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HANDBOOKS TO
THE GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

RUGBY

GEORGE BELL & SONS
LONDON: YORK ST., COVEN r GARDEN

NEW YORK : 66, FIFTH AVENUE, AND
BOMBAY : 53, ESPLANADE ROAD
CAMBRIDGE: DEIGHTON, BELL & CO.

E. If. Speight.

DR. ARNOLD.
From a Portrait by G, Richmond. K.A.

RUGBY

H. C. BRADBY, B.A.

ASSISTANT MASTER AT RUGBY SCHOOL

WITH FORTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS, CHIEFLY FROM PHOTOGRAPHS

LONDON

GEORGE BELL AND SONS
igoo

<;HISWICK PRESS : CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND co.

TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.

PREFACE

THERE is nothing new in this little book, which
simply aims at giving in a convenient form in-
formation about the School. I have endeavoured to
make it as complete and accurate as possible, but I
have no doubt that there are omissions and mistakes,
and I shall be very grateful to any reader who will
point out such to me.

Those who wish to make fuller acquaintance with
the history of the School may be referred to the two
standard works which have supplied the materials for
the short sketch in this book, viz., " Rugby, the School
and Neighbourhood," collected and arranged from the
writings of the late M. H. Bloxam, O.R., F.S.A., by
the Rev. W. H. Payne-Smith, M.A. (1889), and "A
History of Rugby School," by W. H. D. Rouse, M.A.
(1898).

My best thanks are due to the Rev. A. T. Michell,
Mr. Morris Davies, Mr. A. J. Lawrence, and other Old
Rugbeians for helping me with much information ; also
to the Old Rugbeian Society for the use of the map
on p. 91, and to Messrs. E. H. Speight and G. A. Dean
for the use of many photographs.

Vll

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL 3

II. SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS ... 85

III. THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL . . . .155

IV. SOCIETIES, GAMES, AND OTHER INTERESTS . 177

TIME TABLE 227

INDEX 229

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

DR. ARNOLD frontispiece

RUGBY SCHOOL. ENTRANCE FROM THE HIGH STREET 2

HIGH STREET AND ENTRANCE TO SCHOOL ... 3

BROWNSOVER PARSONAGE 5

RUGBY SCHOOL IN 1809. ENTRANCE TO THE HALL . u

OLD SCHOOL HOUSE .-33

T. JAMES, S.T.P 37

THE ISLAND AS IT WAS, SHOWING MOAT ... 47

SCHOOL BUILDINGS, SHOWING OLD CHAPEL . . 51

SCHOOL BUILDINGS FROM HILLMORTON ROAD . . 53

SCHOOL BUILDINGS, SHOWING OLD CHAPEL (1870) . 57
SCHOOL HOUSE ENTRANCE IN 1816 . . .60

ENTRANCE TO SCHOOL HOUSE 61

OLD CHAPEL, WEST END 65

OLD SCHOOL BUILDINGS FROM THE CLOSE ... 84

THE THREE TREES 89

MAP TO ILLUSTRATE SUCCESSIVE ADDITIONS TO CLOSE
FROM ORIGINAL SURVEYS OF 1750, 1843, AND

1886 91

THE ISLAND AND OLD PAVILION 95

SCHOOL HOUSE IN 1816 101

OLD QUADRANGLE, NORTH-EAST CORNER . . .103

WINDOW IN OLD LIBRARY 105

OLD QUADRANGLE, SOUTH-EAST CORNER . . .107

OLD BIG SCHOOI 1 1 1

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

NEW QUADRANGLE 114

OLD CHAPEL, WEST END .117

CHAPEL, SHOWING NEW WEST END . . . .119

CHAPEL, LOOKING EAST 123

EAST WINDOW OF CHAPEL . . . . .126

SO-CALLED "PRESENTATION" WINDOW. . . .129

CHAPEL, NEW WEST END 134

NEW BIGSIDE, BATH, AND GYMNASIUM . . .139

STATUE OF THOMAS HUGHES 142

TEMPLE READING ROOM. . . . . .143

ART MUSEUM . . . 147

NEW BIG SCHOOL 149

REV. H. A. JAMES, D.D., PRESENT HEAD MASTER . 154
STUDY OF HEAD OF SCHOOL HOUSE . . . .157

GOING INTO CHAPEL 165

SCHOOL BUILDINGS, BEFORE THE TREES FELL . .176

SCHOOL RIFLE CORPS 183

A SCRUMMAGE ON OLD BIGSIDE 193

OLD BIGSIDE AND SCHOOL BUILDINGS .... 199

OLD BIGSIDE . . . • 207

A STEEPLECHASE 213

SKETCH-MAP OF THE SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND

BOARDING HOUSES en,/

* l

Si .2

Photo. E. H. Speight.

HICH STREET AND ENTRANCE TO SCHOOL.

RUGBY

CHAPTER I

HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL

RUGBY SCHOOL was founded in the year 1567,
in accordance with the will of Lawrence Sheriffe,
" citizen and grocer of London." The exact date of
the founder's birth is not known, but it must have been
between five and ten years after Henry VIII. had
ascended the throne, for in 1541 he had finished his
apprenticeship and was admitted to the freedom of
the Grocers' Company. The place of his birth has
been in dispute, and the honour has been claimed not
only for Rugby itself, but also for the little village of

Lawrence Sheriffe RUGBY [CHAP. I

Brownsover, some two miles distant on the other side
of the Avon. Tradition has fixed on an old house in
the latter place as the scene of his birth, but it can
hardly be doubted that tradition is in this instance
wrong, for a certain petition drawn up in 1641 by
inhabitants of Rugby, definitely speaks of Rugby as
the place " where hee [Lawrence Sheriffe] was borne."
Indirect evidence also points to the same conclusion,
for, on the one hand, it is asserted that the house in
question is of a much later period, and, on the other,
supposing it to be the same as, or on the site of,
Lawrence Sheriffe's house in Brownsover, it is most
unlikely that he was born there, for it was only
bought by him in 1562, and at the time of his birth
belonged to the monastery at Leicester. Moreover,
as has been pointed out, Rugby and Brownsover were
equally unimportant hamlets in Lawrence Sheriffe's
time, and his choice of the former as the site of the
School and Almshouses tends to confirm the opinion
that it was his birthplace. From Rugby, then, Law-
rence Sheriffe was sent to seek his fortune in London,
and, after having served his apprenticeship, was, in
1541, admitted to the freedom of the Grocers'
Company.

He lived in London for the rest of his life, and
enough is known of his career to show that hejpros-
pered in his trade, and that he was, like John Gilpin, a
"citizen of credit and renown." His life was no doubt
uneventful, like that of many another industrious and
peaceful citizen, but an interesting incident, fortunately
preserved to memory in Fox's " Book of Martyrs,"

CHAP. I] HISTORY Lawrence Sheriffe

shows that in the troubled period through which he
lived he was no time-server, but stood up for his
opinions with a loyalty, courage, and shrewd sense
which are pleasant to think of.

During the reign of Edward VI. he had become one
of the tradesmen by appointment to the Princess Eliza-

G. A. Dean.
HROW.VSOVEK I1 ARSON A< IK.

beth, and supplied her household with spices, and it was
in her defence that he gave proof of his good qualities ;
in 1554, the first year of Mary's reign, Elizabeth had
been sent to the Tower under charge of complicity in
the unsuccessful rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyatt, and
though she had been released in default of any con-
vincing testimony against her, devotion to her was by

Lawrence Sheriffe RUGBY [CHAP. I

no means a sentiment likely to lead to the favour of
those in authority. Under these circumstances, Law-
rence Sheriffe happened one morning to pay a visit to
the " Rose Tavern," not far from where he lived in
Newgate Street, and there heard a certain Robert
Farrer, a haberdasher from the neighbourhood, with
whom he was on friendly terms, talking wildly against
the Princess, saying that " that jill had been one of
the chief doers of this rebellion of Wyatt, and before
all be done, she, and all the hereticks her partakers,
shall well understand it. Some of them hope that she
shall have the crown, but she, and they I trust that so
hope, shall hop headless or be fried with faggots,
before she come to it." Lawrence Sheriffe could not
put up with this, and replied, " Farrer, I have loved
thee as a neighbour, and have had a good opinion of
thee, but hearing of thee that I now hear I defy thee,
and tell thee I am her grace's sworn servant, and she
is a princess, and the daughter of a noble king, and it
ill becometh thee to call her a jill ; and for thy so
saying, I say thou art a knave, and I will complain on
thee." Farrer refused to retract his words, and accord-
ingly Lawrence Sheriffe, taking with him an honest
neighbour, brought his complaint before certain com.-
missioners who were sitting at the time at the house of
Bonner, Bishop of London. As might have been
expected, the commissioners threw cold water on his
complaint: "Perad venture," said Bonner, "you took
him worse than he meant," while another commissioner
affirmed that " there is not a better Catholick than
Farrer, nor an honester man, in the City of London."

CHAP. I] HISTORY Lawrence Sheriffe

Lawrence Sheriffe, however, was not to be so easily
suppressed, and, after proclaiming Elizabeth as his
gracious lady and mistress, shrewdly brought forward
an argument which the commissioners could not treat
so scornfully, namely, that at the Court he had seen
the Lord Cardinal Pole and King Philip do obeisance
to the princess on bended knee. " And then methinketh
it were too much to suffer such a varlet, as he is, to call
her a jill, and to wish them to hop headless that shall
wish her grace to enjoy the possession of the crown,
when God shall send it her as the right of her
inheritance." Bonner caught at these last words :
" Yea, stay there," quoth Bonner, " when God sendeth
it unto her, let her enjoy it. But truly," said he, "the
man that spake the words you have reported meant
nothing against the Lady Elizabeth, your mistress,
and no more do we. But he, like an honest and
zealous man, feareth the alteration of religion, which
every good man ought to fear : and therefore," said
Bonner, "good man, go your ways home, and report well
of us toward your mistress, and we will send for Farrer
and rebuke him for his rash and indiscreet' words, and
we trust he will not do the like again." So Lawrence
Sheriffe was sent off, content, no doubt, that his
strategy had wrung as much as this from such an
unsympathetic tribunal.

This is the only glimpse that we get of the personal
character of Lawrence Sheriffe : it is hardly to be
doubted in which direction his sympathies lay in the
religious controversies of the time, but probably he
was far too moderate in his opinions to be the object

Lawrence Sheriffe RUGBY [CHAP. I

of any molestation ; but although his championship of
Elizabeth in her darkest hour does not seem to have
affected his prosperity, he profited no doubt by his
loyalty to her when she ascended the throne, for the
year after that event he received a grant of arms from
the Heralds' College. In 1559 this was not an empty
honour, nor were Lawrence Sheriffe's arms, so familiar
to all Rugbeians as the arms adopted by the school
which he founded, derived from some fabulous ancestor,
but a new coat of arms, bearing reference to his calling.
They are as follows :

Azure, on a fesse engrailed between three griffins'
heads, erased, or, a fleur-de-lis of the first, between two
roses gules. Crest, a lion's paw, erased, or, holding a
bunch of dates, the fruit of the first in the pods argent,
the stalks and leaves proper.

The griffins, legendary guardians of the treasures
of the East, are appropriate to the arms of one whose
" argosies with portly sail " brought back the spices of
the East. They appear also in the arms of the Grocers'
Company. The lion's paw which holds the dates
would also' seem to point to the dangers of the trade,
while the fleur-de-lis and the Tudor roses may well be
the result of his faithful service to Elizabeth.

Little more remains to be said about the life of
Lawrence Sheriffe, but his continued prosperity is
attested by the following facts : in 1562 he exchanged
New Year's Gifts with the Queen, receiving "one gilt
salt with a cover weighing 7 oz.," in return for " a sugar
loaf, a box of ginger, a box of nutmegs, and a pound
of cinnamon " ; about the same time he is found

CHAP. l] HISTORY Lawrence Sheriffe

speculating in landed property, in company with a
somewhat mysterious Thomas Reve, and in 1566 he
was elected to be Vice- Warden of the Grocers' Com-
pany. In the following year he fell ill, and "being
sick in body, but of good and perfect remembrance,
thanked be God," he drew up on the two and twentieth
day of July the will, in which he made those provisions
for the foundation of a Schoolhouse and Almshouse
in Rugby, which have caused the perpetuation of his
name and fame. What his illness was is not known,
but he recovered for a time and came down to Rugby,
perhaps, as has been suggested, on the " graye ambling
nagge " which he bequeathed to his wife : here he
busied himself no doubt with the scheme that must
have been so much in his mind, and here, on the 3ist
of August, he added a codicil to his will, making an
alteration which was destined to be of immense im-
portance to the school. Soon after executing this
codicil, he returned to London and died : the exact date
of his death is not known, and for many years it was
supposed that, in accordance with the provision of his
will, his body was, as he wished, " decently buried
within the parish church of St. Andrew, in Rugby,
near the bodies of my father and mother, and a fair
stone laid upon my grave, with a title thereon de-
claring the day of my decease and so forth." For
some reason, however, his wishes were not complied
with, and it was discovered in 1864 by Mr. Bloxam,
that his body had been laid to rest in the Grey Friars
Church, or Christchurch, Newgate Street, the street in
which he lived. Though the church was destroyed in

Lawrence Sheriffe RUGBY [CHAP. I

the Great Fire of London, the old registers fortunately
escaped, and contain the following entry :

" September, 1 567. The xvi. Daye was buryed Mr.
Lawrence Shyryfe."

Though not buried in the place of his choice, the
bones of Lawrence Sheriffe lie among those of a
goodly company. The Grey Friars' church had been
a favourite burying-place in mediaeval times, and had
contained the tombs of three queens : it had, however,
been ruthlessly despoiled at the Reformation, and
" nine alabaster tombs and seven score tombs of
marble " had been pulled down and sold by a gold-
smith and alderman of London. The <; fayre stone,"
which we may hope was placed over Lawrence
Sheriffe's grave, must have perished in the Great Fire,
which destroyed all but a portion of the cloisters ;
but among the many interests which cluster round
the church built on the ruins of the old one, not the
least to all Rugbeians comes from the thought that it
is the resting-place of the founder of their school.

It may be noted that Founder's Day at Rugby is
kept on a date (October 20) which has no known
connection with the life of the founder. We have
seen that the days of his birth and death are unknown,
and that the day of his interment was only discovered
in 1864. October 20 was fixed upon at a time when
the school year was divided into two halves, ap-
parently as forming a suitable break in the middle of
the second half-year. When this date was fixed on,
and how long Founder's Day has been celebrated, we
do not know, but it was at any rate before Mr. Bloxam

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Founder's Day IU'(,i;Y [CIIAI'. I

entered the school in 1813. At that time it was kept
as a whole holiday, except that the school had to
assemble in the morning in the great schoolroom to
hear a Latin essay commemorative of the founder
delivered by the head foundationer, the essay itself
having been previously written by one of the masters.
At the present time the day is marked only by a
special service in the morning (when the lessons are
read by the two head foundationers), and by a half-
holiday, but it seems likely that in the near future
measures will be adopted for making it more of a
special occasion in the school year.

The debt owed by the school to its founder is also
kept before it by the constant use of a special collect,
the origin of which does not appear to be ascertain-
able, but which was certainly used in 1821, when the
first chapel was consecrated. It runs- as follows :

"We give Thee most humble and hearty thanks, O most
merciful Father, for our Founder Lawrence Sheriffe, and for all
our Governors and Benefactors by whose benefit this whole
school is brought up to Godliness and good learning: and we
humbly beseech Thee to give us grace to use these Thy blessings
to the glory of Thy Holy Name, that we may answer the good
intent of our religious Founder, and become profitable members
of the Church and Commonwealth, and at last be partakers of
Thy Heavenly Kingdom, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Amen."

The provisions for the Charity which Lawrence
Sheriffe founded are contained in his will, and a docu-
ment appended to the will, called the Intent, in which
he sets forth the details of his scheme. He had taken

(HAP. I] HISTORY Foundation

the first steps during his lifetime, and had (as Mr.
Rouse has lately shown) built a large house, which he
calls his Mansion House, on the site of some cottages
which he had purchased and pulled down. This
Mansion House was to be the residence of the master
of the school, and was situated on the north side of
what is now Church Street, opposite the parish church
of St. Andrew, just to the east of the present alms-
houses. He directs in his Intent that a "fair and
convenient school house " should be built near to this
Mansion House ; also " four meet and distinct lodgings
for four poor men." These four poor men were to be
called the almsmen of Lawrence Sheriffe, of London,
grocer, and two of them were to be chosen from
among the inhabitants of Rugby, two from among
those of Brownsover. In like manner the school,
which was to be called the Free School of Lawrence
Sheriffe, of London, Grocer, was " to serve chiefly for
the children of Rugby and Brownsover, and next for
such as be of other places thereunto adjoining." An
honest, discreet, and learned man, a Master of Arts if
possible, was to be chosen and appointed to teach
grammar, freely, in the school. The master was to
receive a salary of £12 per annum, equivalent in
modern times to about £180, and was to live in the
Mansion House without being charged either for rent
or repairs. The almsmen were of course to have free
lodging, and jd. a week for maintenance, equivalent
to about Ss. gd. at the present time.

To carry out this scheme he chose two dear friends,
as he calls them : George Harrison, of London, gen-

Endowment RUC1UY [CHAP. I

tleman, and Barnard Field, citizen and grocer, of
London ; the property which was to supply the
wherewithal was made over to them and to their heirs
for ever, that they might use it for the specified pur-
poses. This property was as follows :

1. The Mansion House and land in Rugby.

2. The house and land at Brownsover, which have
been mentioned before as belonging originally to the
Monastery at Leicester : Lawrence Sherifife's sister,
Bridget, and her husband, John Howkins, were to be
tenants of this property during their lifetime at an
annual rent of £16. i^s. ^.d.y and on their death their
descendants were to be preferred as tenants to any
other person.

3. A third part of a field of twenty-four acres, near
London. This field was called Conduit Close, and
had been purchased by Lawrence Sheriffe in 1560 for
£3 20. This is occupied nowadays by the houses
round Lamb's Conduit Street and Great Ormond
Street, which intersect about in the middle of the
property : it is close to the Foundling Hospital.

It was with this piece of land that the codicil dealt,
which was added by Lawrence Sheriffe on his last
visit to Rugby, a few weeks before his death. He
had in his will left a legacy of £100 for the school,
but by his codicil he revoked the legacy and left the
land instead. The importance of this codicil is
obvious, for Conduit Close has been long in the heart
of London, and the third part, which in 1567 brought
in about £6 or .£8 a year, yields now £5,700. The
alteration made the fortune of the school.

CHAP. I] HISTORY The Trust

4. A sum of £50 ( = circa £750) was left to provide
for the building of the schoolhouse and almshouses.

Such were the provisions of the will and intent, but
it was many a long year before these provisions were
freed from attack and the school enjoyed its own
without molestation. Its history during the first
century of its existence is one long struggle against
injustice, due to the shameful dishonesty of the tenants
of the Trust, and the no less shameful slackness and
indifference of the trustees. It was most unfortunate
that the provisions of the Trust gave any loophole
for dishonesty : had there been more careful arrange-
ments for the holding of the Trust property by a
sufficiently large and renewable body of trustees the
difficulties would probably never have arisen ; as it
was, the heirs of Barnard Field (George Harrison
seems to have dropped out from the first) yielded to
the temptation to try to evade the conditions of the
Trust and make the Conduit Close property their
own, while successive Howkinses attempted to do the
same with the Brownsover land.

The real troubles began as early as 1580, but even
from the very first the founder's intentions were not
carried out as they should have been. The four alms-
men, indeed, were selected without delay and installed
in the Mansion House, and this was not an unreason-
able arrangement, as there could be no school or
schoolmaster until the schoolhouse was built. Ob-
viously, however, the building of this schoolhouse and
of the almshouses should have been immediately pro-
ceeded with ; as it was, the schoolhouse was not finished

The Trust RUGBY [CHAP. I

till seven years after the founder's death, and when
the first master, Edward Rolston, of Christ's College,
Cambridge, was installed in the Mansion House, and
for many years after, no attempt had been made to
begin the almshouses. All that was clone was to block
up the doors of the almsmen's rooms opening into the
house and to provide them with separate access from
the outside. Thus, at the outset, rooms which should
have been at the service of the master, and which
might perhaps have been used for boarders, were filled
by the almsmen. It was not as if the schoolhouse was
a very elaborate building requiring years to finish : it
was a large plain room, built like the Mansion House
itself, of bricks and timber, with windows glazed in
small leaded panes, and a thatched roof, in the pic-
turesque style still constantly met with in old houses
in the neighbourhood. The money for the building
was provided, and there is no apparent reason for the
delay ; it would seem that for some reason or other
Harrison left things to Field, and that Field was busy
with his own concerns, for we know that he was en-
gaged with other merchants soon after Lawrence
Sheriffe's death in attempting to get satisfaction from
the King of Barbary, who had appropriated certain
shiploads of cloth sent into his dominions, and a few
years later he had similar trouble with the King of
Spain.

Whatever may have been the cause of the delay,
seven years or so after the founder's death the school
was started ; but before many years there was serious
trouble. In 1580, probably, Rolston had been suc-

CHAP. I] HISTORY Troubles

ceeded by a young Warwickshire man, Richard Seele,
of Trinity College, Oxford, and it is to be feared that
the first Oxonian master was no credit to his university,
for after a short tenure of office he was forcibly ejected.
The deed was done by a leading county magnate,
Edward Boughton, of Cawston Hall, who " with divers
others in his company . . . made a forcible entry into
the school of Rugby and from thence removed with
strong hand and displaced Richard Seele." One can
imagine the stir made in the village, and the excite-
ment in the schoolhouse when in strode Boughton
and his followers and turned out the expostulating
dominie ; it is not every day that the wielder of the
rod finds the tables so suddenly turned on him !

The story has come down to us through a petition,
which was presented by some inhabitants of Rugby to
the Privy Council against this Edward Boughton : it
was indeed a high-handed proceeding, and, at first
sight, one's sympathies go out to Seele ; but further
consideration makes it very doubtful whether he is
deserving of sympathy. Boughton did not act
apparently on his own initiative, but on that of the
trustee, Barnard Field ; for the petition, which is very
violent in tone, accuses him amongst other things of
being in league with papists, and namely with one
Barnard Field. Now Field had appointed Seele, and
there can be no reason for supposing that he would
have been anxious to get rid of him, if he had not
shown himself unworthy of his position ; this view is
further confirmed by the fact that Boughton is also
accused of being a "boulsterer and mayntainer of evell

17 c

Litigation RUdltt [CHAP. I

men and evell causes in the cuntriewhearehe dwellethe,
namelie of Nicholas Greenhell and others": but this
Nicholas. Greenhill, who was appointed by Field when
he had got rid of Seele, seems, from the little that is
known of him, to have been a good sort of man ; at
any rate he made several little improvements in the
building at his own expense, during the four and
twenty years that he was master, bequeathed to the
school the various fixtures which he had put in, and
did what he could to prevent the misuse of the Trust
property. Very likely Boughton was an overbearing
person, and his methods were certainly irregular, but
Mr. Rouse has not unreasonably conjectured that the
prime mover in this petition may have been Howkins,
grandson of Lawrence Sheriffe, who perhaps found
in Seele no obstacle to dishonest dealings with the
Brownsover property.

And now we enter upon the long period of litigation
which lasted off and on right up to the year 1667,
exactly a century after the Founder's death. It arose,
as we have said, from the dishonesty of the heirs of
Barnard Field, beginning with his grandson Barnard
Dakyn, who held the third part of Conduit Close on
trust, and of the Howkinses, the tenants of Brownsover
parsonage : later on the Conduit Close land also got
into the hands of the Howkinses. The object of all
these people was to establish a claim to the Trust
property as their own personal property, subject only
to the rent charge fixed upon it at the time of the
Founder's death ; but whenever they could, they with-
held even this. It is true that the will of Lawrence

CHAP. l] HISTORY Chancery Commission

Sheriffe makes no provisions for the rise in value of
the property, probably he did not think of it, but it
is obvious that his intention was, that the property
should belong to the Trust, not to the tenants, and
this being so, the increase in value would be to the
advantage not of the tenants, but of the school and
almshouses which the property was to support. This
principle always guided the legal decisions which
marked the course of litigation, and the fact that the
strife was so long continued shows once more the
truth of the old saying that possession is nine-tenths
of the law, and is a speaking commentary on the gross
negligence of the trustees who were from time to time
appointed. The three most important dates in the
period, are those of the three Chancery Commissions
which were appointed in 1602, 1614, and 1653, to settle
the business.

Before 1602, Barnard Dakyn had had the audacity
to sell the Conduit Close property for £120, in spite
of the fact that Greenhill (who was still Master) had
an action pending against him for recovery of certain
moneys unlawfully detained ; the Commission, how-
ever, was not brought about by Greenhill, but by
Anthony Howkins of Brownsover, who sympathized,
no doubt, with Dakyn's action, and hoped to get rid
once for all of the claims of the master. He was unde-
ceived, for the Commission did all that Greenhill could
desire : it cancelled the sale made by Dakyn, appointed
twelve Warwickshire gentlemen as trustees, in whom
all the school property was vested, made arrangements
for filling up vacancies among those trustees, ordered

Chancery Commission RUGBY [CHAP. I

the building of almshouses, and settled the payments
to be made to master and almsmen.

But now comes the disappointing part. So inert
were these trustees that, in spite of the decision of the
Commission, the enemies of the school still triumphed,
showing a pertinacity worthy of a better cause ; after
twelve years of claiming and counter-claiming, the
result was a second Chancery Commission, which met
in 1614 at Hixhall, in Middlesex, Augustine Rolfe, or
Rolph, being master of the school at the time. This
Commission ended by confirming the decree of the
first, and ordering payment of the arrears of rent
which the tenant of Conduit Close had refused to pay:
this tenant was a certain Rose Wood, and the property
had come to her from her first husband, John Vincent,
who had bought it from Dakyn : it will be remem-
bered that the first Commission had ordered the sale
to be cancelled, but this had not been done : the second
Commission failed equally to get the better of the
strategems of Rose Wood, for when a forty years' lease
of the property was granted to one Henry Clerke, at
the rent of ten pounds, an absurdly small rent con-
sidering that the first Commission had estimated it as
worth double that amount, straightway the lady
appeared on the scene again and obtained the transfer
of the lease to herself.

Nor did this second Commission lead to more satis-
factory results in other ways. The trustees were as
neglectful as ever, and the unfortunate master was left
to fight his battle alone as best he might ; consequently,
we find Wilgent Greene, Rolfe's successor, after vainly

CHAP. I] HISTORY Dark Days

protesting against the new lease of Conduit Close,
coming to an agreement on his own account with Rose
Wood, by which, needless to say, the Trust was de-
frauded. We may also notice that not even a protest
had been raised, when about i6i2the grasping Anthony
Howkins had himself been forced by Edward Boughton
the younger, who must have inherited his father's spirit,
to alienate the tithes and part of the glebe land at
Brownsover for a yearly payment of £28 i?s. 6d., a
thing which he had of course no right to do.

Such being the spirit of the trustees, it was natural
that things should go from bad to worse, and the
darkest days of the school were during the period of
the great Civil War. In 1641, the year before the war
broke out, Greene died, and there was a great to-do
about his successor. The inhabitants of Rugby had
got it into their heads, and the indolence of the trustees
had no doubt fostered the idea, that they had the right
to choose the schoolmasters : so when Greene died,
they held a meeting and chose a Rugby man, Edward
Clerke : they submitted their choice to the surviving
trustees and the heirs of those that were dead (the
provision for keeping up the number by a system
of co-option had been neglected), and a majority of
these appears to have agreed to the choice ; but there
was some dispute, and the matter was referred to the
Lord Keeper, who ordered that Clerke should have
the place. However, Sir Roger Fielding, one of the
dissentient trustees, was not to be beaten : his prefer
was the vicar of Long Itchington, near Rugby, Raphael
Pearce by name, and so strenuously did he canvass

Dark Days RUGBY [CHAP. I

the county people in his behalf that he succeeded
somehow in upsetting the previous arrangements, and
Edward Clerke had to retire from his post in favour
of his rival. The joy of the unfortunate Pearce, who
was poor and had doubtless hoped that his new position
would bring better times to himself and his large
family, must have been short-lived. War broke out, and
in the troubled times that ensued, the best right was
the right of the strongest : the tenants of the Trust
property were not slow to take advantage of the cir-
cumstances, and the Howkinses refused to pay their
rent ; the tenants of Conduit Close did likewise,
alleging that the land had been damaged by breast-
works drawn across it, although the damage did not
affect so much as one acre.

Poor Pearce must have wished himself back in
Long Itchington, for, as is said in a petition drawn up
later on behalf of his wife, he " became in extreme
want and exceeding poore, having nothing many times
wherewith to provide bread for himselfe his wife and
children, which caused a wonderfull weakness in his
body. Which same weakness, for want of sufficient
dyet, growing more and more upon him, it brought
him at last to his much lamented death."

Such was the fate of this " so able honest and painfull
a Schoole Master," most unfortunate of all those who
have presided over Lawrence Sheriffe's foundation.
His death took place in 1651, but some months before
it he had given up his post in despair, and for a while
there was no teaching of grammar freely in the now
dilapidated school-house. Hitherto the work had gone

CHAP. I] HISTORY Brighter Prospers

on steadily in spite of all troubles; as early as 1621
there is direct evidence of a boy from the school passing
on to Cambridge: direct evidence is apparently hard to
procure, for at this time only four Cambridge colleges,
and none at Oxford, give information as to previous
education in their entrance registers, but as six Rug-
beians were entered at three of these four Cambridge
colleges between the years 1621 and 1642, we may
reasonably suppose that other scholars went elsewhere,
and that the masters of the school did not shape their
conduct on that of the trustees.

The year 1651, then, stands as the lowest point in
the school history. On the " ffowerth " day of Decem-
ber in that year Lord Leigh, the sole surviving trustee,
appointed Peter VVhitehead as master, and two years
later yet another Chancery Commission was appointed.
This Commission quashed the claim of the Howkins
family (who now held both the Conduit Close and
Brownsover properties) to pay only the rent prescribed
in Lawrence Sheriffe's time, and ordered them to pax-
arrears. . Once more they began their old tactics of
appeal and evasion, but at last they were worsted, and
on November 26, 1667, the Lord Keeper confirmed the
decree. That settled the matter, and it is exceedingly-
satisfactory to learn not only that Mrs. Pcarce and
Mrs. VVhitehead gradually received the unpaid salaries
of their husbands, but that an obstinate Howkins was
prosecuted and put into prison and not released till he
had paid his debts. One can imagine the master
quoting his " pcde Poena claudo " with particular gusto
when that happy event took place ! From this time

Brighter Prospers RUCHY [CHAP. I

onward the school, amidst all its ups and downs, is
free from the enemies who threatened its very exist-
ence, and the good results of this relief were soon
manifested.

