Members of the Rooper family were instrumental in the creation of the Bournemouth and District Blind Aid Society (now called the Bournemouth Blind Society) which has been supporting people like my mother for over 100 years. With the passing of time their stories have been forgotten and two were only known as an initial. My curiosity aroused I did some digging. Here is what I discovered…
Thomas Richard Rooper was the third son of John Rooper of Berkhamsted Castle and his wife Harriet Bonfoy. Thomas was born in 1782 and educated at Harrow and St John’s College, Cambridge. He was ordained a priest in 1806 and married Persis Standly that same year. Thomas was the Vicar of Abbots Ripton from 1806 to 1853 even though he had moved to Hove in the early 1830s because of ill-health! Thomas left his parishioners in the care of the curate, his son William Henry Rooper.
Thomas lived at Wick Hill (later called Wick House) as a clergyman without care of souls. Arriving in Hove and finding that there was no Parochial School he persuaded the National Society to start educating poor children from 1834. Despite poor health Thomas was involved in many activities to improve the lives of the local people. In his Reminiscences his son William writes “a week seldom passed without his visiting the class to give them an object lesson on some exotic and useful plant which grew in his hothouse, or some strange specimens which his sons in the Rifle Brigade would send him from Egypt, or Kaffraria, or wherever they were stationed.” Thomas died in 1865. His memorial inside St Andrew’s old church notes his “unremitting endeavour to alleviate the sorrows of the afflicted and distressed and to elevate the religious and moral condition of the children of the poor by improved education.”
In 1844 Thomas and Persis’ daughter Marianne Elizabeth Rooper, born 1810, founded a school for ladies (later called St Michael’s Hall) in Hove. Marianne died in 1854 but the school continued. It moved to Petworth circa 1930 and finally shut its doors in 1993.
Thomas and Persis Rooper’s son William Henry Rooper was born in 1808 in Abbots Ripton, Hunts. After studying at University College, Oxford he followed his father into the church.
William married Caroline Buck in Great Malvern on 6th June 1833 but buried his wife and their baby daughter, Carmine, just eleven months later. William married, secondly, Caroline Astell in 1836. Their son William Trevor Rooper was born the following year. In 1839 William Henry was widowed for a second time. He married, thirdly, Frances Catherine Heathcote in Conington, Hunts in 1841. William and Frances had six daughters (Catherine AGNES, Emily, Edith, Henrietta, Elizabeth and Wilhelmina) and one son (Thomas GODOLPHIN). Frances was interested in English, French, German and Italian Literature and made use of this interest in the education of her children.
William was the curate of Ripton for 20 years until 1853. The 1841 census records him employing one male and five female servants. By 1851 he was employing an additional female servant and a governess. In 1853 William’s health failed and he retired to Hove where his father was living. With William’s retirement his father’s tenure as the Vicar in Abbots Ripton came to an end. In his Reminiscences William relates “Regarding the education of my children, no words can express all the benefits which they derived from my mother’s social position at Wick Hill, and the daily intercourse with her and the wide circle of friends which she had gathered round her.”
The 1861 census shows William as being the curate of St Andrew’s in Waterloo Street, Hove. He held this position from 1856 to 1863 but otherwise he was a clergyman without care of souls. One of his parishioners at St Andrew’s was Hannah Brackenbury, the Benefactor and philanthropist, who had moved to Hove in the early 1840s. William was an advisor to Hannah and liaised with Balliol College on her behalf regarding her donations to the college to support scholarships in Law, History and natural sciences, and towards new buildings. After Hannah’s death in 1873 he was one of the Trustees of her estate.
In 1866 William’s son Godolphin went up to Oxford. The following year William and his family moved to Old Windsor where they lived for sixteen years and where the Rooper sisters regularly visited the school and assisted in the instruction. None of William’s children married. This may not have been a conscious choice by the girls because by the time they reached a marriageable age there were simply not enough husbands to go around. As the nineteenth century progressed there was an increasing imbalance between the numbers of men and women and by the time of the 1861 census there were 2.5 million unmarried women. The sisters were fortunate in that they were able to be supported by their family. Middle-class women who were unable to live with family members had limited access to employment. Their only options were to become a governess or a paid companion. The 1871 census records Catherine and Emily living with their grandmother Persis at Wick Hill and William, Frances, Edith, Henrietta and Wilhelmina living in Old Windsor. In 1872 William Trevor, a Captain in the Rifle Brigade, died of consumption. Frances died in 1882 and a year later William and his daughters moved to the Pines, 24 Bath Road, Bournemouth.
