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Audlem History Society talk February 18th 2016

Last month's talk looked at the lasting impact of the Battle of Waterloo. This month's brings us much closer to home, to Betley, in fact, to find out what educational opportunities (or lack of them) were available for children of rich and poor families at that time i.e. in the first half of the nineteenth century, before state support for universal education began to have an effect.

Our speaker will be local historian Mavis Smith, whose discovery and publication of the diaries and letters of Ellen Tollet of Betley Hall (dating from the 1830s) give a fascinating glimpse into the life of a local upper- class family. Ellen and her sisters were taught by a governess. This lady's methods of instruction and critical comments on her pupils make surprisingly grim reading and might cause us to feel more sympathy for the so-called privileged lives of well-off children in those days.

Source material for the lives of more ordinary folk is often harder to come by, but Mavis has discovered letters from Betley men who left the village to fight against Napoleon. What degree of literacy do these letters reveal, and what chances for schooling would their children have had? To find out more, do join us for 'Education in Betley before 1855' by Mavis Smith on Thursday, February 18th at 7.30pm, Scout and Guide Hall. Visitors welcome. £3.00 on the door.

The Photo was taken from "The Gateway to the Past"

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