A HISTORY OF SURREY 



in the English and writing schools, in doles 

 to the poor, and in clothing charity school 

 boys. In 1719 the first University Exhibition, 

 consisting in a payment of ;f 12, was given to 

 one George Gvrin. In 1729' the ancient 

 portrait of Queen Elizabeth, which hangs in 

 the Governors' room at the school, was 

 acquired under circumstances which do not 

 vouch for its being authentic. On 30 May 

 1732 the masters were directed not to 'ask 

 or receive any money for admittance or 

 breaking up of the boys or their parents who 

 do not pay to the poor of this parish, or 

 demand any money of any person whatsoever 

 on account of any admittance or breaking up.' 

 The breaking-up money was a customary 

 payment, which existed in all schools,' and 

 partly mitigated the rigour of the freedom 

 of the Grammar Schools. In 1757 not only 

 were the masters directed not to take payment 

 from the very poor or to demand payment 

 from any, but the right of any payment 

 whatever was particularly forbidden, ' That 

 no master take any payment from any boy 

 of any kind under pain of suspension.* 



In 1 81 8,' in spite of the heavy slices taken 

 off the property for eleemosynary purposes, 

 the school income had increased to £1,000 a 

 year. The Latin School consisted of 60 boys 

 under two masters, the Writing School of 

 40 boys under two masters, and the English 

 or Reading School of 150 boys under three 

 masters. No payments whatever were made 

 for fees, whether tuition or other, and books 

 were supplied gratis. It was stated in subse- 

 quent chancery proceedings that the books 

 were sold by the boys to buy sweets. The 

 school was in a very low state educationally. 

 Though there were £So exhibitions to the 

 University, the value being relatively about 

 twice what i^So is now, they were hardly 

 ever applied for. The son of the then head- 

 master, Mr. Blencowe, obtained one in 1809 ; 

 and since then another clergyman's son had 



» Governors' Minutes, 12 February 1728-9, 

 ' A motion having been formerly made that an 

 original picture of Queen Elizabeth, the founder of 

 this Free School, should be bought, Samuel Pugh, 

 Esq., one of the Governors, generously offered at 

 his own proper costs and charges to provide such 

 picture; which he hath accordingly done and 

 made a present" thereof to this court which they 

 gratefully accept.' 



' Even the scholars of Winchester and Eton had 

 to pay j£io a year, a substantial fee at this time. A 

 tender-conscienced Head Master at Winchester 

 left £20,000 to his successors to abolish this illegal 

 exaction in the first quarter of the nineteenth 

 century. 



' C.C.R., i. 209. 



been given one. Before that, there had been 

 no applications for many years. 



In 1830 the old school, which stood on the 

 side of Tooley Street,* opposite St. Olave's 

 church, was pulled down to make the ap- 

 proaches to the present London Bridge. 

 On 17 November 1835 a new school was 

 opened in Bermondsey Street at the eastern 

 end of the parish. 



A scheme of the Court of Chancery, 21 

 July 1837, which chiefly concerned the 

 management of the property, directed the 

 Grammar School to be called the Classical 

 School, increased the exhibitions to four of 

 £^0 each, and ordered them to be advertised, 

 as only five exhibitions had been applied for 

 in 36 years. 



In 1849 the new school was expropriated 

 by the London and Greenwich Railway 

 Company for its station, and the school was 

 for some time carried on in a warehouse at 

 Maze Pond. Eventually in 1885 new school 

 buildings were placed on the present site, 

 described in 1865 ° 'as a fine gothic 

 mansion, built for architectural effect 

 rather than scholastic use — which, however 

 pompous, shows little knowledge of educa- 

 tional requirements.' The school itself at 

 that time consisted of a classical school of 

 190 boys and an English school of 281 ; the 

 average attendance being about 420. But the 

 classical school was a misnomer. Only six 

 boys learnt Latin, and two Greek, and thirty 

 French. Of the four assistant masters in it, 

 three were elementary teachers, while only 

 sixteen boys were above fourteen years old. 

 In 35 years since 1830 only thirteen exhibi- 

 tions had been applied for. Thus one of the 

 largest school endowments in the country, 

 over ^^5,000 a year, was wasted in giving 

 elementary education to 420 boys. 



In 1859 t^s Rsv. Andrew Johnston was 

 appointed Headmaster, and gradually matters 

 were improved. An attempt to introduce non- 

 parishioners into the schools was made, and 

 at length their admission was sanctioned by 

 a Chancery Scheme in 1869. The school 

 rapidly improved, 80 that in 1879 ^^^ Head- 

 master was able to report that the Classical 

 School consisted of ' free parishioners and 

 strangers paying six guineas per annum (more 

 than 300 in number).' The numbers in fact 

 rose from 13 to 320. Two other divisions of 



* Tooley really is a corruption of St. Olave's. In 

 the first Vestry Minute Book the church itself is 

 several times called Saint Toolys, just as the Bro- 

 therhood of St. Ann's is called in the same book 

 Saint Tane. 



» Schools Inquiry Commission, vii. 632. 

 t86 



