High Town Ragged School

 

Reverend Thompson became the vicar of St Peter’s Church in 1857. He visited the homes of Cradley people to carry out an initial survey of his parish and found many families in High Town where no one attended church and a common reason given was that they had no suitable clothes. 

 

There was obviously a need to provide education in the poorer, rougher areas of Cradley, not only for children but for men and women as well. Local businessmen and benefactors helped financially with this; men like Noah Hingley, Jeston Homfray, Thomas Crowther, and Thomas Bloomer. The religious principles of the Ragged Schools were non-denominational.
 

Noah Hingley, Jeston Homfray and Thomas Bloomer made arrangements for a school to be built which would belong to the Ragged School.  The new School was eventually opened with a tea and meeting on Friday 29th May 1863. In the same year new records were produced by Rev Tommy Two Sticks that showed a large number of both children and adults in the High Town area of Cradley and who had had no previous affinity to any church were beginning to attend High Town Ragged School

 

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