century a rising movement discouraged working-class children from learning to write, so in some cases dame school pupils may not have been taught writing at all. The ability to read the Bible, however, was viewed as a religious obligation, so learning to read was always encouraged. Some school dames would teach their pupils the catechism, or would invite the local clergyman to teach children the catechism during class time. Typically, rudimentary arithmetic would also be provided, offering pupils the opportunity to learn the calculation of household accounts. Girls in particular would be taught how to knit at school, providing them with an important vocational skill. Dame schools seem to have been widely spread across England by the eighteenth century. The rector Francis Brokesby said of the school dame’s efforts, “There are few country villages where some or other do not get a livelihood by teaching school, so there are now not many but can write and read, unless it have been their own or their parent’s fault.” However, it is difficult to estimate an exact number of dame schools in England during a given time period: while school masters and mistresses were licensed, the informal nature of the dame school makes documentation of them scarce. For instance, of 836 villages surveyed in Yorkshire during the Tudor period, there were dame schools in approximately one village in forty. 19th century dame schools Dame schools were largely affected by the industrialization of the nineteenth century. As more and more parents worked in factories, dame schools offered a form of cheap day care. Some offered only child care, while others also offered education: one cannot generalise. The Sunday School movement also arose in the 19th century, and operated similarly to the dame schools: children would attend Sunday School every Sunday to receive basic literacy instruction and religious lessons. Despite this, in many ways dame schools continued to function in their traditional way: offering rudimentary education to pupils for a small fee. The 19th century was also marked by educational social reform movements, which greatly impacted dame schools. Near the middle of the century, private philanthropists established free schools targeted to educate lower-class children. However, many parents were unhappy to send their children to these middle-class schools, and opted instead to pay to send their children to the local dame school. In many areas of East London, especially in Spitalfields and Bethnal Green, more