The period from 1900 to 1914 was one of change and tension for British Sunday schools. There was a feeling of unease among the churches. As Hugh McLeod suggested, ‘signs of impending crisis had been building for many years. But until recently they had often been mixed with other more hopeful signs. In the years immediately before the First World War, however, it seemed that all the religious indices were pointing in the same downward direction’.

Milestones in social policy such as the Education Act (1902), the Children and Young Persons Act (1908), the Old Age Pension Act (1908), and the National Insurance Act (1911) were part of the foundation of the welfare state. Gradually the state supplied what had traditionally been provided by the churches and their various agencies. The passing of these Acts caused some Nonconformists and schools to feel uncertain about the role they would play in society.

There was a boom in commercial leisure during this time, which was brought about by increasing living standards and decreasing work hours. It was felt by some in the churches that Sundays were a shadow of their former selves. Under these changing and challenging circumstances the schools sought to adapt to these conditions in order to provide the religious training they felt their members required. As we will see during this chapter, despite the changing role of the churches within society, Sunday schools were highly regarded by important local and national figures. They were still a prominent institution in British society, were celebrated in local life, and were even used in plot lines in popular works of literature.

Nevertheless, the history and experiences of the schools during this period are largely under-researched by historians. As discussed in the Introduction, historians of religion have largely taken the opinions of churchmen at face value. The thoughts and experiences of those who were directly involved in the work of the schools have not been considered. Therefore, this chapter will explore the experiences of those who worked at and attended the schools to assess fully the extent to which the image of the ill-organised, ill-disciplined, and inefficient Sunday school is true.

Sunday Schools and Society

Sunday schools were widely attended in the first half of the twentieth century. Thomas Laqueur estimated that there were approximately 5,952,431 children enrolled in schools in 1901, 6,178,827 in 1906, and 6,129,496 in 1911.