No country in the known world abounds so much in charitable institutions, and endowments for those purposes, as Great Britain; and no particular place for its extent, can vie with or compare to London, for the number and variety of its establishments of this description. A stranger can neither enter nor depart out of the capital, by any road, but his eye is attracted by some humane establishment or other. Almshouses, Hospitals, and Public Schools present themselves in every direction; and the means of education for the poorer classes of late vears have so much increased throughout the country, that there is not a village but has an establishment for this truly laudable end.[*]  Among the earlier promoters of these beneficial plans, was Mr. Ralph Davenant, Rector of St. Mary, Whitechapel, who towards the end of the reign of King Charles the , founded a Free School, for the poor children of that parish to be taught gratis; but wanting a sufficient endowment to carry it into proper effect, it was upwards of years after the death of the original founder, considerably enriched by a donation of ; as was expressed by an inscription on the gallery in the church west, where the children then used to sit, viz.

"Anno . A worthy benefactor, unknown, gave towards the maintenance of the poor children educated at the School House of Whitechappel Town's End: erected and built at the proper cost and charges of Mr. Ralph Davenant, late Rector of this parish: which purchased a year at East Tilbury, in the County of Essex: being chiefly managed and compleated by the care and industry of

Mr. RICHARD WELTON, Rector.

The name of the noble-minded person who gave this , ever remained unknown; but it was conjectured to have been a lady, who, going out of town, saw the school, and was informed of the great number of poor people, inhabitants of this parish, not able to give their children education.

The following are the particulars of this building and its original endowment.

These Schools (for there are of them) are situated on the north side of what is now called the Roadside, Whitechapel, adjoining to the Workhouse, a plain, modern, extensive, and commodious erection; and were founded A. D. , by indenture tripartite "between Ralph Davenant, Clerk, Rector of the parish church of St. Mary Matfellon, alias Whitechapel, in the County of Middlesex; and Mary, his wife, relict of William Vesey, Clerk, deceased; and of the daughters and coheirs of John Johnson, Doctor in Divinity, late Rector of the parish, of the part: —and Henry Gullifer, Citizen and Dyer of London, and Sarah his wife, other of the daughters and coheirs of the said John Johnson, of the part;" and trustees, whose names are mentioned in the indenture, but who need not to be here named, "on the part:" and endowed the for boys, by the aforesaid Ralph Davenant and Mary his wife, with portion of an estate in Essex, commonly called Sandon Park; the other for girls, endowed by the aforesaid Henry Gullifer and Sarah his wife, with other portion of the above-mentioned estate; and the uses are as follow:

, the Boys' School.—"Towards the finding and keeping in the parish of St. Mary Matfellon, alias Whitechapel, from time to time for ever, after the decease of the said Ralph Davenant and Mary his wife, Schoolmaster, who shall be a man of sober life and conversation, and in full Communion with the Church of England, and chosen by the Trustees for the time being, in a School, to be provided for him by the said Ralph Davenant, or otherwise out of the rents and profits of the same; for the teaching of boys, born in the said parish of St. Mary, Whitechapel, to be from time to time chosen by the said Trustees: and the said Trustees shall pay such Schoolmaster all the clear rents and profits of the same; part to be paid half-yearly: in consideration of which payment, and of his dwelling in the School-house, he shall carefully and according to the direction of the Trustees, teach the aforesaid boys to read English, and to write and cypher; and that he be especially obliged to teach them the Catechism of the Church of England, and to instruct them in the principles of Christianity; and this he shall be bound to do without taking any other reward, directly or indirectly, for teaching the said poor children; neither shall he teach any more than the said boys, except he do maintain an usher at his own charges, without neglecting the boys of the Foundation, and withal he shall not admit above scholars more in any case."

Uses of the Girls' School.—", That out of the clear rents and profits of the said part, per annum shall be paid and applied for and towards the finding and keeping a skilful woman of the Church of England, to be chosen by the Trustees, to teach in a School to be provided for her by the said Ralph Davenant, or otherwise, out of the rents and profits of the same part, poor girls born in the said parish, to be chosen by the said Trustees; in consideration of which per annum, and of her dwelling iu the School-house, she shall carefully and according to the direction of the Trustees, teach the aforesaid poor girls part of the day to read, and learn, without book, the Catechism of the Church of England; and the other part of the day to knit and sew plain work, and to do any other work which the Trustees shall think needful for them to learn; and this she shall be bound to do without taking any reward, directly or indirectly, for the teaching of the said poor children, except she shall find them materials to work upon; and then, and in such case, she shall have the benefit of the work which the girls shall do, or

The above uses have been copied verbatim from schedules annexed to the indenture; and have been kindly furnished by the present Rector of Whitechapel, the Rev. Daniell Mathias, to whom the publisher is further indebted for the following particulars:

The Rev. Ralph Davenant, D.D. by his will, which is dated A. D. , appears to have made ample provision for the erection of these Schools, which he therein says, that he "had intended building in his lifetime." And it hence appears, that he was a member of Trinity Hall, Cambridge; and he leaves "to the Master, Fellows, and Scholars, , to be laid out in books for the library."

