Tile, possibly made in East Yorkshire, c.1201-1400
This medieval tile is from Hullâs Holy Trinity Church. It shows the alphabet and is a clue to part of the churchâs past. The first schools in England were run by the church. This was at a time when most people couldnât read.
The tile was probably made locally but not in the centre of Hull. Potteries were usually based on the edge of towns or in the countryside. This was because of the risk of fire and pollution.
Schools in towns were first run by the Church. Formal education for everyone is only a very recent event. In history, education has been for the lucky few and rarely for girls.
As aristocracy, medieval knights were expected to be educated and were looked down on if they were illiterate. Girls were almost exclusively ignored apart from the daughters of the rich and powerful.
There were many different kinds of schools in medieval England. This included small, informal schools held in the local parish church. This may be the kind of schooling held at Holy Trinity Church.
There were also song schools at cathedrals, almonry schools attached to monasteries, chantry schools, guild schools and grammar schools. The subjects studied were limited to basics such as learning the alphabet, and religious rites. There were also lessons such as the Ten Commandments and the Seven Deadly Sins. The grammar schools also studied Latin grammar.
Bricks, tiles and pots of clay were fired in kilns. Tile-works and potteries were in suburbs or rural places because of the risk of fire and pollution. There were known potteries in Beverley. New colours and forms were created as potters met a demand for affordable beauty that was decorative and functional.
Hullâs Holy Trinity Church is over 700 years old and is Englandâs largest parish church. Inside its historical interior is a marble font from 1380. William Wilberforce, the 18th century anti-slavery campaigner, was baptised here.