Whitehead had been succeeded in 1660 by John
Allen, who died ten years later. The next master,
Knightly Harrison, is interesting as having been the
first Old Rugbeian to hold the post, unless indeed
Edward Clerke, who was deposed in favour of Pearce,
was educated in the school of his native place, which
may well have been the case. Harrison resigned after
five years, and was succeeded in 1675 by Robert Ash-
bridge, who is notable for having begun the School
Register. We have seen that from early times boys
were sent up from the school to the University, and
the register shows clearly that, though of course quite
small, it was not a mere village school, but that a num-
ber of boys came as boarders from the neighbourhood.
Even had there been no register at the time this might
have been deduced from the fact that, in the master-
ship of Ashbridge, another storey was added over the
schoolroom. Ashbridge only stayed six years, and
Leonard Jeacockes, who was appointed in his place,
had a sad career, tt is clear that some special cir-
cumstances caused his failure, for he started with a
capital entry of twenty boys in 1682, five of whom
must have been boarders, while in the following year
there are only two names recorded ; in 1684 only one,
and then for two years there is a complete blank. It is
also noticeable that a good many boys who must have
left the School during this period were re-admitted

CHAP. I] HISTORY Holyoake

in 1688. What then were the special circumstances
which caused this temporary collapse? It has been
recently conjectured by the Rev. A. T. Michell, that
the explanation may be found in the occurrence of
an epidemic in the town. He has shown that the
normal death-rate of Rugby at the time was about 20
per annum : in 1680 it rose to 42, and in the following
year it was 37 ; then after a lull of three years it rose
again in 1685 and the two succeeding years to 50,
40, and 49. This would amply account for the cessa-
tion of entries in 1685, but it does not clear up the
sudden drop in 1683, the middle of the three years'
lull which followed the first outbreak, after the good
entry in the previous year. Mr. Michell has pointed
out in this connection that severe outbreaks of small-
pox in Rugby in 1710 and 1733 apparently made
little or no difference in the register, and it seems
probable on the whole that there was some additional
reason for the collapse. Possibly Jeacockes's health
may have given way as early as 1683, or he may have
done something to make himself unpopular with his
neighbours: however this may be, he died in 1687,
when only thirty-three years of age.

And now we come to the first great name among
the Masters of Rugby, Henry Holyoake, De Sacra
Quercu, as he calls himself with a pleasing fancy which
enlists our sympathy at once. He was of a Warwick-
shire family who had strongly espoused the Royalist
cause. His grandfather, while incumbent of Southam,
near Rugby, had had his house pillaged by some
Parliamentary troops, who found in it "a drum and

Holyoake RUC'.UY [CHAP. I

several arms " ; his father, a most versatile man, when
Chaplain of Queen's College, Oxford, had commanded
a company of foot, mostly composed of undergraduates,
with such success that he was made a Doctor of
Divinity ! He had made his living by the practice of
medicine during the Commonwealth, and had spent his
spare time in compiling a large English-Latin and
Latin-English Dictionary. His son came to the
school under interesting circumstances : he was one
of the Chaplains at Magdalen College, Oxford, when
James II. made his famous attempt to Romanize that
foundation. Holyoake was amongst the many mem-
bers who resigned in protest against the arbitrary ex-
pulsion of Fellows, and though afterwards restored he
chose to remain at Rugby, where he had been appointed
as master, and resigned the chaplaincy soon after.

He presided over Rugby school with conspicuous
success for the long period of forty-three years, a
record unbroken as yet, and likely to remain so.
During these years, 630 boys were admitted to the
school, and the large proportion of non-foundationers
(nearly five to one) shows that the fame of the school
was spreading, and that it formed at this time a strong
connection among the leading families in Warwick-
shire and the neighbouring counties. The numbers
in the school at any one period have been variously
estimated ; it depends of course on what number of
years is taken as the average length of a school gene-
ration : putting it at six years, as Mr. Rouse has done,
for boys came very young in those days, the numbers
must have reached upwards of ninety.

CHAP. I] HISTORY Holyoake

If this estimate is correct, it is evident that Holyoake
must have had assistant masters to help him in the
teaching. The Commission of 1653 had contemplated
this necessity, and had provided that in such a case,
the trustees should " find or enjoin the Schoolmaster
to provide an usher," who was to be paid such salary
as they thought fit, out of the overplus of the rents ;
there is, however, no evidence that this had yet been
done. The names of three of Holyoake's assistants
are known, and they probably helped him not only in
the school, but in the livings which the trustees
allowed him, as a special mark of their high esteem
for him, to hold. Pluralism was not yet in disrepute,
and it doubtless did not seem unfitting to anyone that
Holyoake, while master, held successively the livings
of Bourton-on-Dunsmore, Bilton, and Harborough.

It is quite likely, too, that his assistant took in
boarders : it is true that, as Holyoake was a bachelor,
he must have had a good deal of room in his house,
and that fresh rooms were added over the schoolroom,
but, considering the proportion of boarders, there
could hardly have been accommodation for them all
on the school premises.

The great occasion of the school year was Speech
Day, which took place in August. It was called Trustee
Day in early times, and apparently the institution
grew up from the ceremonies at the most important
and best attended of the quarterly meetings of the
trustees, which took place in that month : it would be
only natural that on such an occasion the trustees
should be given the opportunity of judging the pro-

Holyoake RUdl'.V [CHAI1. I

ficiency of the scholars : the custom, however, of
strewing the schoolroom with rushes may have been
derived from festivals of the same sort in earlier times.
There still exist Latin and English compositions of
Speech Days in Holyoake's time. Themes have
changed, and the domestic history of trustees no
longer forms the burden of our soiig on such occasions,
but in their general character time leaves little trace on
Speech Days.

For forty-three years Holyoake lived among his
boys and his books, and died in 1731, full of years and
honour : his will, with its many legacies and remissions
of outstanding debts, bears witness to his kindly
disposition ; his relations, his executor, his servant
and the poor are all remembered ; so also is the
daughter of " Mrs. Harris, the tripe woman," who re-
ceives thirty pounds, in memory, perhaps, of savoury
dishes ! To the school he bequeathed the portraits of
his grandfather and father, by whose side he was
buried in St. Mary's, Warwick, and also his books,
which were carefully preserved till they disappeared
mysteriously from the Clock Tower some thirty or
forty years ago. One or two of them with Holyoake's
name have been found among the volumes in the
Library, but as no list of them survives, it is impossible
to trace those which have no such distinguishing
mark.

Some examples survive of Holyoake's letters to
parents, which show his character as a man and a
schoolmaster in so pleasant a light, and bring him so
vividly before us, that they deserve quotation. The

CHAP. I] HISTORY Holyoake

two first were communicated to " The Meteor " of May
20, 1899, by the Rev. A. T. Michell, through the
kindness of the possessor.

" 1702, December 16. Rev. Mr. Holyoake, from Rugby,
to Sir Justinian I sham, Bart.

" Your two young gentlemen went to Lamport on Friday last,
healthfull and well. I am happy that I can say they both con-
tinue very hopefull, and are like to prove extraordinary scholars.
Mr. John (besides his judgment in Greek and Latin Authors)
shews great parts and ingenuity in his Compositions, both in
Prose and Verse, with solid sense and substantial Latin ; and I
beleeve will have a peculiar Genius to Horace's measures, whom
he has sometimes happily imitated in Odes on occasionall sub-
jects. Mr. Edmund has also made very great improvements :
He renders his Authors naturally and with good command :
writes judicous latin ; composes a short Epigram not without its
acumen in the close, and has a very good foundation in Greek,
of which he gives no mean Account. Their Morals also bear
proportion with their learning, their behaviour being always
civil and decently modest, and their recreations innocent."

" *703» Jufy 23- The same to the same.

"As I have always done the young Gentlemen justice in
giving their good characters, so I think it as necessary to give
you information when they do amisse. On Wednesday last they
both took a ramble, and wand'red about four or five miles from
home in order to have gone farther : I sent two messengers after
'em, and desired my Brother Blake to take a Horse to go in
quest of 'em, who found 'em, and brought 'em back in the
evening. The offence taken was as follows : In the morning
looking by chance upon Mr. Edmund, I saw him busy in cutting
and mangling the covers of his new Lexicon, for which I re-
prov'd him, and gave him a gentle correction upon the Hand.
Mr. John I also corrected in the same manner for his verses,
which were intolerably bad, both in the measure of the sense
and quantity : upon this they took their journey : and I don't

Holyoake RUdBY [CHAP. I

know in what respect I have given them the least provocation
besides since their return. I design'd, Sir, if this had not hap-
pen'd, to have inform'd You, that since Whitsuntide they have
strangely falPn from their former diligence and good humour,
especially Mr. John, who has not compos'd me one Exercise well
since He came last to Schole : but has rather lost than gained
ground. Tis pity, Sir, the wheel should run back : that they
who were of so great hopes, should frustrate at last the expect-
ations of their parents and Master. If you please to do me
the favour to write a chiding line or two to each of 'em, we'll
hope the good effects. I have not punish'd 'em for this their
fault, but make this complaint their punishment, knowing that
your frown will produce much greater effects than all the
Master's Rods can do."

It is satisfactory to find that both boys turned out
well, and gained Fellowships at Oxford. The third
letter is quoted by Mr. Bloxam, and belongs to the
year 1726 :

" Kind Sr," he writes to a Mr. Ward, '•' Your young Gentleman
is very hopeful. At first indeed I believe he thought of nothing
but Liberty, but he soon applyed himself to busines, and moves
with promising success; for He had lately discovered a pretty
Emulation of not being outrivaled by any of his Equals, which
Inclination t'will be my busines to cherish : I have as t'were
just tasked Him and accordingly Sr you'l find him at present
raw and unpolished yet I question not, but he'l soon make a
mo.re considerable figure."

• After a short interregnum, during which the school
was carried on by Joseph Hodgkinson, an old Rug-
beian, and doubtless an assistant master at the time,
another old Rugbeian, John Plomer, was elected to the
vacant place. Plomer had been an usher under his
predecessor, and in that capacity had done well, but
as a head master he was not successful : during his

CHAP. l] HISTORY Change of Site

eleven years of rule the numbers in the school went
do\vn very much. He resigned in 1742, and after him
comes a succession of four masters from Queen's
College, Oxford. The first of these, Thomas Crossfield,
would seem to have been an exceptionally able man.
Such a reputation had he as a scholar and a teacher,
that in his first year there were no fewer than fifty-
three entries ; and his fame must have been widespread,
for only two of these were foundationers, and of the
remainder only half were from the neighbouring
counties. But before his abilities had time to display
themselves in the new sphere he died, in his thirty-
third year. He was succeeded by his friend, William
Knail. In Knail's time a great event in the school
history took place : the change of site. For many
years the school buildings had been very ricketty :
again and again they had been patched up, and bills
for repairs had formed no small item in the school
expenses, till in the middle of the eighteenth century
the architect appointed to survey them found that
repairs were no longer possible : the old roof would
stand no more tinkering, and its removal was expected
to cause the general collapse of the walls. There
seems to have been no thought of rebuilding on the
old site ; this would have made the continuation of
the school during the operations very difficult, and,
besides, in the old premises there was no playground :
like the Idle Apprentice, the boys had used the
churchyard for their games.

The first idea was to purchase a newly-built house
and ground close by the school, on the west side. The

Change of Site RUGBY [CHAP. I

house still stands — the large red-brick house with
Corinthian pilasters, covered now with creepers, on
the north side of the Market Place. The negotiations
fell through for some reason or other; most fortunately,
for on that site there would have been no room for
expansion. The house finally fixed upon was the
large Manor House of the village, standing where
the present schoolhouse stands, on the south side of
the town. This house was a good-sized building,
some hundred years old, perhaps, at the time of its
purchase ; it formed three sides of a square, the open
side facing on the Hillmorton Road. To the west of
it, where the School House hall now is, was built the
new schoolroom, of which some account is given in
another place (see p. 100). With the house were
purchased some adjacent fields and farm buildings,
the whole property covering some eight acres of
ground, and costing £1,000. The money for the
purchase and the new building, £1,800 in all, was
raised by a mortgage on the Conduit Close property.
This property had been steadily growing in value, but
it was let out on a long building lease, which did not
fall in till 1780, and in 1748 the income of the Founda-
tion did not amount to more than £116 ?s. 6d. To
enable the Trustees to make this mortgage, an act of
Parliament was necessary, and this was passed in 1748,
through the influence of Sir Thomas Cave, one of the
Trustees, member for the county of Leicester. Cave
was himself an old Rugbeian, and speaks of the school
in one of his letters as " that Seminary to which I am
indebted for whatever little Talent I am master of,"

CHAP. I]

HISTORY

Change of Site

and he devoted himself to its service with praiseworthy
energy.

So in 1750 the school went over to the new premises,
but in its new home it was not, at first, particularly
fortunate in its directors. Knail resigned in 175 1, and
is remembered chiefly through some words of an old

OLD SCHOOL HOUSE.

From Kadclyffe's " Memorials."

pupil, who, speaking of the original buildings, says
" I have said many a lesson in a small room, into which
the Doctor occasionally called some boys, and in
which he smoked many a pipe, the fragrance of which
was abundantly retained in the blue cloth hangings
with which it was fitted up." His successor, Joseph
Richmond, only stayed four years, and is remarkable
only for the blank in the register under his name :

33 D

New Constitution RUGBY [CHAP. I

doubtless there were not many entries to be recorded,
but one cannot believe that there were none ! The
next master, the last of the four Queen's men, was
Stanley Burrough, who had been an assistant master :
he remained at Rugby twenty- three years, but he made
no particular mark in the place, though the school was
fairly prosperous, and a few of his pupils attained dis-
tinction in after life. It was during his mastership,
however, that a gallery for the use of the school was
erected in the Parish Church, and for the first time the
school attended services on a Sunday in one body.
Though not distinguished in other ways, his reign is
marked by a most important act, passed in 1777, by
which a new constitution was given to the school.
This act was made necessary by the approaching
termination of the lease of the Conduit Close property.
On the expiration of that lease, the Trustees looked
forward to an annual income of over two thousand
pounds, but ready money was needed at once to pay
off the debt on the new buildings and premises, which
amounted to six thousand pounds, and also to improve
the trust property. Accordingly the act sanctioned
the raising of a sum not exceeding ;£ 10,000, by sales,
fines, or mortgage, and appended to it was a schedule
" containing Rules, Orders, and Observations, for the
good government of Rugby School and Charity." By
this schedule it was laid down that Burrough was to
be " continued," so long as he should behave well ; the
boys were to be taught grammar, Latin and Greek,
and one or more Ushers were to be appointed by the
Trustees to assist the masters in this, and to hear the

( HAT. l] HISTORY New Constitution

boys under twelve say their Catechism once a fortnight :
a special master was to be appointed to teach writing
and arithmetic, but head masters and assistants alike
were for the future to be removable at the will and
pleasure of the trustees, who were enabled, if they liked,
to grant pensions to them out of the Trust funds.
The foundation was extended to within five measured
miles of Rugby (this was extended to ten miles by
the trustees in 1780), and in addition to his salary
(£63 6s. %d. and a sum not exceeding £50) the head
master was to have a capitation fee of £$ on every
foundationer : the foundationers were to attend Sunday
services, and were to be examined in the hearing of
the trustees at the quarterly meetings. Regulations
were made with respect to the alms houses, the Clerk
to the trustees, and a Receiver of the rents of the
Middlesex estate : a fire-engine was to be bought for
the use of the school and town, and finally, eight
exhibitions to Oxford or Cambridge were established,
of the value of £40, tenable for seven years.

Burrough, who still enjoyed a freehold appointment,
resigned in 1778, and was succeeded by one of the
most distinguished of Rugby head masters, and the
first to bear that title, Thomas James, an Etonian and
Fellow of King's, commonly spoken of in Rugby at
the present day as James the First. Under him, the
school took its position as one of the leading English
public schools, and the numbers increased rapidly :
the year after he came there were only eighty boys ;
eleven years later, in 1790, there were 240. His face,
as depicted in his portrait, is very attractive, with

Thomas James RUGBY [CHAP. I

its long aquiline nose, arched eyebrows, and firm but
pleasant mouth which speaks the character of the
man. His mental abilities were of no mean order,
but his success was due not so much to his capacities
as a scholar and a mathematician, but to his abundant
energy, which displayed itself in the organization of
the school down to the minutest details : in this
organization he had little foundation to work on, for
none of his predecessors had been called upon to
govern anything like such a large number of boys,
and it says much for the merit of his work that,
through the manifold changes that have been made
during the last century, much of it remains intact.
The system which he introduced was based on the
Eton system, under which he had been educated.
The school was divided into six forms ; the Sixth was
the highest, and (like the Fifth) has survived as a name,
though the reason for it has passed away. The rout-
ine of work for all forms was most carefully arranged.
It consisted mainly of translation from Latin and
Greek authors, and composition in these languages,
' but it was not exclusively classical : Bible History
alternating with the Histories of Rome and England,
modern geography, and Milton, all find a place in
the regular curriculum of the Sixth and Fifth, while
modern languages and mathematics, which latter study
James hirnself greatly loved, although they were
" extras," were encouraged.

James's arrangement of school hours has in the main
survived, the principle being that on whole school
days there should be five lessons, one before breakfast,

T. JAMES, S.T. P.

Scholae Rugbeiensis Magister.

Engraved by Matthew Haughton, 1792, from a Painting by
G. Engleheart.

Thomas James RlCl'.Y [CHAP. I

prepared overnight, two before dinner, and two more
in the afternoon, and it is from this period that the
three half-holidays on Tuesday, Thursday and Satur-
day are inherited, though at this time the Thursday
half-holiday was not a regular one, but only given in
honour of specially good work done by some member
of the Sixth, " play for So-and-So " being the formula
under which the good news was announced. The
forms were very large, six masters being considered a
reasonable number for a school of 200 boys, and
James introduced the Eton tutorial system. Every
boy who wanted private tuition paid four guineas a
year, and in return received help in preparing his
lessons : a boy was not compelled to have a tutor, but
most boys did, and some such help must have been
very necessary in days before dictionaries and school
editions had paved the paths of learning : the system,
too, helped to eke out the pittance received by the
assistant masters, whose official salary was as a rule
only £60 : this was indeed supplemented by additional
grants from the trustees or from James himself, who
was always ready with his purse to further the interests
of the school, but the whole did not amount to more
than ;£ioo, and it is a further testimony to the character
of the head master that he was able on these terms to
attract such men as the two Sleaths, afterwards head
masters respectively of Repton and St. Paul's, Innes,
head master of Warwick School, Philip Homer, re-
nowned as a Greek scholar, and Richard Bloxam, him-
self an Old Rugbeian, and father of the well-known
antiquary. The income of the head master amounted

CHAT. l] HISTORY Thomas James

to nearly eleven hundred pounds, in addition to his
house and grounds, which he held rent free. The
bulk of this came from school .fees, the official salary
remaining at £113 6s. &/., but a curious item was
furnished by a custom which prevailed among parents
of sending a guinea at Christmas " to enable him to
engage able scholars and respectable gentlemen ;" this
guinea was, later on, added to the head master's tuition
fee. These Christmas presents amounted in one year
to £167, but they did not cover by £100 the expenses
incurred in supplementing the salaries of assistants.

Besides arranging the routine of work for all in the
school, James drew up a book of sumptuary laws,
which affords much interesting information : several
of the minor regulations have been handed down to
posterity, such as the system of tradesmen's notes, for-
bidding tradesmen to supply boys on credit, unless a
note, signed by the boarding-house keeper, is brought
for the article required ; if a tradesman breaks this
rule he is put out of bounds. Again, he introduced
special paper on which " impositions " were to be
written out, imposed fines for books lost or left about,
and required the bookseller to write the boy's name in
every book sold. Weekly allowances of money were
introduced, rising from yl. in the lowest form to a
shilling in the Sixth, and in lieu of prizes, which did
not then exist, a stimulus to the diligent was given by
the system of" merit money"; anyone in a form who
was "sent up for good," as it was called, at the end of
the week had his allowance doubled.

Such regulations would seem to be those of a peace-
39

Thomas James RUGBY [CHAP. I

ful and well-ordered community, and indeed, accord-
ing to the standards of the time, James was a strong
disciplinarian. But in this respect standards have
altered enormously : the head mastership of a public
school is no sinecure now, but it is easy work compared
with the struggle imposed on James in his efforts to
maintain control over the turbulent young scamps
committed to his care. The boarding house system
of the time differed widely from that of the present
day, by which all boarding houses are under the care
of masters responsible for the well-being and conduct
of their inmates : it is true that some masters besides
the head master took in boarders, but numbers of
boys lodged with townspeople ; these houses were
called by the Eton name, " dames' houses," though
the keeper was generally a man.

But what made discipline still more difficult was
that there was as yet but little idea of trusting the
upper boys with the maintenance of it. There were
indeed " praepostors " as they were called, and these
had many privileges, chief amongst them that of fag-
ging their juniors ; they made full use of this privilege
and demanded services undreamt of by the modern
fag ; besides acting as bootblack, water carrier, and
general servant, the unfortunate fag might be called
upon on winter evenings to perform the functions of a
warming pan, and early on a summer morning he
might have to speed across country to take up some
night-line set by his master, for fishing was one of the
principal amusements of the time. But the praepostor
had little thought of doing service in return for the

CHAP. I] HISTORY Thomas James

service he exacted ; and his relations with the head
master were those of a genial antagonist, bearing no
malice when defeated, but ready to seize any oppor-
tunity of stealing a march, and delighted when a
stratagem succeeded. Moreover the masters were few ;
some of them had to attend to curacies which they
were allowed to hold in order to make a living, and
outside the form room things were apparently left to
the head master. Under such conditions it is not to
be wondered at that James found his task no easy
one. He endeavoured, as he says, to govern more by
4C principles of justice, and what I call among the boys
(my only law) the Eternal Rule of Right and Wrong
. . . than by the terror of the Rod ; though I have
established that on all becoming occasions (in my
own opinion) from boys of six years old to boys of
eighteen, or even more than eighteen years of age."
His impartial justice and avoidance of all underhand
methods won the respect of his pupils ; where his
system failed was in not awakening the sense of respon-
sibility among the praepostors, and we consequently
find him remarking in a letter that " a head master's
house may always be expected to prove a hot-bed of
rebellion, because he will have a larger number of big ,
boys there." In like manner we read of incidents which
in modern times would be quite incompatible with the
maintenance of any authority. On one occasion, for
instance, a young donkey was tied up to his desk in
school ; he had influence enough to be able to treat
the incident lightly, and merely remarked, "Take him
down, but pray don't hurt the young doctor," but in

Thomas James RUGBY [CHAP. I

his war of wits with his greatest pupil, Walter Savage
Landor, the two met, as it were, upon an equality ; it
must have been hard to preserve dignity when met,
as James was on one occasion when he knocked at
Landor's study door, with nothing but the reply, " Get
thee hence, Satan," and it was for writing scurrilous
verses in the head master's album that that strange
genius had finally to be removed. It is strange, too, to
hear of boys getting hold of his horses and laming
them over fences, and to read of the junketings that
took place at the end of the half year. Means of loco-
motion were very scanty in those days, and it took a
week or more to get rid of all the boys, and as much
to collect them again. " A sort of saturnalia," writes
an old pupil in his reminiscences, " followed the
speeches" (they were then held in June, at the end
of the half year). " The last few days of the half-
year were spent in all kinds of riotous excesses. Xo
lessons were expected to be done, excepting after a
manner chosen by the boys— that is to say, anyhow ;
and half the windows of the school were broken, to be
paid for by the parents, for the benefit of the Rugby
glaziers. Then the closing scene may scarcely be
credible. What is called a feast, or supper, was given
at each boarding-house, and punch ad libitum was the
order of the night."

It is never safe to omit the necessary grain of salt
in reading an old boy's account of his deeds at school,
especially if they tend to establishing his character as
a "wild young spark": the same writer, at any rate,
met with his reward often enough to have his mind

CHAP. I] HISTORY Thomas James

impressed with the fact that James, "although a small
man, had a very powerful arm " ; but the nature and
extent of the discipline maintained is made clear
enough, and the difficulty of establishing even as
much as this is shown by the rebellions which occurred
on three successive occasions at the end of the century.
The only one of these of which an account has been
handed down took place under James's successor, and
will be described in its place, but one of the two which
James had to deal with was serious enough to provoke
a special meeting of the Trustees (Nov., 1786), at which
they expressed their unanimous determination to
support the head master's authority, and their hope
that he would not hesitate to expel every boy who
should presume to dispute it.

Sixteen years of such labour, lightened only by the
half yearly holiday of one month (cut short by the
period during which the boys gradually dispersed)
were as much as James's health could stand : his
nimbleness of wit, energy, and determination, were
combined with a highly-strung nervous system which
gave way before the strain, and in 1794 he resigned.
Soon afterwards he was made a prebendary of
Worcester cathedral : he recovered his health and
spirits, but died in 1804, in his fifty-sixth year. He
was buried at Worcester, but a monument (vide p. 122)
was erected to him in the school chapel when it was
built, and the surplus of the money collected among
his old pupils for the purpose was used to found a
prize for Greek verse, a subject which he introduced
into the school curriculum.

Henry Ingles RUGBY [CHAP. I

James was succeeded by another Etonian and
Fellow of King's, Henry Ingles, who well sustained
the credit of the school during his twelve years of
mastership. The numbers indeed fell by about fifty,
but numbers are not always a sure indication of the
efficiency of a school. He was a gloomy man, sad-
dened by a terrible shock he had received when he had
suddenly and unexpectedly met men carrying home
the body of his eldest son, who had been accidentally
drowned : it is related of him that, when one of the
masters told him of the victory of Trafalgar, and
added, " But I am sorry to say, sir, Lord Nelson is
dead," he replied, "And I wish I were dead also." He
made few changes in the school, but it is worth re-
membering that he abolished the Christmas present
guinea, and introduced the system of having outside
examiners for the exhibitions. He also attempted to
make arrangements for every boy to have a separate
study (the study system had been introduced by his
predecessor), and it is noticeable that he thought the
care of a boarding-house " incompatible with the
general duties of the school," and wished to reduce
the numbers in the School House (then only twenty-
two) to six or seven ; doubtless, too, he took his share
in furthering the great re-building scheme carried out
under his successor, but his reign is chiefly marked by
the great rebellion of 1797. It took place in November,
a month which James, too, had found a rebellious one,
probably owing to the excitement of the great horse
fair which was held then. The " Black Tiger," as
Ingles was significantly called, was walking down the

CHAP. I] HISTORY The Rebellion

town one day when he heard sounds of firing as he
passed Gascoigne's, one of the " dames' houses " ; he
walked into the yard and found a boy named Astley
amusing himself by firing cork bullets at the study-
windows. He asked him where he got the gunpowder,
and Astley gave the name of a grocer called Rowell :
but Rowell, who had entered the powder in his books
as tea, denied the charge, and the head master, setting
greater value on his word than on that of the boy,
flogged Astley as a liar. Not unnaturally the School
was very much incensed, and wreaked its vengeance
on Rowell's windows, whereupon Dr. Ingles gave
out that the damage should be paid for by the Fifth
and Sixth Forms. A round robin was drawn up in
answer, in which they refused to do so, and forestalling
the vigorous measures which were sure to follow, at
fourth lesson on Friday they blew open the door of
the head master's school with a petard. On the
following day, Saturday, after second lesson, the
mutineers got hold of the school bell and proceeded to
ring a loud alarum on it, by way of formally declaring
war, while fags were sent round to all the boarding-
houses to gather the clans. They then blocked up
the passage by which the Doctor came from the
School House to the big school-room, and this done
they broke all the windows, and dragging out the
benches, wainscoting, and head master's books, they
made a bonfire of them in the Close, to the delight of
the spectators who lined the Dunchurch Road. Ingles
did not venture to appear on the scene ; he sent at
once for the masters, but they were all taking advan-

The Rebellion RUdUY [CHAP. I

tage of the Saturday holiday ; two were fishing in the
Avon, another was shooting rabbits near Brinklow ;
none of them were to be found ; so the doctor fell back
on a recruiting party who happened to be in Rugby
at the time, and posted the sergeant before the School
House to guard the position with fixed bayonet. It was
reserved for Mr. Butlin, banker and J.P., to quell the
disturbance. He negotiated with the horse-dealers,
who, armed with their long whips, formed no con-
temptible force, and at the head of these and the rest
of the recruiting party, he marched into the Close.
The rebels left their bonfire and retired to the Island
(see p. 93), a real island at that time, surrounded by a
moat too broad for any but a good jumper to clear,
and from four to six feet deep ; it was crossed on the
west side by a small drawbridge ; the mutineers drew
this up, but Butlin's strategy was too much for them ;
wrhile he was reading the Riot Act and holding the
attention of the boys, the drovers waded across the
moat behind them and the position was lost. Stern
was the vengeance of the head master ; several of the
ringleaders were expelled on the spot, amongst them
a future bishop and a future general, but it is on record
that these could look back on the event with greater
equanimity than those who were assigned to the chas-
tisement of the rod.

Ingles resigned in 1806, and the choice of the
trustees fell on John Wooll, a Balliol man. The
choice was a good one, although they had an oppor-
tunity of making a still better, for among the candi-
dates was Samuel Butler, James's favourite pupil, who

J- Wooll RUGBY [CHAP. I

as head master of Shrewsbury became the most
famous master of his time. The schedule of 1777
ordained that, ceteris paribus, preference should be
given to an old Rugbeian, and the only reason sug-
gested for the rejection of Butler is that the trustees
were frightened by the rumoured severity of his dis-
cipline. Though Wooll was not endowed with the
powers that Butler possessed, he proved in many
ways a good master, and seems to have been looked
upon with affection by his pupils. " I really regret
him," writes one of these, the great actor Macready ;
" he was kind, most hospitable, ready to enjoy and
delighted to look upon enjoyment, in short, of a most
benevolent disposition. He had little or no preten-
sions to profound learning, but he was a thoroughly
good-natured, kind-hearted man." The numbers in
the school were well maintained during Wooll's mas-
tership, though they fell off at the end of his time,
and reached in one period as many as 381, nor did its
reputation for scholarship suffer.

