To His Grace CHARLES Duke of RICHMOND and LENOX, &c. &c. &c. The THIRTEENTH REPORT of the Commissioners for MAY IT PLEASE YOUR GRACE, WE, PUBLIC or E, the undersigned Commissioners appointed for enquiring into the several Funds and Revenues granted for the purposes of Education, and into the state and condition of all Schools in Ireland, upon public or charitable foundations, in pursuance of the powers vested in us, proceed to submit to your Grace, our Report upon The English Schools, of Private Foundation, in Ireland, in which the Children of the lower orders of the people receive instruction, and in some of which they are also clothed and maintained as well as educated. FORK-HILL SCHOOLS. These Schools, which are five in number, are situated in the Parish of Forkhill, in the Diocese of Armagh, and were founded under the Will of Richard Jackson, Esquire, who died in the year 1787, and left his Estates in the Counties of Cavan and Armagh, to the then Lord Primate, the Bishops of Down and Connor and Dromore, the Rectors of the Parishes of Fork-hill, Killevey, Loughgilly, Creggan, and Dundalk, and their Successors for ever, in trust, 4 H · 47. and English Schools of Private Foundation. Diocese of Private Foundation. English and for the purpose, after paying certain considerable Legacies and Annuities Schools of to members of his family, "that the residue of the income of his Estate in the County of Cavan, should be equally divided, one-half to be enjoyed by his sister and daughter, and after their decease, for propagating the Gospel; and the Diocese of other half to be expended in clothing and educating as many as the fund will allow, Armagh. poor children of members of the Church of Ireland; and in giving to each at the age of 25 years, five pounds and a loom, and a small holding, in preference to other tenants who may offer." And he left the half of his Fork-hill Estate in the County of Armagh "to be employed in propagating the religion of our blessed Saviour, particularly în the East, by adding to the number of Danish and other Protestant Missionaries, as his said Trustees or any three of them, (a Bishop being one) shall think proper;" and he bequeathed several Legacies and Annuities besides to different persons. Several doubts and difficulties having arisen relative to the legal construction of this Will, the Trustees of the Charitable Bequests, and the various Devisees under the Will, entered into Articles of Agreement for a division of the property, which Agreement was ratified by an Act of Parliament passed in 1789: by this Agreement, one thousand pounds per annum was to be applied to the Charity for the propagation of the Gospel in the East, and three hundred and seventy-five pounds for ever to be applied by the said Trustees for the Charity, for the children of members of the Church of Ireland. This sum of 375. per annum constitutes the present endowment of the Schools in the Parish of Forkhill. The plan adopted by the Trustees after the passing of this Act, and ever since acted upon, with occasional improvements, has been, to afford the means of Instruction and Clothing, as far as Funds would admit, to all the Poor Children in this Parish, indiscriminately, but under Protestant Masters and Mistresses; for this purpose there were three Schools built at different extremities of the Parish with suitable dwelling-houses for Masters, and two for Mistresses to instruct the Girls in sewing and needle-work. The School-houses are stated to us to be all at present in complete and perfect good order, and to be kept so out of the Fund. There are altogether about 380 Children of both sexes who attend these schools, of which number about 50 are Protestants. The Masters of the Male Schools have 40 l. per annum each, out of which they are obliged to pay an Assistant; the two School-mistresses have each a Salary of 20 l. each: all have houses to reside in. There is besides an Inspector over the Schools at a Salary of 40l. per annum, who is generally the resident Clergyman of the Parish. There are many of the Scholars who when educated are apprenticed to different trades, but chiefly the weaving trade, under Protestant Masters, and at the expiration of their Apprenticeships they receive each 107. and a loom. Tho Schools are all supplied out of the fund with paper, ink, books and slates. The Trustees of this Charity meet Quarterly, any three of whom form a Board, and examine into the state of the Schools, and the conduct of the Masters, &c. &c. DRELINCOURTS CHARITY SCHOOL. This School, which is situated in the Town of Armagh, was founded in the year 1732 by the Widow of Dean Drelincourt. The present Income of the School is as follows: 97 10 An Annuity payable by the Marquis of Downshire, and which £. s. d. A profit Rent received for half the School-house, and seven acres 121 710 34 2 6 A profit A profit Rent for a Farm of 5 A. 1R. 18 P. at the rate of four A profit Rent for three acres and seventeen perches, held by And subject to two Annuities of about 71. each, to the Poor of the Parishes of Armagh and Clonfeecle, and Head Rents, which amount altogether to Net Income L. 291 2 2 1 24 1 8 £.267 - 5 The School-house, which was originally built for the accommodation of 40 Boarders, being more than sufficiently spacious for the accommodation of the present number in the School, has been divided into two Tenements, one of which is set as already stated. There are at present seventeen Female Children in the School, who are lodged, clothed and dieted: they are Orphans, or the Children of the Poor in Armagh, and are received at any age between eight and ten, and continue for five years in the Establishment: they are brought up in the ' Established Religion, and taught reading, spelling and needle-works, and to platt straw; and the produce of the sale of their works, is stated to be about 407. per annum: they are apprenticed as Servants, or to Trades, but in general as the former. There is a School-mistress at a Salary of 20l. per annum, and an occasional gratuity of ten pounds; a Master attends three times in the week to teach the Children Accounts; their