A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK 



7 boarders and 5 paying day-scholars, while one 

 free foundationer divided his time between master 

 and usher. The usher was Mr. Storr, the son 

 of the former master, and had held office since 

 1809. He had 34 boys, 21 free and 13 paying, 

 learning little but the 3 R's. The commis- 

 sioners expressed a very strong opinion that the 

 head master had full authority over the usher, 

 and that in the interests of the school the corpora- 

 tion should see to it that this was recognized in 

 practice. In 1 866, in spite of a Chancery scheme 

 made in 1860, there were only 25 boys at fees 

 of 2 a year. 



A scheme made under the Endowed Schools 

 Acts on 24 March, 1876, established a repre- 

 sentative governing body, pensioned off the then 

 master and usher, and severed the preacher- 

 ship from the mastership, usually held with it. 

 Under the Rev. Benjamin Reed, B.A. Lond., 

 1882, appointed head master 1884, with two 

 assistant masters, there are now 55 boys, of 

 whom 21 are boarders, paying tuition fees of 

 6 guineas a year. 



BURY ST. EDMUNDS GRAMMAR 

 SCHOOL 



It may safely be assumed that Bury St. 

 Edmunds Grammar School began with the col- 

 lege of secular priests, instituted there by King 

 Athelstan, as at Beverley in Yorkshire, Ripon, 

 and Durham. These colleges were founded in 

 pursuance of the settled policy of the Lady of 

 the Mercians, Ethelfled, and King Edward the 

 Elder, in consolidating their conquests from the 

 Danes by the establishment of burghs with full 

 civil and ecclesiastical institutions, conspicuous 

 being a collegiate church with its invariable con- 

 comitant a grammar school, thus confirming ' by 

 arts what she had achieved by arms, educating the 

 heathen when she had subdued them.' ' 



When the secular canons were turned out, as 

 it is said, by King Canute, the school must no 

 doubt have been continued, and when the abbot 

 was given episcopal powers, if it had not done so 

 before, must have fallen under the government 

 of the monastery. Whether that took place in 

 the reign of William the Conqueror, as is 

 probable, or earlier, as certain charters forged 

 by the monks alleged, it is difficult to decide. 

 The earliest actual mention of Bury School is 

 about 1181. Abbot Samson, the hero of the 

 chronicle of Jocelyn of Brakelond, soon after 

 he had been made abbot (1180), when Master 

 Walter, son of Master William of Diss (Dice), 

 asked by way of charity for the vicarage of 

 Cheventon, answered 



Your father was schoolmaster, and when I was a poor 

 clerk he granted me the entry of his school and the 



1 A. F. Leach, Hut. of Warwick School and College, 12. 



benefit of learning in it without any payment (facto) 

 and by way of charity, so I for God's sake grant you 

 what you ask. 



Soon after 



the abbot bought a stone house (domos laflJeas) in the 

 town of St. Edmunds, and assigned it for keeping 

 school in it (fas scolatum regimini assignavii) on con- 

 dition that four clerks should for ever be free of the 

 rent of the house, towards which every scholar 

 whether able or not was compelled to pay a penny 

 or a halfpenny twice a year. 



As was seen to be the case at Winchester, 

 Durham, and St. Albans, the school was not in 

 the abbey or its precinct, but outside it in the 

 town, it was taught by a secular not by a monk, 

 and was frequented by scholars who were clerks 

 not monks. At Bury the school was not ap- 

 parently endowed, as free scholars were only 

 admitted by favour of the master, and conse- 

 quently the scholars even had to pay the rent of 

 the schoolhouse, until Abbot Samson bought the 

 stone house and gave it to the school. 



The excellent abbot's charity was not quite 

 so great as appears at first sight, as there is every 

 reason to believe that it was a Jew's house, 

 which he got at a low price, since it was pre- 

 cisely at this time that he got leave from the 

 king to expel the Jews from Bury, on the 

 ground that everyone within the sacred league 3 

 (bannam leucani) must be either men of St. Edmund 

 or go. They preferred to go, and were allowed 

 to take their personal property with them, but 

 had to sell their houses. The foundation of the 

 hospital at Babwell by the same abbot at the 

 same time was due to the utilization of the same 

 opportunities. 



We are able to fix the exact site of the school 

 from the I3th century deeds in the Register of 

 the cellarer of the abbey. 3 By an undated deed 

 witnessed by Geoffrey son of Robert le Hacher- 

 man (a strange corruption for alderman) and 

 Nicholas Fuke and Gilbert of Grim, bailiffs ; 

 Luke Johnson and John the goldsmith, Sara 

 Sturbote gave her son Michael and his children 

 Michael and Yvette (Ivota) for 305. in silver half 

 a house at the entrance of the street called 

 Scolhallestrete by the high school (juxta magnas * 

 sco/as) between the street leading to the alderman's 

 grange and the messuage of the said Michael. 

 By a later deed of 25 April, 1295,' under the 

 heading of Reymstrete and Scolhallestret the 



' At Bury, as at Beverley and Ripon and others of 

 Athelstan's foundations, the ' liberty ' of the college 

 extended for a mile in every direction, and was 

 marked by 4 crosses at the 4 points of the compass. 

 This liberty was a sanctuary, and heavy penalties 

 were imposed for any breach of the peace in its 

 limits. 



3 Camb. Univ. Lib. G.G. iv, 4, fol. 249. 



*cf. magnus chorus = high choir ; magnus cancel- 

 larius = high chancellor. 



6 Camb. Univ. Lib. G.G. iv, 4, fol. 135. 



306 



