Public Schools and Social Class, 1801-1850

Bibliographic Data

ID5636009
AuthorsT W Bamford (0000-0002-4802-1586, corresponding author)
Year1961
Volume12
Issue3
Pages224
Publication date1961-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-1315 • E-ISSN: 1468-4446
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/587816
OpenAlexW2334957208
LanguageEN
Citations received8

I800, Public School education was already an accepted pattern Kof life for the upper classes of society. There were a few long and Jwell-established schools, and eight have been studied for the purpose of this investigation: Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Charterhouse, St. Paul's, Westminster. No school records are complete from a sociological point of view At the best (Harrow, Rugby, St. Paul's) names and details may still be added occasionally and old entries amended, while at the worst (Winchester, Shrewsbury) records are scanty or have been lost for particular periods altogether. These schools dominated the field of classical boarding education, and were virtually unchallenged until I84I. New Public School development was mainly concerned with spreading the Public School system to a clientele which had hitherto been excluded Roman Catholics, Quakers and the like.l Only in I84I with the start of Cheltenham did a successful challenging school appear, closely followed by Marlborough in I843. But even these celebrated schools were exceptional at the beginning, since Cheltenham was local and Marlborough geared to the clergy with the accent on economy. Until I850, these new developments can be ignored as competitors to the eight enumerated above, except perhaps for the special case of clergymen's sons. Beyond I850, however, the position grew rapidly more complex as the newer schools expanded and more were added. Thus, by the time the Clarendon Commission reported, there were 20 other successful classical (anglican) schools with at least 80 boarders each.2 Only four of our schools Eton, Harrow, Rugby, St. Paul's-are suitable for detailed social analysis from their published records.3 For this purpose it is convenient to divide the parental background into the following groups: lower class, middle class (traders, farmers), professionals, clergy, officers of the armed forces, gentry (landed), titled (baronets, nobles, etc.). Inevitably there remains an unclassifiable residue-'others' of cases where either no details are given or else the

Class (philosophy · Epistemology · Political science · Social class · Social science · Sociology · Diverse Education Studies and Reforms · Historical Education Studies Worldwide · Law · Philosophy · Religious Education and Schools

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