| Description | Arithmetic exercise book of an unamed pupil at Bubnell Hall Girls School, Baslow. The book has a title page which reads "Miss S Moore, Miss Wilkinson's, Bubnell Hall, June 2nd 1845." There is a small note taped to the inside cover which reads "Mr Jno. T. Moore, Engineer, Maywood, near Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, North America." |
| Administrative History | Bubnell Hall, built in the late 1600s, is still the largest and most ornate house in the village [of Baslow]. It originally belonged to the Gardoms, a prominent local family. In the late 1700s it was divided into two, part was occupied by a gentleman farmer who was related to the family, the other smaller part was kept by the family. In the early 1800s the second part became vacant and was in due course let to tenants. No records appear until the 1841 census when it was a girls boarding school run by the two Wilkinson sisters, both spinsters. They left in the 1850s but it remained a girl's school. The new owners, three sisters called Caines, also spinsters, ran it until it closed in 1898.
Many of the pupils were listed in the census returns. There were only 3 in 1841 and 10 in 1851 rising to a maximum (on census night) of 16 in 1871. Most were in their early teens. The youngest was aged 6 years and the oldest 18. Most were born 20 to 30 miles away. Once girl in 1871 was born in Savannah, U.S.A.
Miss S Moore who created the maths book dated 1845 also came from the U.S.A where her father was an engineer living near Chicago. Like many others she is not recorded in a census and her age is not known. - Information supplied by local historian and contact of donor, May 2025. |
| Custodial History | This volume was donated by a private individual. The volume was found in the possessions of the donor's parents but had no information as to how they had obtained it. |