Translation help please

[CaioResearcher]

Thank you very very much for your offer and help - sincerely appreciated.

 

[Hazel17]

Ok I will do the first section to start with.

If anyone else is offering to do any of the sections could they please post here which section otherwise I will do the rest as I get time. It may take me a while though. 

[Hazel17]

The school was opened at 9 a.m on July 5th 1869, without the books that were ordered and without a blackboard. The first trustees (the Judge John Johnes, Rev Henry Hones Davies, James Jones, Maesglas, David Evans, Maesneuadd, Margaret Evans, Maesyddyntir, Jemima Davies, Tai’r Dre a Daniel Evans, Gwargorof), insisted that this was a non-denominational school but that the Vicar had a right to hold a Sunday School in it. The building was to be used to educate children and adults from the working classes, industrial and the poor. The Bible should be read in the School daily but no-one should be forced to attend any Sunday School or place of worship. The School was controlled by seven people that were to contribute 16 shillings annually towards the school. Building of the school was begun in 1867 on part of a field that is called the Slope of the Town. Parents were expected to pay for their children’s education but the amount that was raised on each child was kept to the wisdom of the headteacher from his knowledge of the financial backgrounds of the family. The children were expected to bring lots of the books themselves or buy some from the headteacher. (Note that in 1882 that back debts of some families that could prove that they couldn’t pay have been deleted. In 1887 a reduction was noted from 3 pence to 1 pence a week for children of the infants, 2 pence for every other standard, with a reduction for paying at the beginning of every quarter.

Following the names of most of the trustees is a place name which I guess is their residence. E.g James Jones of Maesglas.

Edited my post now Pinot. 

I will do the next part tomorrow unless anyone chips in in the meantime.

The first two short paragraphs are just emails safety notices, about attachments etc.

[pinot]

You deserve high praise for your industry, Hazel! If I can butt in only to help, 'a elwir' is 'which is called' (gelwir from galw).
                  Pinot   

[Hazel17]

Of course! As soon as I read your post it clicked. If you fancy taking a section please do so! I had earmarked tomorrow to do some long overdue transcribing for Lancs OPC but I shall try and squeeze some more in.

[Hazel17]

Part 2
The only teacher here at the beginning was the Headteacher. By the autumn Miss Elizabeth Rees came to help to teach sewing. Use was made of  ‘Monitors’ to teach the smallest children and then Pupil teachers unpaid. A female teacher was employed consistently from 1894 onwards. Until December 1871 it was the children that were lighting the fire in the school in the morning. Despite this it was recorded in January 1895 "Children too cold to write".

According to the headteacher’s reports in the log book work at the initial outset was very hard because only two or three didn’t know anything about arithmetic, able to write understandably, read correctly and it wasn’t possible to continue with the work without them coming to understand English. Before the end of two months the headteacher, Mr. Thomas Rees Coles, had to have a holiday in Aberaeron to restore his health. The school was left for a few days in the care of M. John Jones, Dydfadfa who was preparing for going to the Normal College, Bangor. Having been open for almost a year it had a satisfactory report by the inspectors even though the reading wasn’t as good as the writing and the arithmetic. It was noted that a financial receipts books was needed and a ball frame for the school. At the end of the year the headteacher nearly lost his job because he wasn’t attending the Church and he was holding night classes in the winter and this was hindering some to going to the Church’s prayer services and singing practises. Through the advice of the Judge John Johnes, Dolaucothi he kept his job.



Dydfadfa and Dolaucothi are residences. The Normal College was a teacher training college in Bangor, Gwynedd. It is still there on its original site and is now part of the University of Wales, Bangor and the Normal site campus as it is known is mostly used to run degrees and PGCEs for primary teacher training. I know this as I trained there myself.

[Hazel17]

