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SCHOOLS
IN TODMORDEN AND WALSDEN
IN THE EARLY DAYS UP TO 1851 |
The
value of education for the masses was not recognised until the middle of the 19th century. The rich and powerful were educated
in exclusive private schools and universities and that was seen
as sufficient. Some of these elite of society saw no necessity in
educating the poor, and others saw it as a dangerous concept.
In
Todmorden the first schools for children of the ordinary working
family did not appear until after 1810, and only a fraction of the
children attended regularly. These early schools were mainly established
by the various religious bodies, and only opened on a Sunday. They
concentrated on teaching the children of both sexes to read. The
education was very basic by necessity as the teachers were drawn
from the local communities and were barely literate themselves.
Clegg Endowed School |
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The
Clegg Endowed School |
The
earliest known school in Todmorden was the Endowed School, the gift
of Richard Clegg, vicar of Kirkham in Lancashire, who was born at
Stonehouse, Walsden in 1645. In 1713, he conveyed a newly built
house to John Crossley of Scaitcliffe, John Helliwell of Pike House
Littleborough, William Byrom of High Wardle and Rev Henry Piggot
vicar of Rochdale, to hold it in trust to be used as a school for
the inhabitants of Todmorden. |
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He
donated £150 of the cost personally and raised the remaining
£50 from various donors. He decreed that the lay payers of
the town should choose the headmaster, and there should be four
free places. These places should be filled by two poor children
from Todmorden, chosen by the churchwarden, one by a child selected
by the owner of Stonehouse, and the fourth by a child selected by
the owner of Eastwood. This was the first provision ever made in
Todmorden for the education of the people, and apart from the
four free places, the sons of the rich and powerful of the town
would be the only children to benefit.
The
school, immediately adjacent to St. Mary's Church, held up to 100
scholars and was on the ground floor, with the schoolmaster's living
quarters above. |
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In
1833, there were 31 fee-paying children and 4 free scholars. The
endowment was worth between £6 and £15 a year. The original
school was rebuilt in 1851 and closed in 1877. |
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JOHN TRAVIS, local antiquarian, was one of the free scholars between
1837 and 1840. William Ormerod, churchwarden of the time, awarded
him the scholarship. Travis later wrote:
"There
were 4 free scholars and we all had to do something for the master
or mistress for our tuition, besides our school work. Free scholars
indeed we were called so, but 2 of us had the schoolroom to sweep
out twice a week, besides doing other sorts of work occasionally;
the other 2 having to do the water fetching and other jobs of
which I speak more particularly in an autobiographical narrative
of the principal events of my life. We none of us liked the schoolmaster
or his wife any better for the work we had to do, but had to put
up with it, and concluded that it did us no harm, except in the
opinions of the more advanced scholars."
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Cross Stone School
A
few years after the Clegg School opened; a similar day school was
built next to St. Paul's Church at Cross Stone. This was the idea
of a man named Pilling, who raised £65 from his friends and
further donations from local businessmen. The church appointed trustees
to maintain the school and in 1743 the interest on the endowment
raised £3 a year, enough to pay for the instruction of 6 poor
children of the chapelry. There were between 30 and 40 fee-paying
scholars in addition to the 6 poor children, and they all received
instruction in reading and writing. The first headmaster was James
Dewhirst. |
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William
Greenwood opened the school on Sunday mornings for those children
who worked all week, and up to 20 local children attended at the
cost of 1d. They also had to buy a quill at a further 1d. plus copy
books at 2d.
There
is an inscription dated 1805 on the wall of the school, which says:
Train
up a child in the way he should go
And
when he is old he will not depart from it.
Prov.XX11.6
1805 Thos. Ashworth Sculp.
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The
schoolroom was on the top floor whilst the bottom room housed the
jail and the house at the far right was the home of the schoolmaster.
It is now a private house.
