A legacy of education born from a nobleman’s dying wish

A Castlederg school has become the starting point for the lives of many children, thanks to the dying wish of a local nobleman.

Situated on Hospital Road is the historic Edwards Primary School, which traces its legacy back to the 18th century.

The idea for the school to be erected originated from the dying wish of a nobleman named Hugh Edwards, who lived in the nearby townland of Castlegore.

Hugh and his family hailed from Wales, but moved to Ireland in the 1600s, making their first residence in Dungiven.

However, following a purchase of 42,000 acres of land, they relocated to Castlederg, establishing the Manor of Hastings near the town’s outskirts.

The family, led by Hugh, took to reconstructing Castlederg after skirmishes during the 1641 rebellion left the settlement in tatters.

Hugh is credited with rebuilding the Derg parish church in 1731, which led to population increase in the town.

During his mingling with fellow noblemen, women, and landowners, he fell in love with Anne Mervyn of Mervyn Castle in Trillick, and married her shortly after, having four daughters before his untimely death in 1737.

However, prior to his demise, he made a selfless wish to be included in his will.

Left with his eldest daughter, Olivia, Countess Rosse, he requested that a ‘convenient country house for entertaining a Master & six poor boys’ be erected to teach local children in Castlederg.

His plan was to build a school on land set aside by Hugh, with the school costing £24-a-year to run with its staff.

However, Hugh’s daughter and her husband, John Bateman, objected to his will, and refused to act upon his vision.

It wouldn’t be until 1808 that a Court of Chancery ordered the family to fulfill Hugh’s will, and the first school was constructed under the Edward’s name in 1840.

It was built within the vicinity of the Castlederg Workhouse, which was opened the following year.

Over time, the population of pupils steadily grew. However, education would not be the only use for this site.

Records from the Castlederg Masonic Lodge show that the school was used in 1887/88 for a lodge concert to raise funds.

The night, attended by the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn, was a massive success and was said to have been very profitable for the Masons.

reopened

Twenty years later, the school was briefly reopened under the name of ‘The Burnside School,’ presumably named after the schoolmaster at the time, J Burnside. Yet, the school would revert to the Edwards family name in the late 1930s following the demise of the Derg workhouse.

The new Edwards School now incorporated the land used for the workhouse.

The former fever hospital from the workhouse was also converted and modernised to create Derg Valley Hospital.

Yet despite the refurbishment, problems soon arose just years after the school opened. In October of 1949, the principal of Edwards School raised concerns after the well used to supply the school’s water had fallen below the required level, leaving 200 pupils without water. However, the issue was resolved by an engineer’s suggestion that the local fire service be deployed to refill the well.

In 1953, charges were brought to the court’s attention following reports of theft from the school. Throughout October of 1952, staff at the school noticed various items, such as pencils, lunch tokens, and small sums of money, going missing. Two children, presumably pupils, were subsequently arrested and convicted at the Castlederg Children’s Court in June 1953, despite one denying the charges.

It fell onto the two boys’ fathers to pay the fine, with police and the education board expressing concerns about the boys’ behaviour.

The 1960s saw a period of huge growth within the town’s population, reflected by the influx of pupils at Edwards.

The average enrolment in 1969 was 260, and the school, which was designed to hold 230 pupils, was now bursting at the seams.

After almost ten years of lobbying by the principal at the time, Mr T Riddal, the County Committee indicated that they had plans to begin a new extension to the school in September 1971.

During the 1990s, the school was recognised for its successes, both in terms of pupils and staff. In 1994, Samuel Reid was awarded an MBE for his dedicated service to education following 21 years of service to Edwards School.

The year after, pupils from the school’s special unit were placed second in the Pushkin Award, a literary competition. Children from the special unit attended the ceremony held at the Duchess of Abercorn’s home after being the only school in Tyrone to place in the awards.

In 2005, a new state-of-the-art school was built and officially opened by the Duchess of Abercorn. The new school was fitted with nine classrooms, each with an interactive whiteboard, alongside a multi-purpose hall for physical education, music, assemblies, concerts, and other school functions.

A central library, offices, resource areas, and an ICT suite were also added.

Today, the school still thrives, as children from the Derg and beyond continue to walk through the doors of education, envisioned by Hugh Edwards over 280 years ago.