30Sep1878, A Visit to Saltaire

MILNER FIELD, September 30th–October 6th, 1878.
—Next day, in spite of pitiless rain, Titus took us and Ld. Carnavon over the magnificent Saltaire schools. I never dreamt of anything on such a scale. He is especially proud of the Board Schools, which consist of Kindergarten and a great Mixed School; both departments ruled by women, without pupil-teachers, the plan being the class-room one throughout. The big central hall is only used for the religious lesson and for drilling, marching, and games. Of course there is an Admirable Crichton of a Head Mistress of each school, on whom the whole thing depends, and who has the fullest possible freedom of action and control, She had mighty difficulty at first in getting the rough factory boys into order; but now the beautiful gentleness, discipline, and tone strikes one at once, and the happy faces. The recitals of poetry, even by the infants, a miracle of refinement and intelligence. The scrap of Kindergarten teaching which was all we had time for delighted me.