Part 3:
By December 1871 the members of the School Board were John Johnes, Y.H., Dolaucothi; Rev Evan Jones, Crugybar; Rev H. Jones Davies, The Vicarage; Caio; Rev, J, D. Evans, Salem and David Davies, Tycerrig.
The noble families in the area had a significant interest in the school. Mention is made of the contributions of the families Drummond Rhydodin, Lloyds Brunant and Froodvale family but mostly the Johnes family, Dolaucothi. They all called into the school from time to time to look at the children’s work, they gave prizes to the children and arranged an occasional tea for all the children. It was the Vicar that presented a Christmas tree to the school in January 1878 and the room was decorated by the wives of the estates. The Johnes arranged tea and sports events for the children of the school and for the children of other schools in the parish almost annually or to celebrate a family or national occasion. In 1871 the Dolaucothi family arranged for the Dr. Joseph Parry to come to hold a concert to raise money for the school. The number of children on the register varied at the beginning according to the seasons, lots more present over the winter when there wasn’t as much work for the children on the farms, but with the legislation of 1878 the number became more stable. It was recorded in 1896 that 112 children frequented the school but according to the evidence of a past-pupil there were 120 at one point. In 1901 there were 82 children in the school and it was costing £2-11-13/4 to teach each child. A number of reasons for absence besides from illness were recorded – harvest, planting and lifting potatoes, shearing, collecting acorns, collecting bark of the trees, bad weather, beating birds on the Dolaucothi estate and carrying the fishing equipment of Sir James Hills Johnes! The school was closed for some months in 1885 because of the measles and then in 1908 and 1920 because of diptheria and then for a month in 1919 because of the flu. It was necessary to scour the school with disinfectant and burn carbolic candles for a period in 1896 because of scarlet fever. A record was seen of the number of children lost because of illnesses such as croup, diptheria, scarlet fever, apendics, leukaemia, and at least one because of an accident.
Beating birds may not be the right phrase but I have never heard of the word ffusto and the dictionary says thresh or beat. I wonder if it was something to do with looking after the game birds on the estate.

Apendics could be appendicitis but there is a Welsh term for that.

[O1dgobbo]

Hi

On a formal shoot the people with guns line up at some point and the gamekeepers and other helpers beat through the undergrowth and woods to drive the game and birds towards the guns.  You can get paid quite well these days for beating and as it is considered poor form to shoot a beater it's not particularly dangerous.

All the best

Gobbo

[Hazel17]

There was no settled pattern to the school holidays in the beginning. A day off was had on Christmas Day. There was mention of having a day off for new year’s day because the children were going out to collect new year’s gifts (‘Begging’ according to the headteacher). An extensive numbers of days were had when the school was closed for the Service-day in the Church or the Chapel, Penny Reading, concerts, eisteddfod, show, fairs, the Sunday school trip, The White Crow Charitable Society, farm ‘sale?’, Charitable Commissioners, marriage feast, opening of Glanrannell bridge in 1925, consistently a polling station from 1885, parties celebrating national occasions and those of the families of the noble men. In 1891 the school was closed for a day to wash it down for the Music Festival. The custom of closing for the Thanksgiving Service of the Church and Llanbed Show day was continued until the 1970s.
The school was used to hold local societies meetings from the initial outset until today. Concerts were arranged from the gifts of local children in 1875 to collect money to establish a library for the area. The equipment of the ‘Caio Fife and Drum Band’ was kept in the School in order to keep them dry. There was an Orchestra of the Annell also here at one stage. In 1902 eight children got a medal for not missing a day of school for a whole year, but in 1974 Arwel Jenkins was in the school uninterrupted for four years.

His record didn’t last long because Rosina Jones in the follwoing year had been present for five years without missinga day. In the early years of the school an emphasis was placed on teaching arithmetic, raeding and writing English, drawing, singing and sewing for the girls. But by 1893 with Mr Parry here as headteacher mention is found of teaching Algebra and French as well as reference to Sir James Hills Johnes giving a lecture in geography. A little less than the national curriculum today! In 1884 it was recorded that the school had received with joy a copy of “Lambs’ Tales” and “ Robinson Cruisoe”. Lady Hills-Johnes gave a loan of a ‘magic lantern’ to the headteacher to show pictures of a journey across Canada to the children. But surely the boys felt more joy in 1872 when it was succeeded in getting enough patronage to buy a football to play in the yard and in 1882 a gift of two balls was had from Mr Rees from Shrewsbury. In 1896 a reference is found to teaching verses to the infants in Welsh. The use of Welsh only grew by teaching Welsh dramas and recitations. After the visit of one of his Majesty’s inspectors in 1952 recording in Welsh began in the  log book. The first girls to go forward to secondary school were Meirna Davies, Maestwynog and Mabel Bartley Cwmcrych who passed the scholarship to go to the new Intermediate School in Llanymddyfri. A number of references are had to others passing the Scholarship since then either to the College in Llanymddyfri, the College School in Llanbed or Llandeilo and Llanymddyfri grammsr schools. It is noted that other past pupils have been to universities including Thomas Evans and Carys Jones to Cambridge.

I don’t know what Annell would be in relation to the orchestra.
I will have a go at the last bit tomorrow.