The Royal Acadian School
The Royal Acadian School that was still standing in 1967. About the time of the First World War, it became a print shop. It was located near the intersection of Barrington and Granville Streets.
The Poor Man’s Friend: Walter Bromley and the Royal Acadian School
A very special school opened it’s doors in Halifax on January 13, 1814. Established by Walter Bromley, a retired British army paymaster, the Royal Acadian School was based on a monitorial system of instruction. In this system, older or more advanced students, known as pupil-teachers, helped pass on what they had learned to other students. The school was originally located in an old theatre and quickly became a beacon of progressive education in early Nova Scotia.
Bromley’s goal was ambitious: to fight illiteracy, promote industry, and encourage morality. But perhaps most striking was the way the school challenged the prevailing notions of privilege and exclusion.
At a time when public education did not yet exist in Nova Scotia, the Royal Acadian School offered paid instruction for middle-income students, while providing free education to those who were typically left out: low-income women, Black students, immigrants, and Indigenous children. The school welcomed both Protestants and Catholics, making it one of the most inclusive institutions of its time.
The Royal Acadian School provided opportunities for supplementing local industry. In 1823, he employed 67 girls and women to spin and knit native wool at the school or in their homes. Most of the wool was used for socks which he sold for $2 a pair. He paid his workers 2s a day.
Bromley had a special interest in the Mi’kmaq peoples. They were amongst the poorest, not only in Halifax, but in Nova Scotia as a whole. His interest in Indigenous peoples brought their plight to the attention of the public.
On Sundays Bromley taught Bible and writing to apprentices and others who could not attend during the week. Two young boys who passed through the school during this time, Joseph Howe and George Edward Fenety, would go on to play influential roles in Canadian journalism.
Bromley left for England in the late 1820s but the Royal Acadian continued as an independent school until the coming of free public schools after 1864.
Poverty and Public Attitudes in the Early 1800s
In early 19th-century British North America, poverty was often viewed not as a social or structural issue, but as a moral failing. The prevailing belief, rooted in British Poor Law traditions, was that idleness caused poverty, and that charity should be limited to the ‘deserving poor’, typically the elderly, disabled, or widowed. Everyone else was expected to lift themselves up through hard work, humility, and Christian values.
This perspective shaped public policy and social norms in Nova Scotia. Schools and public assistance programs were rare, and the poor were often blamed for their own condition. Walter Bromley’s efforts to provide education to marginalized groups, including low-income women, immigrants, Black and Indigenous children, ran counter to the dominant view that such people were unworthy or incapable of improvement.
By creating an inclusive school rooted in literacy, morality, and industry, Bromley stood nearly alone in reimagining poverty as a problem of opportunity rather than character.
Sources:
Wikipedia contributors. (2024, March 21). Royal Acadian School. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Royal_Acadian_School&oldid=1214902742
Fingard, Judith. (1988). Bromley, Walter. In Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/bromley_walter_7E.html
Fingard, Judith. (1973). Attitudes towards the Education of the Poor in Colonial Halifax. St. Mary’s University. https://www.smu.ca/webfiles/fingard-educationofthepoorinhfx-1973.pdf
Report of the Royal Acadian School. (1851). Canadiana. Printed by James Bowes and Son, Halifax. https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.64678/8
Image:
The Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia. 1967. Founded Upon a Rock: Historic Buildings of Halifax and Vicinity Standing in 1967. McCurdy Printing Company, Halifax.