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GALLOWHILL SCHOOL |
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According to the Statistical Accounts for for the parish of Alford, compiled around 1831 by the incumbent minister, the Rev'd. James Farquharson, the parochial school was the only one in the parish, the children were taught Latin, practical mathematics, book-keeping, arithmetic, writing and reading and 'instruction in the truths of religion'. For this, the sum of £28.18s.9 ¾ was allowed, with the additional sums of £2.2s.9d for the garden and £2 yearly as 'a legacy to the teacher'. Fees were charged to the pupils for their education, Latin, mathematics or book-keeping were charged at the rate of 5s per quarter, arithmetic 3s.6d, reading and writing 2s.6d, and reading 2s, fees were not taken from the poor. By the time the Rev'd. reaches the end of his Statistical Accounts, the year is 1840 and a female school had been built, paid for by the heritors and inhabitants, to include a dwelling house for the school mistress both buildings of a 'commodious and substantial kind'. So from 1837 onwards the young daughters of both rich and poor alike received 'proper instruction in religion, literature and the branches peculiar to their sex'. This was obviously still not enough, because as one can see from the date stone built into the wall above the main entrance to Gallowhill School, it joined the above bastions of education seven years later. All William Reid and Elizabeth Nicol's children attended Gallowhill School, which was situated a couple of miles up the brae, opposite Alford West Kirk. The school was built in 1844 and had two classrooms, one for the infants and one for the older children, school-leaving age being 14 in those days. The headmaster and his wife, who taught the infant class, also lived on site in the headmaster's house adjacent to the school. In the winter months soup was provided for the pupils' lunches - a hefty vegetable broth, with the vegetables provided by the local farmers. My mother attended the school from around 1916 to 1923 and the headmaster of the time was a Mr Main. Mum remembers him as being very strict, especially with his own son David, who was regularly hit by his father, for not being clever enough. In addition to Mr and Mrs Main, there was a new assistant teacher Miss Pratt. This same Miss Nora Pratt became the school's last head. In the 1851 Census for the area, one Margaret Reid was a pupil teacher at the school, but by the time of the next census in 1861 she had graduated to an assistant teacher. Margaret was born in Dorbshill, Logie Buchan, the daughter of a Charles Reid and Margaret Taggart. Unfortunately this Margaret Reid is not directly related to our family.
Below I have reproduced a
poem that my mother and her siblings learned by heart during their time
at Gallowhill School. Mum was still able to quote this poem, word
perfect, 80 odd years later: THE MONTHS
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The school still stands intact and one can see the two classrooms even now divided by a wood and glass partition, the hall, where morning assembly and prayers would have taken place and the cloakrooms complete with iron pegs, which must have held many a winter coat. On wondering around the school, it is very easy to 'hear' the sounds of long past schoolchildren echoing around the large rooms and to 'see' them as they go about their daily routines, learning, playing, crying, laughing - secure in their present and innocent of the futures ahead of them.
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 Classroom one |
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 Classroom two, off classroom one |
