Brontë Family - Northern England at The Time of The Brontës - The Role of The Woman - Education of Young Girls of Humble Situation

Education of Young Girls of Humble Situation

The question arose regarding the education of girls of barely middle class when they did not dispose of either significant connections or adequate funds to send them to established upper class schools. A solution was the schools where the fees were reduced to a minimum – so called charities – with a mission to come to the aid of families such as those of the lower clergy. One cannot accuse Mr. Brontë of not having done everything possible to find what he thought would be most appropriate for his daughters. As Barker comments, he had read in the Leeds Intelligencer of 6 November 1823, the reports judged by the Court of Commons in Bowes, and others judged on 24 November 1824 near Richmond, two towns in the county of Yorkshire, where pupils had been discovered gnawed by rats, and suffering from malnutrition to the extent that some of them had lost their sight. Nothing was to suggest that Reverend Carus Wilson's Clergy Daughters' School of not being able to respond to his expectations. The school was not particularly cheap and its patrons (honorary members) were all respected people including the daughter of Mrs. Hannah Moore, an author of recognised works and a close friend of the eminent poet William Cowper, both proponents of a correct education for young girls, and the offspring of different prelates and even certain acquaintances of Patrick including William Wilberforce who had successfully completed their education at St. John's, thus he believed to be surrounded by all the necessary guarantees.

Read more about this topic:  Brontë Family, Northern England At The Time of The Brontës, The Role of The Woman

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