‘No study so agreeable to the youthful mind’: geographical education in the Georgian grammar school

Abstract

The conservativeness of Georgian grammar schools used to be emphasised; however, as the case of geography teaching shows, this picture is complex with the growth of British trade and empire and the requirements of polite society and culture fostering a demand for ‘modern’ subjects. Drawing on work in the history of education, Georgian society and culture and the history of geography, this paper argues that there was considerable change and development in geographical teaching in some grammar schools stimulated by changes in the nature and perceptions of ‘classical’ education and increasing demands for ‘modern’ subjects. It contends that Robert Mayhew’s emphasis on the continuity of the early‐modern humanist textual geographical tradition within grammar schools does not sufficiently account for changes in teaching practices that occurred in these institutions. It explores how and why geographical subjects were introduced in grammar schools, including the role of teachers such as John Clarke and John Holmes, institutional government and external bodies, and assesses the importance of opposition to this process.