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In
1833, there were 37 boys and 3 girls enrolled, including the 6 free
scholars. The schoolmaster in 1841 was William Dewhirst whose sons
later ran an elite academy in Todmorden at Vale Houses. William died in 1842. A newspaper obituary reported:
The Manchester Times and Gazette(Manchester, England)
Saturday, September 24, 1842;
Death:
On 20th inst. Aged 52 years, Mr. William Dewhirst of Cross Stone School near Todmorden, and formerly of Mitholmroyd School near Halifax. He was a man of sound classical crudition, of considerable attainments in the mathematics, and eminently qualified as a preceptor of youth; and many who were his pupils can bear testimony to this mark of respect paid to his memory.
Cross Stone
school closed in 1846 due to competition from the new National School
lower down the hill at Priestwell.
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Lanebottom School Walsden |
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Deanroyd
Farm |
In
1809, one of the first recorded Sunday schools started in cottages
at Deanroyd and Bottomley Farms in Walsden. The
first anniversary was held at Deanroyd in 1810. The collection amounted
to £10, and the people wondered how such a large sum could
be spent. |
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It
was decided a new Sunday and day school should be erected. John
Fielden of Bottomley donated land for the new school on the Bottomley
side of the canal, just over the bridge, on condition he could send
one scholar free of charge to the day school. |
Bottomley
Lane Foot School |
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Probably very young children
only, perhaps those between the aged of 5 and 8 at most, would attend
the day school. The older children were too busy working long hours
either at home on the hand weaving equipment or in the mills. There
was no time for schooling, even if it were available in the vicinity
of their homes. |
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In
1818 the new school opened, originally known as Bottomley Lane Foot.
The aim of the school was to
teach the children of the poor and indigent parents to read and
write and understand the common rules of arithmetic. |
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A
stone was placed above the door with the inscription:
The
School was built by public subscription for instructing the children
of all denominations
This
lead to considerable bickering and civil war between the Methodist
trustees and the multi-faith school superintendents over the following
years. However, the school continued to flourish and in 1848 it
was enlarged, John Stevenson of Quarry Cottage laying the memorial
stone. He was the only surviving trustee from the original group
of 1818. |
photo
by kind permission of Roger Birch |
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In
1851 there were 47 pupils on the roll with one master, Edmund Suthers.
There were 23 boys and 14 girls in attendance on the day of the
census, 9 under 5 years, 22 between the ages of 5 and 10 years,
and 6 between 10 and 15 years. |
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The
weekly fees were 4d. for which the children received tuition in
reading, writing, geography and maths, with music as a voluntary
extra. Mrs.
Suthers also helped out by teaching knitting and sewing. The schoolroom
measured 24 feet by 10 feet and was underneath the chapel. Mr. and
Mrs Suthers received wages "dependent upon their own exertions",
and no house was provided for them. |
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Walsden Preparatory School
1813
saw the first privately run day school open in Walsden. This became
known as Walsden Preparatory School. There was just one small
room, 15 feet by 16 feet, and one teacher. It was a non-denominational
school, more commonly known as a "Dame School". Initially, this
and other similar schools were little more than nurseries for
infants, more often than not (but not necessarily) owned and run
by a married woman. However, this particular school developed,
and by 1851 had 36 children on the register between the ages of
4 and 15. All the children studied reading, 28 studied writing,
9 studied arithmetic, 35 studied grammar, and 11 studied geography.
Sewing and knitting were also offered. The weekly fees ranged
from 2d to 6d depending on the lessons taken. Unmarried mother,
Sarah Lancaster, was the teacher in 1851, aided by her 12-year-old
son. Sarah and her son lived at the school in Knowlwood, Walsden.
She was a Catholic, but kept the school non-denominational. On
the Educational Census return of 1851, she reported that she had
lost 11 children as a consequence of a lecture given by George
Kidd, a Primitive Methodist Preacher.
Union Sunday School
John
Fielden of Dawson Weir commissioned another early school for the
poorer children in 1816. With the help of the curate of St. Mary's
and a Methodist Minister, John started a non-denominational school
in a building where the town hall now stands. It was known as
the Union Sunday School, opening for just 2 hours on Sunday mornings
and 2 hours in the afternoon. Each session began with singing
and prayers, followed by 40 minutes of reading, 10 minutes of
spelling and 35 minutes of religious instruction. Within 12 months
it had 150 regular pupils. It is reported that it cost John Fielden
more than £50 for letters, alphabets, spelling books, testaments,
bibles, paper, quills and candles.