But something more than benevolence, or the
strictest maintenance of discipline according to the
prevailing methods, was wanted to deal with the evils
which existed in public schools ; the best friends of
the system would be far from denying that in our own
day it is free from imperfections and from great
dangers, but before Wooll's successor, Thomas Arnold,
entered on his work, its possibilities for good were
unrevealed. One of the most crying evils was the
bullying. Macready, for instance, was lodged in the
boarding house of his cousin, Mr. Birch, one of the

CHAP. I] HISTORY Bullying

masters ; he writes of him in after life as " the friend
of my life, my relation, my tutor, my benefactor —
God bless him." Nor was he ill-adapted for school
life; he 'always retained the warmest affection for
" dear old Rugby," yet his first year was made
wretched by bullying. " This system of bullying,"
he writes, " seemed to have banished humanity from
most of the boys above me, or rather of those between
me and the highest forms. I was fag to a young
man of the name of Ridge, an Irishman, who was a
very harsh task-master ; and I was made so un-
comfortable in the Common Hall, that, but for the
refuge of my own snug bedroom, I should have been
almost despondent. . . . From the bullying endured,
the first year of my term was real misery."

In like manner Bloxam tells us of a " barbarous
custom," which was indeed abolished by Dr. Wooll.
When a boy got his remove from a form he was
welcomed to his new form by various kinds of
torture ; on getting out of the lowest form into the
second form he was " chaired," t'.e.y hoisted up and
pinched till he shrieked with pain. In another form
the torture was called " buffetting," the new-comer
having to run the gauntlet up and down the great
school room while he was buffetted with handkerchiefs
tied into what were called Westminster knots, and the
same writer remembers, as a small boy, being released
for a short time with the rest of the set by the writing
master in order to watch a " buffetting." This does not
sound so formidable, especially as body armour in
the shape of book-covers might be arranged to

49 E

Bullying RUGBY [CHAP. I

afford some protection, but against the " clodding "
in the Fifth form no defence prevailed. For this
process clods of clay were gathered by fags from
the banks of the pool in the Close ; these were made
into balls, dried, and hurled at the sufferer as he
ran "the gauntlet along the sheds. Another thing
which must have pressed hard on the weak was the
prevalence of fighting ; as a means of settling quarrels
it has many advantages, and athletic youngsters like
Landor no doubt enjoyed it, but it was another thing
when the unfortunate new boys (and they came very
young in those days) were picked out and set at each
other by their seniors. Some of them, however, throve
on it ; one young man aged eight and a half years
reported to a horrified family servant who had been
sent three weeks after the beginning of the half to see
how he was going on, that he had already fought four
battles and received three floggings ; for Wooll did not
forget Solomon's precept, and we read of one occasion
when in the extraordinarily short space of fifteen
minutes he flogged the whole of a form of thirty-eight
boys, who had thought fit to put a stop to a lesson by
the simple expedient of going away.

Reforms were, indeed, urgently needed, and unless
we realize how very imperfect education was at Rugby
and elsewhere we shall fail to estimate Arnold's work
at its true value. It would, however, be a mistake to
paint the picture too black, and the affection which
was inspired by their school in many Rugbeians shows
that there was in it much that was good ; had it not
been so indeed Arnold would never have succeeded.

fl
*!

J/5 O

rt t!
I *
I ?

Thomas Arnold RUGBY [CHAP. I

The chief event of W coil's reign was the building
of the new School House and school rooms ; a de-
scription of these will be found in another section,
but it may be mentioned here that the money for the
building came from the surplus income which had
been increasing for many years with the increase in
value of the London property, and had accumulated
till it had reached the large sum of ^"40,000. It was
well that the surplus was large, for so massive was the
construction of these new buildings that, without in-
cluding the chapel, which cost between seven and eight
thousand, they ran away with ,£35,000. The School
House and schools were begun in 1809 and took six
years to complete. It must .have been a worrying
six years for teachers and taught, as the lessons went
forward to the sound of hammer and saw ; how they
ever managed to keep the school work going as
usual is a marvel, but somehow or the other it was
done. When the buildings were finished in 1816
attention was turned to the Close, and the divisions
between the fields were levelled, to its great improve-
ment as a playing ground. Finally, in 1819 the
chapel was begun, and consecrated in 1821. Hitherto
the school had worshipped in the parish church,
though the Big School had been used since its
erection.

In the second half-year of 1828 Thomas Arnold
took over the reins of government from Wooll, and
the fourteen years during which he held them form
one of the most important epochs in the history of the
school and of English education in general. He is

2 J

3 I

V) ~w

Thomas Arnold KU(H5Y [CHAP. I

perhaps the most famous of schoolmasters ; everyone
has heard of him ; at Rugby his name is still on all
lips; our cousins from beyond the seas come to visit
his grave and his study. Why is it ? What did he
do ? The answer to these questions is amply given in
two books of two of his best known pupils, his life by
Dean Stanley and " Tom Brown's Schooldays " by
T. Hughes. It may be as well, however, to try yet
again in a few words to give some idea of the facts,
as even now misunderstandings still arise. For in-
stance, we find the latest historian of Winchester
(Mr. Leach) writing that Arnold " consciously and
avowedly reformed Rugby after the fashion of Win-
chester." Now whatever we owe to Winchester for
having helped to mould Arnold, this of course was
not the case. It is true that in a few details Arnold
introduced changes which were due to his memories of
his old school, but in the main he preserved the old
school constitution ; this constitution was doubtless
similar to that of Winchester, but its descent was not
from Winchester through Arnold, but from Eton
through James. Moreover, the reforms which Arnold
made, which changed the whole character of public
school institutions without destroying them, were
due not to the influence of what had been or was
anywhere else, but simply and solely to the intense
zeal with which he carried into practice his own ideas
of right and wrong. It is only fair to Mr. Leach to say
that he seems to recognize this on a subsequent page,
where he nai'vely says, " Arnold's real greatness as a
schoolmaster did not lie in the introduction of any novel
54

(HAP. I] HISTORY Thomas Arnold

ideas or practices, not even in the bringing of Rugby
into closer harmony with Winchester ideas and prac-
tices, so much as in his extraordinary enthusiasm and
intellectual courage, and the way in which he inspired
others with the same enthusiasm and courage."

What Arnold did for public schools was to alter
and expand, to a degree which amounted to a revolu-
tion, the aims and objects which these institutions set
before themselves. Before his time the avowed object
of the public schools was to impart learning ; systems
and discipline were subservient to this end, and though
incidentally they had other effects, their main object
was to render learning possible and effective ; if this
object was attained their work was done, and they
were judged by their success or failure in this respect.

Arnold took a much broader view of the objects of
education ; while deeply impressed with the import-
ance of learning, he realized that it was only a part of
education, and that the great end and aim of educa-
tion was the formation of character. This was the
great object which was to dominate all others : to
this end learning and everything else must be sub-
servient. The ideal which he set before himself was
to train boys to become not merely scholars but
Christian gentlemen.

But, like most men who have done great things for
the world, Arnold was not only an idealist, but a most
practical man as well. In the public school system
at Rugby he found to his hand an instrument which,
however imperfect, was capable of serving his ends ;
he did not therefore attempt to revolutionize ; he ac-

Thomas Arnold UUCiHY [CHAP. I

cepted the system as a whole, rejecting some parts
and developing others, with the object of creating
conditions under which a boy's character could grow
on right lines. We may mention a few points to illus-
trate the way in which he worked.

He accepted the two great features of English
public schools, the liberty allowed to all, and the
power exercised by the senior over the junior boys,
but he bent all his energies to bring it about that the
liberty should not be mere licence, and that the power
should be exercised for good and not for evil, as had
been too often the case. The power he vested in the
hands of the Sixth Form only, having, as Stanley
says, " a strong belief in the general union of moral
and intellectual excellence ; " the liberty he curtailed
but little, but, on the other hand, he freely exercised
the right of sending away those who, even if they had
not committed any flagrant evil, showed themselves
unfit to make proper use of their privileges ; on this
point he was very emphatic, and his opinion is well
worth notice at a time when the justice of superannua-
tion rules is often called in question ; " till a man learn
that the first, second and third duty of a schoolmaster
is to get rid of unpromising subjects, a great public
school," he said, " will never be what it might be and
what it ought to be."

Secondly, he introduced very necessary reforms as
regards the status of assistant masters. " From the
first," to quote Stanley again, " he maintained that
the school business was to occupy their main and un-
divided interest. The practice, which owing to their

Thomas Arnold RUGBY [CHAP. I

lower salaries had before prevailed, of uniting some
parochial cure with their school duties, was entirely
abolished, and the boarding houses as they respec-
tively became vacant he placed exclusively under their
care." Hitherto "dames' houses" had still survived.
An increase in school fees had also enabled him to
raise the salaries of his assistants, so that he felt
himself justified in every way in making the demand
that his assistants should give their whole time and
energies to their school work.

Thirdly, he laboured strenuously to make the direct
religious teaching effective. This he did, not by mul-
tiplying services, nor by attempting to force young
minds into a fixed mould of piety, but by using the
opportunities which the pulpit afforded for imparting
something of the fiery zeal for right which consumed
him, for presenting forcibly and directly to the minds
of his hearers the practical effects which religion ought
to have upon their daily life at school, and for stimu-
lating in them the quality of moral thoughtfulness
which he prized so much.

Such were the main points of his system. In
carrying it out he had to meet with the storm of
abuse and opposition that so often is the lot of great
reformers. Perhaps, had he been content to concern
himself with the school only, people might have let
him alone ; had he done so, he would not have been
Arnold. His heart and mind were too full of passion-
ate desire for reforms in Church and State for him to
stand aloof; the education of boys in the small
society of school was successful to him only if they

CHAP. l] HISTORY Thomas Arnold

learned there how to play a true part in the larger
societies wherein they were destined to move. And so
it came about that the man whose great aim in life
was to help to make English boys and men Christians
in practice and not only in name, was accused of laxity
of religion, and that his educational system was the
object of bitter attack. But he was " ever a fighter,"
a magnificent fighter, with no arrogance and the
broadest sympathies, but inflexible in the main-
tenance of what he thought right, and in the end
he triumphed over all opposition. With the better
sort of boys he soon succeeded ; no boy worth any-
thing could resist the influence of a man so trans-
parently sincere, in whose zeal for religion there was
such a complete and refreshing absence of humbug or
of mere conventionality, a man who was not afraid of
anybody. The trustees, too, in spite of the dislike
with which many of them regarded his public views,
did not fail to recognize the good work which he was
doing at the school; even in July, 1836, when a resolu-
tion of censure was brought forward, which Stanley
says " would probably have occasioned his resignation
had it not been lost," there was no criticism of his
school work ; " they did all I wanted," writes Arnold
at the time, " about the school." They could, indeed,
hardly have done otherwise in face of a special reso-
lution of confidence in him which they had passed in
the previous March. Last of all the popular prejudice
against him died away, and in 1841, the year before
his death, when he was elected Regius Professor of
Modern History at Oxford, he was beginning to

Thomas Arnold

RUG 15 V [CHAP. I

the place which he

occupy in general estimation
deserved.

The question remains to be asked, how far did Arnold
succeed in realizing his ideals of school life? What
permanent results did he leave? He would have been

SCHOOL HOUSE ENTRANCE IN l8l6.

From Ackerman's "Public Schools."

the last to affirm that his ideals had been completely
realized, or that he was satisfied : he had no blind self-
satisfied faith in the public school system: "experience,"
he writes to a friend in 1835, "seems to point out no one
plan of education as decidedly the best, it only says,
I think, that public education is the best when it
answers ... a very good private tutor would tempt

CHAP. I]

HISTORY

Thomas Arnold

one to try private education, or a very good public
school, with connections among the boys at it, might
induce one to venture upon public. Still there is
much chance in the matter ; for a school may change
its character greatly, even with the same master, by

riwto.

ENTRANCE TO SCHOOL HOUSE.

the prevalence of a good or bad set of boys, and this no
caution can guard against." Again he writes, in 1840,
to an old pupil, " I have many delightful proofs that
those who have been here, have found at any rate no
such evil as to prevent them serving God in after life ;
and some, I trust, have derived good from Rugby.
But the evil is great and abounding, I well know ; and

Thomas Arnold RUGBY [CHAP. I

it is very fearful to think that it may to some be
irreparable ruin."

What the dangers of the system were is obvious to
all readers of Tom Brown ; it depended so largely on
the character of the Sixth that when the Sixth were
weak all sorts of abuses crept in. But Arnold's
greatness and his success lay in the fact that he did
inspire a very large proportion of boys placed in
authority with something of his own spirit of duty,
and that in the minds even of boys who did not come
into personal contact with him, he implanted a feeling
of their responsibility as members of a great society.
In this way he did succeed in showing what a public
school, in spite of its imperfections, " might," to use
his own phrase, " and ought to be." He did succeed
in rousing people to the fact that the aim of edu-
cation was not merely to stimulate the intellectual
faculties but the moral faculties as well, that the great
object to be pursued was the formation of character.
In this he was a pioneer, and his example soon had
great results. " A most singular and striking change
has come upon our public schools," wrote Dr. Moberley,
head master of Winchester, to Dean Stanley soon after
Arnold's death, " a change too great for any person to
appreciate adequately, who has not known them in
both these times. This change is undoubtedly part of
a general improvement of our generation in respect of
piety and reverence, but I am sure that to Dr.
Arnold's personal earnest simplicity of purpose,
strength of character, power of influence, and piety,
which none who ever came near him could mistake or

CHAP, i] HISTORY' A. c. Tait

question, the carrying of this improvement into our
schools is mainly attributable. He was the first."
What he left, then, was not a cut-and-dried mechanical
system, but a great example. The public school
system remains much as he left it : some evils, such
as drinking and the grosser forms of bullying, have
been practically stamped out ; but the dangers of mis-
use of liberty and power must always go along with
the advantages of the right use of them, and the spirit
which animated Arnold is still the only thing which
can avert the dangers and bring out the advantages.

Arnold was succeeded by A. C. Tait, afterwards
Archbishop of Canterbury ; it was no easy task to fill
the place vacated by the sudden death of a man whose
influence was so great, and Tait, with all his good
qualities, was not an Arnold. " Tait was certainly by
no means a born schoolmaster," says one authority;
" as the head master of a public school he was hardly
a success," writes another ; but the standard by which
he was judged was an exceptional one, and if in follow-
ing up Arnold's work Tait did not give evidence of
the exceptional powers which his predecessor had
shown, he nevertheless accomplished much good work
by his quiet unflagging industry, and after a terrible
illness in 1848, the affection, which he inspired in
large numbers of his pupils, became enthusiastic.
The chief alteration that was made in the school
during his time was in point of numbers ; Arnold
had endeavoured to restrict the number of boys in
the school, and had persuaded the trustees in 1830 to
limit the number of non-foundationers to 260 : he had

E. M. Goulburn RUGBY [CHAP, I

not found it possible to keep to that limit, but now
the restriction was entirely removed, and the numbers
rose till they reached close upon 500. Tait's health
was much shaken by his illness, and in 1850 he re-
signed, on being made Dean of Carlisle.

E. M. Goulburn, afterwards Dean of Norwich, was
chosen as his successor ; he was not in sympathy with
the tendencies of thought which had become charac-
teristic of the place, and the control of a large school
was not so congenial to his tastes as the parochial
work to which he returned after eight years at Rugby,
but he maintained in the school a high standard of
efficiency. The numerous Scholarships gained at the
Universities bear witness to the excellence of the
teaching, while his successor, Dr. Temple, has given
striking testimony to the deep religious impression
that he had made upon the whole school, and especially
on the Sixth Form. " I do not know," he said, when
unveiling the Goulburn Memorial window in the
Chapel, " that I ever witnessed so striking and so
permanent a work as that which he had done ; and I
learnt to look upon him more and more as one of the
salt of the earth, who served the Lord there, and \vho
made all those who were then with him feel his
goodness."

Goulburn resigned in 1858, and for the next eleven
years the school flourished under the vigorous govern-
ment of the present Archbishop of Canterbury, who
as Chairman of the Governing Body still maintains an
intimate connection with Rugby.

Two events at the end of his time must be recorded :

OLD CHAPEL, WEST END.

From Radclyffc's " Memorials."

New Statutes RUGBY [CHAP. I

(i) the Tercentenary of the School in 1867, to com-
memorate which the New Buildings were begun. The
work was continued for the next twenty years, but
there is no need to say anything about it here, as the
buildings are dealt with in another section ; (2) the
Public Schools' Acts of 1868 and 1872, under which
the constitution of the School was entirely changed.
The management of the School was taken from the
trustees and put into the hands of a governing body
of twelve members, and a scheme was passed by which
the trustees transferred to the governing body, the
School House, School Buildings, and Close, and also
the net yearly income of the charity, subject to certain
deductions. The governing body, empowered by the
Acts of Parliament, proceeded to make statutes for
the regulation of the School. The most important of
these, which was not carried through without con-
siderable opposition, was that by which the nature of
the Foundationerships was altered : the old privileges
were confined to residents in or within five miles of
Rugby at the time of the passing of the Act of 1868;
for the future, the privileges were connected with
previous attendance at a subordinate school, called the
Lower School of Lawrence Sheriffe, at which the in-
struction was to be " such as may be suitable for boys
intended for commercial and other similar occupa-
tions, and also may qualify them for admission into
the Higher School." The system under which major
and minor foundationers are elected from the sub-
ordinate school is described elsewhere. The Lower
School was opened on May 27th, 1878, under the mas-

CHAP. I] HISTORY Old Rugbeians

tership of Mr. H. T. Rhoades (O.R.). The appoint-
ment is in the hands of the head master of the great
school, subject to the sanction of the governing body.
Dr. Temple was succeeded, in 1870, by H. Hayman,
who resigned after four years. It is well known that
this was not a flourishing period in the fortunes of the
school, but the time has not yet come when the details
of the trouble can be sketched without offence : suffice
it to say in conclusion that under T. W. Jex-Blake,
now Dean of Wells, himself an Old Rugbeian boy
and master, the school fully regained its prestige, and
that through his energy and generosity its building-
equipment was, when he resigned in 1887, practically
complete, while under his successor, J. Percival, now
Bishop of Hereford, Rugby was guided by the strong
hand of a great head master. A new boarding house
was built in 1893, during his mastership, and the pre-
sent head master, H. A. James, directs a school of
nearly 600 boys, vigorous descendant of the Free
Grammar School of Lawrence Sheriffs.

DISTINGUISHED OLD RUGBEIANS.

No sketch of the history of the school, however
slight, would be complete without mention of the most
famous of those who have received their education
there. Places of education have a calm way of claim-
ing credit for the achievements of all their sons, what-
ever their mutual relations may have been ; does not
Oxford, for instance, feel a personal, if diffident pride
in Shelley's fame? It is a comfortable doctrine, even

Old Rugbeians RUGBY [CHAP. I

if, like many others, it does not always tally with the
facts, and we will make no apologies for accepting it :
we know that many of those whom we mention re-
cognized a debt to Rugby and paid it in affection ; let
us assume it to have been their own fault if this was
not the case with all.

To begin with statesmen: the governing class has
in the main been very faithful to Eton, but Rugby
has supplied some well-known names. It is curious
that while no Rugbeian has attained the dignity of
Prime Minister in England the school has supplied
one to France : this was W. H. Waddington (entered
1841), who in the course of his brilliant career presided
in 1878 over one of the many short-lived ministries of
the Third Republic ; before this he had held the port-
folios of Public Instruction and Foreign Affairs, and
had represented France at the Congress of Berlin.
Subsequently as Ambassador to England ( 1883 — 1 892)
he did his utmost to maintain good relations between
the two countries. In 1877, while Waddington was at
the Quai D'Orsay, and another Old Rugbeian, F. O.
Adams (ent. 1840), was Chief Secretary at the British
Embassy in Paris, Lord Derby (ent. 1840) was con-
trolling the English Foreign Office. At different
periods the same statesman held office, twice as
Colonial, once as Indian Secretary. Roundell Palmer
(ent. 1823), afterwards Lord Selborne and Lord
Chancellor, can only be half counted, for he left in
the Fifth to go to Winchester ; but there are two Irish
Secretaries, E. J. Walhouse, afterwards Lord Hatherton
(ent. 1806), who held office. in 1833, and E. Horsman

CHAP, I] HISTORY Old Rugbeians

(ent. 1819), who, after being a Lord of the Treasury
in 1840-1, was Secretary for Ireland in 1855-7. ^T°r
should we forget S. R. Lushington (ent 178 5), Governor
of Madras from 1830-4, Sir Charles Bagot (ent 1790),
who ended a long diplomatic career as Governor-
General of Canada ; W. P. Adam (ent. 1835), Minister
of Public Works in 1873, and F. J. Halliday (ent.
1814), who was Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal during
the Indian Mutiny and Vice-President of Council for
India in 1877. At the present day there are many
Rugbeians who have done and are doing good service
to the state, both in Parliament and the Civil Service.
There is Lord Cross (ent. 1836), who has twice been
Home Secretary, once Secretary for India, and is
now Lord Privy Seal ; Sir Richard Temple (ent.
1839), who has been Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal,
Governor of Bombay, and a prominent figure in
Parliament ; Sir H. Drummond Wolff (ent. 1843), who
entered the Foreign Office at seventeen, and has
identified his name with the Eastern Question, both in
Parliament, when he was a member of the famous
" Fourth Party," and in diplomatic service at Constan-
tinople and elsewhere ; the Right Hon. G. J. Goschen
(ent. 1845), wno m a l°ng and distinguished parlia-
mentary career has twice been First Lord of the
Admiralty and once Chancellor of the Exchequer ; Sir
James Fergusson (ent. 1845), who was wounded at
Inkerman, and has been Governor of South Australia,
New Zealand, and Bombay, Under-Secretary in three
Departments and Postmaster-General ; Lord Brassey
(ent. 1851), who long ago made his name as a naval

Old Rugbeians RUGBY [CHAP. I

authority, and is now Governor of Victoria ; Lord
Sandhurst (ent. 1869), Under-Secretary for War in
1886, now Governor of Bombay ; Sir Arthur Godley
(ent. 1862), permanent Under-Secretary for India;
Sir J. Engleheart (ent. 1837), and Sir H. Longley
(ent. 1845), who have distinguished themselves in the
Home Civil Service, and others who have made a name
in India, like Sir A. Arbuthnot (ent. 1832), and Sir W.
Lee-Warner (ent. 1859); C. B. Stuart-Wortley (ent."
1865), who was Under-Secretary for Home Affairs in
1885, and two members of the present Ministry, R.
W. Hanbury (ent. 1859), and J. A. Chamberlain (ent.
1878).

Amongst men of letters who have come from Rugby
three names stand out pre-eminent : Walter Savage
Landor (ent. 1783), A. H. Clough (1829), and
Matthew Arnold (1837). Of Landor's schooldays,
characteristic of his after life, there are many excellent
stories ; even the long-suffering Dr. James had at last
to protect his authority against repeated onslaughts,
by getting rid of him ; but his poetic fame is linked
with Rugby by the lines on " The Swift joining the
Avon," just as that of Matthew Arnold is by the great
poem, " Rugby Chapel." Landor, however, was not
the first Rugbeian to win fame by his pen ; Thomas
Carte (ent. 1695), whose championship of the Stuart
cause was such that when Bishop Atterbury, his
patron, was sent to the Tower in 1722, £1,000 was
offered for his apprehension, wrote a History of
England and other works, the manuscripts of which
are in the Bodleian, and Hume is said to have borrowed

CHAP. I] HISTORY Old Rugbeians

largely from his works. Edward Cave (ent. 1700),
who apparently, left the School under false accusation
of raiding his housekeeper's poultry -yard, was founder
of the " Gentleman's Magazine," and a friend of Dr.
Johnson, who wrote his biography.

John Parkhurst (ent. 1742) was a celebrated lexico-
grapher ; and contemporary with Landor was H. F.
Gary (ent. 1782), the well-known translator of Dante,
friend of Charles Lamb, who wrote of him as " the
pleasantest of clergymen," and of Coleridge, who was
first attracted to him by hearing him reciting Homer
to his son on the beach at Littlehampton. He is
buried in Westminster Abbey by the side of Dr.
Johnson. A little later comes one who perhaps should
not be excluded, C. Apperley (ent. 1789), who wrote
on sporting subjects, under the name of Nimrod.
Amongst antiquarian writers there are several who
attained some distinction: W. Bray (ent. 1746), R. W.
Eyton (ent. 1829), J. Fetherstone (ent. 1850), but best
known to all Rugbeians is the name of M. H. Bloxam
(ent. 1813), one of the most generous and devoted
friends that the School has ever had. Amongst politi-
cal writers are A. G. Stapleton (ent. 1814), who was
private secretary to Canning, and wrote his life, and
S. G. Osborne (ent. 1819), who wrote the well-known
letters to " The Times," signed S. G. O. No Rugbeians
need reminding of the names of A. P. Stanley (ent.
1829), and T. Hughes (ent. 1834), whose works did so
much to spread the fame of their great head master.
G. A. Lawrence (ent. 1841) was a well-known novelist
in his time, while the name of " Lewis Carroll " (C. L.

Old Rugbeians KUdP.Y [CHAT. I

Dodgson, ent. 1846) is gratefully remembered by
thousands of readers ; and the philosophical works of
T. H. Green (ent. 1850) have become classics.

Of living Rugbeian writers it is harder to speak,
but the poetry of A. G. Butler (ent. 1844) and James
Rhoades (ent. 1852) is known to many, as are the
histories of W. Bright (ent. 1837), J. F. Bright (ent.
1844), and F. York Powell (ent. 1864), and the his-
torical and other writings of H. O. Arnold-Forster
(ent. 1869), while the "Methods of Ethics," and other
works of Henry Sidgwick (ent. 1852), are well known
to students of philosophy.

With the men of letters we should perhaps class
those who have won a wide fame as scholars, such as
John Conington (ent. 1838), F. J. A. Hort (ent. 1841),
J. B. Mayor (ent. 1841), A. Sidgwick (ent. 1853), and
H. J. S. Smith (ent. 1841) who shone alike in classical
and mathematical learning, but perhaps the most
famous scholar from the school was Samuel Butler
(ent. 1783), Bishop of Lichfield, who as head master
of Shrewsbury was one of the most successful teachers
that have ever lived.

Besides Butler, there are several Rugbeians who
have presided with success over Public Schools.
Amongst the earliest are J. Saunders (ent. 1697),
who was for thirty years master of Sedbergh School
(which is at the present time in the hands of an old
Rugbeian, H. G. Hart, ent. 1858), and J. Burton (ent.
1698), head master of Winchester, who was at Rugby
before he entered College at Winchester as one of
founder's kin.

CHAP. I] HISTORY Old Rugbeians

Others .are \V. B. Sleath (ent. 17/3), head master of
Repton for thirty-two years; John Sleath (ent. 1776),
high-master of St. Paul's ; J. H. Macau lay (ent. 1809),
who succeeded Sleath at Repton ; C. J. Vaughan (ent.
1830), to whom Harrow owes so much ; G. G. Bradley
(ent. 1838), head master of Marlborough ; A. G.
Butler (ent. 1844), and E. H. Bradby (ent. 1839), who
successively guided Haileybury from infancy to full
growth ; T. W. Jex-Blake (ent. 1844), first old Rug-
beian head master of Rugby since the Act of 1777, and
finally, F. W. Walker (ent. 1845), the present high-
master of St. Paul's School.

Of clergy who became noted in other ways, an in-
teresting figure is that of W. Paul (ent. 1696), who
was chaplain to the rebels in 1715, and in the follow-
ing year was dragged on the hurdle to Tyburn in full
canonicals.

Rugbeians who have held sees in England are E.
Legge (ent. 1781), Bishop of Oxford; R. Bagot (ent.
1790), Bishop of Bath and Wells; T. L. Claughton
(ent. 1819), first Bishop of St. Albans, and E. Parry
(ent. 1843), Suffragan of Dover. Amongst those who
have held colonial sees, we may mention F. Gill (ent.
1834), Bishop of Madras; E. R. Johnson (ent. 1842),
Bishop of Calcutta, and T. V. French (ent. 1839),
Bishop of Lahore, who distinguished himself at Agra
during the Mutiny, by insisting that the native Chris-
tians should be allowed to come inside the fort.

At the present day the bishoprics of Chester and
Gibraltar and the suffragan diocese of Shrewsbury are
in the hands of Rugbeians.

Old Rugbeians RUGBY [CIIAr. I

The list of old Rugbeian soldiers and sailors who
have distinguished themselves is a long one. In a little
book, "Naval and Military Services of Rugbeians,"
published in 1865, which includes those who entered
the school between 1744 and 1853, there are over 370
names, and this list is, we believe, incomplete. Selec-
tion among these is not easy, but there are some names
which stand out prominent. Chief among them is Sir
Ralph Abercrombie (ent. 1748), who did so much to
restore the spirit and discipline of the British army at
the beginning of the great struggle with France.
After a distinguished career in different parts of the
world he was given command of the army to drive
the French out of Egypt in 1801 ; it is recorded that
he was on the point of setting out to revisit his old
school when he was stopped by the news of his
appointment to this command. He performed his
task well, defeating the French at Aboukir and again
near Alexandria ; in the latter battle he was wounded,
and dying on his way to Malta was there buried. A
public monument in St. Paul's was voted to him, and
a peerage and pension given to his family. Another
heroic name of the time is that of Mansel ; John Man-
sel (ent. 1744) commanded a brigade of heavy cavalry
in the Duke of York's campaign in 1794. Stung
by an unfair suggestion in one of the Duke's des-
patches reflecting on his zeal he determined to prove
his worth on the next occasion, and led a series of
magnificent charges on April 26th at the village of
Cawdry. After taking the village he attacked in
succession two strongly posted batteries of eight and

CHAP. I] HISTORY Old Rugbeians

fourteen guns, and by their capture decided the
fortunes of the day. He lost his life, however, and
his son, Major J. C. Mansel (ent. 1780), was wounded
and taken prisoner in attempting to save his father's
life. Another son, Robert Mansel (ent. 1780), was
in the navy, and in 1801, when in command of the
" Penguin," eighteen guns, sustained a brilliant en-
gagement with a French corvette of twenty-four
guns and two privateers of eighteen and sixteen guns ;
after an hour and a half the corvette struck colours,
but the other ships continued the fight till night fell,
and the " Penguin " suffered so severely that the three
French vessels managed to escape in the night. Then
there was G. T. Walker (ent. 1772), who routed a
French column at Vimiera in 1808, and at the famous
storming of Badajoz in 1812 led the desperate esca-
lading attack on the bastion of St. Vincent, by which
the place was taken, though he lost 500 out of his
brigade of 900. He was terribly wounded in this
attack, but contrary to the expectations of his doctors
recovered, and, after attending the Rugby speeches in
June of the next year returned to gain fresh wounds
and glory in the Peninsula ; he lived to his seventy-
ninth year. A. B. Clifton (ent. 1783), fought with
Landor when at school, and in many battles with the
French, and lived to be over ninety. J. B. Skerrett (ent.
1785), with 1,000 British and 800 Spaniards success-
fully defended Tariffa in 181 1 against a French army
of 10,000. He was killed in 1814 in the attack on
Bergen-op-Zoom, when he was first in the works,
though he had broken his leg not many weeks before.

