Abbotsham School Archives
These are the contents of the archives for Abbotsham School
Abbotsham Primary School Association Newsletter:
Spring 2013
Autumn 2013
Abbotsham Primary School Dartmoor Trip November 1984
Caretaking at Abbotsham School correspondence
Devon Schools in 19th C extract
Education Act 1902 scheduling Abbotsham Church School
Mrs Eales retirement album (21 pages)
Needlework sampler of 1855 (photograph of item now in the new school)
Photographs pre 1940 (see below)
Photographs post 1940 (see below)
School Album 1960-1980 (see below)
School Photographs 1976-1985 (only up to 1981)
School inspection reports 1928-1954 (see below)
School Logbook extracts 1875-1917 (see below)
School register 1894-1997
There may be some duplication of actual images in the above list. As time goes on and the
list is refined a more detailed index will emerge
Abbotsham Primary School Association Newsletter:
Spring 2013
Autumn 2013
Abbotsham Primary School Dartmoor Trip November 1984
Caretaking at Abbotsham School correspondence
Devon Schools in 19th C extract
Education Act 1902 scheduling Abbotsham Church School
Mrs Eales retirement album (21 pages)
Needlework sampler of 1855 (photograph of item now in the new school)
Photographs pre 1940 (see below)
Photographs post 1940 (see below)
School Album 1960-1980 (see below)
School Photographs 1976-1985 (only up to 1981)
School inspection reports 1928-1954 (see below)
School Logbook extracts 1875-1917 (see below)
School register 1894-1997
There may be some duplication of actual images in the above list. As time goes on and the
list is refined a more detailed index will emerge
Abbotsham School Register 1894 - 1997
The School Register is in a fragile condition and is being transcribed to make it accessible to family history researchers. The details included for the first 680 pupils covering the period 1894 to 1959, in 5 year segments, can be found by clicking on the files below .The first few names, Hilda Slee, William Lee, Ernest Barnacott, Elsie Woodcock and Sybil Glover are all names common in the area . Of particular interest is the young age at which children entered school (some starting school on their third birthday) and the reasons for leaving which range from "required to work on farm" to "left for Bideford Grammar" and the exotic sounding "left for Geneva", which was of course the Secondary School in Bideford! The 1920's file includes the Corks of Adjavin of whom Edna Cork is perhaps the best known, together with the Moases, Jackmans, Williams, Huxtables, Withecombes, Stapletons and Glovers. The 1930's files includes the Gutsells, Prusts, Faceys, Tuckers, Jackmans, Trewins, Darks and Daniels including that village stalwart of the last half of the twentieth century Ruby Beer (nee Daniel). There was a separate Register for evacuee children during the Second World War but the whereabouts of that Register are unknown. In 1957 there is a major influx as Alwington School is closed and the children from Fairy Cross and Horns Cross including the Pooles, Metherells, Kays and Daniels are transferred to Abbotsham. In the 1970's the new houses in Old Road, St Helens and Shepherd's Meadow result in a major increase in pupil numbers - a trend that has continued to the present day. The complete Register is now available. There are two spreadsheets. One is in date order based on date of admission. The second is an alphabetic listing by pupil's surname.
| school_register_1894_-_1997_alphabetic_by_pupil.xlsx |
| school_register_1894_-_1997_admission_order.xlsx |
Abbotsham School Photographs
Prior to 1851there was a school of some type in the village but no records survive.Following the rebuilding of the school in 1851 Abbotsham Village School was established as a Voluntary School. It continued as a Voluntary school until 1875 when it was taken over by the Devon County School Board. Within the Archives there is a large selection of School photographs spanning 120 years. The files below contain a small selection of these photographs together with the scan of the 1960 to 1980 School Album which has recently been donated to the Archives. Most of the photographs are labelled with names. In addition to pupils there are pictures of prominent characters in the history of the village such as Rev. Sealy Vidal and Mr Hooper the influential headmaster during the first twenty years of the last century.
Inspection Reports
There is a long history of reporting school performance and the school was inspected by Her Majesty's Inspector's and Diocesan representatives throught the twentieth century. The original School Log has been lost but a number of extracts were recorded in a school exercise book in November 1947. This book has survived and some of the comments are included in the file below. A separate file contains copies of the HMI reports from the 1920's to the 1950's. These show a very different school environment to today with the girls cooking meals and the boys running the school smallholding on the Butthay field (nowadays the Village Playing field). It should be remembered that at that time pupils stayed at the Village School until they were 14 unless they obtained a scholarship place for the Grammar Schools in Bideford.
Miscellaneous Documentation
Over the years a number of miscellaneous documents have appeared. A number can be accessed using the buttons below. First you will find a reference to the school in David and Charles account of Devon Schools. The second quotes from the interesting and non politically correct correspondence on male versus female caretakers. A more modern document is the 1985 football programme for the local Vanstone Trophy. The Abbotsham squad included Richard Marlow, Barry Huxtable, Gareth Starkey, Ian Shaw, Scott Horrell, Simon Price, Simon Wright, Richard Sollis and Paul Heuze. The programme was designed by Paul Andrews of Appledore School. There is also a picture showing five of the Abbotsham players in action. When Mrs Eales left everyone drew a picture of themselves for her farewell album which has been copied so that everyone can see how they saw themselves. Next come the School Trip Report on their visit to a very cold Dartmoor in November 1984..
| 1983_mrs_eales_retirement_album.docx |
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