Robert Raikes
Encyclopedia
Robert Raikes (14 September 1736 – 5 April 1811) was an English philanthropist
and Anglican layman, noted for his promotion of Sunday school
s. Pre-dating state schooling and by 1831 schooling 1,250,000 children, they are seen as the first schools of the English state school system
.
Raikes was born at Ladybellegate House
, Gloucester
in 1736, the eldest child of Mary Drew and Robert Raikes
, a newspaper publisher. He was baptised on 24 September 1736 at St Mary de Crypt Church
in Gloucester. On 23 December 1767 he married Anne Trigge, with whom he had three sons and seven daughters. Their oldest son Reverend Robert Napier Raikes had a son General Robert Napier Raikes of the Indian Army.
. He inherited a publishing business from his father, becoming proprietor of the Gloucester Journal in 1757.
The movement started with a school for boys in the slums. Raikes had been involved with those incarcerated at the county Poor Law (part of the jail at that time) and saw that vice would be better prevented than cured. He saw schooling as the best intervention. The best available time was Sunday as the boys were often working in the factories the other six days. The best available teachers were lay people
. The textbook was the Bible
, and the originally intended curriculum started with learning to read and then progressed to the catechism
..jpg)
Raikes used the paper to publicise the schools and bore most of the cost in the early years. The movement began in July 1780 in the home of a Mrs Meredith. Only boys attended, and she heard the lessons of the older boys who coached the younger. Later, girls also attended. Within two years, several schools opened in and around Gloucester. He published an account on 3 November 1783 of Sunday schools in his paper, and later word of the work spread through the Gentleman's Magazine, and in 1784, a letter to the Arminian Magazine.
The original schedule for the schools, as written by Raikes was "The children were to come after ten in the morning, and stay till twelve; they were then to go home and return at one; and after reading a lesson, they were to be conducted to Church. After Church, they were to be employed in repeating the catechism till after five, and then dismissed, with an injunction to go home without making a noise."
There were disputes about the movement in the early years. The schools were derisively called "Raikes' Ragged School". Criticisms raised included that it would weaken home-based religious education, that it might be a desecration of the Sabbath, and that Christians should not be employed on the Sabbath. "Sabbatarian disputes" in the 1790s led many Sunday schools to cease their teaching of writing.
By 1831, Sunday schools in Great Britain were teaching weekly 1,250,000 children, approximately 25 percent of the population. As these schools preceded the first state funding of schools for the general public, they are seen as the forerunners of the current English school system
.
For a story-essay on Robert Raikes and his role in starting the Sunday School movement, see Nathaniel Hawthorne's "A Good Man's Miracle."
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and Anglican layman, noted for his promotion of Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
s. Pre-dating state schooling and by 1831 schooling 1,250,000 children, they are seen as the first schools of the English state school system
Education in England
Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Local authorities take responsibility for implementing policy for public education and state schools at a regional level....
.
Raikes was born at Ladybellegate House
Ladybellegate House
Ladybellegate House, 20 Longsmith Street, Gloucester GL1 2HT, is a Grade I listed building with English Heritage, reference number 1245726.-History:The building is a town house built around 1704 for Edward Wagstaffe...
, Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
in 1736, the eldest child of Mary Drew and Robert Raikes
Robert Raikes the Elder
Robert Raikes the Elder was a British printer and newspaper proprietor. He is noted as a pioneer of the press who was instrumental in bringing printing out of London and to the provinces.- Biography :...
, a newspaper publisher. He was baptised on 24 September 1736 at St Mary de Crypt Church
St Mary de Crypt Church
St Mary de Crypt Church, Southgate Street, Gloucester GL1, is an Anglican house of worship, which was first recorded in 1140 as The Church of the Blessed Mary within Southgate. It is in the Diocese of Gloucester and is located adjacent to the ruins of Greyfriars. It has also been known as Christ...
in Gloucester. On 23 December 1767 he married Anne Trigge, with whom he had three sons and seven daughters. Their oldest son Reverend Robert Napier Raikes had a son General Robert Napier Raikes of the Indian Army.
Sunday schools
Robert initiated the Sunday school movementSunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
. He inherited a publishing business from his father, becoming proprietor of the Gloucester Journal in 1757.
The movement started with a school for boys in the slums. Raikes had been involved with those incarcerated at the county Poor Law (part of the jail at that time) and saw that vice would be better prevented than cured. He saw schooling as the best intervention. The best available time was Sunday as the boys were often working in the factories the other six days. The best available teachers were lay people
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
. The textbook was the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, and the originally intended curriculum started with learning to read and then progressed to the catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
.
The original schedule for the schools, as written by Raikes was "The children were to come after ten in the morning, and stay till twelve; they were then to go home and return at one; and after reading a lesson, they were to be conducted to Church. After Church, they were to be employed in repeating the catechism till after five, and then dismissed, with an injunction to go home without making a noise."
There were disputes about the movement in the early years. The schools were derisively called "Raikes' Ragged School". Criticisms raised included that it would weaken home-based religious education, that it might be a desecration of the Sabbath, and that Christians should not be employed on the Sabbath. "Sabbatarian disputes" in the 1790s led many Sunday schools to cease their teaching of writing.
By 1831, Sunday schools in Great Britain were teaching weekly 1,250,000 children, approximately 25 percent of the population. As these schools preceded the first state funding of schools for the general public, they are seen as the forerunners of the current English school system
Education in England
Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Local authorities take responsibility for implementing policy for public education and state schools at a regional level....
.
For a story-essay on Robert Raikes and his role in starting the Sunday School movement, see Nathaniel Hawthorne's "A Good Man's Miracle."
Further reading
- Rogers, M. Ladybellegate HouseLadybellegate HouseLadybellegate House, 20 Longsmith Street, Gloucester GL1 2HT, is a Grade I listed building with English Heritage, reference number 1245726.-History:The building is a town house built around 1704 for Edward Wagstaffe...
, Gloucester and Robert Raikes. Gloucester: Gloucestershire Record Office, 1975.