Hannah More House

Image: © Neil Owen Taken: 20 Jan 2016

This sturdy seventeenth century home was once residence to one Hannah More (1745-1833). She was a noted bluestocking social reformer who, among other efforts to bring some equal opportunities to the underprivileged, was encouraged by William Wilberforce (the anti-slavery campaigner) to help the children of Blagdon. She took over this house to found a Sunday School, to which many of the village children attended, despite it not including the teaching of writing. The village curate, however, was fiercely opposed to More's work and after years of pressure forced her to leave. This was known as the Blagdon Controversy and is an important point in the history of improving education among the lower orders.

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