I, Thomas Ralph Musselwhite, of West Mersea in
the County of Essex Clerk in Holy Orders under the
Authority of the 5th me paid [?] I grant and convey
unto the Minster [sic] and Churchwardens for the time -
being of the said Parish of West Mersea aforesaid
All that piece of Freehold land situate in West Mersea
a aforesaid contain in depth at the east end thereof
sixty feet or thereabouts and at the west end thereof
eighty feet or thereabouts and in length on the North
and South sides thereof One hundred and fifty five
feet or thereabouts abutting on the South & East by
property of mine on the North by the road leading
down to the church of West Mersea aforesaid and on
the west by Property of Henry John May which said p
remises are delineated in the Map drawn in the
premises To hold the same unto and
to the use of the said Minster and Church-
wardens and the successors for the purposes of the
said acts and upon trust to permit the said
premises and all buildings thereon erected to be
erected to be forever hereafter appropriated and used
as and for a school for the education of Children
and adult or Children only of the labouring
manufacturing and other poorer classes in the
Parish of West Mersea aforesaid and for no other
purposes And it is hereby declared that
such school shall always be in union with & con-
ducted according to the principles and
in furtherance of the ends and designs of the National
Society for promoting the education of the Poor in the
principle of the established Church throughout

England & Wales and subject to an in conformity with
the declaration aforesaid such school and prem-
ises and the funds and endowments thereof
in respect whereof no other dispossition shall be
made by the donor shall be controlled and
managed in manner following that is to say
The principal Officiating Minster
for the time being of the said Parish shall have
the superintendence of the religious and moral
instruction of all the Scholars attending such
school subject to the provisions hereinafter
[ deleted text ]
contained and may use or direct the prem-
ises to be used for the purposes of a Sunday School
under the exclusive control and management but
in all other respects the control and management of
such school & premises and of the funds and
endowments thereof and the selection appoint-
ment and dismissal of the Schoolmaster &
Schoolmistress and their assistants except when
under the provisions hereinafter mention the
dismissal of any Master, Mistress or assistant
shall be awarded by the Bishop Diocese or the
Arbitrators as they case may be vested
in and exercised by a Committee consisting of
the principal Officiating Minister for the time
being of the said parish his licensed Curate or
Curates if the Minister shall appoint him or them
to be a member or members of the said Com-
mittee and the Churchwarden for the time being
of the said parish and of four other persons of whom
the following shall be first appointed that is to
say John Goeffrey Harvey of West Mersea aforesaid
Farmer. Joseph Watson of the same place Farmer
Henry Joh May of the same place Merchant and
James Mussett of the same place Oyster Merchant
such other persons continuing to be contributors in

every year to the amount of twenty shillings
each at the least to the funds of the said school
and to be members of the Church of England as
by law established and either to have a bene
ficial interest to the extent of the life estate at
least in real property situated in the said
parish or to be resident therein or in a Parish
or Ecclesiastical District adjoining thereto and
any vacancy which shall occur in the number
of the said other persons by death resignation in-
capacity or otherwise shall be filled up by the
Election of a person or persons qualified as afore-
said who shall be elected by the majority of votes
of such of the contributors during the year current
at the time of the election to the amount of ten
shillings each at the least, to the funds of the
said School being members of the said Church
of England and qualified as the person to
be elected by residence or estate as shall be
present at the meeting duly convened for the
purpose of the election or not being present thereat
shall vote by any paper sent on or before the day of such
meeting to the chairman thereof and signed by
[?] contributor wherein shall be named the person <
or persons whom such contributor shall desire to
be entitled at "every such election" to give one vote
in respect of each sum of Ten shilling but
no person shall be entitled to give more than six
votes in respect of any sum so contributed. Provided
that no election as aforesaid shall give or vest any
right to or in any lay persons to serve upon the
committee or anywise to interfere with the manage-
ment of the school and funds and endowments
thereof until after he shall have in the presence of
the chairman at a meeting of the committee made
and signed in a book to be kept at the said
School a declaration in the manner and form follow
in that is to say "I.A.B. do hereby solemnly and

sincerely declare that I am a member of the
Church of England as by law established
Provided also that no default of Election nor any
vacancy during any current year shall
prevent the other members of the committee
from acting until the vacancy shall be filled
up and it is hereby declare that no person
sahll be appointed or continue to be the master
or mistress of the school who shall not be
a member of the church of England And
it is further declared that all the provisions
of the Elementary Education Act 1870
[ deleted text ]
which constitute a Public Elementary School
shall apply to the School to be constituted under
the deed Provided that if the Committee of
Management herein described pass a resolution at
a meeting composed of a majority of the managers
for the time being to repay any grant made in
aid of the establishment of the said school out of the
Parliamentary grant for Education and if the said
committee shall accordingly repay that amount to the
Lords Commissioners of the treasury for the time
being the aforesaid declaration whereby this school
shall be a public elementary school within the
meaning of the Elementary Education Act 1870
shall forthwith become void and of no effect. And
the Committee shall annually select one of the
members thereof to act as secretary who shall keep
minutes of the proceedings of the meeting