Old Rugbeians RUGBY [CHAI'. I

N. W. Oliver served under Abercrombie, and elsewhere,
and deserves mention as one of those who set their faces
against the absurd system of duelling, and steadily
refused in 1821 to challenge a naval officer who had
insulted him. G. G. C. L'Estrange (ent 1791), when a
boy at school was victim of a time-honoured joke, and
in innocence of heart and ignorance of Latin showed
up with woeful consequences two verses which he had
got another boy to do for him :

" Hos ego versiculos scripsi, sed non ego feci
Da mihi, praeceptor, verbera multa, precor."

In later years he distinguished himself greatly at the
battle of Albuera in 1811, and was recommended by
the Duke for promotion "in the strongest manner" ;
" some way or other," he says, " after the other parts
of the same brigade were swept off by the cavalry, this
little battalion alone held its ground against all the
columns in mass." Other well-known officers who
served in the Peninsula were J. P. Hamilton (ent.
J793)> wno afterwards distinguished himself as
.chief minister plenipotentiary to Columbia, and Sir
Willoughby Cotton (ent. 1795), who led the great
rebellion of 1797 when at school, and, after troubles
in Europe were over, served with distinction in Burmah,
Jamaica, and Afghanistan. He was a great friend of
Sir Henry Havelock. Nor should the exploit be for-
gotten of H. Hanmer (ent. 1797), head of the school
when he left in 1807 : when aide-de-camp to Sir Robert
Hill before Pampeluna, in order to save time in deliver-
ing an important message, he ran the gauntlet under

CHAI'. I] HISTORY Old Rugbeians

the walls of the town and leapt his horse over the
chasm in the bridge over the Arc, the central arch of
which had been blown up. Rugbeian sailors of the
time were naturally not so numerous, though there
were more than one would expect ; G. L. Proby
(ent. 1792), afterwards third Earl of Carysfort, was
probably the only Rugbeian present at the battles of
the Nile and Trafalgar ; his two elder brothers (ent.
1 788) had both served their country, one in the navy,
the other in the army through many campaigns.

Boys went straight from the Close to the battlefield
in those days. G. Whichcote (ent. 1803, aged eight),
one of the twenty-six Rugbeians who fought at Water-
loo, had been in nine historic battles and sieges before
then, and had been in the same form with the boy who,
as senior praepostor of the week, asked for a holiday
when Paris surrendered in 1815 ! General Whichcote
lived to be one of the last survivors of Waterloo ; he
died in 1891. Another real Rugby boy present at
Waterloo was E. N. Macready (ent. 1807), brother of
the great actor, who won his lieutenantship at the age
of sixteen on that great day : his account of the battle
is quoted by Creasy in the " Decisive Battles of the
World."

In the Crimea the list of Rugby officers swells to
seventy-two ; those of them who fell there are com-
memorated in the Crimean window in the Chapel.
Notable amongst them were Thomas Unett (ent. 1814),
who tossed with Colonel Wyndham as to whose column
should lead the attack on the Redan, won, and was
mortally wounded there; Sir William Eyre (ent. 1817),

Old Rugbeians RUGBY [CHAP. I

the "four-eyed chief" of the Kaffir war (so called
because he wore spectacles), who led a Brigade in
the Redan attack and handed over his command when
wounded to an old schoolfellow, Frank Adams (ent.
1819). H. W. Adams, brother of the above, who com-
manded a Brigade and distinguished himself greatly at
Inkerman and elsewhere, and others who shared in the
cavalry charges at Balaclava and the various famous
incidents of the war. Of the young Rugbeians who
fell in this war one of the most deeply lamented was
A. Clevland (ent. 1849), wno survived the charge of
the Light Brigade, killing single-handed three Cos-
sacks who attacked him as he was returning on his
wounded horse, but was killed by a shell at Inkerman ;
while few names are more worthy of remembrance than
that of J. W. J. Dawson (ent. 1850), who, going straight
from the School to the Crimea when only sixteen, lost
his life in an heroic attempt to avert danger from some
wounded under his charge ; a siege-train had exploded,
and Dawson, rushing in among the burning shells,
began to carry them off, when one burst in his hands
and wounded him mortally.

Serving in the blockade of Sebastopol by sea was
J. C. D. Hay (ent. 1883), famous for his exploits
against the Chinese Pirates in 1849, and m later years
a Lord of the Admiralty.

Nor were Rugbeians wanting in the Mutiny. Chief
among them was W. S. R. Hodson (ent. 1837), famous
at school for his running, and in history as the organizer
and leader of Hodson's Horse. His action in killing
the three princes near Delhi has caused much conten-

CHAP. I] HISTORY Old Rugbeians

tion, but his niche in the temple of fame is secure.
Then there was J. L. Vaughan (ent. 1833), constantly
mentioned in despatches; H. A. Sarel (ent. 1839),
who commanded the cavalry under Nicholson at
Najuffghur and elsewhere, and was fourteen times
mentioned in despatches ; W. T. Johnson (ent. 1841),
wounded at Inkerman, who commanded the small
body of native cavalry in Havelock's relief of Lucknow
with conspicuous success; H. S. Wilmot (ent. 1843),
who won the Victoria Cross at Lucknow ; H. S. Mit-
ford (ent. 1851), recommended for the V.C. ; J. C.
Gawler (ent. 1844), who had already done splendid
work in the pacification of Kaffraria as chief of the
so-called Auca-Gawler tribe ; H. C. Wake, a civilian,
who gallantly defended Arrah with a handful of men
against 2,000 mutineers. A window in the Chapel
commemorates those who fell.

The military traditions have been well sustained in
later years. W. Palliser(ent. 1845) was famous for his
artillery inventions. H. H. Crealock (ent. 1843), well-
known also as an artist, served through the Crimea
and greatly distinguished himself in the attack on the
Redan, being left there while Colonel Wyndham was
bringing up fresh men; after seeing much other service
he commanded a Brigade in the Zulu War, while his
brother J. V. Crealock (ent. 1849), who was twice men-
tioned in despatches in the Mutiny, was military
secretary to Lord Chelmsford. H. M. Bengough (ent.
1851) also served with distinction in the Zulu War.
H. M. Hozier, author of " The Seven Weeks' War "
(ent. 1851), gained a name in the Abyssinian Cam-

Old Rugbeians RUGBY [CHAP. I

paign of 1868 and was accredited representative of the
English Government for inspection of Military Matters
in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. Sir G. S.
Arbuthnot (ent. 1833), a Crimean veteran, commanded
the Burmese expedition of 1887, and Rugbeians have
served with distinction in most of the various cam-
paigns of the last thirty years, e.g., Sir C. S. B. Parsons
(ent. 1869), wno nas done good service in Egypt under
Lord Wolseley and Lord Kitchener, and Sir W. H.
Meiklejohn, who commanded a Brigade in the Indian
North-West Frontier War of 1897-8.

The number of Rugbeians who go into the army
has naturally increased largely since the formation of
a special Army Class in 1887 ; consequently^ of the
numerous Rugbeians serving in the present South
African campaign the majority are subalterns. Of
officers who, up to the present moment, have come
before the public in the war we may mention Col.
J. F. Brocklehurst (ent. 1867), commanding the 3rd
Cavalry Brigade in Ladysmith, and Captain J. S. Cay-
zer (ent. 1886), signalling officer with General Buller.
Two young officers have been mentioned in despatches :
1st Lieut. A. J. B. Percival (ent. 1887), for services at
the Modder River ; 2nd Lieut. C. F. Holford for ser-
vices at the battle of Colenso.

It remains to mention some of those who have been
distinguished in other walks of life : an interesting
figure, from adventitious circumstances, is that of
A. S. Douglas (ent. 1759), whose claim to the vast
possessions of his uncle, the last Duke of Douglas,
was disputed, and led to one of the most famous

CHAP. I] HISTORY Old Rugbeians

lawsuits ever known. We are told that Edinburgh
was illuminated for three nights when at last the
House of Lords, in 1769, reversed the decision of the
Courts of Scotland and decided it in Douglas' favour.
Amongst doctors there have been Simon Burton
(ent. 1696), Court physician, who attended Pope in
his last illness; Henry Halford Vaughan (ent. 1774),
President of the College of Physicians, and Physician
in Ordinary to George III.; James Fellowes (ent. 1786),
who was knighted for his services as Inspector of
Military Hospitals in the Peninsular War, and also
got a war medal and clasp for Barossa, and Charles
Locock (ent. 1810), physician to Queen Adelaide and
the Royal Family. Amongst judges there have been
Thomas Coltman (ent. 1796), L. W. Cave (ent 1847),
Lord Davey (ent. 1848), Lord Bowen (ent. 1850),
G. Farwell (ent. 1860) ; while the stage owes to Rugby
one of her greatest actors in W. C. Macready (ent.
1803), who remained till his death a good friend to
the School. Among men of science we may mention
two distinguished botanists, J. Pettiver (ent. 1676), and
M. J. Berkeley (ent. 1817); H. Highton (ent. 1829),
for many years a Master at the School, one of the
pioneers of the electric telegraph, and D. Galton (ent.
1834), an authority on the hygienic construction of
buildings, who was President of the British Association
in 1895 and 1896. Among war correspondents, there
are F. C. Lawley (ent. 1837), who in the American
war of 1862 represented "The Times " with the Con-
federate Army, and WT. H. Bullock (ent. 1850), who
wrote for "The Daily News" in the Franco-Prussian

81 G

Old Rugbeians RUGBY [CHAP. I

War. Amongst famous travellers we may mention
Lord Mountmorris (ent. 1784) and Sir John Carr (ent.
1785), who both published widely-read books of travel;
W. C. Oswell (ent. 1833), who went with Livingstone
into Central Africa, and discovered Lake Ngami in
1849, besides doing much exploration in South Africa;
F. C. Selous (ent. 1866), whose work in South Africa is
known to all ; and, lastly, we may add M. S. Wellby
(ent. 1881), whose recent expeditions in Tibet and
Abyssinia have shown him to be possessed of the
qualities which make great explorers. Finally we
come to the few who have won distinction in the arts,
J. Lodge (ent. 1814) and H. S. Oakeley (ent. 1843),
well-known musical composers ; J. E. Hodgson (ent.
1 846), the only Rugbeian, we believe, who ever attained
an}7 reputation as a painter, and C. E. Kempe (ent.
1851), whose fine work in stained glass is widely
known and appreciated.

CHAPTER II

SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS

THE town of Rugby is well known to hundreds who
have never stayed there, as a considerable railway
centre. Now that the Great Central Railway is com-
plete, there are no less than eight approaches to
Rugby by rail. Travellers coming to it by any one
of these numerous ways may get a very fair idea- of
the nature of the country which surrounds it. It is a
gently undulating grass country, and has been held
by some to be devoid of beauty. Dr. Arnold, for
instance, speaks of Warwickshire in one of his letters
as one of the only five counties he knew which could
not supply his " physical cravings for the enjoyment
of nature." " We have no hills," he complains, " no
plains — not a single wood, and but one single copse :
no heath — no down — no rock — no river (this was very
hard on the Avon !) — no clear stream — scarcely any
flowers, for the lias is particularly poor in them—
nothing but one endless monotony of inclosed fields
and hedge-row trees." Most people, however, would
agree that tame as the country is, compared with
many parts of England, its shady roads, with their
broad margins of grass, its picturesque villages and
gentle slopes, have a great charm of their own,

The Town RUGBY [CHAP. II

especially when the hawthorn and the dog-roses are
in bloom. It is, however, emphatically a country for
riders of horse or bicycle, not for the pedestrian. The
town itself is situated on the edge of a low plateau,
overlooking the valley of the Avon : till the railway
came, it was quite a small place, much like any other
Warwickshire village, and must have been rather
pretty with its old thatched brick and timber cottages.
Its principal attraction was the large cattle and horse
fair in November.

The railway has brought prosperity with its usual
modern concomitant of ugliness. The old houses
have nearly all disappeared, and the fields give way
to rows of cottages and villas of the common type.
As yet, however, the town is not very large, contain-
ing only some eleven thousand inhabitants.

The school buildings, as well as the boarding
houses, are situated at the south edge of the town, about
half-a-mile from the London and North Western
Railway station, which is at the north end. None of
the buildings date from an earlier period than 1809.
For the first two centuries, nearly, of its existence, the
school was situated close to the present market-place,
on the north side of Church Street, opposite the
parish church. It has been in its present situation
since 1750, but the buildings which were then bought
or erected were all pulled clown in 1809 and the fol-
lowing years.

THE CLOSE.

Before dealing with the buildings, however, it will be
well to give some account of the Close, the place to

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS The Close

which a visitor's steps will probably be first directed ;
it is the principal, and was till recent times the only
playing ground of the school. It lies on the south side
of the main block of school buildings, and in its pre-
sent dimensions occupies over seventeen acres. It is
still, with its broad expanses of well-mown turf and
its shady trees, the most attractive place in Rugby ;
but its beauty has been sadly spoiled by the havoc of
storms, notably those of 1881 and 1895 ; for its
particular charm lay in the splendid elm trees, mark-
ing the lines where in old days the hedges had run
when the ground was still divided into fields. Elm
trees are notoriously untenacious, and in the storms
referred to the great giants came crashing down one
after the other, and their loss is but ill compensated
for by the increase of room which their disappearance
has given. Perhaps the latter storm did most to spoil the
look of the place, for it attacked the line of fine trees
that ran along the eastern edge, by the Barby road,
and left but a few stumps to shelter the ground on
that side. With the trees went also most of the rooks,
whose pleasant homely note added greatly to the at-
tractiveness of the Close. Among the trees which have
disappeared, the earliest to attain fame was a great elm
which was called " Treen's Tree," after a family of that
name who held the farmyard in which it stood. Three
of these Treens, sons of an " old Mother Treen," who
lived at the corner of Sheep Street at the beginning
of the century, were champions of the town against
the school in the pugilistic encounters which were the
fashion of the time. This tree was the largest in the

The Trees RUGBY [CHAP. II

Close, and was spared the fate which has fallen on so
many of its brethren, by being cut down, in 1818, to
make room for the chapel, the west end of which is
built on its site. The wood was used for panelling
the vestry. Some verses, made on the occasion, have
been preserved ; though of little merit, they are in-
teresting as showing the sentiment which the spot
inspired in the minds of an earlier generation of Rug-
beians : the last verse may be quoted as a specimen :

" With thee were formed — with thee are fled—

Ties of the distant and the dead,

And many a former tale and token

Might cheer old hearts the world had broken !

Fond recollections joined to thee !

Young loves and friendships, poor Treen's Tree ! "

It is interesting to note that when, in 1865, the new
chapel necessitated the removal of an elm planted by
Dr. Wooll, which stood at the present east end,
engineering skill came to the rescue, and instead of
being cut down it was successfully removed by a
contractor, on a December morning, to the place
which it now occupies on the south side of the chapel :
it stood the transplantation wonderfully ; a photo-
graph taken at the time gives an idea of what a diffi-
cult business this must have been.

To a later generation the best known trees were a
little group of three large elms, called the "Three
Trees," which stood a little apart from their neigh-
bours, about the middle of the ground as it was before
the last addition ; they were within the limits of the
football ground, and many a Rugbeian can still re-

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS

The Trees

member bruising himself against them ; two of the
three fell in 1881, but the remaining one retained the
name, no longer applicable, till it shared the same
fate in 1895. Nor must we forget the tree that helped
to form Case's Gallows, a peculiar goal set up in his
school days by the present Waynflete Professor of
Moral Philosophy at Oxford, in which the cross-bar

THK THREE TREKS.

was formed by a horizontal branch of a tree which
met the short arm of the " gallows." It stood between
Old Bigside and the Chapel Piece.

One sad incident is connected with the trees in the
Close. In the south-west corner of the chapel is a
marble tablet erected to the memory of a boy who
was killed by a fall from a tree. It bears the
following touching inscription : " Kdmundo Lally,

The Close RUGBY [CHAP. II

filio unico, cariss: obsequentiss: qui vixit annis xii. m.
ii. d. xi. H. M. F. C. parentes contra votum superstates.
— Te juvenem egregiae spei, te morte immatura per-
emptum, quern merito luget Rugbaea, Ave Vale."

The Close, as it is now, is divided into three parts,
though, as we have said, the trees which formed the lines
of demarcation are disappearing : the older northern
part consists of " Old Bigside " on the east, and the
" Pontines " and " Chapel Piece " on the opposite side ;
the name " Pontines " was, of course, given to it because
of its marshy character ; this must have been very
much more noticeable in the days when the slope
down to it was more pronounced ; various levelling
operations, undertaken at different times, have de-
stroyed the appropriateness of the name.

The u Chapel Piece " occupies the greater portion of
what used always to be called " Littleside," corre-
sponding to " Bigside " ; for a long time it was con-
sidered to belong by special right to the School
House ; no other boarding house could play on it
unless the School House waived their claim, and there
was a famous Bigside Levee, or meeting of senior
boys, on the subject in Tait's time ; for weeks the
discussion was protracted by the rhetoric of a great
School House orator, but at length the opponents of
privilege prevailed, and for the future the ground fell
to those who could take it first. It was on a corner
of this ground, behind the old chapel, that, as readers
of " Tom Brown " need not be reminded, fights took
place in days when fighting was still an institution.

These three parts made up, until 1854, the whole
90

MAP TO ILLUSTRATE SUCCESSIVE ADDITIONS TO CLOSE
FROM ORIGINAL SURVEYS OF I75O. 1843 fiNU 1SS6

From coloured map in O. R. Society's pamphlet on "The Origin
of Rugby Football," by permission.

The Close RUGBY [CHAP. II

playing ground, and had been formed from three
fields bought with the house in 1749, when the school
moved to its present quarters ; these fields were
known as the Garden Close, which was by the house,
the Barn Close, which bordered the Dunchurch Road,
and beyond these the Pond Close. Apparently the
Barn Close was from the first used for playing ground;
" Bigside " cricket and football were played here till
preparations began, about 1818, for the erection of the
first chapel. The divisions between the fields were
levelled, about 1 8 16, when with the new buildings the
school premises began to take their present shape.

The Pond Close was a field full of historic interest.
At the eastern end of it was the tumulus, which, with
the trees that grow on and around it still forms such
a pleasant feature of the Close. This tumulus is pro-
nounced by Mr. Bloxam to be an ancient British
barrow. "It was used," he says, " for a twofold
purpose, first as a burial place for some warrior or
chieftain of the tribe of the Dobuni — secondly, for a
military purpose, as an advanced post for videttes on
the northern frontier of the tribe of the Dobuni," the
Avon with the morasses on each side forming the
barrier between that tribe and their neighbours the
Coritani. It was one of a series of tumuli, many of
which still exist, connecting the two ancient British
track-ways, the Fosse Way and the Watling Street,
" both of which were subsequently utilized by the
Romans, and formed into Roman roads."

At some period later than the end of the thirteenth
century the monks from the great Cistercian Abbey of

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS The Island

Pipewell, who had built a Grange some fifty yards
from the tumulus, dug a broad moat all round it and
filled it with water from springs in the gravel. This
was done in order to provide a fish pond for the Grange,
and keep up the supply of fish which was demanded
by fast-days. Thus the tumulus became an island,
and it still retains the name of Island, though the moat
was drained in 1847. The Island, while still it was
such, played a considerable part in the school life. It
was to this natural stronghold that the mutineers re-
tired in the great rebellion of 1797 (vide p. 45), and in
later years it became the scene of the curious system
of" Island Fagging," as it was called, by which for a
short space of time, in the Spring, the Island was trans-
formed.

The origin of the custom is not quite clear. It
had certainly been the practice of the boys, from
the previous century, to cultivate little allotment
gardens opposite the Close, on the Barby Road appar-
ently as well as on the Dunchurch Road, and these
gardens were visited annually by the Trustees and
visitors on Speech Day, which, until 1836, was on the
Wednesday in Easter week. According to one au-
thority, it was when these allotments on the Barby
Road were sold for building land that the gardens
were transferred to the Island. Another Old Rug-
beian writer connects it with the erection of the pre-
sent school buildings, when the custom of decorat-
ing the form rooms with flowers and ferns for Speech
Day fell into disuse, in 1814. However this may be,
it is certain that it pleased some of the Sixth Form,

The Island RUGBY [CHAP. II

to whom the Island was sacred, to cause gardens to
be made on it. Now the Island being covered with
trees, is not a place naturally adapted for horticulture ;
it was consequently necessary, if flowers were to be
found there on Speech Day, that they should be trans-
planted thither from some more congenial soil; but for
some weeks before this was done, in order to keep the
fags employed, the surface was diligently scratched
and made ready for the reception of the plants. There
were more fags in the school than were needed for the
purpose, so those of the Sixth who took no interest
in the proceedings excused three or four fags each.
The rest, some eighty or ninety in number, were
formed in line by the school buildings, and at a given
sigrfal raced for the bridge which spanned the moat.
A few of the first arrivals were excused, and the number
was still further diminished by the elimination of
those who first volunteered to jump over the moat, a
feat seldom accomplished by a fag, for the moat was
broad, and tfte best jumpers could only clear it in two
places ; certain moreover seem to have purchased their
freedom by procuring a spade or other gardening tool.
Spades, however, must have been rare, and for the most
part the digging had to be done with knives, large
nails, or pointed sticks. Making bricks without straw
must have been light work compared to digging up
the Island with a pocket knife ! This went on till the
week before Easter, when turf had to be procured to
cover the top of the Island, and form borders round
the beds. The turf was obtained by the simple process
of cutting it in some neighbouring field where it seemed

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS The Island

good, and dragging it back to the Island on a " turf-
cart," a rude wooden conveyance to which some twenty
fags would be harnessed by a rope with cross-bars at short
intervals. Finally the fags were despatched to procure
flowers by the same simple method of appropriation,
and great must have been the dismay of the owners of
neighbouring gardens on finding their bulbs and other

Photo.

THE ISLAND AND OLD PAVILION.

. Speight.

flowers mysteriously thinned by the young pillagers.
One wonders if they ever recognized their lost treasures
when the Speech Day procession passed across the
Close to inspect the beauties of the Island Gardens.

In 1836 the system came to an end, for Speech Day
was changed to the end of the Summer "half," when
cricket was in full swing, and no one had time to think
of "dressing" the Island. For several years after the

The Island RUGBY [CHAP. II

abolition of Island fagging, the Island remained a place
of resort for the privileged, and a common meeting
place : it was on the Island, for instance, or on a little
mound under the elms, between Bigside and Littleside,
which has disappeared, that in Tom Hughes's time the
Bigside Football " levees " met to discuss points that
arose in connection with the game. But when the moat
was drained in 1847 the peculiar fascination of the
place was gone, and though in 1852 a motion to admit
fags to it was rejected on the ground that the freedom
of the Island was " the only external mark of respect
now left to the Sixth," succeeding generations ceased
to struggle for a privilege that had lost so much of its
charm, and the Island became common ground.

Close to the Island, in the middle of the Pond Close,
lay the Grange of the Monks of Pipewell, who made
the moat round the Island. It was built in the latter
part of the thirteenth century, when, like the School
in later times, the monks moved from a position near
the parish church. It was surrounded by a moat,
which, like that round the Island, was used as a fish-
pond ; but, according to Mr. Bloxam, the moat was
older than the Grange, and the site of that building
was one of those moated areas, which were common
in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and were
formed " not as strongholds, but merely for defensive
purposes against temporary marauders, and sudden
aggression." It is not known what happened to the
Grange when the monasteries were dissolved, but the
moated area remained till about the year 1816, when
it was filled up.

< 11A1'. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS The Close

Near the south-western corner of the Pond Close,
not far from where the Bath now stands, there used
to be a square pool, dug probably, like the island moat,
by the Monks of the Grange, and for the same reason,
but interesting chiefly as having been a favourite haunt
of Landor when he was a boy at the school. It was
here, as he tells us in a note to the Imaginary Conver-
sation between Leofric and Godiva, that he wrote a
little poem on the subject, and after recalling the
laughter with which the friend to whom he showed it
greeted the last line, and the earnestness with which
he entreated and implored him not to tell his school-
fellows, he gives the verses, " if," as he says, " any one
else should wish another laugh at me : "-

" In every hour, in every mood,

O lady, it is meet and good
To bathe the soul in prayer,

And at the close of such a day,

When we have ceased to bless and pray,
To dream on thy long hair."

" May the peppermint " (so he ends) " still be growing
on the bank in that place ! "

The path running parallel to the Dunchurch Road
used to be and is still sometimes called " Scholar's
Walk," though the name was never very widespread.

Of" New Bigside," the southern portion of the Close,
little need be said, for it possesses no antiquarian
interest. The ground which composed it was incor-
porated with the Close at three periods ; the eastern
end, where the boarding house School -field (now Mr.
Brooke's) stands, was added in 1850, and part of the
southern end in 1864, but the greater part of the

97 H

The Close RUGBY [CHAP. II

cricket ground, as it now is, was presented by Dr.
Goulburn in 1854 : it was levelled in that year and the
next, and was first used for cricket in 1856; before
that time the fields formed a small farm, where the
head master kept cows, the farm house standing where
the boarding house now is, on the Barby Road. New
Bigside, as it will perhaps continue to be called till
it is as old as " New College," is sacred to cricket,
football only being played on one edge of it, and forms
a very fine ground, especially since its borders were
enlarged in 1886 (to the great relief of slow bowlers),
by the levelling back of the bank which runs along
the south side.

We must not take leave of the Close without allusion
to the conjecture of Mr. Bloxam's that -Cromwell's
Ironsides once encamped in it. It was on March 3Oth5
in the year 1645, that Cromwell quartered at Rugby
with 1,500 horse and two regiments of foot, on his way
from Northampton to Coventry. On this occasion he
may well have lodged at the Manor House, the princi-
pal house in the village (though a tradition points to
the now demolished " Shoulder of Mutton " Inn), while
his troopers would occupy the surrounding sheds and
fields. Nor, perhaps, though the transition is some-
what abrupt, should we omit to mention " Samson's
Quarters," a name forgotten now, but well known to
former generations ; it was given to the corner of the
Close by the White Gate and the head master's wall,
because it was there that the caterer (whose reputed
strength had gained him the name of Samson) spread
out his provision baskets.

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Other Grounds

The Close is not the only playing-ground for the
school. In 1886 a large field of eight acres, a little
west of the Close, was opened. It was purchased by
subscriptions raised in memory of C. M. Caldecott,
of Holbrook Grange, near Rugby, an old Rugbeian
who took a keen interest in school games, and it is
named after him. It lies on the south side of the
Hillmorton Road behind the houses, nearly opposite
the glebe land, formerly known as Reynolds's field,
where football used to be played before " Caldecott's "
was acquired. The greater part of it had been a
market garden, and the levelling, turfing, etc., was no
mean task. Some half mile from the school, further
up the Hillmorton Road, are the fields known as
" Benn's." These fields, which comprise forty-three
acres, were bequeathed to the school by Mr. G. C.
Benn in 1895. They form a farm which for some
years previously had been rented by Mr. W. G.
Michell, in order that the school might be able to
play football there throughout the winter. Two of
the fields have now been thrown into one and levelled,
and make a splendid cricket ground. The growth of
the town rendered the gift of these fields (which are
close to the Great Central Railway) quite invaluable.

Of the games with which the Close and other
grounds are so pleasantly associated in the minds of
all those who have played there, we shall speak else-
where ; we must now return to the school buildings.

Old Buildings RUdlJV [CHAP. II

THE BUILDINGS.

We have seen that in spite of the antiquity of its
foundation, Rugby School can boast of no buildings
dating from before the second decade of this century.
In 1750 the school was moved to its present position,
when for £1,000 the trustees bought the old Manor
House, standing on the site of the present School
House. Drawings of this house survive, and display
on the front a main block, with a Georgian front, and
two rather barn-like wings stretching towards the Hill-
morton Road (p. 33). On the Close side, the original
gables of the house appear, for the main part of the
house was older than the front (p. 84). On the west
side of this house, where the School House Hall now
is, was built the schoolroom ; it was built by a local
man called Johnson, and closely resembled the original
schoolroom, except that the south end, towards the
Close, was built in semicircular shape ; at this end,
with his back to the window, and dominating the
room, sat the Master. Over this room were two
chambers, one a trunk-room, the other the chief
dormitory, which went by the name of Paradise,
though, or perhaps because, it had the reputation of
being not the most peaceable lodging in the house.
The building was surmounted at the north end by a
small clock tower, with a large clock ; on the west
side, the big doors, which were only opened on the
day when the trustees met in August, were approached
beneath a Doric porch, introduced, presumably, to
give a classic tone to the seat of learning. Later on,

100

SCHOOL HOUSE IN l8l6.
From Ackcrman's " Public Schools.'

Old Buildings RUGBY [CHAP. II

as the school grew under James's guidance, the porch
was removed to the north end of the building, and two
new schoolrooms were built against the big school (p.
1 1). But the numbers soon outgrew the accommoda-
tion, though barns and outbuildings were transformed
into schoolrooms, and in 1808 the trustees determined
to rebuild the whole of the school buildings. Various

architects sent in designs for the work ; Samuel Wyatt,
the architect whose plans had gained most favour,
died before he could begin to execute them, and they
were then intrusted to Mr. Henry Hakewill.

The buildings which Hakewill erected are commonly
known as the Old Buildings, and form the School
House, i.e., the head master's private house and board-
ing house, and the schoolrooms, which, with the school
house, form the Old Quadrangle. The buildings*
however, have been considerably enlarged since their
erection, and the addition of studies and form-rooms,
of bath rooms, and, last of all, a new dormitory over the
Old Big School, has made an extra storey all round the
quadrangle, so that from the inside of that quadrangle
it is hardly possible now to estimate the effect of the
original plan. The best points of view are from the
High Street, looking up to the " Quad Gates," and from
the Close. From these points the alterations do not
seriously interfere with the original idea, and most people
would agree that, in spite of the obvious architectural
defects, Hakewill's buildings are worthy of their object.
They are built of white brick with stone facings and
battlements, in imitation of the castellated style of the
fifteenth century, and their principal defect lies in the

102

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Old Buildings

inevitable unreality of the imitation, though we are
inclined to believe that not a few who see them for the
first time are surprised to find that they are not a
hundred years old. But the imitation, though unreal, is
not offensive, and the splendid solidity of all the work,
induces a feeling of permanence and security which is

rhoto. E. H. Speight.

OLD QUADRANGLE, NORTH-EAST CORNER.

one of the chief charms of really ancient buildings.
The main entrance faces, as we have seen, down the
High Street. On entering the gates, we find ourselves
in a porch leading to the Quadrangle ; this porch was
for a long time used regularly as a fives court (see
p. 215), and here, as we are told in " Tom Brown," the
School House boys used to assemble in summer for the
house singing, which took place on the last Saturday

103

The Old Library RUGBY [CHAP. II

of the half-year. In one corner of this porch a winding
staircase leads up to the Sixth School, built in 1827,
a rather small but lofty room, where (except for a few
years in the Eighties) the Upper Bench of the Sixth
has been taught ever since the room was built.

Originally this was the Library, and the upper part
of the room is lined with book cases, containing the
Bloxam collection, mostly volumes dealing with anti-
quarian subjects, one of Mr. M. H. Bloxam's many
legacies to the school ; access to these is given by a
slight gallery which runs round half way up the room.
Round the lower part of the room are hung the tops
of the little tables at which many generations of the
Sixth have sat, but whose utility was impaired by
the feature which has given them their interest — the
names carved upon them. The big bow-window look-
ing out upon the street is filled with very interesting
stained glass, the gift of Dr. Percival, containing the
names, and in many cases the portraits, of successive
head masters from the earliest times till 1894; like
many other places in Rugby, this room is indissolubly
connected with memories of Dr. Arnold, for it was
here, " sitting," as he says in a letter to an old pupil, " in
that undignified kitchen chair, which you so well re-
member, at that little table, a just proportional to the
tables of the Sixth themselves," that- for years he gave
the daily lessons which made so deep an impression
on so many of the hearers. " Kitchen chair " and
table are both preserved in the Art Museum.

Opening out of this room, but having its principal
entrance from the Quadrangle, of which it forms the

104

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS The Old Library

north side, is a long gallery, divided now into two parts
by a wooden partition. This was built as a memorial of
Dr. Arnold and is called the Arnold Library : all the

WINDOW IN OLD LIBRARY.

C. A. Dean, Rugby.

books belonging to the School Library are still labelled
" Arnold Library," but only the classical books remain
in their old quarters, the great mass of them being
housed in the Temple Reading Room. For many

105

Old Quadrangle RUGBY [CHAP. II

years the Museum of the Natural History Society
was placed in this gallery, but it has lately been re-
moved to a building of its own. The greater part of
the room being thus freed has been made into a form
room for the Lower Bench of the Sixth, and new
windows on the Quadrangle side have much increased
its facilities for light and ventilation. The west end
of the gallery, partitioned off, contains the classical
books and is also used as a form room for the " Special-
ists."

Coming down the stairs, we find ourselves in the
Old Quadrangle, a small square paved with asphalt.
On the west side is the Old Big School, surmounted
by a newly-erected dormitory belonging to the School
House. On the south and east the quadrangle is
surrounded by low cloisters, with rows of School House
studies above them, the names of which, " New Row,"
and " New Top Row," indicate that they are additions
to the original buildings. The appearance of the
south side has not been improved by the building of
a row of bath rooms, with ugly little lozenge-shapecl
windows, over the studies. Behind the cloisters on
the south side are form rooms, in one of which the
gown has yielded to the sword, for it is used as the
armoury of the Rifle Corps. It must have been hard
work for the master in old days when forms of forty-
five to sixty boys had to be taught in these rooms.
Above these are School House dormitories.

At the south-eastern corner of the Old Quadrangle
a tall arch in the cloister forms the entrance to the
School House dining hall, which stands, as we have

1 06

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS School House

seen, on the site of Johnson's Big School, and is of
much the same dimensions as that building ; it is a
long, tall room, plainly furnished with strong oak
tables and benches and with an oak wainscoting some
eight feet high all round it ; a severe room, scornful of
ornament and impossible to damage. On the east side

Photo. G. A. Dean.

OLD QUADRANGLE, SOUTH-EAST CORNER.

are two large fireplaces with broad heavy fenders of
iron. At one of these took place the roasting so vividly
described in "Tom Brown." At the south end, under-
neath the window, is a platform just wide enough to
receive a bench and table, where the Sixth in the
house sit at meals. Over the hall is another dormitory.

107

School House RUGBY [CHAP. II

The hall communicates by a side door with the other
School House buildings, which run round a small inner
courtyard. Between the hall and the head master's
part of .the house are the three original storeys of
studies ; the two upper passages have a row of studies
on each side looking out on to the Close on one side,
on to the court on the other. These " dens," as they
are familiarly termed, are queer, cosy little places,
where the occupant can sit in his armchair and take
down a book from any of his shelves without having
to get up. They are warmed, nowadays, by hot water
pipes, but till within recent years there was no nearer
source of heat in winter than a big fire at the end of
the passage. As custom forbade the study doors of
all except the house magnates to be left open, but little
warmth found its way into many of the studies, whose
occupants had to be content with the less hygienic
plan of lighting many candles or inviting many friends.
For the last five years, the School House and all the
other boarding houses, as well as all the form rooms,
and more recently the chapel, have been lit with
electric light supplied by a small private company of
which the house masters are the shareholders.

From the middle of the three rows of studies a door
leads into the entrance hall of the head master's house,
the most interesting room in which is naturally the
head master's study, the headquarters of the school
life for so many years. It is a fair-sized room in acorner
where the building projects towards the Close, and has
one window looking out on to the Close, and a second,
over the mantelpiece, looking towards the chapel.

108

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS School House

At one corner of the room is a turret with a short
staircase leading straight out into the Close. It was in
this room that Tom Brown had his first interview with
Dr. Arnold when he found him with his children round
him, busily engaged in carving a ship, and hither
come the successive generations of Rugby boys, when,
for advice or praise or blame, they are summoned
to the head master's presence. Few Old Rugbeians
could enter that room without some feeling of awe.
In front of the study and the adjoining drawing-room
there is a narrow strip of garden raised above the level
of the Close, from which it is separated by a low brick
wall. It is over this wall that, on the last day of the
Summer term, one of the trustees (for many years
past it has been, and we hope it will be for many years
to come, the Chairman, Lord Leigh) reads out the
results of the examination on which the leaving exhi-
bitions are awarded. Beyond the line of the building
there is more garden, the chief feature of which is a
fine copper beech, but the greater part of the head
master's garden lies on the other side of the Barby
Road : it is notable for a beautiful fern-leaved beech
which was planted by Dr. Arnold. The outside of
the head master's house is splendidly covered by Vir-
ginia creeper and ivy, and the front door with its ivy-
clad turrets is a favourite subject for sketch and photo-
graph.

Returning to the Old Quadrangle, we have still to
visit the Old Big School, which forms the western side.
It is a large plain room, some sixty-three feet by
twenty-nine, panelled part of the way up in oak.

109

Old Big School RUGBY [CHAP. II

During the first six years of its existence, from 1814
to 1820, until a chapel was built, services for the school
were held here on Sundays, and for many years it
played a more important part than it has done
since the New Big School, opened in 1886, has become
the natural meeting-place of the school as a whole.
Here, for instance, the school assembled for morning
prayers, and old Rugbeians of the time have vivid
recollections of the little addresses on points of disci-
pline, or the like, which from time to time, as occasion
arose, Dr. Temple delivered after these morning
prayers. Here, too, for many years, were held the
speeches, on which occasion a special structure of
seats was raised for spectators, which went by the
name of the Oxford Gallery, because the first seats
erected in this way were meant for Old Rugbeians
still at the Universities ; the name " Oxford " shows
that at the time few Rugbeians went to the sister
University, and indeed the great majority of Uni-
versity scholarships won by members of the school are
still at Oxford. Here also the school concerts used
to be held, the choir being massed on raised benches
at the south end, round a small organ. Nowadays,
however, the only occasion on which the school gathers
there is for the afternoon calling over on half-holidays,
when the boys come in by the east door, and file out,
form by form, through the south door, the master of
the week standing at a sort of pulpit-desk by the door.
This desk is the sole survivor of the numerous ones of
the kind that adorned the room in the days when
several forms were all taught there at the same time.

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Old Big School

Even in recent years want of space has sometimes
driven two forms together into Old Big School, but the
modern schoolmaster shuns society in school hours, and
though a curtain, hung on a rail across the room, veiled
the two forms from each other, he of the weaker voice
was generally driven from the field to seek a tem-

OLI) BIG SCHOOL. .»

From Ackerman's " Public Schools."
/

porary asylum elsewhere. Old Big School still has
some share in the festivities of Speech Day, for the
head master's lunch to the guests on that occasion is
spread here. On the walls at the ends of the room
are boards, on which are painted the names of all
those who have gained exhibitions since 1829.
Amongst these may be noticed the names of many

ii i

Old Big School RUGBY [CHAP. II

Old Rugbeians who have distinguished themselves in
later life. Behind these boards, at the North end, as
was seen when they were taken down in 1899 on ac-
count of building operations, are carved in the plaster
names of boys who were among the first frequenters
of the room (they range from 1815 to 1829). As they
are high up on the wall, they were presumably carved
at the time when the " Oxford Gallery " was put up
for Speech Day. All round the room on several
boards are the names of the various form masters in
the school ; opposite these the various forms are sup-
posed to stand when waiting for their turn to come at
calling over.

Outside Old Big School, in a shallow recess on the
east wall, stands the old pump with the date 1817
on it. On each side of it the curious may notice
wooden boards with little hooks on them ; these were
put up some thirteen years ago in order that the
various fives courts might be " taken " there ; the
custom had been that the fives courts should be
engaged for the different hours by the insertion of a
small note in the wire or wall stating the claim : such
notes could only be inserted after certain hours, and
this necessitated much running across the Close and
consequent formation of a regular track in places. To
obviate this these boards were put up and now the
notices are stuck on the hook corresponding to the
court desired. Carefully are these notes written and
eagerly are they scanned in the Spring term when
competition is keen, for custom ordains that if there
is any mistake at all in the wording, mistake of date

I 12

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS New Quadrangle

or spelling or name, the note may be " dished," as it
is called, in favour of another.

Between the south end of the Old Big School and
some form rooms a gateway leads into the New
Quadrangle. The old building on the left projects a
little way beyond the gateway and ends in a turret ;
up this a winding staircase gives access to a small but
well-known form room, long used as a school for the
Twenty (the form next to the Sixth) in the days of
Price and Cotton and Tom Evans : in the time of the
last-named it was known familiarly as Uncle Tom's
Cabin ; it is now used for the lowest and smallest
form, but it is famous still as the place where Solomon's
celebrated maxim is acted upon. It was for this room*
or its predecessor, that under the head mastership of
Dr. Wooll the happy motto was suggested, " Much cry
and little wool."

The wall beyond the turret formed the front wall of
one of the two original fives courts of the school ; there
was ample space, for the old chapel did not extend
nearly so far east as the present one. A school built
on to the vestry of the old chapel used later to serve
as a back wall for the court. The ground was
paved with flagstones, and bat fives only was played
there. There was another fives court made in Tait's
time where the New Quadrangle now is, on the site of
some cottages which were bought up because their
insanitary condition made them dangerous to the
school.

In the New Quadrangle we come to the new build-
ings of the school ; those in the New Quadrangle con-

H3 I

New Buildings

RUGBY

[CHAP. II

sist of the chapel on the south side, and a large block
of form rooms which runs along the north and west,
and is joined to the chapel by a short cloister (now shut
in and fitted with racks to hold hats). The rest of the
new buildings are either in or near the Close. It may
seem ungracious in the generation which uses them to

Photo.

E. H. Speight

NEW QUADRANGLE.

criticise too severely buildings which the generosity of
countless old Rugbeians has presented to the school,
but truth will out, and it must be confessed that few
would claim for these buildings erected by Mr. Butter-
field (excepting the interior of the chapel) any degree of
beauty. Their aim is to attain, by free use of different
coloured bricks and slate, the richness of colours
characteristic of some Italian building ; but the aim

114

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS New Buildings

has not been realized and the colour effect is irritating
rather than rich ; especially annoying is the use of
slabs of slate, instead of glass, to fill the tracery of a
window. There are few who do not think that with
all their faults the old buildings are preferable to the
new, for in their strength and simplicity they do, to
some extent, attain the qualities of what they imitate.
It is sad to think what an opportunity for beautiful
work has been lost at Rugby in the numerous build-
ings which have been erected since the tercentenary
in 1867. This building scheme has been accomplished
mainly through the generosity of old Rugbeians, and
the way in which they have responded to the appeals
issued at various times may be judged by the fact
that between 1867 and 1887 no less than £57,725 was
raised, mostly by subscription, for various objects,
principally buildings.

A short statement of the different amounts which
make up the large total is given in the report of the
School Improvement Fund, which was open from
1877 — 1887, and is perhaps worth reproducing here.
It is as follows :

£ *• d-

1. By Tercentenary Fund (including Bath, 1876) 22,156 7 10

2. By School Improvement Fund (begun 1877) • 20,729 6 6

3. By Funds at the disposal of the Masters 1 875 —

1885, devoted to the completion of New

Quadrangle ' . . 2,767 o o

4. BytheGoverningBody,forGround^5,85o; viz.,

a. For Temple Observatory, Art Museum and

Temple Reading-Room 1,700 o o

b. For New Big School 3,250 o o

c. For Caldecott field 900 o o

New Buildings RUGI5Y [CHAP. II

L >• d.

5. By subscription to Caldecott field through

W. H. Bolton, Esq 1,191 6 10

6. By subscription to new Racquet Court and

Fives Courts 1,69$ ° °

7. Second Sanatorium (from Sanatorium Fees) . 1,328 u 10

8. Tait Memorial Scholarship Fund 2,007 14 6

Total (irrespective of ,£2,500 devoted to the
Memorial Windows in Chapel, and the
Stanley Monument) 57,725 7 6

It may be added here, that since 1887 there have
been various funds and bequests, chief among which
are the bequests in 1895 by the late Mr. G. C. Benn,
(an old Rugbeian), of forty-three acres on the Hill-
morton Road, for playing fields (see p. 99), and the
fund in memory of the late Rev. P. Bowden-Smith,
by which the west end of the chapel has been rebuilt
and enlarged (completed 1898). Future generations
of Rugbeians will not lack examples to inspire their
generosity towards their school. And in this connec-
tion should be recorded the names of two old Rugbeians,
the late Frederick Dumergue, secretary of the Tercen-
tenary Fund, and Dr. Jex-Blake (head master from
1874 — 1887, now Dean of Wells), secretary of the
School Improvement Fund, whose untiring energy
did so much to insure the success of the two funds.

To return to the New Quadrangle. The blocks of
form rooms (the west block completed the quadrangle
in 1885), have only associations too modern to make
them of general interest : we turn therefore to the
chapel.

116

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS

Chapel

THE CHAPEL.

The present chapel has grown out of the original
chapel built by Hakewill and finished in 1821 ; need-
less to say it is entirely different in character, and now
nothing remains of Hakewill's chapel ; till 1898, hovv-

OLD CHAPEL, WEST END.

From Radclyffe's "Memorials."

ever, when the west end was rebuilt and enlarged in
memory of the Rev. P. Bowden-Smith, this was not
the case, for the building erected by Mr. Butterfield
(finished in 1872), incorporated the whole west end
of the old chapel. The old chapel, interesting from
its associations, which however it has transferred to
its successor, was not a thing of beauty ; it was

117

Chapel RUGBY [CHAP. II

built, like the rest of Hake will's buildings, of white
brick, with stone dressings, in the style which has
been nicknamed " The Georgian Gothic," and with
its heavy tracery and stout buttresses pretending to
support a very solid wall, it was but a very clumsy
imitation of fifteenth-century \vork. Inside it was
still worse, for there was a flat plaster ceiling inter-
sected by thin beams in a geometrical pattern, a
ceiling much detested by Dr. Arnold : its length was.
ninety feet, its breadth and height (to the ceiling)
thirty feet, and the solidity of its construction may be
judged from the fact that it cost .£7,500. Many
additions were afterwards made to the old chapel,
but only the " Narthex " or ante-chapel, erected in
1856, survives.

The present chapel consists chiefly of a long, lofty
nave (the full length of the building is 140 feet):
since the recent alteration of the \vest end (carried
out by Mr. Jackson, with Mr. Butterfield's approval),
the height of the nave has been made uniform all the
way down ; the old west end was lower and narrower
than the new one, which has a small aisle on each side.
A remarkable feature of this west end is that the large
windows of the former building have been put in the
clerestory, the aisles being low. Beyond the west
end the chapel widens out into a transept, the roof of
the nave being supported by tall round pillars of red
and white stone in alternate blocks. Beyond the
transept three steps lead up under a lofty arch to the
chancel, which terminates in an apse. The roof of the
chapel is of open woodwork, elaborately painted. The

118

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS

Chapel

whole of the interior (excepting the west end) is de-
corated with coloured bricks and painting, forming
patterns on the red brick and white stone of which

rhoto.

CHAPEL, SHOWING NEW WEST END.

E. H. Speight.

the building is composed. Exception may be taken
to the details of this decoration, but the general effect
of the interior of the chapel is undoubtedly good, its
height and fine proportions giving it a great air of

119

Chapel RUGBY [CHAP. II

space and dignity. This has been much increased by
the enlargement of the west end, though the large
west window is not altogether successful, two very
heavy mullions running straight up giving it a rather
stiff and clumsy appearance. All the old windows of
the chapel are filled with stained glass : some of these,
and of the mural monuments and tablets, of which the
building contains no less than seventy-two, are of
great interest.

Entering the chapel by the small door from the
quadrangle, on the south side, we find ourselves under-
neath a small oak gallery, containing the keyboard of
the organ. The organ chamber is on our left, and
was built, as an inscription on the wall outside shows,
by the pupils of Dr. Temple : a warning perhaps is
necessary (for the inscription is written in very large
characters) that the words " Hanc aediculam " refer,
as the diminutive shows, to the organ chamber only,
and not, as the casual observer might perhaps suppose,
to the chapel itself.

The organ is not the original instrument of the
chapel, though, it has incorporated in it something
of its predecessor. The first organ was built by
Elliott in 1821, and consisted of great organ, swell
organ to tenor F, and a set of pedal pipes. It was
put at first in a gallery over the west door, but was
subsequently removed to a chamber built for it over
the vestry, on the north side of the chapel, near the
east end ; at the same time a choir organ of five
stops and a second set of pedal pipes were added
by Hill. The erection of the present organ was

120

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Organ

begun in 1872, after the enlargement of the chapel.
The work was done by Messrs. Bryceson, who in-
cluded three stops from the old organ in the new
one. It is a fine instrument, and, as it now stands,
has cost little short of ^"2,000. The original plan,
however, is not yet complete : fifteen stops, the pro-
bable cost of which would be about £800, are still
wanting. The present gallery for the keyboard was
built in 1897 ; before that it stood on the south side
of the chapel, some forty feet from the body of the
instrument, the connection being partly by electric
and partly by pneumatic action, an arrangement which
was inconvenient in many ways. The electric action
has been retained. The old organ stood for many
years in Old Big School, but was taken down when a
new instrument was built for New Big School, soon
after its erection.

Above the organ loft is a window representing the
" Confession of St. Thomas " : its interest lies in the
fact that it was erected after Dr. Arnold's death, in
accordance with his wishes ; its subject was one to
which his mind very frequently recurred, and, when the
pain of his last short illness seized him, the first words
he uttered were those which form the inscription of
this window : " And Jesus said unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me thou hast believed ; blessed
are they that have not seen and yet have believed."

The window is unfortunately far from beautiful.

On the wall close by this window is a fine memorial
by Chantrey of Thomas James, head master from
1778 — 1794 (vide p. 36); he is seated, in wig and

121

Dr. James RUGBY [CHAP. II

gown, with a book on his knees, the figure being in
deep relief: below is an inscription by Bishop Butler,
his favourite pupil.

THOMAS JAMES, S.T.P.

Coll . Regal . apud . Cantabr . olim . soc .

Scholae . Rugbeiensis . ab . a . s . MDCCLXXVIII . ad . a . s .

MDCCXCIV . magister

Vixit . annis . LV . mensibus . x . diebus . IX .
decessit . X . Kal . Octobr . a . s . MDCCCIV . Vigornia: .

sepultus . est

Erat . in . hoc . viro . ingenii . acumen . singulare
Quo . venustates . literarum . ipse . penitus . persentiret
Erat . in . iis . exponendis . verborum . naturalis . non .

fucatus . nitor

ita . ut . quod . ipse . optime . intellixisset

Copiose . et . dilucide , cum . aliis . communicaret

Erat . lepore . condita . gravitas . qua . mentes . puerorum .

ad . se . alliceret

et . discendi . taadium . docendi . suavitate . leniret
Erat . in . sumptibus . eorumdem . moderandis . in .

valetudine . tuenda
in . moribus . ad . pudicitiam . probitatein . pietatem .

informandis

animus . vere . paternus

his . ille . virtutibus . instructus

Scholam . hancce . magna . discipulorum . frequentia .

magno . famae . cumulo

auxit . atque . ornavit

Qui . autem . apud . discipulos . suos . sancti . parentis .

locum . tenuit
idem . ille . huius . scholar . gubernatoribus . ita . cams .

acceptusque . fuit

ut . ab . iis . una . mente . regi . honorifice . commendaretur .

cujus . favore . prasbendarius . in . ecclesia . cathedrali .

Vigornice . constitutus . esset

tali . et . prseceptori . et . amico

alumni . ejus . pio . gratoque . animo . h . m . p . c .

a . s . MDCCCXXIV .

Arnold's grave RUGBY [CHAP. II

The seats in the chapel, as in most other buildings
of the kind, run east and west, facing each other, the
blocks being slightly raised as they recede from the
middle : a few steps then on and down from the north
door, bring us to the end of the central gangway, just
below the chancel steps : here a plain gray stone, in-
scribed simply with a small cross and the name, marks
the grave of Thomas Arnold. He is buried in the
vaults which he caused to be made at what was the
east end of the old chapel : he alone of the head
masters is buried there, with a few of his pupils who
died at school, and two assistant masters. The vaults
were afterwards closed. The plain stone which marks
his grave is a worthier and more fitting memorial of
him than the badly executed monument which stands
in the north transept. On the step above the grave
stands the lectern, where on Sundays members of the
Sixth Form read the lessons from a Bible presented
lately by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Temple).
On the south, at the corner of the chancel, is the
pulpit of plain oak : it was part of the furniture of the
first chapel, and has been in use ever since.

The chief feature of the chancel is the window at
the east end, representing the Adoration of the
Magi.

It was brought by Dr. Arnold from the Church of
Aerschot, near Louvain, in Belgium, at a time when the
parish was raising funds to restore the church, and
with this object sold some of its stained glass. The
three kings are represented in the three stages of
manhood which tradition associated with the names

124

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS East window

Balthazar, Melchior, and Caspar. Balthazar, King of
Saba, the old man, kneels before the Virgin and
Child in a beautiful crimson mantle and offers his
gifts ; to the left advances Melchior, King of Araby ;
to the right stands Caspar, King of Egypt, here, as
is usual in Northern art, depicted as dark-skinned.
Behind the principal figures runs a semicircular
balustrade, beyond which areseen peasants and serving-
men, and charming little glimpses of landscape. Above
the Virgin, in the centre of an arch, is a disc inscribed
with a large M. On either side are two twisted pillars,
recalling the two pillars taken from the Temple at
Jerusalem to Constantinople, which appear also in
Raphael's cartoon of the Beautiful Gate of the Temple.
The design of the window has been attributed, solely
on general grounds, to Albert Dtirer, and it has been
classed as fifteenth-century work : this is certainly not
so : the architecture depicted in the window, as well as
the general style, show it to be undoubtedly a sixteenth-
century work, and there is no reason to connect it
with Albert Diirer. An interesting resemblance has
been noticed by Mr. Kempe in the figure of Melchior
(the king on the left) to a print by Lucas Cranach
the younger of Charles V., the Emperor, the points of
resemblance being in the projecting under lip and
bent knee. The resemblance, however, is not enough
to build hypotheses of design upon, or to prevent the
natural conclusion that the window is by some Flemish
artist of the sixteenth century. The window has, of
course, received modern additions to fit it to its
present position ; the angels in the small upper lights

125

East window

RUGBY

[CHAP. II

and the blue in the trefoils of the three principal
lights are modern, as is the border at the bottom. The
head of the Virgin is also modern, the difference in
the colour of the hair of the old and new part being

very noticeable. Ac-
cording to C. W.
Radclyffe's " Me-
morials of Rugby"
(1843), the twisted
pillars are also mo-
dern, but this would
seem to be a mis-
take. The window
was the gift of the
masters and was set
up in 1834. It is
interesting to note
that two windows
from the same
church, representing
the Nativity and
Pentecost, were ob-
tained at the same
time for Wadham
College Chapel.

On either side of
the east window in the apse are two lancet windows.
These were filled with stained glass representing single
figures of prophets and saints, in memory of Dr. Cotton,
Bishop of Calcutta, who was an assistant master at the
school from 1836 — 1852. They were designed by Mr.

126

»-. *t1K@*! ;,. _ ,

!! 11 fir* m\

Photo. E. H. Speight.

EAST WINDOW OF CHAPEL.

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Windows

Butterfield and executed by Messrs. Gibbs. Below
the windows are a central cross and eighteen medal-
lions in mosaic ; round the cross are the four evan-
gelists, on the left Old Testament heroes, on the right
some mediaeval saints. They were presented by two
masters and some Old Rugbeians. Above the win-
dows in the apse is a large mosaic representing God
the Father surrounded by the symbols of the four
evangelists, and angels at the sides. On the com-
munion table are a pair of seventeenth-century
candlesticks in bronze gilt, given by Rev. R. Bird,
assistant master 1821 — 1841. On either side of the
chancel are memorial slabs, some of men who have
gained renown in the outer world or spent their lives
in the service of the school, others of Rugbeians whose
promise has been cut short by an early death. On
the south wall of the chancel is a window represent-
ing the Flight into Egypt. It was presented to the
school by Rugbeians in India in memory of their
comrades (who fell previous to the Mutiny) : an in-
scription on brass below runs thus :

" Hanc fenestram Rugbeienses apud Indos Orientales
•commorantes suorum baud obliti. P. C. MDCCLii."

It is in what was called Nuremberg style, and came
from the workshops of the Kelners, who supplied
several of the new windows in Cologne Cathedral.
The art of staining glass was at a low ebb unfortun-
ately at the time, and the window with its common-
place design and smooth bad colouring is not an
ornament. Already the colours are beginning to run,

127

Windows RUdliV [CHAP. II

as they did in a window by the same firm which was
presented by Dr. Goulburn and stood in the south
transept till the recent alterations. The subject was
Christ blessing Children, and less than half a century
had reduced it to a lamentable condition : it is a pity
that the same fate does not overtake all bad glass.
But though the glass perishes the memory of the gift
remains.

Very different to these is the first window on the
south wall, as we leave the chancel. It is a very
beautiful work, which came from Rouen, and was put
up in 1839, having been purchased by subscription.
No details of its purchase have been handed down, but
the fact that Rouen was its place of purchase would
not necessarily indicate that it is French work. It
has been put down as fourteenth-century work, but it
cannot be so early : the flat triple arch in the upper
part with its renaissance mouldings would seem to
point to the sixteenth century. The dreadful glass
in the tracery at the top and the scroll below were
added to adapt it to its present shape. It has been
generally taken, as the texts on the scroll indicate, to
represent the Presentation in the Temple. There are,
however, certain features which militate against this
theory. The figure of the man kneeling at the Virgin's
feet and holding a book is more suggestive of some
other saint than Simeon, who, we believe, is uni-
versally represented as standing to take the child
in his arms. The beautiful figure, too, of the woman
kneeling on a cushion suggests in many ways the
figure of a donor. However this may be, the glass is

128

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS

Windows

very beautiful. The figure of Simeon, if it be Simeon,

is said by Radclyffe to be modern, while Benson, in

" The Book of Rugby School,"

speaks of it as partly modern :

if any of it be modern it has

been exceedingly well done.

The blue background seems to

show signs of different hands

in its differences of colour and

greater and less markedness of

pattern.

Close by this window on the
Wall is a monument by West-
macott to Dr. Wooll, who was
head master from 1806 — 1828,
and who, as the inscription by
an old pupil, the Rev. J. H.
Macaulay, head master of Rep-
ton school, testifies, " amores
omnium singulari quadam sua-
vitate sibi conciliavit."'

By the door on the projecting
east wall of the transept is a
beautiful portrait medallion by
Mr. Bruce-Joy of the late Arch-
bishop Benson, assistant master
from 1852 — 1859; above are
some memorial tablets. The

two south windows of this transept were designed by
Mr. Butterfield and executed by Messrs. Gibbs. The
one further west was given by Mrs. Buckoll in memory

129 K

PJwto.

E. If. Speight.

SO-CALLED " PRESENTA-
TION " WINDOW.

Windows RUC.I5Y [CHAP. II

of her husband, the Rev. H. J. Buckoll, assistant master
from 1826 till his death in June, 1871, and author of
the hymns for the beginning and end of term and of
several others well known to all Rugbeians. The sub-
ject is the Transfiguration : in the upper lights are our
Lord in glory with Moses and Elias ; below are Peter,
James, and John ; and below these again three small
groups representing the Feeding of the Multitude.
The corresponding window was erected by the Rev.
C. B. Hutchinson, assistant master from 1858 — 1884,
and his wife, in memory of their only son, who died in
May, 1866, in his fifth year. Above are our Lord in
glory with St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist ; below
are the three archangels, typical of guardian spirits ;
and at the bottom three small groups of the Nativity,
Christ with the Doctors in the Temple, and Christ
blessing little Children.

The window in the west wall of this transept was
inserted in 1898, in memory of Dr. Goulburn, head
master from 1850 — 1858. It is a fine example of the
work of a distinguished Old Rugbeian artist, Mr.
C. E. Kempe, and, like the window which it has re-
placed, represents Christ blessing Children : unfortun-
ately, in the position it occupies it is not seen to the
best advantage.

The next window on the south wall of the west end
is again an old window. It was bought by a subscrip-
tion raised at the Universities and was erected in 1840.
It came from Germany (the exact place of purchase
has not been recorded), and is probably sixteenth-
century work. While not to be compared to the two

130

(HAT. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Windows

old windows previously mentioned, it has considerable
merits of colour. It represents our Lord before Pilate.
When it was bought it is said to have " suffered some-
what from the introduction of a gray landscape and
the intrusion of a mean figure holding an ewer before
Pilate's feet ": these were removed about 1855. As
in the other cases the text is an addition. The flat
triple arch is again noticeable in the composition of
this window.

The last window on the south side, by Messrs.
Hardman, depicts the Entombment and Resurrection.
It was presented by friends in memory of Old Rug-
beians who died in the Indian Mutiny : their names
are recorded on a brass plate below the window. The
west window in the south aisle has recently been filled
with glass by Morris and Co., from a design by Sir
E. Burne-Jones. It was presented by J. Collins, Esq.,
in memory of his mother. The west doors open into
an ante-chapel : over the door on the inside is in-
scribed in gold letters : eutppavfav STTI rei$ e!pmo<nv JAOI elg
TOV olnov xvpov TTO^VJO^X — " I was glad when they said
unto me, We will go into the house of the Lord."
The windows in the ante-chapel are by a French
artist and were given principally by Dr. Goulburn.
They represent "The Confession of Boys, The Acts
of St. Lawrence, The First Communion, and The
Four Professions." Returning to the chapel the first
window on the north side is a companion window to
the " Mutiny Window," by the same firm, put up in
memory of Old Rugbeians who fell in the Crimea : it
represents the Confession of the Centurion. The

Windows RUC.IJY [CHAP. II

next window is again an old one : it was inserted in
1836, having been bought by subscription. It is said
by Radclyffe to have come, like the east window,
from Aerschot, but curiously enough Benson does
not record the fact. Like the other old windows, it
is probably sixteenth-century work. The colour is
good, but it is perhaps the least attractive of the old
windows. The subject of it has been disputed : the
inscription, added when the window was put up, runs
thus " Apparuit primo Marian Magdalenae. Sanctus
Marcus, cap. xvi., ver. 9 " : but it certainly represents
the traditional appearance of our Lord after His
resurrection to His mother. He appears, as Benson
says, in red, " in garments dyed from Bozra," with
" the standard of His victory over Death and Hell in
His hands," while she is turning towards Him, "join-
ing her hands and, according to the plaintive old
legend, falling upon her knees, to thank Him meekly
for that He had been pleased to bring redemption to
man, and to make her the humble instrument of His
great mercy."

The window in the west wall of the north transept
contains three small single figures, by Wailes and
Hardman : the central figure of Christ blessing a child
was given by Mr. Bloxam ; the St. John on the right
by friends in memory of R. B. Townsend, a Rugbeian
who died young in 1852 ; the St. Luke on the left by
members of the Sixth Form in 1846.

Close by on the north wall are monuments to Dr.
Arnold and Dean Stanley, one above the other. Both
monuments have recumbent figures : that of Stanley

132

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Monuments

is a fine work by Boehm, full of quiet dignity ; that
of Arnold above it is by Mr. John Thomas, a well-
known sculptor of the time, but it is sadly to seek both
in design and execution. It bears the following in-
scription, written by Arnold's great friend, Chevalier
Bunsen :

Vir. Rev.

THOMAS ARNOLD, S.T.P.

Historiae . recent . aevi . tradendae . apud . Oxonien . pro . Reg
hujus . Scholae . per . annos . xiv . antistes . strenuus . unice . dilectus

Thucydidem . illustravit . Historiam . Romanam . scripsit

Populi . Christiani
libertatem . dignitatem . vindicavit . fidem . confirmavit . scriptis . vita

Christum . praedicavit . apud . vos
Juvenum . animos . monumentum . sibi . deligens.

Tanti . viri . effigies . vobis . hie . est . proposita

Corpus . sub . altari . conquiescit
Anima . in . suam . sedem . patre . vocante . immigravit

fortis . pia . laeta

Nat. a. d. XIII . Jun.MDCCXC. Mort.a. d. xn. Jun. MDCCCXLII
amici . posuerunt.

The inscription on Dean Stanley's monument runs
as follows :

"Effigie, quam spectatis, revocatur alumnus hujusce scholae
germanus et primarius, ejusdemque, et supra jacentis magistri,
interpres unicus, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, Ecclesiae West-
monasteriensis, ubi sepultus est, Decanus, qui cum litteris,
theologia, perigrinatione, optiini cujusque consuetudine, ingenio,
vel senior, recente, apud aequales floreret, in publicis et privatis
officiis ita versatus est, ut patriam et civitatem dei uno amore
complexus, Christum non in deserto non in penetralibus quojrere,
sed palam loquentem mundo, docentemque in synagoga et in

133

Monuments

RUGBY

[CHAP, ii

templo, pertranseuntemque benefaciendo, sibi imitandum pro-
ponere videretur. Natus Id. Decemb. A. S. MDCCCXV obiit a. d.
xv. Kal. Sext. MDCCCLXXXI."

Above these monuments is a window in memory of
Mrs. Arnold, wife of Dr. Arnold, given by members
of the family : it represents in the upper lights

Photo.

CHAPEL, NEW WEST END.

E. If. Speight.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; below them Sarah, Re-
bekah, and Rachel ; and below these three small scenes,
Abraham entertaining angels, Rebekah meeting Isaac,
and Jacob meeting Rachel. The corresponding win-
dow on the same side was erected to the memory of
the Rev. C. T. Arnold, assistant master from 1841 —

134

CHAP. II] HUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Monuments

1878 : at the top are Nehemiah, David, and Malachi,
then Ezra, Elijah, and Zechariah, and at the bottom
three scenes of the Sermon on the Mount. These
windows are by the same firm as the ones opposite
them in the south transept. Below this window is a
large memorial slab to Archbishop Tait, head master
from 1842 — 1850, and one to Theodore Walrond.

The inscription to Tait is by Archbishop Benson,
and runs as follows :

" Ne vaster sacer paries nomine ceteris caro vobis proprio
videatur indigere, Archibald! Campbell Tait, hie legite virum
animo vere Rugbeiensi atque Arnoldiano octo annos Arnoldo
proximos vobis prasfuisse profuisse. Academiae qui antea
Oxoniensi in deliciis habitus, capitulo post Carleolensi sedibus
Londinensi Cantuariensi prasfectus, XIII tandem annos in pri-
matu gerendo versatus totius Anglise immo majoris Britannia,
indolem virilem cum simplici pietate conjunxit. Judicio sen-
suque omnium communi plusquam omnes usus, partibus nihil,
multum paci concedendo, morum, orationis, prudential, gravitate,
sale, securitate, patribus et senatus et ecclesiae consiliantibus
auctor sanus sapiensque placuit. Tantum virum Deus vita;
disciplina pame tragica ut filium Ipsi acceptum erudiebat.
Domum ad suos revocavit in DCA prima Adventus A DNI

MDCCCLXXXII ^Et. LXXII."

Finally, among the memorial slabs on the east wall
of this transept, we may notice one written by Dr.
Arnold to a pupil whose life was lost in the endeavour
to rescue another boy when bathing in Churchover
Brook. " Infra sepultus jacet JOHANNES WALKER,
I.E., juvenis ingeniosus, mitis, pius, proptereaque im-
pavidus, qui sodalem vicino fluvio jam submersum
morti erepturus, ipse vitam vita redemit. A.n. v.
Kal. Sept. A. S. MDCCCXLI aet. XVI."

135

Chapel Exterior RUGBY [CHAP. II

The chief feature of the exterior of the chapel is a
hexagonal tower at the east end, which is surmounted
by a heavy-looking stone cap. The height of the
tower is 138 feet. It is strengthened at the base by
ungainly buttresses, and the exterior of the building
in general lacks the dignity which the interior possesses
in large measure. On the north wall of the west end
is an inscription (by Mr. R. Whitelaw) recording the
rebuilding of the west end in memory of the Rev.
P. Bowden-Smith, assistant master from 1852 till his
death in 1895. It runs as follows :

" Carum et honoratum nomen Philippum Bowden-Smith
Rugbeiensem per XLVII annos discipulum magistrum amplificata
hac aede commemoraverunt omni aetate uno animo amici an. sal.

MDCCCLXCV1I1."

The enlarged chapel was reopened by the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury (Dr. Temple) in October, 1898.
The Goulburn window and Benson memorial were un-
veiled by him at the same time. It should perhaps
be added that a scheme is now on foot for the erection
of memorials to two of the most distinguished sons of
Rugby — one to A. H. Clough, the other to Matthew
Arnold, whose well-known poem, " Rugby Chapel," is
the best expression of his father's greatness and his
own.

The hymn-book used in the chapel is a special one ;
it has grown through several editions from a small
book published in 1804, the first special hymnal of
any public school, which contained only thirty-eight
" Psalms, Anthems, and Hymns." The present edition,
published in i897,contains 359hymns. Its chief features

136

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS The Bath

are the number of hymns (forty) based on psalms, and
the hymns for special school occasions written by the
Rev. H. J. Buckoll, who is commemorated in a window
in the south transept. Several of the best tunes in
the special tune- book are by music-masters and other
masters at the school.

OTHER BUILDINGS.

The path from the chapel along the west side of the
Close leads to the bath. This was opened in 1876,
and is the chief of many splendid gifts to the school
from the Rev. T. W. Jex-Blake. Over the door is
the inscription " Rugbeiensis Rugbeiensibus." The
actual water surface of the bath is 70 feet long by
30 feet broad ; the depth is graduated from 3 feet
6 inches to 6 feet 6 inches ; there is a heating appa-
ratus by which the temperature of the water is so re-
gulated that the bath can be used all the year round.
The old bath, on the site of which it stands, was a very
small one (dug as early as 1754), fed by the springs
which in former times filled the fishponds of the monks
of the Grange : the water, according to all accounts,
must have been very cold. A good swimming bath
had become more of a necessity, since the growth of the
town had destroyed the charm of the bathing-places
in the Avon, beloved by former generations, " Swift's,"
named after the

" Silent and modest brook ! who dippest here
Thy foot in Avon, as if childish fear
Withheld thee for a moment '

137

Gymnasium RUGBY [CHAP. II

and " Aganippe," and the shallower stretch of
" Sleath's."

At the south-west corner of the Close are several
buildings — two covered Eton Fives-courts, built and
presented in 1864 by some masters whose names are
recorded on a stone inside the court — the gymnasium
and workshop, and the " New " cricket pavilion. The
gymnasium was opened in 1872. It is a large building,
particularly ugly on the outside, but providing inside
ample space and every conceivable kind of appliance
for the development of muscles. It is built on the
side of a slope, and the ground floor was fitted up and
opened in 1880 as a workshop. A small subscription
is charged for the use of the bath, gymnasium, and
workshop, which are controlled by skilled attendants.
In the south-east corner of the Close are two racquet
courts and several fives courts. The first racquet
court was built in 1859, the second in 1884. Both courts
have been recently covered with Mr. Bickley's patent
cement, which, while hard and durable, has the great
advantage of allowing no moisture to form on it, so
that the courts can be played on now on the man}'
days when a quick change of temperature causes the
ordinary cement wall to be bathed in wet. Fives
courts are built against the walls of the old racquet
court on both sides. These are " Rugby " fives courts,
oblong courts with plain walls ; they are of different
dimensions, the results of various experiments at
realizing the ideal size for a court of the kind. New
fives courts have been and are being erected in a line
with the new racquet court, and the dimensions of the

138

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Fives Courts

latest of these is 29 feet by 19 feet ; the back wall is
5 feet high, with wire netting above, the front wall
about 30 feet high, the service board 29 inches. The
courts which experience has shown to be least suitable
for hand fives are principally used for squash racquets.
Between the two racquet courts is a bat fives court

I 'ho in. /•:. H. Sf eight.

NI-:\V lilCSIDK, BATH, AND < ; Y.M N ASI I'M.

with no side walls, and at the back of the old racquet
court are two uncovered Eton fives courts : here, too,
is a large corrugated iron shed, presented by Dr.
Percival, where cricket can be practised in the spring
on a cocoanut matting pitch. Close by the racquet
courts is the boarding house (now Mr. W. P. Brooke's),
the only one (excepting the School House) built on
school property, and owned by the Governing Body :

139

Temple Observatory RUGBY [CHAP. II

it was built by Sir Gilbert Scott. Just beyond it we
come to the Island (see p. 92), on the edge of which
is the old cricket pavilion.

A gate behind the Island takes us out into the
Barby Road. Almost opposite this gate a road leads
in a few yards to the sanatorium, where all serious
cases of illness are attended to ; it contains forty beds.
Opposite the sanatorium, on the left side of the road,
is the Temple Observatory. This building was due
mainly to the Rev. J. M. Wilson, assistant master
1859 — 1879, now Archdeacon of Manchester, who pre-
sented the telescope. It was opened in 1878, with
sub-curator's house attached, on ground given by the
Governing Body. The big telescope in the observatory
was originally made for the Rev. W. R. Dawes, a well-
known astronomer : it is thus described in the memoirs
of the R. A. S. : " Equatorial, originally mounted at
Haddenham (Hopefield Observatory), Bucks. The
glass was cut by Chance and Co. Aperture 8£ inches,
focal length no inches. The figure is excellent to
the circumference, and the dispersion but a little over-
corrected. The finder has an aperture of 2 inches.
The micrometer was a parallel wire by Dolland. A
driving clock and a very good Bond's spring governor
render the action very smooth."

The telescope bears the following inscription ;
" Hoc Perspicillum in usum Dawesii ab Alvano Clark
elaboratum, Scholae Rugbeiensi, quo cceli miracula
explorent, scientiam augeant, exerceant ingenia, in dei
gloriam, Frederico Temple auctore, D.D., J. M.
Wilson, A.D. MDCCCLXXI." The observatory also

140

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS T. Hughes Statue

contains a transit instrument and a twelve-inch re-
flecting telescope. Regular observations of double
stars have been taken here for many years past. It
is open to boys at certain times on all .cloudless
evenings during the term.

Returning to the Barby Road and turning to the
right past a boarding house (now Mr. C. G. Steel's), '
we reach the Temple Reading Room and Art Museum,
the former in the lower storey of the building, the
latter above it. The north end of the building is the
curator's house. The block stands back from the
road, and on the lawn in front of it was erected, in
1899, the statue of the late Judge Hughes, known to
all the world as the author of " Tom Brown's School-
days." It was erected by subscription amongst old
Rugbeians and others, a surplus of £186 over the
cost of the statue (;£i,ooo) being devoted to the
Home Mission. The statue is the work of Mr. T.
Brock, R.A., and is successful as few modern open-air
statues are. The figure, which is more than life-size,
is of white marble and stands on a pedestal of gray
granite, the total height being about eighteen feet.
He is represented as bare-headed, with a pen in the
right hand and a book in the left ; the head, half
turned to the right, looks over the Close towards the
School House. The pose is very natural and dignified,
the difficulties of modern dress have been very skilfully
overcome, and the whole gives a vivid impression of a
strong, fearless man. The likeness is also pronounced
to be excellent by those best qualified to judge. On
the pedestal is the following inscription : " Thomas

141

T. Hughes Statue

RUCJIJV

[CHAP. IT

Photo.

E. H. Speight.

STATUE OF THOMAS HUGHES.

Hughes, Q.C., M.P., author of ' Tom Brown.' Born Oc-
tober XIX., MDCCCXXII. Died March XXII., MDCCCXCVI.
Watch ye : Stand fast in the faith : Quit you like men :
Be strong." The statue was unveiled by the Archbishop

142

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Temple Reading Room

of Canterbury on Speech Day, 1899, before a large
company made especially interesting by the presence
of several of" Tom Brown's " contemporaries at school.
Amongst the speakers on that occasion, the Right
Hon. G. J. Goschen (O.R.) expressed most happily
the feelings which prompted the erection of a statue

rtwto.

G. A. Dean.

TEMPLE READING ROOM.

as the most fitting memorial of Tom Brown at Rugby,
referring to him as " the incarnation of the highest
form of the British schoolboy, the best type of the
character of the school which moulded him."

The Temple Reading Room was opened in 1879;
the special subscription list towards it, in memory of
Dr. Temple's headmastership, is notable for an anony-
mous gift of £2,000. It contains the bulk of the

Art Museum RUGBY [CHAP. II

school library, the Arnold Library as it is still called.
The chief newspapers and periodicals are taken in,
and the room is open to subscribers during the greater
part of the day. The windows are of stained glass,
bearing the names and arms of Rugby boys and
masters who have become bishops. At the end of the
room is a bronze bust by Mr. T. Brock, R.A., of the
late Lord Bowen, and a beautiful water-colour by
Sir W. B. Richmond, R.A., of the late Dean
Vaughan. Here, too, is hung a photograph of the
late G. Nutt, assistant master 1874 — 1895, to whose
knowledge and zeal as librarian the library owes a
great debt. In the library there now stands a
model of the Acropolis presented by the British
Museum.

Above the reading-room is the art museum, one of
the most interesting places in Rugby, the existence of
which is a striking testimony to the efforts made by
modern educational systems to widen the range of
mental activity. The institution was mainly due to
Dr. Jex-Blake, "in the hope" (to quote his words)
" that leisure hours would then be given by many
boys to a delightful form of culture, often too little
thought of at home or school, and with the conviction
that some few boys would draw great enjoyment, life-
long interest, and a new faculty from it." An interest-
ing illustrated account of the museum (from which
these notes are for the most part taken) was con-
tributed by the curator, Mr. T. M. Lindsay, to " The
Magazine of Art" for September, 1898. In this
account he pays a just tribute to the generosity of

144

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Art Museum

the late Mr. M. H. Bloxam, whose most valuable and
interesting gifts form the nucleus of the collection.
Mr. Bloxam was widely .known as an antiquary and
author of a " Handbook of Gothic Architecture" ; to
all Rugbeians he was also known as an unfailing
friend of his old school for more than half a century.
With the exception of some family portraits he either
gave or bequeathed the whole of his magnificent
collections to the school. Many others, besides Mr.
Bloxam, have contributed generously to the collec-
tion, which now contains specimens of many kinds of
work of artistic and archaeological value. It com-
prises " paintings in oil and water colours ; statuary
in plaster, marble, and bronze (original and copies) ;
casts of antique gems ; arms and armour ; carvings in
wood and stone ; ancient pottery, glass, coins, and
medals ; ecclesiastical metal work ; examples of mural
painting from demolished churches ; engravings, etch-
ings, mezzotints, photogravures, and their variants ;
photographs of nature and art ; wood-engravings ; the
Arundel Society's publications in chromo-lithography,
and fictile ivories, etc."

The visitor will find all the exhibits clearly labelled
and arranged, as far as possible, according to their
classes or periods. Amongst the drawings and paint-
ings he should not fail to notice three drawings by
Michael Angelo, and one of St. Michael "attributed
to Raphael, but more probably by his pupil, Giulio
Romano " ; a small oil painting by Turner, charac-
teristic of his later manner; a good example of J. S.
Cotman ; two small portraits by Ferdinand Bol,

H5 L

Art Museum RUGBY [CHAP. II

and a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, " much re-
stored," of a Mr. John Bland ; a portrait of a baby
attributed to Velasquez ; an excellent collection of
water-colours, including examples of Cox, Turner,
Prout, Alfred Hunt, and many others ; a fine drawing
in charcoal and coloured chalks (Perseus and Andro-
meda) by Sir E. J. Poynter, and pencil drawings by
John Flaxman and the late Lord Leighton. Amongst
the cases in the room the most interesting perhaps is
the one which contains a number of Greek helmets.
One of these is of unique interest, from the fact that it
comes from the bed of the river Sert, the ancient
Centrites, a tributary of the Tigris. The river barred
the way of the Greeks in the famous retreat of the
Ten Thousand, and they had considerable difficulty in
effecting the passage of it with the Persians opposing
them on the opposite bank, and the Carduchi threaten-
ing their rear (Xen. Anab. iv. 3). It is most probable
then that this helmet belonged to one of the Ten
Thousand. It was discovered in 1884, when Mr. T. B.
Oakley and another old Rugbeian were being carried
down the Sert on a raft. The raft got into shallow
water where the Sert joins the Tigris, and the boat-
man, in lifting up his pole from the bed of the stream,
brought up on it this telmet. It was taken to be an
old copper kettle, and Mr. Oakley bought it for
about a shilling : he afterwards gave it to Mr. Bloxam.
Noticeable also amongst the collection of armour is
a very rare Gothic gauntlet, of which we believe only
two other specimens exist, and some buff jerkins of
the Commonwealth period, which are also rare. Many

146

Art Museum RUGliV [CHAP. II

of the relics of the period of the Civil Wars come from
the neighbouring battle-fields of Naseby and Edgehill.
There is also a fine trophy -of Dervish arms, recently
given by Colonel Sir C. S. B. Parsons (O.R.).

A very interesting case from the Bloxam collection,
placed under the window on the staircase, contains
weapons illlustrating the development of the primitive
palaeolithic flint-head into the battle-axes of mediaeval
times. On the staircase, too, should be noticed the
chair and table which Dr. Arnold habitually used
when teaching. These are very few amongst the things
which form the permanent collection : they are sup-
plemented from time to time by loan collections of
.various kinds. Gift, bequest, and purchase have so
enlarged the contents of the art museum that the sum
of £16,000, for which they are insured, is said to fall
short by £9,000 of their real value.

Adjoining the art museum is the drawing school,
built in 1888, a large room 45 feet by 35 feet, made of
wood and iron : the outside, which is not beautiful, is
fortunately screened by some trees : the inside is light
and well adapted for its purpose, and is well furnished
with casts..

Close to the corner where the Barby Road joins the
Hillmorton Road are some wood and iron sheds
erected in 1 894. They contain a large room where
the collections of the Natural History Society are exhi-
bited (see p. 179), a physical laboratory and lecture
room, and music schools, where the votaries of the art
may practise in small compartments without any
disturbance to their neighbours.

148

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND ('.ROUNDS New Big School

Close by, opposite to the entrance to the head
master's house, is the New Big School. It was com-
pleted in 1886, and stands on the site of a boarding-
house occupied successively by Messrs. Highton,
Burrows, Green, and Michell, the last-named building
a new house further up the Hillmorton Road when the

NEW BIG SCHOOL.

A'. //. Speight.

old one was demolished. The site was given by the
governing body, the money for the building being
raised by subscription. The building is a characteristic
work by Mr. Butterfield : the ground floor is occupied
by a vestibule and three large class rooms : two stair-
cases lead up to the Big School, which takes up the
whole of the upper storey. The room is eighty-three

149

New Big School RUGBY [CHAP. II

feet by thirty-seven, but its length is curtailed by a
fine organ which occupies the east end, a small chamber
on the south side, which was originally designed for
its reception, proving unsuitable for many reasons.
The room is used for morning prayers once a week,
for concerts and lectures, for " Speeches," and for ex-
aminations such as the scholarship examination, when
a large number of candidates have to be seated. For
ordinary purposes it is large enough, but on the occa-
sions when visitors are added to the school the want of
room is rather severely felt. It is surrounded by a
high oak panelling, above which are coloured windows
on either side of the room ; it has rather a handsome
waggon-roof. At the west end of the room, on a
pedestal, stands a bust of Dr. Arnold by Mr. Alfred
Gilbert, R.A. It was originally intended for West-
minster Abbey, but being too large for the place which
it was destined to occupy there, it was presented to the
school. It is a fine bust, but the likeness is not con-
sidered very good by those who remember Arnold.
Round the walls are hung portraits of some former
head masters and distinguished Old Rugbeians. The
majority of these are copies. On the west wall are
Dean Stanley and Matthew Arnold ; on the north
Dr. Jex-Blake by Herman Herkomer ; Lord Derby ;
Dr. Arnold ; Dr. Temple by Watts ; Dr. Percival by
Hubert Herkomer; T. Hughes; Dr. Hort ; F. Du-
mergue by G. P. Jacomb-Hood, and Dr. Cotton: on the
south wall are W. C. Oswell, Rev. E. H. Bradby, F. C.
Selous, and the Rev. Septimus Hansard. On the
west wall, too, are four portraits from the Bloxam col-

150

CHAP. II] BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Boarding-Houses

lection, which would perhaps be more fittingly placed
in the Art Museum. They are of Mary, Lady Howard
of Effingham, by Otto Venius or Vern ; Sir Richard
Steele, by Kneller ; Henry, Prince of Wales (son of
James I.); and a good portrait of the Duke of Mon-
mouth by Sir Peter Lely. In the recess on the south
side is a portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, from the
same collection.

Behind the organ is kept a red velvet banner with
the school arms embroidered on it, which is displayed
on great occasions : it is a testimony to the fame of
" Tom Brown's Schooldays," for it was presented in
1860 by Mr. William Mills of Connecticut, U.S.A.,
who was so struck with admiration by that work that
he deputed a friend, Mr. J. G. Day, to present this
banner to the school.

Of the boarding-houses there is no need to say more
than appears on a subsequent page (p. 156); but it may
be useful to give a list of the various houses, in so far
as they can be traced ; for this list I am indebted to
the Rev. A. T. Michell, who is preparing one for the
forthcoming new edition of the first volume of the
" Rugby Register."

BOARDING-HOUSES IN THE TOWN.

About 1790 there were :

Finch. Malin (Sheep Street).

Loggin. Moor, C. (Hillmorton Road).

Powell.

About 1801-1806 : Extinct.

Mrs. Bucknill (now High St., No. 24) ... 1831

Mr. Philip Williams (now Market Place. No. 5) . . 1831

Mr. William Gascoigne (now Market Place, No. 6) . 1822

Boarding-Houses

RUGBY

[CHAP. II

BOARDING-HOUSES IN THE S—fOnnue. Extinct

Mr. Townsend (now 23 and 24, Market Place) . . . 1831

Rev. W. Birch (site of four Western Almshouses), Church St. 1826

Mrs. Wratislaw (now Lloyd's Bank), Church St. . . 1824

Mr. Robert Stanley (site of part of New Schools) . . 1847
Dr. Bloxam (west corner of Sheep Street and Lawrence

Sheriffe Street) . 1831

MASTERS' HOUSES, NOW EXTINCT.
Birch (as above). Bloxam (as above).

"Troy House," 14, Hillmorton Road. i, Newbold Road.

12, Hillmorton Road.

1832. Grenfell. 1831-40. Lee. 1831-9. Buckoll.

1845. Congreve.
1848. Walrond.
1851. Shairp — 1857. 33, Bilton Road.

16, Hillmorton Road. 1841-6. Pen rose.
1841. Arnold, C. T.

1838-40. Men vale
(not known where).

SUCCESSION OF PRESENT HOUSES.

Hillmorton Road,

South side.
1790. Moor, C.
1803. Moor, ]. H. C.
1832. Bird.
1841. Mayor.
1863. Wilson.
1879. White'aw.

Barby Road.
1830. Price.
1850. Evans.
1862. Hutchinson.
1884. Donkin.

Horton Crescent.
1893. Stallard.

Hi'lmorton Road,

Hillmor;on Road,

South side.

North side.

1836. Powlett.

1841. Highton.

1840. Cotton.

1850. Burrows.

1852. Compton.

1872. Green.

1858. Smythies.

1882. Michell

1 86 1. Anstey(/r0te;?/. ).

(new house 1884).

1862. Moberly.

1874. Philpotts.

Hillmorton Road,

1875. Lee- Warner.

North side.

1884. Morice.

1845. Bradley.

1895. Payne-Smith.

1858. Jex-Blake.

1868. Elsee.

1889. Collins.

Barby Road. Barby Road.

1828. Anstey. 1853. Arnold.

'1854. Bowden-Smith. 1878. Scott.

1889. Steel. 1892. Brooke.

152

__ ; 3

Photo. J. Hcnsmaii, Rugby.

REV. H. A. TAMES, D.D., PRESENT HEAD MASTER.

CHAPTER III

THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL

THE object of this chapter and the following one is
to give some account of the various activities which
make up the life of the school.

There are at present in the school not far from
600 boys. Of these some forty live in the town or
neighbourhood, and attend the school as day boys ;
the rest live in boarding-houses managed by masters
in the school. Of these houses — there are nine — the
largest is the School House, which is under the control
of the head master ; it contains some eighty boys, and
forms part of the old school buildings ; the other houses
contain some fifty-two boys each.

A limited number of those who wish to wait until
room can be found for them in a boarding-house are
boarded at private houses (licence being given by the
governing body) until a vacancy occurs. To each of
the boarding-houses a junior master is attached as
tutor ; his nominal duties are limited to the taking of
evening preparation twice a week, and in some cases
the instruction twice a week of a " Tutor Set," con-
sisting of those boys in the house who are in the
Classical Upper School, excluding the Sixth ; but
his real raison d'etre is that he may get to know the

155

Boarding-Houses RUGBY [CHAP. Ill

boys in the house, to the mutual advantage of them
and of him. The School House has three tutors. The
boarding-houses, the great majority of which have
either been entirely built, or much altered and added
to within the last fifteen years, are all arranged on the
same general scheme. The chief feature of each is a
large hall, where the boys have all their meals ; these
halls are also used as sitting and reading rooms by
the older boys, and by the younger within certain
limits, the daily and illustrated papers, paid for by
a house subscription, being taken in there. They are
also used for evening preparation four times a week,
when boys in the Middle School prepare their next
morning's lesson under supervision of the house master
or tutor. In some cases the house library is placed in
the hall. P^very boy has a study, which, according to
the size of the study, and his position in the school,
he shares with another, or holds as his separate domain.
None of the studies in any house holds more than
two. These studies are furnished with the necessary
cupboards, table, and chairs, the ornamentation being
left to the devices of the occupants. The dormitories
are of various sizes. The boarding fee is £24 a term,
in advance, besides which there is a house entrance
fee of ^3 3^. Applications for admission for boarders
are made to the boarding-house masters.

The school course of work is still mainly classical,
two-thirds of the boys being in what is called the
Classical Side, which aims in the main at preparation
for the Universities. The results of this work may be
roughly estimated by the number of scholarships

.156

CHAP. Ill] WORK OF THE SCHOOL Classical Side

gained at the Universities, still better perhaps by the
result of the examination for Oxford and Cambridge
certificates, for which the whole Sixth Form enters at
the end of the summer term. Statistics on both lines
prove a high level of attainment. Latin and Greek
are, of course, the principal subjects taught on the
Classical Side, but modern tendencies have caused a

Photo. E. H. Speight.

STUDY OF HEAD OK SCHOOL HOUSE.

considerable expansion in the curriculum, which in-
cludes, besides these two subjects, Divinity, History,
Geography, English Literature, French, Mathematics,
and Natural Science: in the Upper School Modern
Languages (i.e., French and German) and Natural
Science are alternative subjects. Rugby was the first
of the great public schools to introduce the teaching
of Natural Science as part of the regular work.

157

Modern Side RUGBY [CHAP. Ill

Boys who are not on the Classical Side are taught
in one or other of three separately organized de-
partments : these are,

1. The Modern Side. This was introduced in 1886,
and aims at giving a general education of a literary
character to boys who do not intend to go to the Uni-
versities. The curriculum differs from that of the
Classical Side chiefly in the absence of Greek. Latin
forms part of the regular work, and the time gained
by the abolition of Greek is devoted chiefly to French,
but more time is given than on the Classical Side to
English subjects and Natural Science, and in the
upper forms to German.

2. The Army Class. This was originally part of
the Modern Side, but is now organized quite se-
parately. A special fee of five guineas per term is
charged to all members of it, which enables it to be
arranged in small sets, where special attention can be
given to the particular needs of every boy, the average
number in each set being only twelve. The numbers
in the Army Class are limited to about fifty, and no
boy is admitted to it until he reaches the top form of
the Middle School (Upper Middle i). The curriculum
in the Army Class is, of course, arranged solely with a
view to certain examinations, namely, the examinations
for Woolwich and Sandhurst and the Indian Woods
and Forests ; mathematical subjects are therefore
prominent. The Army Class has two divisions, but
promotion into the upper division does not always
depend solely on merit, preference being given, where
it is advisable, to those whose examination is hard at

158

CHAP. Ill] WORK OF THE SCHOOL Forms

hand. These divisions are each subdivided into two
sets of about a dozen boys for almost all subjects, and
the two divisions do not do the same subject at the
same time, the object being that the same two masters
may teach one subject throughout the whole of the
Army Class. Since the introduction of this system,
the Army Class has been remarkably successful.

3. Specialists. By this class opportunity is given
to those desiring to " specialize " in Mathematics or
Natural Science, generally with a view to University
scholarships in these subjects. Such specializing is not
admitted till a boy reaches the Upper School. If he
then shows promise, arrangements are made by which
he can devote most of his time to one or both of these
subjects. These " specialists," of whom there are
generally about fifteen, are taught Classics and English
subjects in a form by themselves.

The regular tuition fee is £14 6s. %d. per term, pay-
able in advance, but for the use of the chemical and
physical laboratories a special fee is charged, £i 15^.
per term in ordinary cases, but varying up to a maxi-
mum of £3 IQS. per term according to the amount of
instruction given.

The school is divided for purposes of instruction
into nine forms, most of which are subdivided into
parallel or successive divisions. The nomenclature
of these forms is of various origin, and is somewhat
complicated by not unfrequent change, so that the
value of the terms, so to speak,- is not in all cases per-
manent. The top form has had a permanent name,
the Sixth, for more than a century, since the time

159

Forms RUGBY [CHAP. Ill

when Dr. T. James divided the school into six forms,
the basis of all subsequent organization, though of the
names only the Sixth and Fifth have survived. The
Sixth has two divisions, called the Upper Bench
and Lower Bench, and in view of the disciplinary
powers which all its members possess, it is ordained
that no boy may be promoted into it until he is
fifteen and a half years old. As a rule a boy is not
promoted till he is sixteen. The entrusting of large
duties and responsibilities to the Sixth Form has
been a marked characteristic of the school system
since the days of Dr. Arnold. The duties of the
Sixth Form at Rugby may be summed up by saying
that they are in general responsible for the disci-
pline of the school and the houses, and the enforce-
ment of all rules. Amongst their minor duties may
be mentioned that of reading the lessons in chapel
on Sundays, and taking the collections. Along with
their duties and powers go certain privileges, chief
among which is the right to fag all boys not in
the Upper School. In modern times the duties of a
fag are not very arduous : he has to sweep out and
dust the study of a Sixth Form boy every now and
then (for there are always more fags than studies), a
duty which he generally performs in a manner which
would shock any housemaid, and he will occasionally
be called upon to run messages ; but the increase of
hot water pipes has in most cases done away with the
duty of making fires and toast, and the electric light
needs no cleaning hand. It not unfrequently happens
that Sixth Power is granted in a house to a boy who

1 60

(HAP. Ill] WORK OF THE SCHOOL Forms

is not in the Sixth Form ; in such cases his powers
and privileges do not extend beyond his own house,
but it is very seldom in any case that a fag is called
upon to do anything by a Sixth Form boy in a
different house.

The head of the school has special duties, of no
insignificant kind. Besides summoning and presiding
over all " Sixth Levees " and " Bigside Levees," z>.,
meetings of the Sixth and Upper School, reading the
lessons in chapel at the first and last services of term,
and on any occasion when by accident nobody else
presents himself, he has to keep and publish the
school accounts ; all the money which is raised by a
compulsory subscription for the school games (as
distinguished from the house games) passes through
his hands, and this amounts to no inconsiderable sum.
He is, as it were, the treasurer of a games club to
which all the school belongs.

Below the Sixth comes a form called the Twenty.
The name, given originally because of the number in
the form, is no longer applicable, for the numbers in it
vary from twenty-five to twenty-nine. It is a specially
important form from the constant presence in it of the
ablest boys who cannot be promoted into the Sixth
until they reach the maximum age, and ever since the
days of B. Price the teaching of the Twenty has been
one of the great features of Rugby.

Next to the Twenty comes the Fifth, then the
Lower Fifth. Both of these forms have parallel
divisions.

These forms constitute the Upper School, which
161 M

Forms RUC.I'.Y [CHAP. Ill

has privileges not enjoyed by those below it. The
Upper School boy is exempt from fagging and from
supervised work at evening preparation, and the whole
Upper School has the right, or is under the obligation,
of attending " Bigside Levee " ; the Middle School
boys, as fags, have not the franchise. The questions
which come before a Bigside levee are practically con-
fined to points about the games ; as a rule the levees
are purely formal meetings which fix the dates for
the beginning and end of football, the athletics, and
kindred points ; occasionally, however, motions are
brought forward which excite keen controversy, such
as systems for guiding the inter-house competitions,
and at such times a vote possesses a real value. All
decisions of Bigside levees are subject to the veto of
the head master. It is one of the duties of the head
of the school to keep a record of these decisions.

The names of the Middle School Forms show a
lack of variety, running through a series of Upper
Middles and Lower Middles. One more picturesque
name, " The Shell," has in recent years been dropped
.on the Classical side, though it is still retained on the
Modern. The name came originally from Westmin-
ster School, where it was given to the form that sat
in a shell-like alcove at one end of the great school-
room : from Westminster it spread to several other
schools. At Rugby the Shell has gradually sunk in
rank among the forms until it has at length been
eliminated. Last of all comes the Lower School : this
name was formerly applied to a considerable section
of the school; in modern times it clings only to a

162

CHAP. Ill] WORK OF THE SCHOOL Superannuation

small form of about fifteen on the Classical side, and
half a small form on the Modern.

The reason why these names have gradually altered
in their application is the tendency to lessen the ap-
parent severity of the superannuation rule. This rule
lays down that no boy may remain in the Lower School
after the term in which he is fifteen years old, in the
Lower Middles after sixteen, Upper Middles after
seventeen, Upper School below the Sixth after eigh-
teen, or in the Sixth after the summer term of the
year in which he is nineteen. A boy is also liable to
superannuation after he has been four terms in the
same form ; this of course does not apply to the Sixth.
Such a rule, however necessary for the welfare of the
school in general, would press very unfairly on certain
boys if it were inviolable. Consequently, except for
boys over nineteen, the head master has power to
suspend it in individual cases, and though no boy
can claim such suspension, a good report for conduct
and industry from all masters with whom the boy has
to deal always ensures it, if the limit of age or time
in the form has not been greatly exceeded. In such
cases, much depends on the boy's reports. These are
written for every boy in the school at the half-term and
end of the term, and sent to the parents or guardians.
They contain information about the boy's place and
progress in all his work, together with general remarks
from the house master and head master.

Promotion in all forms goes strictly by the final
order of each term, which is reached by a careful and
elaborate system of marking, regulating the propor-

163

Promotions KU<;iJY [CHAP. Ill

tions to be assigned to term's work and examination,
and to the various subjects. The largest proportion
of marks is assigned to form subjects, />., those sub-
jects which are taught to each form by the form
master. On the Classical side these are Latin, Greek,
and English subjects, while on the Modern side French
takes the place of Greek. For other subjects the
various parts of the school are divided up into a
separate organization of sets : promotion in these sets
goes entirely by set work, but the marks obtained
when reduced to their due proportion are added to
the form marks, and so affect largely the boy's place
in his form. A form order on these lines is made out
for the reports at the end of each half-term : the final
order is made up on term and examination marks
combined. Examination on all subjects takes place
in the last week of the summer and autumn terms.
Prizes are awarded for good work in the latter ex-
amination ; the head of each form in term's work also
gets a prize, and on the Classical side (as far down
as the Upper Middles) the boy who is top in Classical
composition. In the spring term the amount of ex-
amination is mostly left to the discretion of the form
or set master ; in the regular examinations almost all
the papers for each form are set and looked over by
masters other than the form master. In the Middle
School a weekly order in form subjects is made out,
and some of the top boys in each form are allowed to
prepare their evening work in their studies.

The system of forms and sets renders the time-table
of lessons somewhat elaborate. On an ordinary " whole

164

CHAP. Ill] WORK OF THK SCHOOL

Time-table

school day " there are five lessons, three in the morning,
two in the afternoon. The day begins with a short
service in chapel at 7.0 in the summer, and 7.30 in the
winter months : to keep up the standard of punctuality
and prevent a rush to the doors at the last moment,
when

" The schoolboy groans on hearing

That eternal clock strike seven,"

Photo.

GOING INTO CHAPEL.

E. H. Speight.

the forms have to attend a calling over and leave their
books in their various rooms before chapel. First
lesson, which has been prepared overnight, follows for
an hour. The normal scheme for the next three
lessons is that an hour's preparation done out of school

.65

Time-table RUGBY [CHAP. Ill

is followed by an hour's lesson, but it constantly
happens that a master has to take two classes for a
prepared lesson in consecutive hours ; in such cases
the class which has an " early second or third," has to
get its preparation done beforehand, while in compen-
sation it gets a leisure hour, made all the sweeter from
the fact that most people are in school. The lower
forms, instead of preparing their work out of school,
come in for an hour and a half, and prepare under
supervision, so that at all sorts of different times boys
and masters may be seen hurrying in and out of
school. Fifth lesson is unprepared, and, like first
lesson, sees the whole school in at the same time. It
ends at 6.0 in the winter, 5.30 in the summer.1

The evening preparation in houses for Middle
School forms lasts for an hour and a half: it does
not take place on Wednesday (in the summer term
Thursday) evenings, which are consequently chosen
for all lectures and concerts, nor on Saturday, which
is the meeting day of the Debating and Natural
History Societies. Of the composition in the Upper
School two " copies " or exercises a week are done out
of school, and each boy goes to the master at a fixed
time to have his copy corrected viva voce. The third
" copy " is done in school. All " extras " have to
be worked in during out of school hours, but this is
made easier by there being three regular half-holidays
a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday), while every
third Monday is also a half-holiday. This is called

1 See Appendix.
1 66

CHAP. Ill] WORK OF THE SCHOOL Music

" middle-week." It was instituted by Dr. Arnold, but
the origin of the name is not clear. It has been sup-
posed to be derived from its having been given in
compensation for a mid-term exeat ; but these exeats
survived alongside with "middle-week " till the " half-
years " gave way to three "terms" in 1866. More
probably it compensated for monthly whole holidays,
and perhaps it was so called because the half-holiday
Mondays are sandwiched in each between two dis-
tinct whole-school day Mondays. Half-holidays are
also not unfrequently given on fine Mondays, in re-
cognition of scholarships or special events.

The summer holidays are eight weeks long (a
special feature of the school which all Rugbeians
remember with deep satisfaction). Eight weeks are
distributed between Christmas and Easter ; nowadays
they are nearly always evenly divided, the school
staying over Easter. if it falls early.

Drawing and music hold a prominent place in the
work of the school. Drawing is a compulsory subject
for all the Middle School, and the artistic interests of
the drawing classes are stimulated by occasional visits
in the drawing hour to the Art Museum, where the
drawing master, who is curator of the museum, gives
them an informal lecture on some of the exhibits.
Music is not compulsory, but in various ways is very
widely taught. For private instruction in professional
drawing and instrumental music an extra fee of .£3 los.
a term is charged, and so many boys avail themselves
of the musical opportunities that a school orchestra
of varied instruments has become a reality, and a brass

167

Choir RUGBY [CHAP. Ill

band leads the rifle corps on days when they " march
out." The orchestra is excused one lesson a week
for purposes of practice. Still more boys get a certain
amount of musical training in the choir. All new boys
have their voices tried, and if the result is satisfactory
they are put in the choir ; some fortunates pass steadily
through the alto stage, and never have to leave it ;
others return to it when the cracked treble has passed
into a bass, or, less commonly, into a tenor, for tenors
are always rare birds. In this way boys learn a good
deal of vocal music, for there are regular practices for
chapel singing, and also practices for theschool concerts
which are given twice a year, at the end of the summer
and autumn terms. In return for the time given to
these practices, those who sing in the concert are
excused repetition at the end of term, and in the
Middle School the Saturday evening work, an essay
or the like, is remitted.

The choir was not always so well supported as it
now is. When the first chapel was consecrated in
1821, and volunteers from theschool were called upon
to form a choir, so diffident were Rugbeians of the
time of their vocal powers that only two boys offered
themselves ! A paid choir was consequently started,
and continued as late as about 1866, when the boys
were induced to sing by being made responsible for
the singing. There are two annual singing competi-
tions, taking place towards the end of the spring
term ; one for the best house quartette, the other for
the best house unison-singing. The quartette competi-
tion has been held since 1876, when Mr. Edwards, for

1 68

CHAP. Ill] WORK OF THE SCHOOL Scholarships

many years school organist and music master, pre-
sented four cups for the successful singers. The
unison singing competition was begun in 1893 ; a fine
cup, purchased by subscription, goes to the winning
house.

Opportunities are also provided to boys for hearing
good instrumental music: besides a short organ re-
cital in the Chapel on Sundays after morning service,
there is an orchestral concert in the autumn and
spring terms, and concerts of chamber music are also
arranged from time to time.

Such are the main features of the routine of school
work ; we must now give some data as to the scholar-
ships and prizes which are offered.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND PRIZES.

An examination is held at the school every June
for election to ten or more scholarships, if the candi-
dates show sufficient merit. They are of the following
value :

4 or more of ^100 open to boys between 12 and 14
2 „ ^80 „ „ 12 „ 15

2 „ ;£6o „ „ 12 „ 15

» £40 „ „ 12 „ 15

4 „ £20 „ „ 12 „ 15

The examination is conducted by the head master
and assistants. There is no special work to be pre-
pared, and the papers are set mainly with a view to
well-taught boys between thirteen and fourteen, but
allowance is made for age by adding a proportional
percentage on marks obtained. A special scholarship

169

Scholarships RUGBY [CHAP. Ill

augmentation fund provides for the private increase
of any scholarship to such an amount as in the judg-
ment of the head master the circumstances of the
scholar may require. All scholarships are tenable as
long as a boy remains at school, provided that the
head master is satisfied with the good conduct and
industry of the scholar. If this is not the case the
scholarship may be forfeited. Candidates have to
apply to the secretary for admission to the examina-
tion on or before May 26th, and testimonials of good
conduct and registrar's certificate of birth must be
sent at the same time. No boy is admissible who is
not fully twelve years old on the 1st of January, or
who will be more than fourteen or fifteen, as the case
may be, on the 1st of July of the current year.

The Natural Science candidates are examined in
Elementary Physics (Statics, Dynamics, and Hydro-
statics).

The ;£ioo and ,£80 scholarships are generally
awarded for proficiency in Classics, English, Elemen-
tary Mathematics, and French ; but any scholarship
may be won by excellent work either in

(a) Classics, together with English, Elementary
Mathematics, and Elementary French ; or

(fr) Mathematics or Natural Science, or both com-
bined, together with Latin, English, Elementary
Mathematics, and Elementary French ; or

(d) English, Latin, French, German, Mathematics,
and Natural Science, and candidates may also offer

170

CHAP. Ill] WORK OF THE SCHOOL Scholarships

one or two of the following subjects : Chemistry,
Electricity and Magnetism, Heat, Light, Geology,
Physical Geography, Botany. The examination is
partly of a practical kind, and the candidates have
to name their subjects when applying for admission.
The £40 and £20 scholarships can be held either by
a boarder or a day boy, but scholarships of a higher
value are only tenable by boarders, who, unless they
are already members of the school, are assigned a
place in a house by the head master.

Among the scholarships there are certain special
ones founded by or in memory of individuals. These
are — the Tait scholarships founded in memory of
Archbishop Tait, head master from 1842 — 1849 : the
Walrond scholarship founded in memory of Theodore
Walrond, C.B., a distinguished Old Rugbeian who was
head of the school when Dr. Arnold died : the Derby
scholarship founded in memory of Edward Henry
Stanley, 1 8th Earl of Derby, who entered the school
in 1840: the Benn scholarships founded in accord-
ance with the wishes of the late George Benn, O.K.,
who died in 1895. One of the Benn scholarships has
special conditions attached (see below), but the money
from the other special foundations is amalgamated
with the other funds which the school possesses for
the payment of scholars. At the same time, though
all scholarships are awarded in the same examination,
special scholars are from time to time designated as
Tait, Derby, Walrond, or Benn scholars. The names
are thus perpetuated without the general scholarship
system being interfered with.

171

Foundationerships RUGIJV [CHAP. Ill

The scholarships are open to all comers, but these
are not the only aids to education, for the foundation
offers great advantages to residents in accordance with
the wishes of the founder, Lawrence Sheriffe. These
are now regulated by statutes which took the force of
law in July, 1874. Persons residing in or within five
miles of Rugby on July 3ist, 1868, are entitled to send
their sons, if of good character, and able to read
English, and capable of being taught the first elements
of grammar, to enter the school as foundationers and
receive the instruction of the school free of charge.
Such persons are becoming fewer, and the most im-
portant regulations of the foundation apply to resir
dents in or within five miles of Rugby who were not
so residing on July 3 1st, 1868. To these are offered :
• i. Twelve major foundationerships, giving free tui-
tion. These are confined to boys between twelve and
fourteen years of age, who have attended the Lower
School of Lawrence Sheriffe (commonly called " The
Subordinate School "), which takes boys of eight and
upwards, for the two years preceding their election.
The tuition fees in this school are, for boys under
twelve, £6 per annum ; for boys over twelve, £? IDS.

2. Twenty-four minor foundationerships, giving
education at a tuition fee of £20 per annum. For
these there is no restriction except that the boys must
enter the school between twelve and fourteen, and the
parents home must be in or within five miles of Rugby
whilst their boys are at school.

3. A scholarship of the value of £2$ per annum,
founded by the late Mr. G. C. Benn, and called after

172

CHAP. Ill] WORK OF THE SCHOOL Exhibitions

him. It is tenable with a minor, but not with a major
or old foundationership, and elections only take place
as a vacancy occurs.

Finally, the masters offer free tuition to every day
boy (whether previously a member of the school or
not) who is admitted into the Upper School before he
is fourteen years of age.

Vacant foundationerships are filled up, and masters'
free admissions are given, at the entrance examina-
tions every term ; also at the annual scholarship ex-
amination in June. If in the appointment of major
foundationers the number of boys qualified exceeds
the number of vacancies, preference is given to the
boys who stand highest in the last preceding exami-
nation of the Subordinate School. If it happens in
the case of minor foundationers, the entrance exami-
nation supplies the test. Foundationers are eligible
to scholarships, but a major foundationer vacates his
place on the foundation if elected to a scholarship,
and a minor foundationer does the same if his scholar-
ship exceed £20 per annum.

There are no " close " scholarships from Rugby at
the Universities, but every year three major exhibi-
tions of £60 per annum, and four minor of £30, are
awarded. These are open to members of the Sixth
Form who have been in the school not less than three
years, and are tenable at the Universities or any other
place of education approved by the governing body.
The major exhibitions are given for general profi-
ciency, the minor are given respectively for Classics,
Mathematics, Natural Science and Modern Languages

173

Prizes RUGBY [CHAP. Ill

(French and German). A major and a minor or two
minor exhibitions may be held together. They are
tenable for four years, and are awarded on an examina-
tion conducted at the end of the term by external ex-
aminers, named or approved by the governing body.
This is now the Oxford and Cambridge Certificate
Examination.

Scholars and exhibitioners may waive the emolu-
ments in favour of others to whom they are of greater
importance, while retaining the distinction.

The prizes founded to encourage the pursuit of
various studies are numerous. Chief amongst them is
a gold medal, which the Queen founded in 1848 for
an English essay on an historical subject. Prizes in
books are given for almost every conceivable subject,
to be competed for by different parts of the school.
Amongst them may be mentioned : The trustees'
prizes for a Latin essay (founded 1820), Latin hexa-
meters (founded 1813), and Latin lyrics or elegiacs ;
the head master's prizes for an English poem (founded
1813), Greek prose, geography, and Homer; a prize
for English literature, founded in memory of Dr. Jex-
Blake's headmastership ; prizes for Latin prose ; a
prize for Greek iambics, in memory of Dr. T. James,
head master 1778 — 1794; prizes for divinity, founded
in memory of Archbishop Tait, and by A. F. Buxton,
Esq. (O.K.), and the late Dr. Hastings Robinson (O.R.),
and others ; a prize for ecclesiastical history, history
of the Prayer Book, or Christian Evidences, given by
the Rev. Canon Evans ; prizes for general modern
history, founded by Mrs. Bowen in memory of her

174

CHAP. Ill] WORK OF THE SCHOOL Prizes

son, the late Lord Bowen (O.R.) ; a prize for set sub-
jects in the Army Class, founded in memory of the
late H. C. Wrigley, who died while still a member of
the school ; Tom Hughes prizes, founded by Dr.
Percival, Bishop of Hereford, head master 1887 — 1895,
which consist of a copy of Judge Hughes' work, " The
Manliness of Christ," given to every boy who becomes
head of the School, the School House, the Cricket
Eleven, and the Football Fifteen.

Other prizes, which have no particular interest in
their origin, are given for certain Classical subjects,
history, mathematics, modern languages, natural
science, and reading.

175

CHAPTER IV

SOCIETIES, GAMES, AND OTHER INTERESTS

DEBATING AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES.

FROM the work of the school we will now turn to
the societies. The two most important are the De-
bating Society and the Natural History Society, which
meet -on alternate Saturday evenings during the au-
tumn and spring terms. Of these the Debating Society
is the elder and can trace its origin back to 1833 ; the
society then first formed was not long-lived, but since
1845, when its successor was established, the records
have been kept almost continuously, and amongst the
speakers have been many Rugbeians who have made
a name for themselves in after life. As now con-
stituted all members of the Upper School are eligible
to the society, but they must be proposed and seconded
by members, and are elected by ballot. The president
is a master, the vice-president, secretary, and usher
being selected from members of the school. The
subjects of debate are principally such as arise in all
debating societies, political questions of the day natur-
ally affording the best field for argument, though it is
as rare in the society as in more august assemblies
that the eloquence of the speakers influences the

177 N

Natural History Society RUGBY [CHAP. IV

voting on such subjects. Visitors, whether members
of the school or not, are admitted to the debates, and
the gatherings are naturally largest when some topic
of general school interest is down for discussion ; that
the debates do not often hang fire may be seen from
the pages of the " Meteor," the school journal, where
they are duly reported.

The Natural History Society dates from 1867, when
it was formed under the presidency of Mr. F. E.
Kitchener, an assistant master at the time. Its re-
cords have been regularly kept since that date, and
have been issued annually in the form of a report.
Any member of the school may join the society in
one or other of the following ways : (i) by presenting
to the honorary secretary a note, signed by his house
master, giving leave for a terminal charge of three
and sixpence to be made in the house bills ; (2) by
paying direct to the honorary secretary a " compound-
ing fee " of fifteen shillings. The members proper are
limited to fifteen, and are elected by the committee, but
there are a number of honorary members and corre-
sponding members, the latter chiefly consisting of ex-
members of the society. Amongst these may be
noticed the name of Mr. F. C. Selous, O.R., who was
one of the early members of the society. The mass of
those who join the society are called associates. Its
popularity may be judged by the fact that in 1898 the
number of members and associates reached 365, and
the wide scope of its activities may be seen by a glance
at any of the annual reports. These reports publish
the essay which wins the society's annual prize, and

178

CHAP, IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. N. H. S. Museum

some of the most interesting of the various papers
read at the fortnightly meetings. They also contain
the reports of the various sections, of which there
are no less than seven, a meteorological section which
takes regular observations of barometer, thermometer,
and rainfall, also entomological, botanical, zoological,
architectural, geological and photographic sections.
Most of these combine business with pleasure in the
summer term by expeditions to places of interest in
the neighbourhood.

The most precious possession of the Natural History
Society is its museum. The prime origin of this
appears to have been a heap of stones and fossils
which the boys of the time brought back with them
after the holidays, in response to a request from Dr.
Arnold that they should bring specimens of the com-
mon stones and fossils of their respective neighbour-
hoods. These lay in an unsorted and diminishing
heap until Mr. J. M. (now Archdeacon) Wilson set to
work on them in 1859, when he joined the staff of
masters. The specimens worth keeping were selected,
and to them were added a collection of fossils of the
local Lias which he made with the aid of pupils, and
a small collection of British and foreign fossils pre-
sented by other masters. They were all placed in the
Arnold Library ; at first a single case sufficed, but the
collection soon overflowed on to the adjoining book-
shelves. When the Natural History Society was started
in 1867 botanical and entomological collections were
begun by the president and Mr. A. Sidgwick, and various
boys formed collections of birds eggs and fresh-water

179

N. H. S. Museum RUGJ3V [CHAP. IV

shells. When the new buildings were erected these
were housed in a small room in them ; but the geo-
logical specimens remained in their old quarters in
the Arnold Library, and were presently joined by the
others, when the opening of the Temple reading-room
set free a large space in the Arnold Library. Here the
collections, constantly increasing by gifts from all
quarters, remained till 1894, when the temporary
buildings at the corner of the Hillmorton Road were
erected and the greater part of the Arnold Library
became a school room for the lower bench of the Sixth.
Want of light and proper cases had very seriously
hampered the usefulness of the collections, but a
special room in the new quarters has provided admir-
ably for their accommodation and made it possible to
arrange and display them as they deserve. The room
is lighted from above and heated by water-pipes below,
and the whole wall and floor space (forty-five feet by
forty-five) is thus available for cases and shelves. The
work of arrangement was no light one ; some of it has
been done by Mr. Collinge, of Mason College, Bir-
mingham, some by the efforts of masters and boys,
and the value of the collections has been much in-
creased thereby in every way. To the scientist they
present much that is of interest, while the casual
observer will notice especially the cases of stuffed
birds and animals, the collection of butterflies, the
fossil remains of one of the large extinct New Zealand
birds, and the mummy, whose history is unknown, but
whose genuineness has been lately demonstrated by
a photograph taken by means of the X rays, which

1 80

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Vivarium

showed the bones. The museum also contains a
plaster model of the neighbourhood of Rugby extend-
ing four miles in all directions, a good library of
natural history books, and a portrait of the late Mr.
M. H. Bloxam, O.R., a devoted friend of the Natural
History Society, which benefited much by his learning
and his generosity.

The museum and library are open to members and
associates from 2 p.m. to locking-up on week-days,
and from 2 to 4 on Sundays.

Besides the museum the Natural History Society
also boasts of a vivarium, which was established in the
glass-houses which belonged to the market gardener
who held the greater portion of what is now Calclecott's
field. The collection is almost entirely confined to
British and foreign birds, chief amongst which in a
well-deserved popularity is a fine white cockatoo.
Occasionally " strange serpents " find their way to
the vivarium, for not long ago a tiny crocodile was
presented by an Old Rugbeian ; but though kept in
the warmest of the glass-houses he only survived a
month. The vivarium helps to support itself by the
sale of flowers, for which the glass-houses provide
ample room.

A third and far smaller society is called Eranos.
It consists of twelve members only, who fill up their
number by co-option from among the Sixth, who
alone are eligible. It was instituted by the Rev.
F. B. Westcott (now head master of Sherborne) some
ten years ago, and meets regularly for reading and dis-
cussing papers, chiefly on literary subjects.

181

Volunteer Corps RUGBY [CHAP. IV

THE VOLUNTEER CORPS.

Here, between the societies and the games, is per-
haps the right place to notice the Volunteer Corps,
the enrolled members of which form the F Company
in the 2nd V. B. Royal Warwickshire Regiment. It
was founded in 1860, at the time when the Volunteer
movement was spreading over England through fear
of French aggression, but it was not the first institu-
tion of the kind : the school had shared in the move-
ment of the same nature in . 1803, and had raised
a contingent equipped in blue coats with scarlet
cuffs and collars, and armed with heavy wooden
broadswords. When the second volunteer corps was
organized in 1860, officers as well as privates were
all members of the school. Since 1868, however, the
superior officers have been masters ; at present there
are a captain and two lieutenants from the masters,
and three cadet officers from the school. Patriotism
combined with the attractions of " marches out," " field
days," and perhaps the smart red uniform, renders the
rifle corps a very popular institution, so much so that
there is at present a total strength of 260. A special
feature of the arrangements is that the members from
each house form a section or sub-section, which are
thus complete permanent units. This arrangement
puts a good deal of responsibility on the non-com-
missioned officers, which is increased by the fact that
promotions from the ranks to lance-corporal are made
on the recommendation of the house sergeant. The
natural rivalry between these house-sections is stimu-

182

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Volunteer Corps

lated by three competitions, the successful squad gain-
ing temporary possession of the challenge shields,
which are placed in the house hall. These competi-
tions are (a) in manual and firing exercise, motions of
rifle on the march, and bayonet exercise ; (I?) in smart-
ness of dressing ; (c) in general efficiency, including

Photo.

