Thursday 7 June 2012

Penygaer School (closed 1959)

I had not realised how close to Login this closed school was - so after having an enquiry decided to add what little information I could find.

Penygaer School Group 1959
(from Efailwen to Whitland Volume 2)

It is also from Efailwen to Whitland Volume 2 that I gleaned the following:

By 1885 Penygaer was one of three schools run by the United School Board of Llanboidy and Llangan - the other two being Whitland and Llanboidy.

Penygaer opened on 5th November 1883 and by the 9th had 23 children on its books.
Apart form the patronage of the Maesgwynne family the school ranked high in the thoughts of Miss Shaw Protheroe, Glyntaf.

Built in a secluded position between Login and Llanboidy the countryside suffered a greater measure of depopulation than most districts.

Government Inspectors reports were on the whole good such as 'an excellent county school' in 1906 and in 1909 'Welsh is interestingly studied'.  In 1912 'quite exceptional' and 'the general tone of the school is admirable'.


Burial Chamber - Gwal y filiast evidently translates as "Lair of the Greyhound Bitch".
 © Copyright Dara Jasumani


In 1919 the pupils visited the cromlech at Glyntaf nearby, a piano was acquired by 1936 and in 1948 a wireless set.  A sale at Glyntaf in October 1948 meant school closure.

Numbers of Pupils
1883 - 23 (9th November)
1892 - 32.4 (average)
1918 - 34.1 (average)
1939 - 38
1950 - 23
1958 - 12 (3rd October)
1959 - (25th March - school closed and pupils were transferred to Llanboidy, Ffynnonwen and Pantycaws).

Head Teachers
John Evans
Rees Thomas
Catherine Ann Harries
Evan J.Davies
John S.Harries
Edward Phillips
John E.Jones
John Jones
W.Rhydderch Evans

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm sure I stayed here in the early seventies on a residential visit from a school in Birmingham. John B.

Ruth Roberts said...

I believe you have the wrong Penygaer School as there is another and larger one of the same name.

Unknown said...

do you happen to have any history on glyntaf residential home I am very interested in finding out the history before it came a care home and do not know any way to find this out??

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Ruth Roberts said...

Hi Kiziah (lovely name) - don't have anything really but there must be quite a bit of history to it. I'll add a post about it and then see what we can find.

Ruth Roberts said...

Hi - finding out a bit now about a Capt Protheroe and his family. Do you have any more to add? I'm adding everything I'm finding to a separate category above.

Anonymous said...

the first poster is correct, in my view. A Birmingham School owned this school from 1969. I went along as a pupil in a sort of 'pinoeer group' - fixing up bunk beds etc...

Ruth Roberts said...

Thanks for your comment - you may well be right.

Anonymous said...

Further to my above comment [the same anonymous here!!]

I have now found a News letter referring to the school. It is dated May 1969. It does describe it as an exciting new project as a 'camp base' and that it had stood empty for ten years. No pictures, sadly. - but it does say it cost them £350 to buy ...

Unknown said...

Happened to be staying in the area so I went at had a look at it (now a private home); definitely the place I stayed all those years ago.

Dog Lady said...

Would Penygaer Old School House refer to the actual school building, or would it be a separate house?

Anonymous said...

Dog Lady - I do not know it personally but would assume it was the same place. But others may know differently.

Anonymous said...

If this is the place bought by the Birmingham school.
The school in question was King's Heath Boys Technical School.
I spent may visits there an have many memories of the place.