religious instruction is carefully attended to by the Curate of Armagh, the Rev. Mr. Ball; and altogether this Charity is well and most carefully conducted. MAGHERAFELT SCHOOL There is a School at Magherafelt, founded under the Will of Hugh Rainey Esq. in 1707. The following is the history of this foundation. In the year above mentioned, Hugh Rainey by Will devised his personal property, which amounted to about 4,393. to his Executors, in trust, that they should purchase therewith Lands of Inheritance; the rents thereof to be divided, one inoiety to his nephews and their issue male and female, in strict settlement, and the other moiety, to the support of a Charity School for poor Boys, who were to be fed, clothed, and educated; and he directed that an Act of Parliament should be obtained for the confirmation of his Will, and the regulation of the Charity. His Executors having died without carrying his Will into execution, his nephew Thomas Ash purchased an Estate from the Right honourable Edward Southwell, containing 1,562 acres and upwards, lying near Down Patrick in the county of Down, and for which he paid the sum of 6,545% of which summ 2,481. was borrowed by said Thomas Ash, and secured by mortgage upon the Estate, which then produced the yearly income of 400l. After the purchase of said Estate, 1,8824 more of the Assets of the said Hugh Rainey came into the hands of the Executors, and were applied to the clearing off part of the Mortgage, leaving the Lands still subject to the remainder of the sum of 2,4817. due by Mortgage. It appears, that in the 11th year of George the Second, an Act was passed in the Irish Parliament for the regulation of this Charity, and this Act gave a power to the Executors to make Leases of Lives renewable for ever, of part of these Lands, instead of the existing Leases of thirty-one years, and to take fines from the Tenants, in order to raise a sum sufficient to pay off the remaining incumbrances, and then the Act directs that the sum of 1757. should be a rent-charge upon said Lands, payable for ever to the Lord Primate of Ireland, for the support of the School, in lieu of the moiety of the Rents applicable by the Will of Mr. Rainey to the said Charity, There English Private Foundation. There is a large School-house, built in 1713 by the Executor Thomas Ash, Schools of capable of containing twenty-four Boys, and situated in the Town of Magherafelt. We find that in the year 1713 eight Boys were brought into the School, in the next year eight more, and in the year after, eight more; and for many years Diocese of subsequent to this period, that number of Children were maintained in the Armagh. School. But in consequence of this very But in consequence of this very improvident Act of Parliament, by which a Rent-charge of 1757. per annum was fixed for ever as the Annual Fund for the support of this School, as the value of money decreased, and the necessaries of life increased in price, the number of the Children have from year to year been reduced, so much so, that at present there are but nine Boys in the School. Diocese of There is a School-master at a Salary of twelve guineas per annum, and a Mistress who lives in the School-house, and who is a lineal descendant of the founder, at a Salary of 67. per annum, the sum fixed by Mr. Rainey in his Will. The Children are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic; the Boys are apprenticed to Trades, with a Fee of fifty shillings each, and a new suit of clothes; they are taken into the School without any distinction of religion, but whilst at School are brought up as members of the Established Church. There is no Fund for the repair of the School-house; and a few years ago, it being much out of order, the number of the Children was reduced, in order to accumulate a sufficient sum to put it into good repair, which it is now represented to us to be in. The Accounts of the School seem to be regularly kept. There is no Visitor of the School appointed by the Act of George II. but his Grace the Primate has at different times inspected this School. FEMALE ORPHAN SCHOOL. Circular Road, Dublin. This Establishment was first instituted in the year 1790, in an old house in Prussia-street, in the City of Dublin, by two benevolent ladies, the late Mrs. Edward Tighe, and the late Mrs. Charles Este; the number of Orphans at first was only five, which has been gradually increased to the present number, one hundred and fifty. Two years after the first opening of the Institution in Prussia-street, the sale of the present School-house was fixed on; and a Lease of half an Acre of Land in perpetuity having been obtained from Lord Monk, the present very spacious School-house and Buildings were erected thereon by private Donations and Subscriptions. The Trustees of the Establishment have rented eleven acres of Land adjoining the House, at the price of ten pounds four shilings and nine-pence per acre. The Children received into this Foundation are Female Orphans, between the ages of five and ten years at the time of admission, and destitute of the means of support; they must also be recommended by a Subscriber, and their Orphanism certified by the Minister or Curate, and Churchwardens of their respective Parishes. A Penal Bond is also required to be passed, subjecting some solvent friend of each Child applying for admission, to the payment of 507. in the event of either Parent of the Child received being alive. The Children, who are lodged, dieted, clothed, and instructed, are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, and instructed in the principles of the Christian Religion; they are also taught all sorts of Needle-work, Knitting, and Household work, to qualify them to become useful servants. The only permanent Fund for the support of this most useful and wellconducted Institution, arises from the interest of 5,700l. Government five per cent. Stock, which was an accumulation of Legacies, private Subscriptions, and Donations. Parliament gives an annual Grant of money to this Foundation, the average of which, for the last three years, has been 1,633l. 138. 4d. per annum. |