thereof in a book to be provided for that
purpose and shall give due notice of all
extraordinary meetings to each member
of the Committee And the principal Officiat-
ing Minsters of the said Parish shall be
Chairman of all meetings of the Committee
when present thereat and at any meetings
from which he shall be absent the members
attending the same shall appoint one of
their number to be chairman thereof and
all matters which shall be brought before
any meeting shall be decided by the majority
of votes of the members attending the same
and voting upon the question and if upon
any matter there shall be any equality
of votes the Chairman shall have a second
being the casting vote and in case any
difference shall arise between the minster or
Curate and the Committee of management
hereinbefore mentioned respecting the players [ prayers ? ]
to be used in the School not being the Sunday
School or the religious instruction of the
Scholars attending the same or any
regulation connected therewith or the exclus-
ion of any Book the use of which in the
School may be objected to on religious
grounds or the dismissal of any teacher from
the school on account of his or her defective
or unsound instruction of the children in
religion the Minster or Curate or any member
of the Committee may cause a written statement
of the matter in difference to be laid before
the Bishop of the Diocese within which such
school shall be situated a copy thereof
having been previously communicated to the

Committee or Minister or Curate if they or he
shall not have been Parties or Privee to the [read-]
ing of the Statement respectively and the
Bishop may enquire concerning and det[ail]
the matter in difference and the decision [of]
the Bishop in writing under his ha[nd]
thereon when laid before the Committee
shall be final and conclusive in the matter
And the committee of management for the [time]
being is hereby expressly required to take
such measures as may be necessary for imm-
ediately carrying the said decision into [com-]
plete effect And in case any difference [?]
than & except such difference aa last describ'd [?]
shall arise in the Committee of Management
the minority thereof (being not fewer in number
than one third of the whole of the Committee
may make a request in writing to the
President of Her Majestys Most
Honourable Privy Council for the
time being and to the Bishop of
the Diocese wherein the said School
shall be situated and thereupon the
President may nominate one of the Inspectors
of Schools appointed as aforesaid to be an arbitrator in the matter in difference and
said Bishop may nominate one of the [Off-]
iced Clergyman of his Diocese to be an
arbitrator in the same matter and the
Arbitrators so nominated as aforesaid shall
jointly select one of her Majesty's justices [of]

the Peace being a Lay Member of the said Church
of England as another arbitrator And in case they
shall not jointly select such third Arbitrator within
the space of thirty days next ensuing their first meet-
ing the Archbishop of the Province within which the
said school shall be situated and the said Lord President
may jointly appoint a third Arbitrator and the three
Arbitrators so nominated as aforesaid shall enquire
concerning the matter in difference and the Award
in writing under the hands of the said Arbitrators or
of any two of them when laid before the Committee
shall be final and conclusive in the matter And
the Committee of Management for the time being
is hereby expressly required to take all such meas-
ures as may be necessary for immediately carrying
the said Award into complete effect And it is hereby
further declared that if the said Bishop or the said
Arbitrators upon any such reference as aforesaid
shall direct or award that any Master, Mistress
or Teacher in the said school shall be dismissed
such direction or award when a copy thereof
shall have been served upon the said
Master Mistress or Teacher personally or by
the same being left at his or her place
of abode or at the School aforesaid addressed
to the said Master Mistress or teacher as
the case may require shall operate as a
dismissal of the said Master Mistress or
teacher so as to prevent him or her
thenceforth from having any interest
in his or her office on in the said
School or premises under or by virtue of
this deed & so as to disqualify him or
her from holding henceforth any right

or interest under this Deed by virtue of his
or her previous or any future appointment
And the committee may in the Month of
January in each year select and appoint
a Committee of not more than four Ladies
being members of the said Church of
England to assist them in the visitation
and management of the Girls and Infant
Schools which Ladies Committee shall
remain in Office until the first day of
the same month in the following year
when such Committee may be renewed
In witness whereof the conveying &
other parties hereto have hereunto
set their hands and seals this third
II II II day of June One thousand & eight
hundred & seventy one.

Read More:
Appendix 4
Appendix 6

History of Education in West Mersea by B.E. Wright
Introduction and Contents