The Ragged School Museum in London offers a glimpse into the free educational institutions for poor children in Victorian times. Visitors can experience a recreated classroom and learn about the lower levels of Victorian society. The museum also provides information on the school’s founder, Dr. Thomas Bernardo, and the history of ragged schools in the country. The museum closed in 1908 but was saved from destruction and turned into a museum in 1990.
A ragged school in Victorian times was a free educational institution for children of the “ragged classes”, the poor who could not afford to give their children an education in a private school. The Ragged School Museum in London offers visitors the opportunity to experience the school day as children did in the 1800s, complete with a costumed teacher, inkwells and blackboards. The museum on Copperfield Road was once the largest of the city’s ragged schools, and its students included both girls and boys. Today, a classroom in the Ragged School Museum has been faithfully recreated to offer a realistic Victorian experience.
In a separate section of the museum from the schoolroom is a social history museum relating to the lower levels of Victorian society. A recreated kitchen is on display and there is much information on the history of the East End area where the Ragged School Museum is located. The information includes bits about society, religion, factories and docks.
The Ragged School Museum also features information about the school’s inception and its founder, Dr. Thomas Bernardo. Born in Ireland, he studied medicine in London with the intention of becoming a missionary in China. His plans were derailed when he saw the dire need of London’s children. Dr. Bernardo also founded dozens of orphanages in the city.
There were many ragged schools and they often provided meals as well as education. Sometimes they even had room for students to sleep comfortably in cold weather. These schools were born out of the charity work of a cobbler, John Pounds, who dedicated his time to giving free lessons to children. Another man, Thomas Guthrie, founded a formal school based on John Pounds’ belief in education for the poor. Over time there have been more than 300 ragged schools established in the country.
The Ragged School Museum closed its doors to students in 1908, in part because a number of government-run schools began to fill the educational need in the East End. Prior to their educational use, the three buildings belonging to the school had been warehouses . The Ragged School Museum Trust saved them from destruction and created the unique museum in 1990.
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