born 4th August 1882 in West Ham, London, she lived until she was 98 years old
A well known and loved teacher of her time who lived and worked in the local area.
Florence started her teaching career in Littleport serving for 7 years between 1896 and 1903.
She arrived in Brandon in 1903, a devoted Anglican herself who lodged with the Oldham family who were methodists. Subsequently she lived in a cottage next to the Old Maltings alongside Brandon Bridge. She taught in Brandon for the next 20 years before becoming the Headmistress at Weeting School. She served at Weeting for 23 years until retirement in 1946 at which time she had served a total of 50 years in teaching.
Local newspaper reports describe Florence’s retirement :-
“Presentations took place at the school (Weeting) where all the children were assembled with school managers, past and present teachers, parents and friends. A pleasant ceremony was opened by Mrs. Ladell, assistant to Miss Taylor for the past 4 years who said they were all very sorry that Miss Taylor was leaving. Miss Taylor was then handed two bouquets from the junior and senior scholars by Jennifer Gray and Jean Kent. The head boy, Barnard Ottewell, presented Miss Taylor with an electric iron, for which all the scholars had subscribed”.
Many other gifts were bestowed on the day.
“Mr. C Parrott (school manager) spoke of Miss Taylor’s 23 years excellent service in the school and village and wished her health and happiness in her well-earned retirement. He then presented Miss Taylor with gifts subscribed to by past pupils of the school, parents and friends. They included an electric table standard lamp, electric clock, electric Belling heater and electric bedside table lamp. A sum of money was also handed to her to provide the necessary fittings for the electric appliances”.
[It can only be imagined that these electrical appliances provided some level of comfort and luxury in a post-war Britain where these items were not readily available and somewhat expensive. In all likelihood the extra money was used to pay an electrician to provide and wire-up additional electric sockets]
Appreciation of her work
“Appreciation of Miss Taylor’s work was expressed by the Rev. G W Archer and Miss M Mason (school managers) and letters were read from several old scholars, who referred to the useful training given them by Miss Taylor”.
Miss Taylor’s Reply
“In her reply, Miss Taylor said she had enjoyed her work in the village. Weeting school children won the Bird and Tree essay competitions in 1937 and have since secured second and third places on several occasions. The school has also been successful in obtaining several scholarships during her time as head teacher. At the annual small schools sports competitions, Weeting School won the shield in six out of seven meetings”.
A life centred on religion
As a devout Anglican, Miss Taylor fostered links between the local Anglican & Methodist churches and was present at combined services. The Oldham family presented her with a bible when she moved her services from Brandon to Weeting, and as a gesture of goodwill she presented it back to the Methodist Church. Early in her career, during her time at Littleport, Florence is mentioned in the Examination of Pupil Teachers – Monitors in Religious Knowledge held on June 30th 1900.
“Third Year – there is a marked improvement in this year’s papers, and the first three in the First Class attained to a high degree of excellence : the papers of Florence Lunn and Florence A. Taylor on the Prayer Book left little to be desired”. Miss Taylor was recorded as 1st in order of merit and received an Exhibition & Prizes accordingly (£4 in 1900 is the equivalent of £630 today). These can be seen in the following extracts :-
