The Schoolmistresses Mini-Project

Following on from the very successful Station Masters Project of 2012, the 2013 School Mistresses Project was developed using a similar format and met with a very good response from FACHRS members.

The key questions to be answered by the research into the School Mistresses were: changes within their social status, training received for the role, the provision of school residential accommodation, the effect of marriage, career progression and migration.

The outcomes of this project have been:

The information received on each school mistress has been converted to the pdf format. There is an index so that information on individual school mistresses can be located. More than 100 school mistresses have been studied; much of this research is in a narrative form, and so makes interesting reading as well as good material for anyone wishing to use it as the basis for their own research interests. It is all available within the School Mistress mini project section of our Members' Pages.

Articles were written for the FACHRS Newsletter, one of which "Ellen Fowler: A Scottish School Mistress" by David Rendell, won the Paul Newton Taylor Award in 2014. (The Paul Newton Taylor Award, is an annual award, given to the winner as voted for by members, from a list of eligible articles in the three preceding newsletters).

Some members also went on to research teacher training colleges.

Members have gone on to give talks and have used the School Mistress information as the basis for further research in related topics.

The School Mistress mini project provided the idea for the Governess mini project in 2018, and the concept of doing a Stage 2 for that project of a comparison between the lives of a School Mistress and a Governess.

Brita Wood
School Mistresses Mini Project Co-ordinator
January 2021