road Free School opened its doors to children and for the next thirty-one years educated tens of thousands of children. It closed in 1908 by which time enough government schools had opened in the area to serve the needs of local families.
Below are a few pictures of Wandle Class experiencing this wonderful museum. Please click on the thumbnails below for a larger view.
