By the Rev. W. H. Jones. 43 
Corporation of Salisbury urging that their city was a more conve- 
nient situation for such a school; Bradford and Trowbridge, on the 
other hand, being described as “‘wpland towns, with scanty populations 
and a limited resort of gentlemen and merchants; for which rea- 
son,” the petitioners urged, “there was no need of such schools, nor 
any profit in good learning.” The establishment was: therefore 
shifted to Salisbury, where it shared the fate which so often attends 
unpurchased favours. It was systematically neglected, and by the 
_year 1608 had so declined as to require a committee of investigation. 
Next we hear of it occupying some rooms at the Old George Inn, 
(still standing,) till it was driven to the Castle Inn. The following 
entry, in the Corporation Books for 1624, will show how highly 
the good citizens of Salisbury esteemed education :—“ Ordered, that 
the school be shifted from the George, that it may no longer be 
chargeable and burdensome to the Corporation.” The burgesses 
who voted for no school were quite willing to have plenty of play, 
and so we find the next entry to be this: —“ Ordered that the come- 
dians shall from henceforth have their plays at the George.” 
Through this interference of the burgesses of Salisbury, our up- 
land Town was, as far as our present information extends, without 
provision for the education of its youth till the year 1715, a period 
of more than 150 years. In November, 1715, the Rev. Nathan 
1 A rough estimate of the population a few years later than this date (1559), 
may be formed, by taking the number of burials registered and reckoning them 
as averaging two per cent, of the whole population. This is, of course, a very 
low average, but it allows for any accidental omissions in the Register and gives 
us probably the maximum amount. The calculation, of course, extends only to 
those inhabiting the town and its neighbourhood, exclusive of the chapelries, 
each of which had its place of interment. On this estimate the following 
results are obtained : 
For the Average Burials Probable 
10 years ending 1590, perannum, 31'8 population, 1590 
-F 1600 + 34:3 + 1715 
i 1610 ‘. 33°9 " 1695 
ree > 16RD ‘ 29° i 1450 
1630 23'8 1190 
” ” ” 
This gives an average population for the 50 years ending 1630 of from 1500 to 
1600. ‘The area of this population was at least siz thousand acres, so that pro- 
bably not more than half the number of inhabitants lived in the town. This 
night fairly be deemed a ‘‘scanty population.” 
