SCHOOLS 



died. A new scheme under the Charitable 

 Trusts Acts was made by the Charity Commis- 

 sioners, and sealed on 27 March 1907, dealing 

 with the song school. 



The song school had long ceased to serve its 

 original purpose, and had been at all events since 

 the Restoration merely an endowment of the 

 organist of a church. John Barlow (1668-82), 

 John Spencer (1682-1731), Richard Justice 

 (1731-51), are merely names. Samuel Wise, 

 who then came, but held for only three years 

 before becoming organist of St. Mary's, Notting- 

 ham, was the author of several compositions for the 

 harpsichord. Lloyd Raynor, afterwards organist 

 of Lincoln Cathedral, was succeeded by Marley, 

 who resigned in 1758; John, son of John 

 Alcock, organist of Lichfield, appointed when 

 only seventeen years old, then held the office 

 for ten years (1758-68). He was in 1762 

 allowed 3 a year for a house because the song 

 schoolmaster's house, on the north side of the 

 church, was so much out of repair that it was not 

 sufficiently good for him to live in. It was then 

 repaired, but pulled down in 1866, when the 

 present house near the grammar school was 

 erected. Thomas Jackson (1768-82) wrote some 

 chants ; his successor John Calah some Kyries ; 

 William Hunter (1784-1802) shot himself; 

 William Brydges (1802-35) enjoyed the sin- 

 gular combination of duties of adjutant of the 

 town volunteer corps during the Napoleonic 

 scare and of organist. Dr. Dearie, a chorister 

 of King's College, Cambridge, then held for 

 twenty-nine years, and composed an oratorio. 

 Mr. Reay was son of the organist of Hex- 

 ham, and a chorister in Durham Cathedral. 

 As organist at Tiverton in 1847 ne composed 

 several part songs ; there are tunes by him in 

 Hymns Ancient and Modern. He ceased to be 

 organist at Newark in 1901, though he still held 

 the song schoolmastership as a retiring pension 

 till he died 20 July 1905 at the age of eighty- 

 three. 



The scheme of 1907 bisected the endowment, 

 giving the house and 30 a year to the parish 

 church organist on condition of teaching the 

 choristers to sing, and the rest to the grammar 

 school ' on condition that vocal music is efficiently 

 taught to the scholars in the school.' The same 

 scheme settled the non-educational part of the 

 charity in a very obscure and almost untranslat- 

 able clause as three-eighths of the net income, 

 but with an upward limit of 500 a year. As 

 the present gross endowment is only some 

 1,300 a year and the outgoings amount to 

 some ,500 a year, the amount of endowment 

 available for the grammar school, the primary 

 object of the foundation, is only some 450 a 

 pear. Fortunately through the generosity of 

 Mr. Earp, who besides expending 4,631 on 

 the site has given 5,000 for the buildings, sup- 

 plemented by a gift of 500 from Mr. James 



Gresham, and other subscriptions amounting to 

 1,700, including 400 from the Notts. County 

 Council as the local education authority, new 

 buildings have been provided with little further 

 demands on the capital of the endowment. 

 The buildings, designed by Messrs. Sheppard & 

 Lockton, afford accommodation for 150 boys, 

 including 30 boarders, and cost 12,000. 

 They were opened by Lord Belper as chairman 

 of the Notts. County Council on 22 May 1909. 

 There are at present 100 boys and a staff of 

 5 assistant masters ; but it is confidently antici- 

 pated that the numbers will soon pass the high- 

 water mark of 120 to 130 reached under 

 Mr. Plater. 



THE NEWARK GIRLS' SCHOOL 



In the course of this year (1910) it is hoped 

 that Newark will also be provided with a Girls' 

 Grammar or High School by the aid of the en- 

 dowment known as Lilly and Stone's Charity, 

 formerly the Jersey School. The Jersey School 

 was in existence when, on 19 December 1623, 

 John Lilly by deed gave lands at Bathley, now 

 63 acres, the income of which was to be disposed 

 of among the poor children in the Jersey School, 

 and in default of such school among the poor of 

 the town. By will of 6 July 1688 Henry Stone 

 gave to trustees 1,400 to buy lands, half for 

 Lincoln, half for Newark, ' for the employment 

 of poor people in work living and inhabiting 

 within the precincts and limits of the said 

 corporations,' and if the Newark half 'should 

 not be thereafter employed to the use of a Jersey 

 or working school ' there was a gift over to 

 Lincoln, and if they both failed to carry out the 

 intention, to Christ's Hospital, London. Lands 

 were bought at Besthorpe and Girton in Notting- 

 hamshire, partly with funds belonging to another 

 charity, and a proportion of the rents applied 

 to the support of the Jersey School. In this 

 school spinning-wheels were provided on which 

 jersey which meant, not as now a particulai 

 kind of woollen garment, but a particular kind 

 of woollen yarn was spun and made into 

 stockings, which were sold at a cheap rate. 

 In September 1775 the original school was ex- 

 changed for another in Guildhall Lane, mixed 

 up with which were some cottages inhabited 

 by alms-women. The Lincoln Jersey School 

 had ceased before 1837, an< ^ j7> representing 

 its original endowment, was paid over to Christ's 

 Hospital. But the Newark School was still 

 going on in 1877, when it was reported on with 

 a view to a proposed scheme. There were two 

 schoolrooms, one above the other, with eight 

 wheels at work in the lower and four in the 

 upper room, a scholar to each wheel and a 

 teacher to each room. The scholars spun from 

 9 to 12 o'clock, and were given elementary 



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