Maestir Schoolroom - St Fagans, Cardiff, Wales. - One-Room Schoolhouses on Waymarking.com

"Built in the hamlet of Maestir, some 2 miles west of Lampeter, the school was originally called St Mary's Board School. This name was taken by the school from the church of St Mary's where the first school had been held until a new building was erected in 1880. Most of the families that lived near Maestir were in the employment of the nearby Falcondale estate, and the school was built by Sir Charles Harford, squire of Falcondale, primarily for his workers' children.

Approximately 36 pupils between the ages of 5 and 14 attended the school in 1900 and there was a single teacher in overall charge. A pupil-teacher (usually the brightest senior girl) was given the task of teaching the infants and most pupils spoke Welsh as their first language although lessons were taught through the medium of English. Contrary to popular belief, by 1905, the pupils at Maestir were taught half an hour of Welsh a week with the infamous ‘three Rs' (reading (w)riting and (a)rithmetic) as the main subjects.

In 1916 the school was closed due to falling pupil numbers and Cardigan County Council converted the building into a dwelling by subdividing the classroom to form 3 separate rooms. In 1981, the Historic Building team from the then named Welsh Folk Museum arrived at Maestir to measure, photograph and dismantle the building. Using the original materials, fittings and fixtures and the old school oven that had been used by a local farmer to prop up a sagging dry-stone wall, Maestir was re-erected, painted its distinctive green and opened at the Museum in 1984. Since then, it is estimated that millions of visitors have visited Maestir including tens of thousands of children that have gone back in time to experience life as rural children in west Wales at the beginning of the last century."

Source:-
(visit link)

Original or Re-creation?: Re-located Original Year the school first opened.: 01/01/1880 Year the school closed.: 01/01/1916 Is the schoolhouse still open as a school?: no Address: National History Museum of Wales St Marys Board School St Fagans, Cardiff Wales Web Address (if available): [Web Link] Does the school offer 19th century classroom reenactments or day camps?: no

Visit Instructions:
You must post a photo with your detailed description of your visit.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   07/09/2013 Djstevi.&.BlackWidow visited it 04/06/2012 veritas vita visited it

View all visits/logs