A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



preparation for the universities. In 1865' it 

 contained 119 boys and won a fair proportion 

 of distinctions at Oxford and Cambridge, 

 admissions to Woolwich and to the Indian 

 Civil Service. The middle school, at fees of 1 1 

 guineas, had 275 bop. The lower school, with 

 fees of ;^5 151. td. a year, had about 259 boys 

 in 1868. All these schools were at first 

 contiguous in Shaw Street, but in 1884 the 

 upper school was removed to new and spacious 

 buildings in Lodge Lane, close to Prince's and 

 Sefton Parks. In 1894 there were 240^ boys 

 in it. In 1867 the college registered itself under 

 the Companies Acts with articles of association, 

 which made it in effect a public endowed school. 

 In 1906 it was under the Rev. John Bennet 

 Lancelot, of the King's School, Chester, and 

 Jesus College, Oxford, second class classics 

 1 887, as principal, with thirteen assistant masters 

 and one mistress, and contained 250 boys, 15 of 

 them boarders, at tuition fees of ^^25 a year. 

 The middle school, at fees of ;^I2 a year, 

 contained 240, and the lower, at 6 guineas, 260 

 boys. These two schools became the property 

 of the City Council after 31 Dec. 1907. 



BOLTON 



LE MOORS 

 SCHOOL 



GRAMMAR 



The latest official return^ of the Endowed 

 Charities of the county borough of Bolton 

 (22 February, 1904) repeats, without addition, 

 the report of the former Commissioners of In- 

 quiry concerning charities in 1828, which attri- 

 butes Bolton Grammar School to Robert Lever 

 in 1656, mentioning, however, an * old schul ' 

 existing before 1644. This 'old school ' was 

 one of the numerous Lancashire schools founded 

 in the first quarter of the sixteenth century, when 

 that ' wild country,' as it is habitually called in 

 the records of the time, was beginning to civilize 

 itself. To Mr. B. T. Barton ' is due the credit 

 of having published the information which ante- 

 dates the school by 120 years. In a case in the 

 Duchy Court in 1 571 a bill was filed to assert 

 the right of the inhabitants of Bolton to certain 

 property. It was shown that by deed of bargain 

 and sale of 4 March, 1524, William Haigh of 

 Wigan gave to John Lever (or Leaver) of Little 

 Lever and others a messuage and tenement in 

 Tockholes at Blackburn, of the yearly value of 

 33J. 4^., towards the maintenance of a school- 

 master to teach a grammar school in Bolton, 

 and that for the accomplishment and perfect 

 obtaining of this object the parishioners had ap- 

 pointed feoffees to hold the lands and apply the 

 profits accordingly, with the right of enfeoffing 



' Schools Inq. Rep. xvii, 575. 

 * Royal Com. on Sec. Ediu. vi, 139. 

 ' End. Char, for County Borough of Bolton, 86, 42. 

 'Hist. Gleanings of Bolton and District, 366 (Bolton 

 haih Chronicle Office), 1881. 



from time to time such others as the parishioners 

 of Bolton should nominate and appoint. If 

 this was the sole endowment of the school it 

 could not have been a free grammar school. 

 There was a schoolhouse which is mentioned in 

 the earliest extant accounts of the new school. 



The school went on according to the trusts 

 till Alexander Orrell, the last survivor of the 

 original feoffees, died, when John Orrell, his 

 nephew and heir, as the bill of 1571 alleges, 

 got the lands conveyed to himself, * by colour 

 whereof he detaineth the issues and profits of the 

 premises to his own private uses.' This was 

 denied by the defendant, but eventually all parties 

 agreed that the lands and income should be 

 applied to the maintenance of the school. 



A further endowment was given by James 

 Gosnell, clerk, of Bolton, by his will of 

 9 January, 1622-3. ^^ S^^^ lands at Balder- 

 stone to James Lever of Darcy Lever and others 

 in trust, four-sixths for a stipendiary preacher 

 other than the vicar, at ^^30 a year, one-sixth for 

 the poor, ' and the other Jth to the use benefit and 

 behoof of the master and usher successively for 

 the time being of and in Bolton aforesaid.' It is 

 not clear whether this gift came into practical 

 operation before by a deed 14 July, 1652, John 

 Gosnell, cousin and next heir of James Gosnell, 

 and two of the executors conveyed the property 

 to a body of trustees. The will is a sufficient 

 proof that the school was existent at the time 

 the will was made, and also sufficiently pros- 

 perous to have an usher as well as a master. 

 The deed of 1652 likewise affords prima-facie 

 evidence that it was going on then. 



Meanwhile Robert Lever, citizen and clothier 

 of London, by his will (16 March, 1641-2)' 

 directed that his brothers, William Lever of 

 Kersal and John Lever of Athrington, both 

 described as gentlemen, should hold the lands he 

 had bought in Harwood in their joint names, but 

 in return should pay ;f350 to his personal estate, 

 ' or in defaulte thereof should sell the lands to the 

 best advantage.' This ;^350, with ^^250 more 

 out of his personal estate, was to be employed 



for such pious uses as I shall appoint in my lyfetime, 

 and for want of such appointment ... in such pious 

 uses as my executors or the survivor of them shall 

 think fitt eyther for erectinge and mayntainynge of a 

 free school or chapel or otherwise as to them shall 

 seem meet. 



The executors were the two brothers and his 

 nephews, Robert Lever of Manchester and James 

 Lever. The testator died 25 May, 1644, and 

 the two brothers before August, 1645. During 

 the war Bolton was three times besieged, and 

 the third time stormed and taken. Moreover, 

 the heir of William Lever was an infant. So 

 nothing was done until during the Protectorate, 

 4 August, 1655, an inquisition was taken at 



596 



Ibid. 369. 



