Figure 1.--We notice the Navigation Board School in Abercynon. The photograph was taken in 1893. We are not sure just what a Navigation Board School was.
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Figure 1.--We notice the Navigation Board School in Abercynon. The photograph was taken in 1893. We are not sure just what a Navigation Board School was. |
We notice the Navigation Board School in Abercynon. We were not sure just what a Navigation Board School was, but HBC readers have porovided some fascinating details. The name Navigation came from the location close to a canal and an early name of Abercynon--Navigation. The Board refers toi the school board for local control and funding. Several available images provide many glimses of the school over time.
Abercynon is just inland from Cardiff, the capital of Wales. A
navigation school is not unlikely and it may well have supplied a number of boys for the merchant marine.
A British reader tells us, "A similar distance outside Bristol, although rather closer to the sea, there was in the 1950s a Nautical School. A contemporary, where I was at school in Bristol, was the son of the headmaster. It was an approved school, attendance at which boys under a certain age were sentenced by the courts. The regime was strict and absconding brought grave penalties upon the inmates but, by comparison with borstal for older youths, it was relatively light. Even borstal was much to be preferred for young offenders than prison. This particular approved school concentrated on nautical training, very suitable for a location on a major estuary. Apparently, a letter was once addressed erroneously to the 'Portishead Naughty Boys School'!"
We were not sure just what a Navigation Board School was, but HBC readers have porovided some fascinating details.
Just what was meant by "Navigation" we were not sure. A British reader writes, "Navigation is another word for a canal - I don't know if they ran schools for the children of their employees." Another British reader had similar thoughts. "This could be totally wrong, but I do know 'Navigation' is a term usually used over here in relation to people who work on canals and rivers. I would not expect that this was a segregated school for the children of such workers, but maybe they had something to do with the funding or control?" A reader seems to have answered our questions about the school. "The town of Abercynon was previously named Navigation; probably so named because a section of the Glamorganshire Canal was known at the time of building (circa 1790) as "The Navigation" or "The Basin". It has not been possible for me to establish precisely when Navigation became Abercynon but I would guess that it was mid to late 19th century. The Navigation Primary School eventually adopted the newer name of Abercynon; however, there were latterly at least two primary schools in the town and the original school became known at the Abercynon (Navigation) Board School to differentiate it from the newer schools. Thus the name "Navigation" does not have any educational significance but is relevant locally both historically and geographically." A reader agrees, "I think it is just the school's name. I knowof another board school called 'Four Lane Ends' It was built at the junction of the meeting of four lanes. Thus The Navigation would just be the school's name because it was built near a canal!"
A board schhol was a school goverened and funded by the local community. A reader writes, "These schools were built in areas where there were no other schools. Historically the Industrial Revolution brought about population changes. When families moved into the towns houses development was so rapid that the communities lacked services. Often there was no school. The 1870 Education Act made schooling compulsory so to fill the gaps board schools were built. The more common term later became county school.
Britain's canals and barge workers played an important part of the Industrial Revolution. By the turn-of-th 20th century, however, the canals had been largely replaced by the railroads. Barge workers tended to be poor and the canals were a backwater of British industry. The education of the children of the barge workers was a special problem. As the barges were constantly moving on the canals, the children did not live near a school that they could attend daily. We wonder if this school represented an effort to address that problem. A reader writes, "Navigation is not just for canals; it for any inland waterway that can be travelled along by boats. I live near the River Wey in Surrey; for many years the officals in charge of it worked for 'Wey Navigation'. The Wey is a natural river and not a canal. I've just checked on my map and the River Taff ran through Abercynon - maybe, just maybe, this school was right next to the river. That would place it in the west of the town." A reader writes, "I cannot be certain but this school would not be a school for education the children of canal workers. These children were itinerate pupils and were sent to different schools as the bargees travelled the canal system."
We note a photograph taken in 1893 (figure 1). We can't make out much detail from the photograph. We do notice boys and girls be educated together. Notice how many of the boys wear Eton collars. Many of the girls have lace collars. One girl wears a pinafore.
We see a standard 3 class in 1903. The classes are now separated by gender. Here we can make out more detail. Many boys are still wearing Eton collars. A few boys wear blouses with ruffled collars. Two boys seem to be wearing middy blouses. We also note various types of neckwear.
We note a photograph of a standard 4 class at the school in 1929. The boys and girls are still separate. Most of the boys wear short pasnts suits. Some of the boys have come to school with sweaters rather than suit jackets.
The school was still functioning in the 1950s.
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Created: 1:17 AM 1/14/2005
Last updated: 5:42 AM 1/15/2005
