'A Victorian Class Conflict?': Schoolteaching and the Parson, Priest and Minister, 1837-1902 John

Villages and towns in the Victorian era saw a great expansion in educational provision and witnessed the rise of the elementary teaching profession, often provided and supported by local clergymen. This book investigates the social and economic relat... Read more

Villages and towns in the Victorian era saw a great expansion in educational provision and witnessed the rise of the elementary teaching profession, often provided and supported by local clergymen. This book investigates the social and economic relationships of such clergymen and teachers who worked cooperatively and, at times, in competition with each other - their relative positions typified by the comment of one contemporary clergyman as 'those of master and servant.' The inevitable result was a complex movement in society in the final third of the 19th century that led to increasing clashes in villages, as one group (the clergy) sought to preserve its hold on its status and power while the other group (male and female teachers) attempted to secure their new role in society. The research presented in this book is based on previously unused, original sources - church documents, His Majesty's Inspectorate (of Education) reports, newspapers and journals, and private papers. It is not confined, as is the case with so much recent research, to the Church of England, but breaks new ground in providing a comparative analysis of the social position and educational work of Roman Catholic and Wesleyan clergy, and their collaboration with their elementary school teachers. Less