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Cloughfoot School |
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The
following year, a branch of this school opened at Cloughfoot, established
by William Mitchell, Abraham Earnshaw and Ellis Hollows, who were
members of the Todmorden Wesleyan Society, with lessons being held
on the upper floor of a cottage at Clough Foot. There were external
steps up to the schoolroom, now disappeared, but would have been
where the long white windows are today. |
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Cloughfoot
pupils about 1895 by kind permission of Rosemary Stevenson |
The
school proved to be very popular and the attendance numbers grew,
so much so that by 1828 the cottage where they met wasn't large
enough to accommodate them. It was decided that new land was needed
and Thomas Sutcliffe of Midgelden Farm, along with other teachers,
applied for a new piece of land for a larger school to be built. |
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Their
request was granted and land was provided on the opposite side of
the road to the cottage. |
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It
was a Sunday and day School for children of all "Protestant religious
denominations" and was put under a general trust. The plaque is
inscribed:
"This
school was built by Public subscription AD 1829 for children of
all religious denominations." |
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Sitting front row
Wilfred Earnshaw, Norman Lord, George Hudson
Second row
Willie Watson, Eva Barker, Lois Brown, (Brown Brother), Jessie Hudson, Elsie Spencer, Walter Hudson
Standing
Alan Lord, Miss Barker, Ruth Lord, Ann Hudson, Elsie Watson, Annie Greenwood, Miss Spencer, Tom Ratcliffe,
Barker, Kershaw, Watson, Jack Pickles
photo kindly sent by Catherine Earnshaw
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Unitarian School
In
1825, the Unitarians under the leadership of John Fielden of Dawson
Weir started a free day school for 100 children of all denominations
from the age of 4 years to "the age of going to the factory". John
Fielden engaged a headmistress and two full time teachers at his
own expense.
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A Unitarian Sunday school followed in 1830 for those unable to attend
the day school because they were working. The school offered lessons
in reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, history, spelling, mathematics
and religious instruction. John taught there himself for a time. |
Unitarian
Sunday school |
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Waterside Factory School
In
1827, John, the town's largest employer, began to operate a radical
policy at his WATERSIDE MILL complex. He decided to provide basic
education for any of his child employees whose parents wished it.
He put all the children aged 10 and upward on a half-time rota at
the factory. They could work half a day in the mill and spend the
other half of the day in the factory school.
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The
factory school and offices at Waterside in 1902 |
The
children were charged 2d a week for lessons in reading, arithmetic,
geography, sewing and knitting, and within 4 years there were over
100 pupils enrolled in the scheme. By 1851, the school had 137 on
roll, between the ages of 5 and 15. All 137 studied reading, but
only 48 studied arithmetic and geography. Writing was not on offer.
There were two teachers, John and Lydia Fielden. |
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It
is difficult to believe that there was no compulsory schooling,
but in 1833 the Government attempted to introduce this by passing
the Factories Act, which decreed that all textile factories had
to provide at least 2 hours schooling a day for all their employees
up to the age of 13 years. Rules were set in place for this, and
children had to be given certificates to prove they received this
education. In addition, it became illegal to employ a child who
"had not completed his or her 9th year". This freed the under
10's to attend day schools instead of Sunday school, and ensured
their education continued after starting work in the mill. The
Act was well meaning, but had little impact in some areas as nothing
was put in place to police it. Children still worked before they
reached their 10th birthday and schooling was only compulsory
for those working in textile mills. However, the Act brought about
the necessity for more school places in the textile areas, and
the following years saw the emergence of many more schools in
Todmorden and Walsden.
Bottoms School Walsden
The
Fieldens made sure their mills had attached schools and continued
with the half-time system with factory schools at Waterside, Lydgate
and Lumbutts. Other mill owners used established schools rather
than build their own. One such arrangement was made between the
Law brothers of RAMSDEN WOOD MILL and the new school at Bottoms
in Walsden.
Bottoms
school was built by Walsden Oddfellows in 1836 as a school and
place of worship for the good folk of Walsden who had no church
of their own. It comprised three 2-roomed cottages on the ground
floor with a school and preaching room above, 45 feet long, access
being gained from an enclosed yard at one end. Thomas Fielden
(1803-1854) became the first master at the school. He had been
a scholar at the Endowed School in Todmorden and was a member
of the successful picker making family of Inchfield.
