A bungalow in the Peerumade Penshurst Estate. |Photo source: Jomon Pampavalley
The story of the first school in the area has also attracted attention as Penshurst estate, which celebrates its 150th anniversary. It is said that the first school has been housed in the bungalow of the manor.
According to Heather Lovatt’s book A brief history of Peerumade/Vandiperiyar district,,,,,This illuminates the early educational era of the tea garden industry, where the first school in the Peerumade area was founded by the wife of FM Parker’s wife (which established the first commercial tea garden in the area). However, there is no official record of the name of the school or the woman who started the school.
From the book
“Education is generally ignored. Around 1906, 87% of the population in Travancore were illiterate. But Mrs. Parker runs a school in a Penshurst school for the children of the workers.Bon Ami (Peerumade’s estate) and Ackworth (GL Ackworth, owner of Arankal Estate) made similar offers to Arankal. It was not until 1919 that TTE (Travancore Tea Estates) began to open schools on corporate estates, and even then, they were nothing more than buildings, when their mothers watched the children while their mothers were working. The book points out that most growers invest a lot of money in the garden.
The first recorded tea planting was conducted in 1875 at Penshurst Estater The 25 acres of implantation began along the Elappara-Wagamon route. Today, the estate is managed by Malankara Plantation.
Informal schools
Penshurst Estate manager Joshiba Joseph believes that the bungalow used to be the manager’s residence and the first informal school in the area. “Short after the plantation opened, Mrs. Parker quickly started the school. She was a visionary and repurposed the bungalow to provide primary education for the workers’ children. This shows that she even understands the value of education,” Joseph said.
He added that the British period bungalows proved that era under the leadership of JK Thomas, managing director of Malankara Plantations. “Walls made of thick stones keep the room naturally cool in the summer and warm during the monsoon,” Joseph said.
In his book, writer Manoj Mathirappally adds narrative Idukki: Desham, Charithram, Samskaram The documents document the earliest system settlements in Upputhara near Peerumade. He wrote: “The first formal school in the area was established in Upputhara in 1927 and was later appointed Onamkulam Memorial School.”
publishing – April 20, 2025 08:53 pm isst