In Bournemouth William set up a Clerical Society and together with his daughters “endeavoured to promote several useful Institutions.” among which were the Bournemouth Chrysanthemum Show (William was a Trustee and Agnes was on the Committee), Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Association (affiliated to the R.H.S.), Bournemouth Arts Society (Agnes), a Branch of the Oxford University Extension (also Agnes), The Girls’ Friendly Society, The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Children’s Protection Society.
During his final illness William dictated reminiscences of his life to his son Godolphin. These were privately published as ‘Reminiscences of My Life’ for circulation among members of the family and his friends. William died at the Pines a few months later on 28th July. Probate was granted to his son Godolphin and nephew Maximilian George Rooper (son of his brother John) who was a solicitor in London.
Sometime after the death of their father the sisters moved to Pen Selwood, 13 Gervis Road East where in 1901 they were employing a lady’s maid, cook, parlour maid, housemaid and scullery maid. They were living in the same house 10 years later when a sick nurse had been added to the staff.
The Bournemouth Graphic of 27 July 1905 noted :
“[The] name Rooper widely known in connection with philanthropic works and intellectual pursuits…”
In October 1911 Emily, Henrietta and Wilhelmina Rooper together with Lionel Victor Cyril Homer, a solicitor who had been blind from birth, set up the Bournemouth and District Blind Aid Society and registered it as a charity. This Society, since renamed the Bournemouth Blind Society, is still in existence today. The Rooper Memorial Hall at the Society’s premises in Victoria Park Road, Bournemouth commemorates the sisters. Given the Rooper family’s passionate interest in education it is not surprising that one of the first activities undertaken by the Bournemouth and District Blind Aid Society was the home schooling of blind children which began in 1912. The schooling was led by Annie Homer, wife of Lionel. Lionel had married Annie Walker Q2 1912. It is not known whether or not the Rooper sisters knew Lionel before he moved to Bournemouth but they would have known Annie’s family. Annie was the daughter of Augustus Walker who had been at a school in Hove near to where the Roopers were living.
The sisters would also have been aware of and probably influenced by the work of William Moon who was active in Brighton when they were living in Hove. Moon went blind as a result of contracting Scarlet Fever as a child. He was a teacher of the blind, creator of the Moon embossed alphabet and publisher of books, including the Bible, using his alphabet. Moon developed Home Teaching Societies which sent teachers to visit the blind who were isolated in their homes and teach them to read.
There follows some individual biographical information on children of William Henry Rooper and their associates. Listed are societies that they were involved with and articles/books that they had published. These lists are not definitive and probably represent just the tip of the iceburg.
William Trevor Rooper 1837 – 1872
After attending Harrow William joined the 1st Battalion of the Rifle Brigade in 1854. He served with the 1st Battalion at the siege of Sebastopol and with the 3rd Battalion in India.
William was photographed by Camille Silvy on 29 September 1860 at the photographer’s studio, 38 Porchester Terrace, Bayswater, London. William sat for 24 images in total. One of these is held in the National Portrait Gallery Photographs Collection NPG Ax50762; William Trevor Rooper – Portrait – National Portrait Gallery The image appears on a greetings card produced by the gallery. Another of the images of William, together with a short biography, can be found on the website Paul Frecker – Fine Photographs. William’s maternal uncle John Moyer Heathcote sat for Silvy a few days later.
William died of consumption 2nd July 1872 in Old Windsor.
Catherine AGNES Rooper 1842 – 2nd May 1918
A botanist, horticulturalist, teacher and amateur artist.
Societies and Organisations:
Founder member and first secretary of the Bournemouth Natural Science Society and Museum. The initial meetings were held in her home. Agnes also served as chairperson of the Botanical Section.
Served as Honorary Secretary Bournemouth Literary and Historical Association.
Founder member of the Bournemouth Art Society.
Founder member and Hon. Secretary of the Bournemouth Branch of the Geographical Association May 17th 1905.
Bournemouth and Boscombe Branch The Parents’ National Educational Union.
