Episode 55. The Ragged School Movement
SYNOPSIS
The Ragged School Museum, Copperfield Road, Mile End in East London is living evidence of the voluntary provision for destitute children that existed in Victorian London before the advent of state education in 1870.
This particular ragged school was the brainchild of Dr Thomas Barnardo, who arrived in the metropolis from Ireland in 1867 with the intention of training at the London Hospital before going out to China as a medical missionary. Although headed for the East, he got no further than the East End, compelled by the plight of half-starved or abandoned street children to stay and provide both educational facilities and, later, children’s homes.
This episode looks at the development of the Ragged School Movement in London, the largest city in the world at the time, a financial and mercantile centre with extremes of wealth and poverty side-by-side. It explores the reasons for this poverty and the changing landscape of London as some areas rise in affluence while others decline into slums. It also examines the network of wealthy philanthropists or benefactors, including Angela Burdett-Coutts, Charles Dickens, Frederick Charrington and the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, who raised awareness of the plight of the poor, and sometimes competed with each other in their reforming zeal.
GUESTS
Following a distinguished career in the Museum sector, Erica Davies became the Director of the Ragged School Museum, leading it through a period of fundraising and renovation, before re-opening its doors in 2023. William Jacob is a retired Anglican priest, academic and author, whose 2021 book, Religious Vitality in London, takes a fresh look at the Christian networks of social support and philanthropy that attempted to address the many problems that resulted from rapid urbanization.
Further details of the Ragged School Museum can be found at
https://raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk/
Simon’s interview with Erica Davies and William Jacob was recorded at the Ragged School Museum on 27 November 2024.