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The Royal Masonic School for Girls is an independent school in Rickmansworth, England, with both day and boarding pupils. The school was instituted in 1788, with the aim of maintaining the daughters of indigent Freemasons, unable through death, illness, or incapacitation to support their families. Today, the school accepts the children of both masons and non-masons. It began in 1789 with fifteen pupils and a Matron in Somers Town, St Pancras, Middlesex. During its history, the school has moved between premises three times, twice within London and finally in 1934 to Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, where it still is today. The school occupies a 316 acre site in Rickmansworth Park. It is a day school for girls 4-18, a boarding school for girls 7-18 and since 2009 also a nursery opened in 2009 for boys and girls aged 2–4. ==In the beginning== In 1788, Bartholomew Ruspini and nine fellow Freemasons met to discuss plans for establishing a charitable institution for the daughters of Masons who had fallen on hard times or whose death had meant hardship for their families. On 14 May 1788, a committee met at the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street to thrash out the details of the proposed institution. An advertisement for the position of Matron was put in the papers, and the committee set about finding suitable premises from which their charity could operate. The house at Somers Place East in Somers Town was a suggestion from Dr de Valangin, and was taken in October at a rent of £35 per annum to house 15 children. The property has since disappeared but was between the present day Euston and St Pancras stations, near where the British Library is today. The original advertisement for the Matron read as follows:
Twenty replies were received, of which five were shortlisted. The decision was arrived at by means of ballot, and Mrs Ann Le Clerc was duly elected. She is referred to in the minutes of the meeting as a governess, and her address is given as 11 Wells Street, Marylebone. The term "Mrs" was used for single and married women alike, so it is unknown as to whether she was married or not. On 5 January 1789, the children met at Ruspini's house and walked in procession to the house. The ceremonial procession was reported in the ''Morning Post'' (later to become absorbed by the ''Daily Telegraph'') and the ''Daily Advertiser'' on Saturday 10 January. The names of the children were listed with their birth and baptismal records. * Harriet Ann Vinet—17/04/1782 * Sarah Jane Sitgraves—23/01/1780 * Ann Kane—27/11/1780 * Margaret Burgess—08/08/1781 * Catherine Charlotte Baes—12/07/1783 * Sophia Riches—14/04/1780 * Mary Ann Ruscoe—16/07/1780 * Mary Ann Fiske—16/10/1782 * Frances Sansum—25/12/1780 * Sheila Proctor—20/01/1779 * Mary Ann Wolveridge—05/11/1779 * Charlotte Richardson—01/04/1781 * Sophia Kewney—29/01/1780 * Ann Martin—17/07/1781 * Elizabeth Lowe—21/08/1782 Of the fifteen, Charlotte Richardson was removed from the school by her parents within a couple of months. She was replaced by Charlotte Hatton. Also, Mary Bagley had petitioned for a place at the school but had been rejected, having been found to be too old. The governors, however, decided to keep her on as an assistant servant, getting maintenance, clothing, and her education in return. Although called a school, the institution was not what we might call a school until the mid-nineteenth century. In its early stages, it was more of an orphanage, although many of the girls had at least one parent living. At the end of their school life, girls were either returned to their family or supporters (known as Friends) or apprenticed and supported until they could establish themselves. The children could be from any part of the United Kingdom and had to be between the ages of six and nine. They had to be the daughters of freemasons and were required to be in good health, having already had smallpox or cowpox and "be free from infirmity of deformity." It is known, however, that Frances Sansum from the first fifteen had only one leg. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Royal Masonic School」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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