SCHOOLS 



The master who was so highly praised in 

 1577 meets with equal blame ten years later. 

 The jury on 1 1 October 1587 'present the 

 Skole Mayster becausse ther hathe bene juste 

 proufe that he hathe abussed his skollers with 

 suche unressonable correccion that fewe skollers 

 will tarry with hime,' and he was fined if. 

 This resulted in his departure ; for the jury of 

 22 April I588, 32 'request your Woo[r]shippe, 

 Maister Maior, with the reste of your brethren, 

 for as much as we see our Scoole to increase, by 

 mennes wherof much more delleygence is used 

 then hath benne latlye hertofore, and partlye by 

 a carfulle Ousher well lerned and brought up in 

 teachinge : wee dooe alle most willingly request 

 you that, wheras he hath in wadges for the 

 whole yeare jT6 131. 4^. that it may be mad 

 j8.' At the same time they presented ' the 

 Free Scoole to lacke reparacions, and that the 

 Scoole is greatly anoyed for lacke of casementes,' 

 which looks as if the usual window-breaking had 

 taken place. 



The accounts show that the new master under 

 whom the school prospered was Christopher 

 Heylowe or Healow, with Lancelot Butler for 

 usher. But, alas ! three years later he was 

 accused of the somewhat mean device of stealing 

 the boys' books, and so we get one of the few 

 indications of what the boys learnt. On 

 21 February 1591-2 Launcelot Butler, of Not- 

 tingham, ' ussher,' was bound over to give 

 evidence at the next assizes against Christopher 

 ' Heyloe,' ' skolmaister.' ' Christof her 33 Heyloe, 

 examyned, sayth he stole no bookes of enye 

 hys skolers ; and he saythe he had Tullyez 

 " Orations" aboute Michelmas laste of Humfrey 

 Quermbyez in thys sorte ; whan he redde a 

 lecture thereon in the shoole, he toke hyt into 

 hys chamber, and broughte into ye shoole 

 agayne ; and he gave to Maister Greyez sonne 

 an other Terens in eschange for hys ; the 

 Ovidez "Metamorphosocez" he sayth he boughte 

 hyt of the stacyoner aboute a yere agone.' 

 Though this entry is cancelled it is preceded by 

 an uncancelled entry 34 of the same date: 

 ' Yt ys agrede yat Maister Cristofer Heyloe, 

 nowe Shoolemaister of the Free Shoole, shalbe 

 displased and shalle be no longer Shoolemaister 

 there ; the towne to paye hym 10 and he to 

 receyve hys wagez for thys quarter, viz. 5 

 marces.' The chamberlain's accounts for the 

 year show : 'Item given to Maister Healow, late 

 Scolemai[ster] of Frescoole, by the commaunde- 

 ment of Maister Maior and his brethren and 

 others of the Clothinge [i.e. livery], 10.' So 

 that it would seem that though Heyloe was not 

 convicted there was sufficient case against him 

 to make his removal desirable. The school 

 accounts show that he was also paid 40*. for 

 implements in the school. Healow seems to 



" Borough Rec. iv, 223. 

 "Ibid. 236. 



14 Ibid. 235. 



have taken his revenge ; for in the following 

 year, n May 1593, tne J UI 7 presented 'Maister 

 Healowe for slarndring our towne with the sick- 

 nes, wich will be to our Dekaye.' He was not, 

 however, fined, but discharged (Disoneratur). 

 Two years later he is found doing clerical 

 work at St. Mary's : ' Minutes of the Common 

 Council 23 April 1595, Yt ys ordered and 

 decryed, yat Maister Heylowe shalbe tenante of 

 the Freschole Hous in Snenton, paying bye yere 

 13*. ifd. at Michel[mas] and th'annunc[iacion], 

 duryng al suche tyme as he dothe servyce at 

 Sainte Maryez Churche, and to do repara- 

 cyons.' 



Meanwhile the corporation found that ' the 

 lands and tenements of the annual value of 2O 

 marks are so thin and slight as not to suffice for 

 the maintenance of the school,' and therefore 

 ' humbly asked the royal munificence ' of Queen 

 Elizabeth. She, on 8 March 1593-4, 'greatly 

 affecting such pious and devout works and pur- 

 poses and desiring after her power to maintain, 

 augment and promote them, graciously assented,' 

 and by letters patent, 35 confirmed the charter of 

 Henry VIII, and ' for the better sustenance and 

 maintenance of the school ' granted them licence 

 to acquire lands for it up to the value of 40 

 marks, or 26 135. 4^. double the old amount, 

 ' to be for ever disposed and converted to the 

 sustenance and maintenance of the Master or 

 Pedagogue, and Usher or Underpedagogue ' and 

 the defence of the property, 'and not otherwise 

 or to any other uses or purposes.' No stronger 

 or more effective proof could be given that 

 calling the school a free school did not mean 

 that it was free from the Statute of Mortmain, 

 since a new licence had thus to be obtained when 

 it was intended to increase the income to meet 

 modern requirements. It is probable that the 

 application for the new charter with increased 

 licence in mortmain was not a voluntary act on 

 the part of the governors. Already we saw that 

 in 1578 the net income of the school was ^20, 

 well beyond the authorized amount of _ 1 3 6s. %d. y 

 and in 1594 it was over 27. Throughout 

 the reign of Elizabeth and James I, till a quieting 

 Act was passed in 1620, there was a regular trade 

 by sharp attorneys and others in informations 

 under the Chantries and Monasteries Dissolution 

 Acts, alleging that lands properly fell within 

 them and were concealed from the Crown. 

 What with the obit provisions of the foundation 

 ordinance and the added income arising from 

 John Heskey's gift, which confirmed and added 

 to the ' superstitious use,' and the breach of the 

 Statute of Mortmain by exceeding the licence, 

 there was ample scope for an action against the 

 governors. Whether any proceedings were 

 actually taken or not, the new patent was a 



55 Pat. 36 Eliz. pt. xiv, m. 9, 10. In this docu 

 ment the upward limit is, by a slip, said to be 

 as well as the correct amount of 40 marks. 



225 



2 9 



