Margaret Crabtree (David Hill Girls' School, Hanyang)

The papers and photographic material primarily relate to Margaret Crabtree's service at the David Hill Girls' School. The papers comprise: correspondence to Crabtree (1932-1948) and other correspondence, primarily relating to the school (1928-1950). Personal material relating to Crabtree, including photostat copies of her teaching certificates (1918-1928). Published material, in English and Chinese, including items relating directly to the David Hill Girls' School (1920s-1950). Visual material, including two photograph albums and eleven files of photographs, primarily depicting the school buildings, school staff and students and surrounding areas (1900-1970); postcards, slides and illustrations.

Margaret Crabtree was born in 1897. She began working as a student teacher at Bedford Elementary School in 1914. In 1915 Crabtree began a course in Education at the University of Leeds, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Board of Education Certificate in 1918. Subsequently Crabtree worked from 1918 to 1921 as an Assistant Mistress at Doncaster High School.

A lifelong Wesleyan Methodist, Crabtree applied to serve as a missionary in January 1921, specifying a preference to be posted to the China field. She was appointed to David Hill Girls' School in Hanyang, Wuchang district and sailed for China on the 1st September 1922. Crabtree remained stationed at Hanyang until the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Crabtree died in England on 8th February 1978 aged 80.

The David Hill Girls' School was founded in 1898 in the city of Hanyang. The first principle of the school was Miss E.A. Eacott. Initially the school catered for eight Chinese students, by 1922 the total number of attendees had risen to one hundred and forty.

In 1926 the David Hill Girls' School was forced to close by the Chinese Government and when allowed to re-open was required to adhere to the regulations of the Board of Education. These new regulations banned the teaching of the Christian religion in the curriculum and required an indigenous Chinese principle as head of every school. The David Hill Girls' School re-opened with Anna Lie (Liu Kueh Fang) as its principle and Bible study was run as an extra-circular activity.

The David Hill Girls' School was closed briefly due to the occupation of the school grounds by government soldiers at Easter 1928 but re-opened in July that year. By 1930 Mrs Wang (the daughter of the first indigenous Chinese Wesleyan Methodist Minister Rev. Chu Shao An) had been appointed Principle and the number of enrolled students risen again to one hundred and sixty. The school escaped the severe flooding of the surrounding areas in 1931 but was temporarily closed to house the refugees from Hanyang and Hankow [Wuhan]. The school was again used to house refugees following the Japanese bombing of Hankow [Wuhan] in 1938.

For the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the school, a new hall, library, staff room and classrooms were opened. The total number of girls at the school had risen to three hundred and sixty students.

Open

Deposited by William Leary, Connexional Archivist of the Methodist Church Archives and History Committee, April 1980

Not available on microfiche

Catalogued

For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance

Copyright mostly held by Methodist Church

Given to the Methodist Church by Mr J Byatt of Bradford, before 24 April 1980

The School of Oriental and African Studies holds the records of (Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society (MMS) which includes the surviving records of the Women's Work department. Any surviving letters written by Margaret Crabtree to the Women's Work department from China should be contained within the Hupeh District correspondence (MMS/WW/Correspondence/ China/Hupeh/FBN 4-6).

Correspondence relating to the David Hill Girls' School may also be found in the (Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society correspodnence for Wuchang and later Hupeh Districts (MMS/China/Wuchang/Correspondence/FBN 19-20 and MMS/China/Hupeh/FBN 6-9). The work of the David Hill Girls' School may also be mentioned in the Wuchang and later Hupeh MMS Synod minutes (MMS/China/Synod Minutes/FBN 2-6).