SCHOOLS 



the ' Companie ' ordered ' thatt Mr. Pitts, the 

 Schoole maister, shall nott preach att anie tyme 

 duringe the tyme of his beinge Schoolemaister, 

 unlesse, by the vote and lycence of Mr. Maior 

 and Councell, hee bee thereunto lycenced and 

 appoynted.' But on i July 1658 'Lycence is 

 graunted to Mr. Pitts to preach att St. Marie's 

 or elsewhere, the nexte Lords day onely, not 

 withstandinge anie order to the contrarie.' 

 * 17 June 1658. Mr. Pitts the Scholemaister, 

 acquayntinge the Companie of his want of an Usher 

 to assist him, hee hath proposed Mr. Thomas 

 Ellkinton to have thatt ymployment ; and the 

 Companie doe take tyme until Mich a - nexte to 

 approve of the saied Mr. Ellkinton and to have 

 the assistance of Mr. Grauntt, Mr. Reynolds and 

 Mr. Barrett or anie 2 of them for his triall and 

 approbacion.' 



The following entry " shows that there had 

 been great laxity in the administration of the 

 school endowment: '3 March 1658-9. It is 

 ordered that it be putt to the vote wheather 

 the schoole lands should be allotted for Burgesse 

 parts, 68 " or to continue for the sole use of the 

 Schoole. ... It is ordered, that all such lands 

 belonginge to the Free Schoole as have beene 

 formerly allotted for burgesse partes, shall, from 

 hence forward, as such Burgesse parts shall come 

 in, be for ever hereafter imployed to the use of 

 the Schoole.' 



Mr. Pitts seems to have departed from the 

 school without adequate notice. He went on to 

 Walkeringham School, Norfolk. 55 " 



5 February i663~4. M This day Mr. Samuell 

 Birch M.A. is by this society conducted and hired 

 [and] chosen to bee Schoolemaster of the free Schoole 

 of the towne of Nottingham aforesaid and the said 

 Mr. Birch is to have 50 per ann. . . . And . . . hath 

 promised that he will not leave the sayd Schoole with- 

 out giving a quarter's warning, in case hee should go 

 from it ; also that he will not take a personage nor 

 vicorage, nor curatship upon him, nor preach without 

 the consent of the Maior and Schoole-guardians, or 

 2 of them, firste had and obteined ; also that he will 

 bring his schollers to church on Frydays in Lent, 

 to heare divine service etc. and likewise use prayers 

 every morning in the schoole. 



Birch had been an unsuccessful competitor on 

 Pitts' election. There was the usual flow of 

 ushers. '27 April 1664. This day Mr. Bastian 

 was present, and by reason of his ministeriall 

 function is willing to relinquish his place, beinge 

 the under Schoolemaster, and the Schoolewardens 

 are requested to search out for another to perform 

 his place. . . '17 June' [blank in MS.] Bradshawe, 

 now an Undergraduate of Pembroke Hall, Cam- 

 bridge, shalbe usher of the Grammer Free Schoole 

 of this towne of Nottingham, if he shall accepte 



K Borough Rec. v, 302. 



"* i.e. parts of the common lands allotted to bur- 

 gesses. 



65b St. John's Col. Reg. pt. ii, 74. 

 56 Borough Rec. v, 312. 



thereof, and make his speedy comeinge to this 

 towne.' Bradshaw, who took his B.A. degree this 

 year at Cambridge and his M.A. degree in 1668, 

 came and held office for seven years. On 

 23 August 1671 Mr. Joshuah Vringe or Uring 

 was elected to ' succeede Mr. Bradshaw in the 

 usher's place in the Freeschoole, at the same 

 Sallary and condicions as Mr. Bradshaw formerly 

 had.' Five of Birch's pupils were admitted to 

 St. John's College between 1666 and 1672 ; the 

 last, Edward Greathead of Stow, Lincolnshire, 

 was presumably a boarder. 



On 30 May 1672 57 the council 'freely 

 elected Mr. Jeremiah Cudworth, M.A., to be 

 Schoole-master in the place of Mr. Samuell 

 Byrch, at the same yearely Sallary and under 

 the same lymitacions and restriccions as Mr. Byrch 

 was obliged unto.' Cudworth was of Christ's 

 College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. 

 degree in 1662 and M.A. in 1668. 



On 25 May 1677 a committee was appointed 

 to ' view the Free Schoole hou[s]e in order to the 

 pulling down the West end.' It seems to have 

 been in contemplation to remove the school 

 altogether, a committee being ordered to ' be 

 imployed to treate with Roberte Pierrepont esq., 

 aboute the Exchang of the Freeschoole.' But 

 nothing came of it. On 26 July 1677 Mr. John 

 Littlefaire, B.A., was made ' Usher of the said 

 Freeschoole dureinge pleasure in the place of 

 Mr. Joshuah Vringe, deceased.' 



Littlefaire was an 'old boy,' son of a 'mercer,' 

 who had gone from the school to St. John's on 

 27 April 1674 at seventeen years of age, and was 

 now only just twenty. On his death Mr. Samuel 

 Birch was on 12 August 1685 elected to serve 

 in his room. He was also probably an ' old 

 boy ' and the son of the former head master and 

 a pupil of Cudworth's, as he was of Christ's 

 College, B.A. 1678, M.A. 1682. On 2 De- 

 cember 1687 M we find this entry in the Council 

 Book : ' Be it remembered that this present day, 

 the abovesaid Mr. Jeremiah Cudworth came 

 personally into this house, and voluntarily re- 

 quested to resign up his place of Head School- 

 master of the Freeschoole of this town, in regard 

 he had happened upon another preferment, which 

 request was readily granted by this house, and 

 ordered, that for the singular prudent and faith- 

 full management of his said office for divers 

 yeares last past, whereby ye said school hath very 

 much flourished, that their gratefull acknow- 

 ledgements of his meritts may be recorded in 

 the leiger book, to remain to posteritye.' The 

 same day it is noted that, Cudworth ' being pre- 

 ferred to a considerable hireing, in a full house 

 Mr. Knight was unanimously chosen in his 

 place of head Schoolemaster aforesaid.' A few 

 days later, 18 January 1687-8, 'the summe of 

 6 per ann.' was 'added to the salary of the 

 under Schoolmaster, it being thought formerly 



" Borough Rec. v, 317. M Ibid. 335. 



231 



