ABSTRACT
The work of the commissioners has now been discussed from three aspects: the respective claims of poverty and merit; politics, administration, and religion; and the curriculum. Before saying more about the endowed schools in the 1880s and 1890s, it will be convenient to look in more detail at some endowments. To do this for many cases would be tedious and repetitive, yet so much of the debate was highly localized and related to the concerns of particular groups that it is desirable to provide some specific examples. The general treatment so far has been topical, yet in any situation a whole mass of topics was confused together. The case-study method reminds us that any actual debate was much more disorderly and confused than is suggested by the neatness of thematic treatment. For examples I have chosen Bristol and Birmingham. Both had local groups with strong and contrasting views on political and religious issues, and the two cities are very different from one another.
