XL JUNE 27, 1903.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
503
stand-up collar of red. There was a double
row of ordinary flat brass buttons down the
front, altogether useless except as ornament ;
drab vest; corduroy knee-breeches, which
afterwards gave place to trousers of the same
material ; grey worsted stockings, with low
shoes having buckles upon them ; and clerical
bands round the neck. The girls' dress
would appear to have been what may be
designated as the ordinary charity-school
costume : mob cap, white back and front
tippet, white aprons, low shoes, and grey
stockings, the frock being made of a drab
material. The boys, and doubtless the girls,
had two suits, one for every-day wear, the
other being reserved for Sundays and
special occasions. Upon the breasts of the
boys were metal or brass badges (as stated
in the report already quoted from), that on
the weekday garment being circular, merely
having the child's school number upon it;
but that on the Sunday coat was on a some-
what more elaborate scale, being of an oval
shape, and having a representation of the
Broadway or New Chapel, surrounded by the
words " Westminster New Charity School."
I have a copy of this engraving. It is a
very crude affair, and cannot be reproduced
in these columns. The boys also appear to
have been provided with a "cheese-plate"
cap, just large enough to cover the crown
of the head, it being ornamented with red
strings ; but this article was very rarely
worn. The head boy had a special silver
badge in the form of a small inkstand with
two quill pens, while the principal girl was
decorated by a silver medal, both these orna-
ments being suspended round the neck from
a bright crimson ribbon. They attended the
New Chapel on Sundays and on almost all
the saints' days, and sat in the west gallery,
the front being embellished with the legend
"Westminster New Charity School. Sup-
ported by Voluntary Contributions."
My informant distinctly stated that there was no endowment, and he remembered that after he left the clothes were stopped, and in a year or two a removal was made to Gar- dener's Lane (now Palmer Street), York Street, to a spot very near to where the schools of Christ Church, now a portion of Caxton Hall, still stand. His recollection of the master at that time was not a kindly one, as he designated him as a " great brute to the boys," and further stated that "his ignorance was very frequently displayed. One of the tasks of the boys was to write all the circulars to the governors and subscribers, informing them when the subscriptions be- came due, those persons being almost wholly
tradesmen in the immediate neighbourhood
Steel pens were hardly in use at that time, so
the scholars had to make and mend quill
pens for all their work. Their principal
playground was under the entrance to Cooper
Street, locally known as Cooper's Arch, a
thoroughfare leading then from Dacre Street
into Orchard Street, across what is now
Victoria Street, a little further west than the
Victoria Mansions Restaurant. The children
used to attend St. Paul's Cathedral on the
occasion of the Charity School Festival,
walking through the streets, headed by Mr.
Crow, one of the parish beadles, resplendent
in gold-laced coat and cocked hat. We may
presume that this important functionary
carried one of the interesting massive silver-
headed staves belonging to St. Margaret's
parish, which may be seen in their places
in the church on Sundays and other stated
holy days. The children on this day first
donned their new clothes. A special hymn-
book was used at that time in the Broadway
Chapel, the copy of the title-page being as
follows :
" Psalms | for | Public Worship, | Original and Selected. | By the | Rev. George Mutter, A.M., | Rector of Chilleuden, Kent, | and Minister of Broadway Church, Westminster. | Speaking to yourselves in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs, | Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Ephes. v. 19. | London, | 1829." On the back of the title-page was " London, | Printed for Richard Watts, I Crown Court Temple Bar."
My informant, Mr. Barefoot, who has been dead some years, stated that in his time there were twenty-five boys and twenty-five girls being clothed and educated, and in addition about twenty boys and twenty girls being educated only, to whom the clothing was given as vacancies arose. It is really a very strange fact that a school which in its time must have played a no inconsiderable part in Westminster life should have, in a little over half a century (for it closed about 1846), nearly faded from memory ; and this is all the more surprising as there must be in all probability some men and women now in our midst who received their early training out of its funds, and who ought to have been uhe first to see that its existence was not forgotten. None of the histories or memorials dealing with Westminster have mentioned this little charity ; one and all seem to have overlooked it and passed it by. In conse- quence of this the difficulties of now finding out the facts of the case are much intensified, but perhaps it is hardly to be expected that school boys and girls would trouble their leads with such matters, and early facts
