SCHOOLS 



required by the statutes was of course impossible when the chapel was 

 not built. The site of the school before the building of the present 

 college is thus fixed. It was just beyond the east gate of the city on the 

 lower slope of St. Giles' Hill. 



The true date of the foundation of Winchester College is 20 

 October, 1382, and from that time the corporate existence of the warden 

 and seventy scholars has been continuously maintained. The succession 

 of scholars had begun still earlier, certainly in 1379, most probably 

 before 1373, the date of the appointment of Richard Herton as master, 

 and perhaps as early as 1369, when New College was in process of 

 being founded. 



The college however was not moved to its present buildings for 

 some years. The foundation stone of the new buildings was laid on 

 26 March, 1387. William Winford, mason, was the architect, and 

 Simon Membury, clerk, treasurer of Wolvesey, the surveyor or clerk of 

 the works. The buildings were so far completed by 14 March, 1394, 

 that a new warden, John Morys, fellow of New College, and an old 

 Wykehamist, 1 then went into residence. A fortnight afterwards, at 9 

 a.m. on Saturday, 28 March, I394, 2 the warden, headmaster, second 

 master and scholars ' marched in procession with cross up-lifted before, 

 and solemn chant ' and took possession. Outer Gate was not then 

 commenced and Chapel was not finished ; the former was begun in 

 November 3 following and the latter was consecrated on 17 July, 1395.* 

 The Society which took possession of the buildings on 28 March, 

 1394, consisted of a warden, headmaster, usher, chapel clerk and sixty- 

 nine scholars. The full tale of the society was not made up for a year 

 or two. 



THE OBJECT OF THE COLLEGE 



Wykeham's views of the purport of the foundation of his college 

 are fully stated in the foundation documents. The charter of 1382 

 states the reasons for which he had lately founded a college ' of seventy 

 poor scholars, clerks, to study theology, canon and civil law, and arts, 

 in the University of Oxford.' In a long and involved sentence we 

 are given to understand that Wykeham founded the college at Win- 

 chester as a preparatory school for the college at Oxford ; because 

 without a knowledge of the Latin literature and language it was 

 impossible to begin or satisfactorily carry on the study of the higher 

 faculties for the promotion of which the Oxford college was designed. 

 The college was not intended for all who wanted a knowledge of the 

 classics, but chiefly for those whose means were not sufficient, without 

 assistance, to enable them to stay at school long enough to master it. 



1 His name is found as a fellow in the first New College Hall Book, 1386. He came from Glou- 

 cester diocese. 



z The date was treated as 1393 when the Quingentenary of the college was celebrated in 1893. 

 But there is no doubt that 1394 is the correct date as the earliest Account Roll shows. See chapter xi., 

 ' Our opening Day,' of History, p. 127, for an exhaustive discussion of the question. 



3 History, p. 109. 



* Ibid. p. 1 34. Not December 1 3, as in Annals. 



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