History of education in England that reading comprehension acquired through Bible study could be transferred to secular studies. Raikes used his newspaper to publicize the schools and bore most of the cost in the early years. The movement began in July 1780 in the home of a Mrs. Meredith. Only boys attended, and she heard the lessons of the older boys who coached the younger. Later, girls also attended. Within two years, several schools opened in and around Gloucester. Raikes published an account on 3 November 1783 of Sunday School in his paper, and later word of the work spread through the "Gentleman's Magazine", and
Henry Cecil Raikes Henry Cecil Raikes Henry Cecil Raikes PC (18 November 1838 – 24 August 1891) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was Chairman of Ways and Means between 1874 and 1880 and served as Postmaster General between 1886 and 1891. Born in Chester, Cheshire, Raikes was the grandson of Reverend Henry Raikes, Chancellor of the Diocese of Chester, and the great-grandson of Thomas Raikes, a merchant and banker in London, who was Governor of the Bank of England and a personal friend of prime minister William Pitt the Younger. He was educated at Shrewsbury School and Trinity College, Cambridge. Raikes