Donnison School (initially known as The Girls' Free School) is an English former school in the East End neighbourhood of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. It opened in 1798 to provide a free education to girls, funded by a bequest from Elizabeth Donnison. In the early 21st century it became a media and heritage centre.

Early history and curriculum

When she died in 1764, school founder Elizabeth Donnison left £1500 in her will to fund a school which would provide a free education for female pupils from poor families. The school opened to 36 pupils in 1798 and was also known as The Girls' Free School. Students from the ages of 7 to 16 were taught needlework, spinning, sewing and knitting in addition to reading and writing. Pupils were also provided with clothes and shoes. This type of charity school for deprived girls was part of a wider movement to educate girls and women in Britain, but the Donnison School was the first of its kind in Sunderland. The school was located next to the Sunderland

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

, constructed in 1740. Elizabeth Donnison was married to Sunderland businessman James Donnison, who died in 1777. This was her second marriage, having previously been married to Charles Guy. Elizabeth Donnison was featured in the 'Rebel Women of Sunderland Project', an exhibit commissioned by Sunderland Culture and created by novelist Jessica Andrews and illustrator Kathryn Robertson in 2020. In 1827, Elizabeth Woodcock funded the construction of a schoolmistress' cottage on the site. The school closed at some point between 1905-1910 and the buildings became the caretaker's cottage to the Church of the Holy Trinity. They were

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1978.

Current usage

During the 20th century, Donnison School fell into disrepair. In 2001 it was purchased by the charity Living History North East from the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. Five years later, the charity received a grant of £287,000 from

Sunderland City Council Sunderland City Council is the local authority of City of Sunderland, Sunderland, a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. It is one of five such ...

and the National Heritage Lottery Fund to repair and refurbish the school. It became known as the Donnison School Heritage and Education Centre in 2007, hosting lectures, school visits, and a regional oral history centre. The school building and schoolmistress' cottage is in the East End neighbourhood of Sunderland, an area also referred to as 'Old Sunderland'. The buildings are located on Church Walk near the Trafalgar Memorial and the Holy Trinity Church, near to Sunderland Town Moor and the Sunderland Docks.

References

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1798 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1798 Defunct schools in the City of Sunderland Educational institutions disestablished in the 1900s 1900s disestablishments in England Grade II listed buildings in Tyne and Wear