Established a Bournemouth branch of Oxford University Extension
‘Extension lectures offered many middle class women almost their only contact with education beyond the secondary level, and in consequence women came to use the new movement in greater numbers than any other social group, and frequently displayed the greatest personal application.’ Lawrence Goldman
Publications in The Parents’ Review – the monthly magazine of The Parents’ National Educational Union:
On Galls. By A.C. Rooper. 1898
On Gall Structures. By A.C. Rooper. 1898
A Walk Through a Fir-Wood in Midwinter by Miss C.A. Rooper 1899
Two Simple Experiments in Botany by C. Agnes Rooper 1900
A Stroll in Search of Flowers Near a Village in Wiltshire by C. Agnes Rooper 1901
How to Interest Children in the Outdoor World. by Miss C. A. Rooper. 1902
Some Thoughts on the Modern Education of Girls. By C. Agnes Rooper 1906
Emily Frances Rooper 1844 – 15th December 1915
Societies and Organisations:
Treasurer Bournemouth and District Caledonian Society
Bournemouth Branch Secretary of the Girls Friendly Society. Emily presented a banner that she had worked to the society in December 1888.
In 1892 Emily was involved in the production of an operetta called “The Gipsies”.
Founder member and first Treasurer of Bournemouth and District Blind Aid Society 1911
Publications:
A manual of collective lessons in plain needlework and knitting for use in Elementary Schools. Partly original and partly edited from the German of Julie Legorjü and Emmy Rossel by Helen K. Brietzcke and Emily F. Rooper, Pub: Swan Sonnenschein and Co., Paternoster Square, 1885.
Edith Mary Rooper 1845 – 3rd March 1930
Edith does not appear to have been involved in the running of any Societies or to have published any papers. Her name appears on a few lists regarding charity events e.g. Sale of invalids work and in 1889 she was on the committee for an event at the Congregational Church Hall entitled “Tableaux Vivants, Music and Recitations”.
In his reminiscences her father says that the failing health of some of his family was the reason for their move to the warmer climate of Bournemouth. A long-term health problem could account for Edith not being as active in the community as her sisters.
Henrietta Persis Rooper 1846 – 11th December 1931
Societies:
N.S.P.C.C.
Bournemouth and District Blind Aid Society
Publications:
Thomas GODOLPHIN Rooper 1848 – 1903
Educated at Harrow and Balliol College, Oxford Godolphin had originally intended to take Holy Orders but after much soul searching abandoned this idea for a career in Education. He spent the spring and summer of 1871 in Germany working at the language and studying German ideas of education. On his return he became a private tutor to the 13 year-old Herbrand Russell who was later to become the 11th Duke of Bedford. Godolphin remained as Russell’s tutor until Jan 1877. Between February and July 1877 Godolphin was in Harrow giving lessons to the children of H Montagu Butler. In November he became a School-Inspector and was appointed Second Inspector in Northumberland District. In 1882 he took charge of the Bradford District where he remained until 1895. After the death of his father he moved to Southampton District to be closer to his sisters. While there he devoted much time and labour to the foundation of the Hartley University College at Southampton. The College awarded external degrees of the University of London.
During his career Godolphin published many papers and books and introduced many reforms. In the 1912 supplement to the Dictionary of National Biography Michael Ernest Sadler notes Godolphin’s special service:
- in his efforts for the improvement of the teaching of geography,
- in his encouragement of manual training,
- in his influence upon methods of teaching in infant schools,
- in the reforms which he secured in the professional and general education of younger teachers, and
- in the closer adaptation of the course of study in rural schools to the conditions of country life, especially by the practical encouragement of school gardens.
An experimental School Garden established at the Boscombe British School became the model for others in England and abroad.
Towards the end of 1902 Godolphin experienced what he thought was sciatica but what turned out to be spinal tuberculosis. By Feb 1903 his lower limbs were paralysed. Godolphin Rooper died 20th May 1903.
The School Gardens at the Boscombe British School (with illustrations). By Mr. T. G. Rooper, one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools. Published in 1898 in Special Reports on Educational Subjects Volume 2.
Link to an In Memoriam article which appeared in the Parents’ Review VI. A Modern Educator: Thomas Godolphin Rooper | Ambleside Schools International
Elizabeth Martha Rooper 1849 – 1850
Wilhelmina Lydia Rooper 1851 – 2nd March 1930
Teacher and author of teaching material and children’s readers.
Societies:
Secretary, Bournemouth Branch R.S.P.B.
