Stories of teaching in Stirling
DIGGING INTO THE PAST with Dr Murray Cook
So another new year is upon us… did you catch Auld Staneybreeks jump down for his annual Hogmanay jig?
Whatever you did I hope you had a good time!
January in old Stirling seems to have been when teachers were appointed.
My eldest is studying teaching at the university so I was interested to read that in 1722 the Burgh appointed Mr Magnus Walker to teach boys at the Grammar School (now the Portcullis pub)‘english, writing and arithmetick’for the princely sum of £100 a year.
Money really went a lot further in the past, though teaching was not as well thought off in the 18 th century as it is today (!)
In 1776 Logie school, which was next to the church William Fogo sued over the loss of fees for recording births, deaths and marriages and in 1668, someone retired to be promoted to Town Crier!
However, the plight of women and girls was much worse.
In 1726, the Burgh’s minutes record the appointment of Anna Rennie as a schoolmistress in the grammar school to teach sewing and washing etc (!!) for the much smaller sum of £30 a year.
However, things took a turn for the worse when in 1732 the Burgh decided there were enough schoolmistresses and stopped paying them including Anna…. Gosh!
Of course the grammar school’s role was taken over by the high school (where all three of my daughters have been taught and women are given an equal wage to teach all sorts of things).
This is the third oldest school in Scotland, founded in the 12th century by David I.
If any teachers are joining Stirling’s near 900 year educational journey I wish them the best of luck!