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The
Law brothers arranged for their young employees to attend this
school for the required 2 hours a day and Thomas Fielden dutifully supplied
the mill with a certified copy of the attendance register. In
1840, there were 22 such children at the school between the ages
of 10 and 15. Altogether, the school had an average of 90 pupils
enrolled.
Below
is a list of the Ramsden Mill children attending Bottoms school
in 1840, with ages and addresses taken from the 1841 census.
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Name
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age
in 1841 |
address
in 1841 |
Thomas Newell |
10 |
Strines Mill |
Samuel Crossley |
13 |
Bottoms |
James Eastwood |
11 |
Ramsden Wood |
John Newell |
15 |
Strines |
John Jackson |
10 |
Bottoms/Ragby Clough
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Mary Stansfield |
13 |
Bottoms |
Susan Howarth |
13 |
Bottoms |
Hannah Crossley |
15 |
Bottoms |
Zachariah Heyworth
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14 |
White Slack |
Mary Fielden |
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Elizabeth Craven |
13 |
Newbridge |
Hannah Newell |
10 |
Ragby Clough |
John Pearson |
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Paul Greenwood |
13 |
Square |
Betty Sutcliffe |
10 |
Ramsden Wood |
Robert Law |
14 |
Ramsden Wood |
Samuel Law |
15 |
Ramsden Wood |
Hannah Kershaw |
15 |
Inchfield Fold Top
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Betty Jackson |
15 |
Stoneley Barn |
Abraham Newell |
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Susan Pickles |
12 |
Bottoms |
Mary Crossley |
15 |
Bottoms |
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By
1851, Thomas had moved on to Walsden Parochial School, leaving
his niece Sarah Ann Fielden to take over as assistant-in-charge.
Sarah Ann was the daughter of his brother Robert. In 1851, Sarah
had just 44 pupils on the register, all of who studied reading.
The only other subjects on offer were sewing and knitting. Not
surprisingly, the majority of her pupils were girls. Ten of these
children were under 5 years old and none was over the age of 10.
The weekly fees at this time were 3d. It seems the arrangement
between the school and Ramsden Mill had come to an end.
In
1844 a new Factory Act was passed, introducing a half-time system
for all working children under the age of 13. All textile mills
were now required to provide a minimum of 3 hours education for
their child employees and to reduce their working hours to six
and a half hours a day maximum. No child was allowed to work both
a morning and an afternoon on the same day. This greatly increased
the demand for school places.
Factory
Inspectors were given the job of policing the 1844 Act and issuing
licences to the teachers at Factory Schools. One such school,
established in 1842, was attached to Ewood Malt Kiln. The teacher
was a Miss Sarah Greenbank and in 1846, the Inspector, Mr. R.J.
Saunders revoked her teaching licence. He reported:
"I
have annulled the certificate of Sarah Greenbank, a schoolmistress
in Todmorden Township in the Parish of Rochdale for immoral conduct.
The only children attending her school were those employed by
Messrs. Gaukroger and Smith of Ewood factory in the same township."
Looking
at the census, it seems the immoral conduct was the birth of her
illegitimate child, Elizabeth Greenbank, in 1846. Sarah must have
been forgiven, as she is still the teacher in 1851. By then, the
school had just 13 scholars enrolled, 2 boys and 11 girls. Reading,
writing and knitting were on offer, although only 4 of the 13
chose to learn how to write. Miss Sarah Greenbank was the mistress
on a salary of £13
a year. Her 5-year-old daughter was still living with her at the
school.
The National Schools
To
accommodate the greatly increased number of children now obliged
to attend school for at least 3 hours a day, three National Schools
(Church of England) were established: at Christ Church in Todmorden
(1845), at Priestwell, Cross Stone (1847) and at St. Peter's in
Walsden (1848).
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photo
by kind permission of Frank Woolrych |
Todmorden
National School, built on part of the church burial ground, had
153 scholars at the official opening ceremony. By 1851 this had
increased to 294 although this figure included the Sunday school.
