These are school rooms belonging to the Collegiate Church, erected in Craddocks Walk, (later St Peters Walk) which led from the Churchyard, and ran down in between – at this time in the picture – the Retail Market Hall and the open patch and ended in North Street.
The Schools attached to St Peters Church, were erected in 1847, at a cost of upwards of £1,500.
There were many National Schools of similar design which went up during the 1840s, in Wolverhampton. ( St Pauls, St Marks, St Matthews etc) where instruction was offered to children for small weekly payments, and some these schools were rigidly divided into separate buildings – for boys, girls and infants.
St Peters school remained on this spot until being taken down in 1903, when the site was acquired by the town and became an extension to the open market Place.
The School was then re-built in St Peters Square at the rear of the Deanery, just 100 yards or so from the newly erected Wholesale Market, were it would remain for a further 70 years, until this site became part of the University.
St Peters School now stands, off the Compton Road.
Sorry John, I didn’t have any post war photos of St Peters boys, but I have a section of the school photo dated 1936.
They say every picture tells a story.
Every time I happen to look at this nostalgic print I think about the school leavers during that summer of 1936.
What future had they got to look forward to I shouldn’t think there were a great many in those days worried about getting a place at University, and jobs of any description were in short supply. But as these lads approached their 18th birthdays in just four short years there would be plenty to occupy their minds and bodies we would be at war with Germany; the country that in the summer of 36 (as they left school) had hosted the Olympic games.
I think about the lads that survived this war spending their time in the many factories on war production and on the land. Then I wonder about the many others who may have gone overseas an endured the likes of Arnhem and Normandy, and mostly I feel for the ones who never returned.
Hello,
I am very interested in the 2 old pupils of St Peter’s school.
Alfred Harold Jones DOB 1889.
Frederick Jones DOB 1890.
I’m not sure they attended, but would be interested in the records please?
Paul V Jones
Wirral
Hi
Does anyone know which school the Catholic Irish children from Carribee Island and Stafford Street might have gone to between abt 1835 to 1865?
Many thanks
Hello
I think my father is in the 1936 picture. He was in the school at this time (being born in 1921). Where did you get this picture from please?…is there any other years or names? Thanks Andrew
I was at st peters between 1960 -65. I was in Gwinnett house. I remember the grave stoning when you first started at the school, terrified is not the word. But with that done and dusted we had to put up with the staff, now I laugh, but not then. Headmaster, ” snosh ” Mr,Storer, deputy head ” clanky ,” Mr Clinton. Boxing teacher, Mr Bellamy, PE and English teacher” coughdrop” Mr Manning, History teacher,the mad Welsh man” Willie,” Mr Price, English literature,” jock ” Mr Coleman, Biology teacher,”nappy rash” Mr Napier, Metalwork Mr Hale, Woodwork ” Johnny chump” Mr Armstrong , Religious education Mr Ibbs, a truly awful man who enjoyed canning boys, with “Toby” his cane. Can anyone add to this are you still around Phil Brown.
I was in leverson house form master mr mannering , lost count of cannings Ibbs and wee willy price caned the whole class of 48
I too attended St. Peters Boys School between 1951 to 1955. Mander House. Willy Price, a name to put the fear of God into young boys. In my second year, Willy Price had completely new desks and chairs in his class room. Some misguided fool, probably my Father, had given me a Diana air pistol and I took it to school. Sitting at my brand new desk waiting for Willy to make an appearance I unintentionally shot a sliver of wood out of my brand new desk. Nothing was said until the following morning when I was called out in assembly by the Head, Mr. Jackson who passed me over to his deputy, Clanky Clinton, who carried out my punishment, six of the best. They used the bad Cop, good Cop, system of punishment. Later that day in history, Willy told me I had received my punishment but he would have his revenge. At the end of the lesson he would roam the room asking questions on the lesson he had just given, a wrong answer meant you carried on sitting but held your hand out for one across the palm of your hand. Over the next three years I answered every question correctly until the last day when he pulled a question out of the air I couldn’t answer. “Come out here, Nabbs. Bend over.” He too bent over, looked me in the eye, smiling and said, “You know what this is for, don’t you?”
“Yes Sir.” I had to smile, after three years he got me.
The cane was used liberally, a different age, we accepted it because we had done wrong. Did it ruin our lives? I don’t think so.
Our Form Master when I started was a grey haired gent, Mr. Swift. On our first lesson, he explained who he was, that he would be teaching us English, waffled on about homework, then dismissed us. The following morning his first command was to ask us to bring our homework to his desk. Out of a class of about 33, I think 5 handed in written homework. The rest of us hadn’t grabbed what he was saying. He caned, one stroke, on the hand, of every one of us who hadn’t prepared home work. On the last day at St. Peters, our final English lesson, he stood up, looked at us and said,
“Gentlemen, do you remember your second lesson, when I caned nearly all of you, for not paying attention to me?”
We all dutifully said, “Yes Sir.”
He replied, “You never failed to pay attention again, did you?”
“No Sir.” We had learned our lesson.
Hello
I think my father is in the 1936 picture. He was in the school at this time (being born in 1921). Where did you get this picture from please?…is there any other years or names? Thanks Andrew
I attended St Peters between 1961 to1965 I remember all the the teachers mentioned above I also was in Gwennet house I think we had the weakest of the houses if you didn’t fit a certain criteria like good at sport or other fisical sports you ended up in Gwinnet.
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