It appears likewise, that he was a native of Gillingham, in Dorsetshire, to the poor of which parish he leaves , to be distributed after his demise; and also " to the Bishop of Exeter, to be distributed by him amongst such of the poor clergy, and their widows and children, in his diocese, as he shall think most meet, and do deserve this charity."

The estate at Sandon seems to have been the marriage-portion of the daughters and coheirs of the Rev. John Johnson, viz. Mary, the wife of Ralph Davenant, and Sarah, the wife of Henry Gullifer (these died without issue), and Judith Rachel, the wife of Davant Jenkinson. This Judith had issue, and to them the portion of the estate descended.

In , the portions of this estate, with which these Schools had been endowed, were separated from the remainder by Act of Parliament, and now form entire farm, producing an income of per annum.

It might be thought that the effigy in front of these Schools, with its canonical decorations, was a representation of their venerable and pious Founder. But Fronte nulla fides. The fact is, it was met with and purchased some years ago (the representation of whom no can say), by Samuel Hawkins, Esq. then Treasurer to these Schools, and placed by him in the niche hitherto unoccupied, to ornament the building, and to attract the eyes of the beholders.

In the year an unknown benefactor purchased an estate at East Tilbury for , and gave it in aid of these Schools, recommending at the time, if the funds would allow of it, that clothing might be added to education. The name of this liberal benefactor has never been divulged.

Since this period many and munificent have been the benefactions to these Schools: so that at present their permanent income from funded and landed property is not much less than per annum. boys and girls are now taught, clothed and apprenticed (when apprenticing fees began to be given does not appear), in these Schools. The children chosen are, agreeable to the foundation deed, the poor born in the parish. They are elected without the least favouritism, according to priority of application, at the age of years, and are apprenticed out at ; care always being had, that their masters and mistresses be of useful trades, good characters, and members of the established church.

Perhaps it may be right here to mention a wise and liberal bequest lately made to these Schools, in the very spirit and design of the original Foundation. Luke Flood, Esq. late Treasurer, leaves consols; the interest to accumulate for years, and then to be divided annually amongst such boys as shall have completed the term of their apprenticeship, and shall produce testimonials from their masters, that they have served them faithfully, and from some minister of the established church, that they have attended divine service regularly.

It is but an act of justice to the Trustees, to whom the management of these Schools has been from time to time committed, here to state, that there no where appears ever to have been any misapplication of the funds. No alterations have been made but for the better. There have been an augmentation of the funds, an augmentation of the numbers educated, an augmentation of advantages to the children, an augmentation of the master and mistress's salaries, and consequently, an augmentation of the means of doing good.

Independent of local benefits, these Schools (under divine Providence) have been the instrument of giving much good to the nation at large. In them Dr. Bell introduced and practised his system of education. When this system was much sought after, it was here found in great perfection. Hence very many schools throughout the kingdom derived a knowledge of this efficacious mode: and before the formation of the Central , this was, perhaps, the only place whence teachers, properly qualified, could be had.

The Schools, having stood nearly a century and a half, were lately taken down, and a very handsome and more commodious building erected on their site; the cost of which had long been providing and provided for by the several benefactions, given expressly for this purpose.

The accompanying view of these Schools is a faithful representation of the place as originally built, with the entrance and walled Court-yard, showing the passage through the building to the garden or outward grounds. The niche in the centre evidently designates the use for which it was intended; and but for the information of the Reverend Gentleman who favoured us with the foregoing particulars, we should have been induced to think the effigy coeval in antiquity with the niche, and that the was constructed to supply the deficiency of the other; and convey to posterity the physiognomy and costume of the pious and worthy Rector, Ralph Davenant, the munificent founder.

The entablatures under the view of the Schools are given from the originals placed in front of the old building; but now rendered useless to preserve, from the considerable augmentation the Charity has received subsequent to their being set up.

The Inscription cut in stone, and placed in an arched recess over the entrance to the new edifice, which is built in a line with the workhouse, is as under:

BUILT AND ENDOWED A. D.

1680

.

FOR EDUCATING, CLOTHING, AND

APPRENTICING

THIRTY

BOYS

AND

THIRTY

GIRLS, BY

THE REVEREND RALPH DAVENANT,

RECTOR OF THIS PARISH.

REBUILT A. D.

1818

.

FOR EDUCATING, CLOTHING, AND

APPRENTICING

ONE HUNDRED

BOYS, AND

ONE HUNDRED

GIRLS,

BY THE BENEFACTIONS AND LEGACIES

OF SEVERAL PIOUS INDIVIDUALS,

INHABITANTS OF THIS PARISH.

[*] His present Majesty George III. is well known to have greatly encouraged and patronized every plan for educating and bettering the condition of the poor; and on one occasion was heard to say, he hoped the time was not far distant, when every person of suitable years, throughout the kingdom, would be able to read his Bible.