There were 90 pupils in the day school. Joseph Gledhill was the
master in charge. |
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Interior
of the National School, by kind permission of Roger Birch
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Cross
Stone National School was built in 1847 at the bottom end of Cross Stone Road. It poached pupils from the Endowed School up the hill adjacent to the church, and by 1851 had one room with 141 children on roll,
all of who were learning to read and write. The teaching staff consisted
of a qualified master, one female teacher and three unpaid monitors. |
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In 1851 the school master was incomer George Aperdail, a 22 year old unmarried man from Kettlewell in Yorkshire. The school master's house is attached to the school. |
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Walsden
Parochial School 1918 by kind permission of Roger Birch |
Walsden
National School, known as the Parochial School, was built adjacent
to St. Peter's church and opened in the spring of 1848. Thomas Fielden,
the master at Bottoms school, took the post of headmaster. There
was one room, 60 feet by 25 feet to house 109 scholars between the
ages of 5 and 15 years, plus one between 15 and 20 years. There
was a wide curriculum on offer for the relatively expensive weekly
fee of 6d. However, reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography
and drawing, with the addition of sewing, knitting and crochet,
were offered, and all 110 children took up geography. |
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In addition to his day job, Thomas ran evening classes at the
school during the winter months. He and three other men taught
24 boys and 16 girls between the ages of 10 and 18 years, all
factory operatives, to write, do arithmetic and learn geography.
Thomas sadly died in 1854 and the post was taken over by his wife,
Alice.
Dame Schools
In
addition to the church schools, many other private establishments
appeared during the 1840's. Some of these were Dame Schools where
the householder taught basic skills such as reading, knitting
and sewing but little else, and seldom writing. The latter was
mainly enforced on them, as they had not mastered the technique
themselves! In 1851, Hannah Greenwood ran such a school at Butcher
Hill in Walsden. She took 19 scholars in her home and taught them
reading. She herself was unable to write. Sarah Lord of Knowlwood
was another, although she was able to write. She had 11 students
learning to read. Esther Crossley at Milking Green, Dulesgate,
took 31 children for reading lessons. She also was unable to write.
The normal fee for a Dame School was 2d.
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Vale Academy |
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At
the opposite end of the scale, the William and James Dewhirst Classical
and Commercial Academy had been established since before 1830. Situated
on Wellington Road in Todmorden (known then as Pin Hall Lane), the
Academy was an elite private school with two rooms at Vale Cottages.
Brothers William and James, and their sisters Jane and Betty, taught
132 pupils to reading and writing. |
Vale
Cottages, Wellington Road |
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William Dewhirst |
The
curriculum also offered the unlikely subjects of French, German,
Latin and Greek amongst others. In 1851 the Academy was in full
swing. There were 2 weekly boarders, Hollinrake Hollinrake aged
12 from Langfield, and William Percy aged 9 from Manchester. Visiting
the Academy in 1851 was a Mr. William Percy aged 31 from Manchester
who was a portrait painter. William was also a very talented amateur artist. |
Several of the Todmorden worthies were
educated at this academy, including Luke Barker who became a major
cotton manufacturer. By 1861, the Dewhirst brothers had given up
their school and were partners in the firm Dewhirst & Nuttall
at Ferneylee Mill.
Photos of portraits kindly
sent by Paul Dewhirst
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Sarah Firth, William's wife |
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It
is thought that in 1851 there were 66 schools in the town of one
sort or another, some just opening on Sundays. Of the day schools,
13 were Dame Schools. There were also 13 private elementary schools
all of which taught reading, writing and arithmetic, and in some
geography, grammar and mathematics were available at extra cost.
There were 4 Church of England schools, 4 schools run by non-conformist
chapels, 2 factory schools and 2 academies.
It
can be seen that reading took precedence over everything else, including
writing. This may explain why many of our ancestors were unable
to sign their names on marriage certificates for many more years
to come.
Bibliography
A
History of Todmorden, Malcolm & Freda Heywood and Bernard Jennings
The
Founding of Schools at Shade, William A. Birch
Portrait
of a Town, Dorothy Dugdale
The
1851 Education Census
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