The Children’s League of Pity (children members of the N.S.P.C.C.)
R.S.P.C.A.
Bournemouth and District Blind Aid Society
Publications:
Object Teaching for Young Children
Recitations for infant schools 1884
Hymns for Elementary Schools: Original and Selected
Action songs for infant schools: including nursery rhymes 1885
Kindergarten Games, without music, for the baby classes 1890
Easy Recitations for Schools. Suitable for Infants and Standards I. and II. 1896
Revue pour les Jeunes Filles in The Parents’ Review 1896
Our children’s book of plays in two parts.
The sand cave 1887
Sara the Wool-gatherer 1887
Papa’s Birthday 1887
Delia’s Boots 1887
Sweet Little Songs for Sweet Little Singers 1890
A joke for a picnic 1891
Wilful Joyce
Piecrust Promises. A tale 1893
Madam Muddle’s Dream: An Operetta for Girls’ School Entertainments 1893
Cubie’s Adventure
Patriotic Stories: A Reading Book, Etc 1895
Ella’s Brown Gown 1895
The Blue Bead. With other stories for girls 1897
The Shoeblacks Cat 1900
Tony’s Pains and Gains 1900
Chats with the children, an illustrated manual of object lessons, ed. from the work of F. Wiedermann by H.P. and W.L. Rooper (europeana.eu) 1883
Heroic Stories of Greece, W. L. Rooper, T. G. Rooper 1898
Vade Mecum to Health. Healthful Physical Exercises (on the Swedish System) for young and old and for both sexes … By a Medical Man. Translated and adapted to English needs by W. L. Rooper. With a preface by T. G. Rooper. 1899
Maximilian George Rooper born in 1847 in Walton-le-Dale, Lancs was a cousin of the Rooper siblings and a solicitor in London (Rooper & Whately, 17 Lincoln’s Inn Fields). Maximilian was executor of his uncle’s and cousins’ wills. He moved to Lingmoor, Birchwood Road, Poole in 1923 and died there in 1932.
Lionel Victor Cyril Homer was born in Puddletown in 1882. He grew up in Tolpuddle where his father was a farmer. Lionel studied Law at Peterhouse, Cambridge and graduated in 1909. By 1911 he was working as a solicitor in Bournemouth and living at 11 Seamoor Road, Bournemouth.
Lionel married Annie Walker in Q2 1912 in Lambeth. The electoral roll shows them living in Southcote Road, first at #78 them #54, until 1931 when they moved to 1 Carlton Road (the last electoral roll available). When the 1939 Register was compiled they were living at 6 Leeson Road.
Lionel’s death was registered in Bournemouth Q3 1955.
Annie Louise Walker was born in Brighton in 1885. She was the daughter of Augustus Hayter Walker. Augustus was a similar age to Wilhelmina Rooper and was educated at Camden House School 3 – 6 Brunswick Road, Hove just a stone’s throw from the Rooper family home at 17 Brunswick Place. After school Augustus went to Christ’s College, Cambridge where he obtained a B.A. (Classical Tripos, 3rd class). In 1881 Augustus was a ‘private tutor chiefly in classics and mathematics’ living in Brighton with his wife Annie and two sons. He continued his studies while tutoring and gained a Mus. Bac. London in 1883 and Doctor of Music London 1886. The 1891 census shows Augustus, Annie and seven children, including Annie Louise, living in Brighton where Augustus was Professor of Harmony and Composition at Brighton College and Conservatoire of Music. Circa 1892 the family moved to South Norwood when Augustus became lecturer in Musical Acoustics at Trinity College, London. By 1901 they were living in Chesterton and Augustus was tutor in Music at the University Correspondence College in Cambridge. The college was founded in 1887 and prepared students for University of London external degrees. In addition to teaching Augustus composed orchestra music, songs, part-songs, organ-pieces. Augustus remained working at the College until his death in February 1911.
By the end of the nineteenth century nursing, teaching and typewriting had been added to the list of respectable occupations for middle-class women and in 1911 Annie was a nurse living in the household of the surgeon Arthur Philip Gibbons in the City of London. Her occupation was given as ‘Lady nurse’. After her marriage Annie became involved in the home-schooling of blind children under the auspices of the Bournemouth and District Blind Aid Society.
At the time of her death on 27th September 1972 Annie was living at 16 Wimborne Road, Bournemouth.