Montgomery and district
Victorian school days
  Opened school but only two came...  
 

In the early days most schools found it almost impossible to get children to attend regularly. Parents often kept them at home to help with farm jobs or babysitting, and local markets and fairs reduced the numbers turning up at school.
This Log Book entry is from Mellington School in 1890...

 Ringing the school bell
12th May
1890
School diary entry
"More than one third of the children at Montgomery Fair. Called on several parents and protested against such folly".
Llandyssil School, April 1876.
May 12th - "Opened school this morning, only two came and I sent them home again".
May 13th - "Three present this morning".
May 14th - "Five present. No registers marked".
May 15th - "Three present. No registers marked".
 School diary entry
The entry above right is from Llandyssil School in 1892. The one below from the same school in 1867 has one of the more unusual reasons for missing lessons...
  
30th July
1867
School diary entry
  
 

30th July - "Punished the two Browns for being absent yesterday, they said that some boy had enticed them away to the lime-kilns".
The lime-kilns were probably alongside the canal, and it would have been interesting to see them in use. See more about this on one of our Montgomeryshire Canal pages.

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