Children & Education

Objects connected to childhood are generally less common then might be expected in the archaeological record, principally because most of them were perishable or fragile. A few items from the Roman, Medieval and early modern periods at Exeter are probably children’s toys and others reflect games, whether by children or adults. Children’s clothing is occasionally recognisable, notably their shoes. The more tragic side of children’s lives in early societies - the high level of infant mortality - is evident in Roman, Medieval and early modern burials in the city. Early evidence of children’s education may include the drawings on slate from a Medieval pit and more certainly the early Tudor hornbook.

Of later date the museum holds a number of architectural fragments relating to the Grammar School in the High Street, including the impressive doors of the 1590s and portions of the very high-quality fittings of the mid 18th century. Two local student’s ledgers of the early 18th century are held by the museum, reflecting the elegant writing and complicated calculations expected of a student of the day.

The end of the 18th century and the early 19th saw the popularity of a new kind of school - the private academy, where teaching would normally take place in a private house. The museum holds a delightful series of Georgian silver school medals awarded in such academies, as well as the later medals issued by Victorian schools in the city.

From the Victorian period, the museum collections reflect the emergence of much more widespread children’s education, the development of education for working people and the growth of Sunday schools. The collections also hold a number of twentieth-century school uniforms which can be consulted by prior arrangement with the museum.