***
English school uniform: individual schools -- Wortley School
Individual English Schools--- Wortley School
Figure 1.--Here we have a postcard back portrait of very young children. It is identified on the back as 'Wortley School c 1920'. This means whowcer wrote that was not orecisely sure. Thhe date seemns reasoanble. We might have guessed the late-1910s, The children look to be about 5 years old, a few may even be 4-year olds which would mnean a opre-chool. Mist children began school about 6 years old. We are not sure how commomn state pre-schools were at the time. The portait is notble for the bright white collars. The boys in the bck are mostly wering collar-buttoning suits. We see a range of collars including Eton and different sized Fauntleroy collars. One boy wears sailor suits. A few boys mixed in with the girls are wearing blouses. The girls wear dresses, only one with a pinafoire.
Wortley is a very village near Barnsley, in the western part of South Yorkshire. The village has an interesting history. It was mentioned Domesday Book as Wirtleie (1086). It grew as a settlement becuse it was located where the Sheffield to Halifax road crossed the Cheshire to Rotherham roasds. Its develooment was limited because regular fairs and market days did not develop, in large measure because the monks in Barnsly did not want competition for their fairs and markets. The parish church of St. Leonard's dates back to the medieval period, but was rebuilt during the 18th century. The village is famous for two modern matters. First is the Wortley Top Forge dating to the Industrial Revolution. Second is storied highwayman Swift Nick (John Nevison, 1639-84). There were several schools in Wortley. Whilke Wortley itself is a small villge it is surrounded by an urbanized area. The small secondary school has recently closed and been demolished. The Wortley School opened in temporary premises leased from the trustees of the Bull Ring Primitive Methodist Society (1872). This seems to be the result of the Education At (1870) in which Parliament finally committed to a free public education system. The School mentions that the first headteacher was a very severe woman. New buildings were provided, but they proved inadequte. An imposing brick school was eventuallyn built, we think (1883). The old school building has been converted to apartments. The image here shows very young children in 1920, porobably a class portrait. They are a coed group and look to be the same age group as the modern Wortley Lower Primary School. We are not sure about the buildings involved. The 1920 portrait is notable for the bright white collars the boys are wearing.
