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The Roman Catholic Church of St Lewis, Croft
in the County of
-- Lancashire --

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St. Lewis’ Roman Catholic School, Croft
History from 1827 – 1960
Source and with the permission of: Mrs. Frances Fisher former teacher at St. Lewis

 
St Lewis School in 2008 ©Frances Holcroft
St Lewis School in 2008 ©Frances Holcroft

St. Lewis’ School in Croft bears no resemblance to the barn opened in the late eighteenth century under the same saintly patronage. It was the inspiration of a French émigré priest, Father Louis Leonard Le Richebec, exiled from France in 1797 for political reasons. He worked at first as a farm labourer and supplemented his income by teaching the French language to the sons of the local gentry.

Although sparsely populated the more tolerant official attitude to Catholicism which was generated by the Catholic Relief Acts of 1778 and 1791 encouraged the local Catholics to a greater openness in their religious convictions. It was realised by the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, the bishop responsible for the area, that there was a growing need for a minister to live locally and draw the Catholics into an organised unit or parish, particularly as the area had recently seen the arrival of a number of Irish immigrants seeking work as a result of the economic conditions in their home country. Father Richebec, a native of Barfleur, was given the difficult task of bringing together this scattered Catholic community and welding it into a coherent group.

Father Richebec soon realised that if he could establish a school for their children, this would create a bond between his people and form the basis for building a community based on shared values and mutual support. This ambition was strengthened when Father Richebec realised that local Catholics, although small in number, had always found it difficult to provide an education for their children. This was aggravated by the restriction on Roman Catholic children attending the charity school in Twiss Green Lane, Culcheth, entry was restricted to the “Protestant poor in Culcheth” under the terms of Henry Johnson’s Will of 1727 when he bequeathed money to establish an educational trust. Catholic children were then walking into Leigh to attend St. Joseph’s, a distance of some six miles.

The barn first built on land purchased by the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District was erected with Father Richebec’s active help and encouragement, served as both church and school at first. Much of the construction was carried out by local Catholic men who brought the bricks from the nearby brickworks by barrow and cart.

A permanent church was finally built in 1827, the foundation stone having been laid and blessed by Father Richebec the previous year and this meant that the barn could now be used exclusively for the school.

This was of course, long before pupil segregation at the age of eleven and the school catered for children to the age of thirteen or fourteen. It was a cosy, homelike little school, although later a screen was purchased to separate the juniors from the “babies” on the instructions of the schools inspector. At the “babies” end of the school room there was an open coal fire during the cold weather, surrounded by a high metal fire guard. This came in useful a miscellaneous assortment of socks, woolly stockings and shoes, if the day had been particularly unpleasant for walking. The school log book records occasions of permission to light the fire was granted before the official date, due to adverse weather conditions.

It was a very rural area so education and agriculture tended to blend. Potato picking, for example, needed lots of willing hands and the school log book makes a comment about this on several occasions. In 1910 it was noted that “two boys had stayed away to work for famers but that neither of them had been given their attendances”. Later in the same year “attendance was very poor owing to other schools in the district being closed to enable the children to potato pick and our children have also taken advantage of that”. Also, the priest sometimes “borrowed” one or two of the bigger boys to cut the grass or climb the apple tree to pick the fruit – no health and safety regulations in those days!

Moving into the twentieth century education was gradually drawn into the official control of government as it was realised that there were economic advantages in possessing a labour force that was not able to read, write and record transactions in the developing industrialisation of the country. Minimum standards were laid down – nothing changes – and schools were regularly visited by Her Majesty’s inspectors.

The first official inspection was dated 1877 and reported that “the zealous teacher had established very good discipline…….the reading and penmanship being very good” However a later inspection was less flattering when it was noted that ”the work of the infants generally and arithmetic in the standards is very poor”. It was suggested that more qualified teaching help was needed and there were difficulties with all the children in such close proximity. It is perhaps difficult to realise how basic accommodation was, as running water was not available until 1905 when a “slopstone” was also provided.

It appears to have been difficult to secure the services of competent, qualified teachers during this period. After appointment none seemed ready to settle in the area. There was a suggestion that unless educational standards improved the official grant that had been obtained would be withdrawn. Between 1877 and 1899 the official school log book records the names of eight teachers, five of whom were trained certified teachers from Liverpool College, but none appeared prepared to stay in the neighbourhood.

This fundamental problem was finally solved in the years following the First World War with the appointment of Miss Margaret Killeen as the new headmistress. Margaret Killeen was a dedicated and enthusiastic teacher who loved both teaching and the children who came into her care. The standard of education improved rapidly and Miss Killeen was soon entering boys for the scholarship to win a coveted place in the Catholic Boys’ Grammar School at Manchester. There was a high success rate. Margaret had the distinction of being the very first woman to be awarded a degree at Liverpool University, setting an example for the many girls who were to follow in her footsteps.

The years after the Second World War brought rapid changes to St. Lewis’ School. While the war years had seen a decline in numbers and doubts as to its continued ability to remain in operation, the Suez crisis brought an influx of Egyptian families into Croft and the school had suddenly to accommodate a number of their children who were naturally disturbed at being placed in an unfamiliar environment.

The cosmopolitan flavour remained with the school after the Egyptian children had left Croft for a permanent settlement elsewhere. A temporary American transit camp was established nearby, and soon established cordial links with the school which benefited from a much appreciated legacy – a set of swings and climbing apparatus – giving the children many hours of fun and quite a few grazed knees in the following decade.

1958 was a year of change with the restructuring of education legislating to create a segregated system from the age of eleven. This resulted in St. Lewis’ school moving from an all age school to providing primary education only.

In 1959 the first three classrooms of the existing school were erected before final completion in 1960.

It was perhaps inevitable that the original building, the tangible evidence of over a century of education and endeavour had to be demolished but the pioneering efforts and dedication of Father Louis Leonard Le Richebec must always be acknowledged and remembered.

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