Friday 21st March, 2008
Tucked away in a dark corner of the Wigan teachers' Professional Development Centre, Park Lane, Hindley, is a stone with the following inscription:
"This school was built by gift of Mary Abram, widow whose soul, I trust, triumpheth now among the just. AD 1632"
This inscription refers to the original foundation of "Hindley and Abram Grammar School" (popularly known as "HAGS"). Corroborative evidence is included in Notitia Cestriensis, (Historic Notices of the Diocese of Chester) which states, "There was a school built here an(no) 1632 by Mrs. Mary Abram."
The original 1632 school however, was situated some way to the west in a district known as "Lowe", where Mary Abram lived with her husband, Philip Langton.
Their home, "Lowe Hall", was a large, moated building about a mile distant from "Abram Hall", the seat of Mary's family.
The first edition of the Ordnance Survey map (1848) shows that the school was at the end of a short track off Stony Lane, now called Liverpool Road. It was known as "The Lowe School". In 1856 it was relocated to the Park Lane site.
The first master was paid 10pounds-6s-6d (10.32pounds) He also held a house and the "School Closes", three small fields of about two standard acres in total area. Originally the scholars attended without payment but by 1829 a fee of 2s 6d (12.5 p) was levied, although tuition in reading was still free. The master was at liberty to make additional charges for instruction on Latin, writing and arithmetic. In 1829 there was an average attendance of thirty scholars.
There are many references to the Lowe, or Low School in the Abram Township records. The following from September 1752, concerning a bill for repairing a chimney and floor, is typical:
| 1752 | ||
| Sept 1st | pd for 1 measure of lime | 0s-6d (2.5p) |
| 17th | pd Blondell for 21 feet of Boards | 2s-4d (11.5p) |
| 17th |
pd 55 Brick to Jos. Eckersley and Jas. Jolley |
0s-6d (2.5p) |
| 18th |
pd Samu. Hilton for laying floor 1 day |
1s-2d (5.5p) |
| 18th |
pd Thoms. Heys for 1 lot of nails |
0s-4d (2p) |
| 19th |
pd Wm. Slater for setting chimney, shooting |
2s-0d (10p) |
| 19th |
plastering and putting up 2 slates to fetching lime from Wigan, getting clay making morter wheeling sand; Ale for workmen |
0s-0d |
The above 6s-10d (34p)
Hindley, proportional part of 4s-2 3/4d (21p)
Abram , which is 2s-7 3/4d (13p)
This bill makes interesting reading. Note that the cost is split disproportionately between the two townships, presumably in relation to their relative sizes and ability to pay.
6s 10d (34p) for the repair of a chimney and floor seems ludicrously inexpensive to our modern eyes. However, the labouring costs of 1s 2d (6p) per day seems to have fairly standard throughout the Wigan area at this time.
It is interesting to note that there is no charge for some of the items. Perhaps these goods and services were donated by benefactors of the school.
I hope the workmen enjoyed their ale.
The provision of drinks for labourers appears to have been a standard item on eighteenth century bills.