| Description | William White (1820 -1900) was teacher of Class I Severn Street for much of his adult life and first President of the Midland Adult School Union, a position he held for 17 years. After his death in 1900, there was discussion about how best to remember him. Those who worked with him in the Adult School movement felt that developing and extending the Adult School movement would be the most appropriate, and so a campaign was developed to attract new members. However, the scholars in Class I Severn Street felt that there should be a tangible and permanent memorial and in September 1903 they approached the Severn Street Council to request that a monument be constructed in his memory. As a result, the William White Memorial School Fund appeal was launched to gather donations for the construction of a school in Windsor Street. Contributions came from Adult School classes across the country, as well as from individual private donors.
An Adult School had already been started in July 1903 in what had been a fish shop on the corner of Heneage Street and Windsor Street. It was a district which William White had taken a close interest in, and for many years he had provided an annual tea for the poor children in the area, and those of St. Mary's Ward which he represented as city councillor. The new school offered adult school classes on a Sunday, a mothers' meeting, a mens' and boys' social club, bible classes and a meeting for worship.
With the donations collected from the William White Memorial School Fund, Severn Street Council purchased the site on which the existing school was located and an additional building was constructed next to it. It was designed by the architects Cossins, Peacock and Bewlay and was named the William White Memorial School, but later became Windsor Street Adult School and Youth Club.
In 1939, Birmingham Corporation issued a Compulsory Purchase Order for the site as part of plans to improve housing in the area. However, it was not until 1948 that adult school and youth club work stopped at Windsor Street School, and the premises was sold to Birmingham Corporation. The proceeds from the sale were transferred to the William White Memorial Charity to be invested and used to support adult school work elsewhere in the Midland Adult School Union.
See:
SF/2/1/1/13/12/1 printed articles and other papers relating to the death of William White in 1900 and his legacy
SF/2/1/1/29/19 for records relating to the William White Memorial Fund Appeal (includes sketch and plan of the proposed building)
MS 703/3/1/5/4 William White Memorial Charity.
See MS 703/1/5/4/1/1 for reports of Windsor Street Adult School. |