The Ragged School Ghost Hunt, East London

Of The Ragged School

London.. The 1860’s and a cholera epidemic is raging which would leave thousands dead and many utterly destitute. In an era that simply didn’t care much for the poor it was as always the children who’d bear the brunt of this. Many already grew up in impoverished neighbourhoods without any form of education, general care and often love.
Into this had stepped a Dr Barnado who’d come to London from Ireland to undertake medical training. Clearly what he witnessed deeply affected him so he resolved to do something about this and became a missionary. He opened his first ragged school in 1867. It was a place where children would be taught a level of basic education for free and often receive a small ration of food.
The ragged school on Copperfield Road would open 10 years after the first of its kind and had educated and cared for tens of thousands of needy youngsters by the time of its closure in 1908.
The building then saw use as a warehouse for canal transported goods and today still sports the hoist supports of that time. When this ebbed away the building was used for various purposes until it was finally rescued by the Ragged School Museum trust whose intention it was to demonstrate the basic schooling of the Victorian era.  To this end it now exhibits examples of rooms as they would have been including an equipped East End kitchen of the age and of course austere classrooms.
We can only imagine the sorry sight of the poor children who passed through the doors of this establishment where a tough but fair regime saw to it that they had a chance in life. Just maybe for some this was a happy place where they found refuge from the harshness and cold of the streets and perhaps some still come back here, back to where they were content for a while? Certainly there have been reports of the sounds of children heard, these even being captured on recordings made at the school. Even the keepers seem to have returned with sightings of a cook and school mistress-like figure being reported. Whatever is here is keen to respond to the inquisitive and taps and bangs are said to be very forthcoming to questions. However it is not quite wholly clear cut on who may haunt here though for a dark shadow whose nature is unknown also stalks these walls. We’ll be assembling a master class of ghost hunters to check out this unquiet school and you are duly welcome to be on our ghost hunters register!

Location Shots: