SCHOOLS 



said college in the rudiments of grammar, gratis without 

 exaction of money or other thing, according to ordi- 

 nances to be made.' 



William Capon, professor of sacred theology (a 

 variant for D.D.), was appointed dean or master. 

 On a vacancy in the deanery the priests, clerks 

 and scholars were to elect his successor ; and 

 vacancies among the priests, clerks or scholars 

 were in like manner to be filled by election by 

 them with the dean. On 20 August the king 

 inspected and confirmed a bull of Clement VII 

 dated 1 2 June by which, ' that the inmates of the 

 college might more quietly and freely give their 

 labour to learning,' he exempted it from all 

 ecclesiastical jurisdiction but that of the pope, and 

 appointed the 2 archbishops for the time being 

 guardians of its liberties. 



There can be no manner of doubt that in this 

 foundation Wolsey was consciously and of set 

 purpose copying the foundation of Winchester 

 and Eton ; following the latter where it deviated 

 from the model of Winchester, particularly in 

 making the school expressly a free grammar 

 school, open, free of payment, to all comers from 

 the kingdom of England, whereas Wykeham had 

 expressly provided that besides the 70 scholars 

 only 10 gentlemen-commoners (nobilium) should 

 be admitted, and they were to pay for their board 

 and schooling, so as to be no burden to the college. 



How far Wolsey intended to follow these pre- 

 cedents by uniting his college at Ipswich with his 

 college at Oxford, in the same way as Winchester 

 College sent its boys to New College, Oxford, 

 and Eton College sent its boys to King's College, 

 Cambridge, we do not know, as the statutes of the 

 college were never made. But it may be noted 

 that William Capon the dean was not an Oxford 

 but a Cambridge man, proctor there in 1509 and 

 Master of Jesus College in I 5 1 6, amply beneficed 

 with prebends at Bangor, Beverley, &c, and pre- 

 centor of St. Mary's, Southampton, where by his 

 will 31 July, 1550, he founded (or refounded and 

 endowed) the still existing grammar school. 



It is strange to observe that while Cardinal 

 College at Oxford far exceeded in size New Col- 

 lege, until that time by far the largest foundation in 

 that University, Ipswich College Grammar School 

 was not on so large a scale as the Grammar 

 Schools of the colleges of Eton and Winchester. 

 We know the exact details of what was con- 

 templated from a most interesting document 

 prepared by and perhaps in the handwriting of 

 Thomas Cromwell, the famous malleus monacborum, 

 who was Wolsey's business factotum in the 

 establishment of the two colleges : — i 



Rate of charges of wages, comons and lyvercs for the 

 Master, felavvs, conducts, scolars and bedesmen 

 to be maintained in a College entendcd by my 

 lorde cardinalle grace to be established within 

 the town of Ipswich. 



1 Chapter House Books, now called Exchequer 

 Treasury of Receipt. L.andP. Hen. Fill, iv, 4229 (8). 



2 3 



A President or Master . . 

 12 felaws, prests, £4. each . 

 A master in gramcr, taking to 



his stipend yerely . 

 A Usher taking for his wages 



yerely 



A second Usher and keeper 



of the Scolehouse . 

 To 12 olde men echc taking 



for his wages byycre 1 p.^.d. 



1 1 1 



6 8 



There were to be 9 servants costing £lj 13$. 4</., 

 and fees of lawyers and stewards ^5. 



Under the heading of 



' Comons ' were, the 



Master's Commons . . 8134 

 12 'felaws' at 1 6d. a week 42 o o 

 ' 8 clerkys and 2 ushers ' at 



121/. a week 26 o o 



' Scolemaster' at 161/. a week 394 

 'The comons of 50 children 



after 6d.' a pece wekely ' . 63 5 4 

 8 ' queresters ' at 64. a week 10 8 o 



which with servants at \0d. and old men at 6d. 

 made a total for Commons of £184 5*. 4^. 



Under the heading of ' Lyveres ' there was a 

 strict gradation ; the President was to have 

 5 yds. of cloth at 6s. a yard, costing 30J. ; the 

 schoolmaster 4 yards at 5*. a yard, the fellows 

 4 yards at 4/., the clerks 3^ yards at 3;. $d., the 



2 ushers 3 £ yards at 35., the 50 'chylderne' 



3 yards at 2s. 8d., the servants at the same 

 rate, the queresters 2^ yards at is. q.d., and finally 

 the bedemen 3^ yards at is. The cost of all the 

 liveries was £47 15*. The total charge of 

 the college was ^345 6s. a year. 



It will be noticed that the number of ' children,' 

 i.e. resident scholars, was only 50, instead of 70 

 as at Winchester and Eton, and the cost of their 

 commons was placed considerably lower, at 6d. a 

 week instead of Sd. to a shilling. So, too, the 

 number of choristers was 8 instead of 16. It is 

 noticeable on the other hand that the head master 

 has risen in status and pay relatively to the 

 head of the college. For while at Winchester 

 and Eton the warden got £30 a year and the 

 head master only £10 a year, at Ipswich the 

 head master got the same stipend as the dean, 

 £13 6s. Sd. The fellows were 12 in number 

 instead of 10, but on the other hand they only 

 received ^4 a year and commons at is. j\.d. a 

 week instead of jTy a year and commons at is. a 

 week. 3 It may be that living had become cheaper 

 since the days of Wykeham and Henry VI, 

 though it hardly seems likely ; or that the supply 



' In Wodderspoon's Mem. of Ipswich this is quoted 

 as %d. per week. But this would mean over £2 1 a 

 year more than the sum given. 



5 This figure needs explanation ; probably it is for 

 part of a year, or the number of priests had not been 

 filled up. 



29 42 



