To what extent does the evidence of Sources B and C support the evidence of Source D regarding conditions for apprentices at Styal? Refer to all three sources in your answer. Source D is a modern reconstruction of the apprentice house at Styal Mill. The source shows the different rooms that made up the house. It shows that there was more than one dormitory, and the house was not cramped. It also shows a schoolroom where the children were taught. This source suggests that conditions at Styal were good. It tells us that the children received an education, which is more than most pauper children had.
In other mills, children did not receive an education. Sources B and C support the evidence of Source D in a number of ways; firstly, source B (evidence given by Joseph Sefton to a magistrate’s court in 1806, after he tried to escape from Styal) says that the children had an education and they really enjoyed their learning. It says they enjoyed life at Styal, and the conditions were good. However, this source may be accurate, but it is also unreliable because the child had tried to escape and may have been worried about being punished if he told the truth.
Also, the fact that he tried to escape in the first place suggests he didn’t want to be there. Source C also says that the children received an education, and suggests that conditions were good. This source is biased in favor of the mill however, because it is evidence given by George and Elizabeth Shawcross, who were in charge of the apprentice house, and were unlikely to criticize it. Source B says that the beds were comfortable and that boys and girls slept in separate dormitories, which agrees with source D as it shows that there was more than one dormitory.
Source D suggests that there was good accommodation and Samuel Greg cared about the welfare of his apprentices, which is reflected in source B. However, in a number of ways, Source B disagrees with the other sources. For example, although source C says that the apprentices only worked twelve hours a day source B says that they were forced to work overtime, and although source D suggests that the apprentices did receive schooling, Source B says that they missed their schooling because they were forced to work overtime.
A possible reason why Source B supports Source D to a lesser extent than Source C, is that Source C was supplied by George and Elizabeth Shawcross, who were in charge of the apprentices, and would have wanted to make conditions seem good, but Source B was supplied by an apprentice, who may not have wanted conditions to appear good. Also, Source C was written in 1833, when the Education Act was passed, meaning that inspectors had to check that children received schooling. This may have led to rapid changes by Samuel Greg, and thus made the answers different.