E. H. Sjeight.

SCHOOL RIFLE CORPS.

attendance at drill and a tactical exercise carried out
by squads of twelve with a non-commissioned officer
in command. The corps attends one or two large
public school field-days during the year : these are
held at Aldershot and mean a whole holiday for those
who go ; besides these a number of small field-days
or " marches out " are organized during the year : the
fighting is frequently followed by tactical instruction

183

Volunteer Corps RUGBY [CHAP. IV

to the cadet officers and non-commissioned officers,
mistakes in the field being pointed out, while victors
and vanquished alike find comfort in tea.

The rifle corps possesses a range of its own in the
Avon valley, permanent use having been granted by
the owner, Mr. Boughton Leigh. It is about one and
a half miles from the school, with canvas targets
working on the newest principles and telephonic
communication between markers and firing points.
From among the marksmen eight are selected to
represent the school in the various shooting matches,
and the competition for the Ashburton Shield at Bisley.
This trophy has been won twice — in 1861, the first
year it was competed for, at Wimbledon, and in 1 894.
The Spencer Cup has also twice fallen to Rugby (in
1889 and 1890), and the Cadet's Trophy and Veteran's
Trophy once each. The Queen's Prize has twice been
won by Old Rugbeians, viz., J. B. Carslake in 1868,
and A. P. Humphry in 1871, while P. Richardson was
equal in 1886. In 1892 the Allcomers Aggregate
fell to G. A. Wilson. The interest in shooting is
further stimulated by various challenge cups, which
are in some cases supplemented by a money prize
given by the Company. For one of these a competi-
tion is held every month at 500 yards range only.
The others are all competed for at 200 and 500 yards,
under Bisley regulations : they consist of the Denman
and Humphry Cups, the Wimbledon Cup for the
highest score at Bisley, a House Cup for teams of
three from each house, the Town and School Cup,
which is competed for between teams of ten from the

184

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Fire Brigade

town and school corps, and the Wratislaw Cup for
individual marksmen from school and town companies.

FIRE BRIGADE.

The school also possesses a Fire Brigade, consist-
ing of two officers from among the masters and two
boys from each house. It was formed in 1892, its
main object being to interest boys in fire brigade
work, though no doubt their knowledge would prove
exceedingly useful in case of a fire in any of the
boarding-houses : hitherto they have fortunately had
no opportunity of displaying their skill under any but
imaginary circumstances, for they do not, of course,
go out with the town fire brigade. They possess a
hose-cart and fire-escape, but a modern fire-engine
belonging to the town has superseded the old school
engine of 1822, itself a successor of ah engine bought
in 1780, in accordance with statute, " for the use of the
school, alms-houses, and town of Rugby." The 1822
engine still survives, with the directions how to spread
the water by the application of the thumb when used
for gardening purposes !

FOOTBALL.

Of the games played at Rugby, the one chiefly
associated with the name is football. Unlike cricket,
which was developed under the guiding hand of a
central club, so that the rules were everywhere the
same, the game of football progressed along very

Football RUGBY [CHAP. IV

different lines at different schools. Of these school
games many, owing to their special characteristics,
were not suitable for general adoption ; the game
played at Rugby, however, attained through the Uni-
versities and clubs, whither its cult was transferred by
Old Rugbeians and members of other schools, notably
Marlborough, which had adopted the game,a popularity
which increased so rapidly that it has spread over the
British Isles. Its rules have for many years been laid
down by a Union to which the various clubs send
members, and the school has since 1888 laid aside the
special features which, to some extent, lingered there,
and adopted in all games the rules of the Rugby
Union.

As to the origin of the game, much has been
written ; the similarity has been established between
the modern Rugby game and a very ancient English
popular game, which may perhaps claim its fount
and origin in the " Harpastum " of the Roman settlers
in Britain.' But the modern game undoubtedly sprang
from and was modelled on the game played at Rugby
School. It was necessary then, if the chain was to
be complete, to establish the connection between the
primitive game and the game played at Rugby. Mr.
Montague Shearman, author of the well-known
" Badminton " volume, has endeavoured to do this, but,
in our opinion, an interesting pamphlet on " The Origin
of Rugby Football," published in 1897 by the Old
Rugbeian Society (see p. 219), has disproved his con-
clusions. His thesis is that the primitive game, the
main feature of which was the carrying of the ball, sur-

186

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Football

vived at Rugby alone of all the great schools, because
it " alone seems to have owned, almost from its founda-
tion, a wide open grass playground of ample dimen-
sions." But, as the pamphlet has pointed out, this
theory will not hold for two very good reasons : (i.)
that for the first two centuries, nearly, of its existence,.
z>., till 1750, when the school moved to its present
position (see p. 31), there was no proper playground
at all, and, even then, the ground obtained remained
divided up into fields of no great size till 1816; (ii.)
that the carrying of the ball, the distinctive feature of
the primitive and modern games, was not an original
feature of the game played in the Rugby Close, but an
innovation.

That this is so is amply proved by the statements
of the late Mr. M. H. Bloxam, who entered the school
in 1813, and the late Rev. T. Harris, who entered in
1819. It will readily be understood that in the early
part of this century, when games had not attained,
either at schools or elsewhere, the prominent position
which they occupy at present in the national life,
there was none of the elaborate codifying of rules
which obtains nowadays ; the laws which governed
the football in the Close were laws of custom and
tradition, strict enough on some points, such as offside
play, but not attempting to provide a hard and fast
system. It was not till 1846 that a code of written
rules appears, " sanctioned by a Levee of Bigside on
the /th of September." These do not profess to con-
tain the whole theory of the game, but assert that
" they are to be regarded rather as a set of decisions

Football RUGBY [CHAP. IV

on certain disputed points in football, than as contain-
ing all the laws of the game, which are too well known
to render any explanation necessary to Rugbeians."
But the number of rules shows that, however well known
the main laws might be, there were, as might be ex-
pected, a very large number of disputed points.

When the game, then, was in the plastic state which
preceded the codification of its rules, it was quite na-
tural that by degrees a change in its methods should
have sprung up, which led inevitably, when once it had
obtained a footing, to the complete alteration of its
nature ; this change was the practice of carrying and
running with the ball. The evidence collected in the
pamphlet of the Old Rugbeian Society goes to show
that this change began between 1820 and 1830. The
two oldest authorities are, as we mentioned before,
agreed that running with the ball was not allowed
in their time. The ball might be taken on the bound
and drop-kicked, and there were much the same regula-
tions as still exist for a fair catch, but the player might
not run on with it. The introduction of this innovation
is put down by Mr. Bloxam to a boy named Ellis, who
in the second half-year of 1823, as he says, "for the
first time disregarded this rule, and on catching the
ball, instead of retiring backwards " (to take his kick),
" rushed forwards with the ball in his hands towards the
opposite goal, with what result as to the game," he
continues, " I know not, neither do I know how this
infringement of a well-known rule was followed up, or
when it became, as it is, the standing rule."

There is no other evidence than Mr. Bloxam's for
1 88

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Football

attributing the first carrying of the ball to Ellis,1 and
his evidence is not first hand, for he was not an eye-
witness ; but whether it was so or not is not a question
of great importance, for no one has suggested that his
action was generally approved at the time, or that
it led speedily to the alteration in the game ; the
evidence is all the other way : but it is obvious that
when once the idea had been suggested, the tempta-
tion must have been very great to the fast runner
who found himself in possession of the ball with an
opening ahead ; and so it gradually came about that
running with the ball obtained, as the pamphlet says,
between 1830 and 1840, " a customary status," which
was "legalized first by Bigside Levee in 1841-42, and
finally by the rules of 1846." Picking up, however,
was for many years only legal when a ball was on the
bounce ; a rolling ball had to be played with the foot.
It would seem, then, that although the similarity is
great between Rugby Football and the ancestral game
which attracted the unfavourable notice of kings as far
back as' 1314, the former can lay no claim to direct
descent from the latter : whether, if it had not been
for this primitive game, it would have occurred to any
boy to play football at all in the new Close or else-
where, whether the players were influenced at all by
having heard of or seen this primitive game, are dif-
ferent questions, but it is evident that Rugby Football
proper is a product of the nineteenth century, and that
its main features were developed in the Close.

1 A tablet has been placed by the O. R. Society in the wall
of the head master's garden to commemorate Ellis's exploit.

189

Football RUGBY [CHAP. IV

It would be beyond the scope of this little book to
attempt to trace the manifold changes which have
made the Rugby Football of to-day such a different
game from that played by a previous generation, es-
pecially as, for nearly twenty years, the parent game at
Rugby has relinquished its special features and fallen in
with the legislation passed by the Union of the various
clubs which are its offspring. It may, however, be in-
teresting to note a few of the steps in the history of
the game at Rugby.

Of the game as it was played fifty and sixty years
ago there remain three descriptions in particular, to
which, if he does not already know them, the reader
may be referred. Best known of these is the de-
scription in " Tom Brown " of the great annual match
of School-house v. School ; then there is a capital
description of a Sixth match (i.e., Sixth v. School)
by W. D. Arnold, which may be found incorporated
in a chapter on football in " The Book of Rugby
School" (1856), and quoted in Mr. Rouse's History
(p. 266) ; finally, there is the QuToQaXtopaxfaj which
first appeared in a school magazine, " The Rugbeian,"
in 1840, and has been reprinted for the benefit of a
younger generation in the pamphlet on the " Origin
of Rugby Football." It is a skit in Homeric Greek
on the Sixth match of 1839 by Sir Franklin Lush-
ington, the greater part of which is taken up with a
list of the heroes who fought on that day, amongst
whom we find Tom Hughes and Theodore Walrond,
Bradley and Hodson and Matthew Arnold.

Imagination may easily make up from these de-
190

CHAR IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Football

scriptions a picture of the old game : but the eye too
may still get some idea of what it looked like, in the
games played annually in the autumn term which
have survived from former years. These have hitherto
been three in number, the Sixth match at the begin-
ning of the season, the Old Rugbeian match on No-
vember ist, and "Cock Houses" (the two best House
fifteens v. the School) at the end of the term. Not
that these games are played under the old rules ; the
modern rules are adhered to as far as circumstances
permit ; the peculiarity of these games is that you
may still see here, especially in the last-named, instead
of the fifteen a side, sides of fifty and upwards con-
fronting each other : for the number of players is not
limited, and besides the players in the school Old
Rugbeians join in the fray. In all other respects the
game is different, but the crowded field, the enormous
scrummage, the tramp of many feet all recall the foot-
ball of past generations of Rugbeians, and in the Old
Rugbeian match non-combatants of the school may
still be seen guarding the goal line. The Sixth match
has for many years been losing its interest, from the
disparity in number of the sides (not as in old days
in favour of the School, but of the Sixth), and its
failing to attract Old Rugbeians ; there has, there-
fore, seemed no objection to the scheme for making
more of Founder's Day (Oct. 20), which comes early
in the football season, by playing the O. R. match on
that date, and in future this change will be made, the
Sixth match surviving as an ordinary Bigside game.
The difference between these " survival " games
191

Football RUGBY [CHAP. IV

and the ordinary matches shows how great an effect
the limitation of numbers has had. The earliest trace
of this appears to be in 1839 or 1840, when, according
to the late Mr. G. C. Benn, "a match was made of fifteen
or twenty on each side chosen from those who were
thought to be some of the best players." The custom
grew, though the big games still continued, and in
1867 we find the first " foreign " match, twenty a side,
between the school and a side got together by Mr.
A. H. Harrison, of which all but two were Old Rugbeians.
The school was defeated.

As Rugby football spread foreign matches became
natural features of the school games, and we find that
in 1870, three years after the first match of the kind,
a regular School Twenty was chosen, with colours.
It was an inevitable result of the introduction of
foreign matches that the school game should conform
to the changes of rule introduced from time to time
by the Rugby Union founded in 1871 ; otherwise
such matches would have been impossible, for Old
Rugbeians who kept up the game naturally joined
some Rugby football club where the Union rules
were in force. We consequently find that in 1874
a Bigside Levee legalized the picking up of the
ball when rolling in accordance with the Union rule
(hitherto, in spite of many attempts to bring about
the change, the old rule had stood that the ball
might only be picked up when bouncing), and in 1876
the school matches were played fifteen a side. In the
same year was abolished " hacking over," a feature of
the game which had excited much unfavourable com-

192

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC.

Football

ment, but which was really, according to all accounts,
not nearly so bad as it sounded, being a dexterous trip
rather than a deliberate kick. " Hacking on the ball "
in the scrummage, which had been an inevitable feature
in the game when the ball had to be driven through
the dense mass of players on Bigside, survived as long

E //.

A SCRUMMAGE ON OLD BIGSIDE.

as the twenty game with its long tight scrummages
flourished, but disappeared when the looser modern
game came in with the change to fifteen a side.
Finally, in 1881, the Union rules en masse were sub-
stituted for school rules in the fifteen game. But
though these changes were necessary when the school
met outside players, and were thus destined gradually
to make their way into all games, some of the old

193 O

Football RUC.r-Y [CHAP. IV

traditions did not die without a struggle in the con-
tests which, after the middle of the century, began to
engross the interest of the school, and still cause per-
haps even more excitement than any other games ; we
mean the house matches.

We have seen that the School House contains eighty
boys, while the other houses have only fifty. In the
days when there were no picked sides, but the weaker
were put to guard the goal line, and when, moreover, the
other houses were not so large or so numerous as they
are now, the School House was a match for the rest of
the school put together, and the match " School House
v. School " was, as readers of " Tom Brown" know, one
of the great events of the football season. But the
supremacy was not to last; in 1850 a single house,
Cotton's (now Payne-Smith's) was, as its "Fasti" record,
" cock house in football, beating school house, which,
for the first time in its great history, played a
single house in playing us." The Old Rugbeian
Society's pamphlet, so often referred to, has printed
in an appendix gleanings from the " Fasti " or annals
of different houses, which show that from this date
onwards (except in 1851, for which there is no record)
there was some competition among the houses. For
many years, however, there was no regular method of
conducting it, superiority being decided by the best
houses challenging each other: in 1853, for instance,
the School House match book records that " notwith-
standing that the Shairpites (Shairp's house, since
extinct, had come to the front in 1851) were generally
considered to be far the strongest house, it was thought

194

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Football

better by the School House not to drop the annual
custom of playing them." The numbers engaged
varied, and on this occasion the School House played
with twenty-five against twenty-one of their opponents,
while in the following year we find them " venturing to
bring twenty-seven" against the same house, "though
they were not thought to have degenerated since the
previous year." Sometimes opinions differed as to
the result of the games; in 1855 the School House
claims to have had much the better of a drawn
game with Shairp's, while Compton's (Payne-Smith's)
"Fasti" attribute the victory to Shairp's, although they
had but eighteen boys, all told, in the house, and
claim the second place for themselves ! It appears,
too, that Old Rugbeians might join in the fray, for
we hear of Tom Hughes "doing much service" for
the School House in 1857. As time went on the con-
ditions under which the competitions were held be-
came definitely fixed, and in 1867 a regular system of
playing off ties was instituted, but, as we have said, the
old traditions of the game lingered in these matches :
the fifteen game was not substituted in them for the
twenty till 1888, and the methods of the twenty game
survived in spite of the change till within quite recent
years. Hence it comes that Rugby has been rather
behind other schools which have adopted the game,
in seizing the principles of the " modern scientific foot-
ball," the dawn of which is said by a great authority
in Mr. Marshall's book to have been marked by the
reduction of the number of players from twenty to
fifteen aside. One result of this was that of the annual

195

Football RUGBY [CHAP. IV

matches which the school has played with Cheltenham
College for the last five years it lost the first four.
It was not till 1899 that the tables were turned. An
annual match with Uppingham also has now been
arranged : the first match was won by Rugby.

House matches have a very important influence on
the game at Rugby, not only because of the interest
they arouse, but because the school games are organ-
ized on the house system. Not only are there house
matches played in the autumn term between house
fifteens, but second house fifteens have a competition
in the spring term for a cup presented by Mr. A. S.
Francis, O.R. Moreover, on days when the thirty
best players in the school are playing on " Bigside "
(sometimes there are two "Bigside" games), the houses
play each other in " Belows " (i.e., those " below " Big-
side) and " Two-Belows " : only the few for whom no
place can be found in these games are sent off to take
part in a mixed game, rejoicing in the emphatic name
of " Remnants." On days when there are no inter-house
games the various houses play " Littlesides," i.e. pick-up
games amongst members of the house. The increase
of ground of late years has enabled this system to be
very thoroughly worked, and, now that " Remnants "
has been established on a firm basis, every boy in the
school who may play gets a game of football on a
half-holiday. The same remark applies to cricket,
which is organized on the same lines.

Football is compulsory for all below the Sixth who
have not got a medical certificate of unfitness. The
season lasts from the beginning of the autumn till

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Football

three quarters of the way through the spring term :
in the latter term it has of late years largely taken the
place of" running," but it is not pursued with the same
zest as in autumn, as the only competition is between
the second house fifteens ; foreign matches continue
till the end of the season, but the various " distinc-
tions " which mark individual prowess are only given
.in the autumn term. These are : (i.) the Fifteen colours ;
viz., a red, white and blue ribbon on the straw hat,
dark blue knickerbockers, and school crest on a white
jersey, (ii.) " Caps " (about thirty-five of these are
given nowadays, including the Fifteen). These are the
oldest of the football distinctions, dating from about
1843, though the exact date seems uncertain ; they
are gorgeous affairs of velvet with gold or silver
braid, which set the fashion of football caps for the
Universities and other Rugby football clubs. They are
awarded by the head of the Fifteen, but they vary in
colour, each house having its own. In the old days
players wore them on the field, and they must have
added a pleasant touch of colour to the scene. In
the modern game, where heads in the scrummage are
unseen, the cap would have a hard time of it, and have
become — as indeed they always must have been —
quite useless bits of splendour. With the cap go
certain privileges of crest and knickerbocker. (Hi.)
Flannels. The name has survived its appropriateness.
It was jrjven in times when the regulation garments
were " ducks," and flannel trousers were reserved as a
mark of distinction. "Flannels" are now distinguished
by black stockings and a crest on the straw hat.

197

Football UUCI15V [CHAP. IV

It has only been within the last fifteen years that
common sense has prevailed in allowing all boys to
wear garments most suitable for games, distinction
being only preserved in the colour of the material.
About the same time a wise legislation reduced to a
reasonable degree the endless multiplicity of braid
and ribbon which formerly marked distinction in
games or degree of seniority. It should be mentioned
that in games old members of the school teams resign
their colours at the beginning of the season, except
the senior member left, who becomes captain.

No account of the school games could omit all
mention of Rugbeians who have distinguished them-
selves therein. This is no place for a full list, which
would be a very long one, but a few names may be
selected. " First and foremost of all half-backs,
whether of this or any other period," writes Mr. A. G.
Guillemard, himself a noted Old Rugbeian Inter-
national player, "was C. S. Dakyns, who from 1861 to
1868 accomplished such marvellous achievements on
Old Bigside at Rugby, and in the ranks of the Rich-
mond Club, as could hardly be credited by those who
never saw him at his prime." Full of resource and
excellent in all departments of the game, his unerring-
drops with either foot from among a crowd of ad-
versaries seem to have been the feature of his play
which most impressed his contemporaries. Among
other noted players in the early days of club football
were A. Rutter, first President of the Union, and K.
Rutter, " whose long left-foot drops " (to quote the
same authority), u were as useful to his club (Rich-

198

Football RU<;I;Y [CHAP, iv

mond) for many seasons as was his left-hand bowling
to the Middlesex County Eleven ; " E. C. Holmes,
" one of the most hard-working of men, and equally
good in or behind the scrummage," who, with A. Rutter
and L. J. Maton, drafted the first code of rules, and
with M. Davies and G. Hamilton formed a trio whose
combination was very effective on the field ; C. S.
Fryer, a very fast and tricky half-back ; C. W. Sher-
rard of the R.M.A., and F. Stokes of Blackheath,
" one of the very best examples of a heavy forward,"
who was captain of the English International team for
the first three years of its existence. Of the first
International Twenty in 1871, no less than ten were
old Rugbeians, prominent amongst them being J. F.
Green, " for several years one of the most brilliant of
half-backs," F. Tobin, and D. P, Turner, a magnificent
forward who played in five successive matches against
Scotland. Seven of the next year's team came
from Rugby, including F. W. Isherwood, " perhaps
the best forward playing on this occasion ; " and for
some years the school continued to be well repre-
sented, amongst those selected being C. W. Crosse in
1874, " one of the very best of forwards that ever came
from Rugby;" E. H. Nash, who was conspicuous in
the match against Scotland in 1875 ; A. T. Michell,
" an admirable half-back," captain of the Oxford team
in 1874, and brother of W. G. Michell, who has shown
for many years in the Close how well the game may
be learned at Wellington and Cambridge ; also G. F-
Vernon, the well-known cricketer, in 1878, who plavcd
five times for England and was " certainly one of the

200

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Cricket

very best forwards of his time." Of late years Rugby
has supplied but few International players: three
members of the 1880 fifteen obtained that honour, but
since then there have been only two, A. Mackinnon,
who represented Scotland in 1898 and 1899, and A. O.
Dowson, who played for England in 1 899. We have
only mentioned a few among International players,
but doubtless there were many as good in earlier days
whose fame never spread beyond the Close : such
were "Jem Mackie " and the other heroes of 1839,
celebrated in the $aTO@a*toftax,ia, and after them players
like A. G. Butler, M. T. Martin, J. S. E. Hood and
C. Marshall, while all authorities unite in placing
F. E. Speed, captain of the fifteen in 1877, amongst
the best three-quarter backs ever seen at Rugby.

CRICKET.

Cricket at Rugby, at the present time, is organized
on the same system as football : as in football there are
" Foreign matches," Bigsides and Littlesides, House
matches, Belows, Two and Three Belows, and Rem-
nants. The competition, however, among the House
Belows of various grades differs in that for the last five
years it has been conducted under the League system-
each house playing two matches against every other
house. The object of this was to keep up the interest
which "counting" games give, fora house defeated in
Belows early in the term used to find itself condemned
to a monotonous series of " bosh " Belows. The result
of the new system has been successful, though the

201

Cricket RUGBY [CHAP. IV

strength of a House Belows varies much from time to
time, according as its prominent players are engaged
in Bigside or not, Belows being only played when
there is a Bigside.

A special feature of cricket organization which has
been introduced latterly is the " Young Guard.". This
consists of boys under sixteen who show promise :
they have special " ends " (i.e., practice nets) at the
further end of Caldecott's, where they get coached by
the master who manages this Young Guard, and a
professional, whose appointment and payment have
been due to the suggestion and generosity of the Old
Rugbeian Society. Besides the " ends " the Young
Guard have pick-up games on days when such games
do not interfere with the "counting" games, and in
these the umpire endeavours to impart some of the
science of the game which can only be learned in a
match. When a boy is over sixteen and has to leave
the Young Guard, he is, if still promising, allowed to
go on the " ends " reserved for those who have gained
the " tie " (the first school distinction), where he
practises with the better cricketers of his age and gets
occasional coaching from masters, until he gets his
Twenty-Two colours, when he has the freedom of
the Twenty-Two ends : here there are two if not
three professionals ready to bowl at him, as well as
masters. The attempt to provide stepping-stones for
the young cricketer has combined with other things
to raise the standard of cricket in the school at large.
Chief among other factors in this we should place the
general improvement of the grounds, and the practice

202

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Cricket

of playing all house matches on the best ground, New
Bigside, where the young cricketer who plays correctly
has much more chance of making runs than on a bad
wicket, and the bowler can get his field into the
positions which he wants. All cricket distinctions, the
Tie, Twenty-Two, and Eleven, are given by the head
of the Eleven. The Eleven colours are light blue cap
and shirt and white flannels. All others nowadays
wear gray flannels.

Cricket has certainly flourished at Rugby for more
than a century ; of its early days little is known, but,
as Mr. Rouse has pointed out, " Nimrod " (C. Apper-
ley, entered 1789) speaks of it as being in high repute
in his time. " All along the ground " was not yet the
cricketer's ideal in those days, for Nimrod boasts that
he had never seen balls "sent further or higher from the
bat " than when hit by the heroes of his time. Since
1831 scores have been preserved, and these, from 1831 .
to 1893, have been published by the Old Rugbeian
Society, beginning with a defeat at the hands of the
Arden Club in May, 1831, a defeat which was avenged
in July of the same year. " Foreign matches " then had
already begun at that time, and are to be found in the
scores along with the principal school games, Sixth
v. School and School House v. School, as in football,
North v. South (of chapel), and so on. Lists of the
Eleven, painted in the cricket pavilions, date from
1834; in 1840 we find the school playing the M.C.C.
at Lord's, and in the next year, after the Wellesbourne
match, took place the M.C.C. match which forms the
basis of the well-known description in "Tom Brown."

203

Cricket RUGBY [CHAP. IV

Of the famous cricketers whose names appear in
this book we may mention a few. In 1843 we find
the first recorded " century " opposite the name of
C. O. Pell ("Pell" in the scores, for initials were
omitted except in cases where two of the same name
might be mistaken) : he made 1 13 out of 185 against
the Wellesbourne Club at Wellesbourne, and followed
it up with 92 against the Town Club. He gained
fame afterwards, not only as a cricketer, but as a
marksman at Wimbledon. Five years later we find
the first mention of the well-known name of C. G.
Wynch, one of the best leg hitters ever seen in
the cricket field ; we may mention here that the first
100 on " Bigside " was scored in 1849 by H. A.
Pickard, who in later life served with great distinction
in India. Contemporary with these, though strangely
enough his name does not appear in the scores, was
David Buchanan, a thorn in the side of batsmen on
the most famous cricket fields as well as on the Close
and the Rugby Town Club ground, for many more
years than fall to the lot of most famous bowlers. In
1854 first appears the name of E. G. Sandford, three
years captain of the School Eleven, and a well-known
figure in Oxford and Gentlemen of England elevens ;
and overlapping him at school was E. M. Kenney, a
famous fast right-hand bowler. At this time, too, we
notice the name of B. B. Cooper, captain of the Eleven
in 1 862, who used to go in first with W. G. Grace for the
Gentlemen, and made a stand of 283 with him for the
first wicket on one occasion, which was unsurpassed
for many years ; also C. Booth, and 1C. Rutter, the

204

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Cricket

Middlesex slow bowler. Contemporary with these
was T. Case, who in his brilliant career at Oxford
showed as much excellence in cricket as in other
things. Coming to 1866 and 1867 we find the Eleven
captained by B. Pauncefote, perhaps the best all-
round cricketer who ever learnt the game on the
Close ; included in its ranks were W. Yardley, the
brilliant bat who scored for Cambridge the first hun-
dred ever made in the 'Varsity match, and still holds the
record as the only player who has performed that feat
twice, and C. K. Francis, a fast right-hand bowler,
probably the best ever produced by the school, who at
Lord's in 1869 took seven Marlborough wickets in the
first innings and all ten in the second. Passing over
in the Seventies such sterling cricketers as H. W.
Gardner, W. O. Moberley, and G. F. Vernon, we come
to C. F. H. Leslie, captain in 1879 and 1880, the last
Rugbeian to gain a place in an All England Eleven.
Since his time there have been no such notable players,
though the Close has seldom seen a more successful
schoolboy bat than E. H. F. Brad by, captain in 1885,
who in that season scored four centuries in eleven
innings, and had an average of 69. There are few
Rugbeians at present playing in first-class cricket,
but P. F. Warner, captain in 1892, is becoming one
of the mainstays of the Middlesex eleven, while
R. W. Nicholls helped last year when playing for that
side to make the record stand for the last wicket.

Such are some of the names best known in the
Close during the last half century. It would be in-
teresting to trace the changes in the game from the

205

Cricket RUCiBV [CHAP. IV

old days of underhand bowling and top hats, through
what was in 1855 "the still developing era of swift
round bowling, with all its manifold paraphernalia of
newspaper reports, pads, pavilions, and professionals "
(John Lillywhitein 1850 was the first professional); but
space forbids, and we can only call attention to one or
two points of interest. Peculiar to Rugby, we believe,
is the term, perhaps the institution, " Pie Match." A
Pie Match is a match after which the winning side
celebrate their victory by a " stodge," to use the modern
slang word, and as far back as 1850 we find a school
Pie Match being contested on Bigside. The losing
side used to contribute double the amount of the
winning to the feast, in which only two of the losers
shared, the two who had made most runs and taken
most wickets. School Pie Matches have long since
dropped out, but house Pie Matches still flourish,
though the feast nowadays is generally provided by
the house master.

The great match of the year is the Marlborough
match, which is played at Lord's on the first two days
of the summer holidays. It was first played in 1855
at Lord's, and has been an annual match ever since,
excepting in the years 1858, 1859, and 1861, while in
the years 1888 and 1891 rain prevented any play.
Since 1871 the match has always been at Lord's ; in
the preceding years it had been occasionally played
at the Oval, and once each on the respective school
grounds. Rugby got a long start in victories to begin
with, and of the forty matches that have been played
(up to 1899) she has won twenty-two; thirteen have

206

Cricket RUdlJY [CHAP. IV

been won by Marlborough, and five only have been
drawn. It is curious to note in how few cases there
has not been a large margin of wickets or runs for the
winning side.

It may be interesting to note that, besides by Marl-
borough in 1868, the Close has three times been
visited by elevens from other schools. In 1858 a
Harrow eleven, not the proper school eleven, for it
contained two Old Harrovians, played a two days'
match and was badly beaten, while in 1887 and 1897
the school celebrated the Jubilees by defeating in
single day matches elevens from Clifton and Upping-
ham respectively, the result in each case being some-
what contrary to expectation. It is not likely, how-
ever, that a second school cricket match will be
adopted, the present arrangement having very great
advantages.

RUNNING.

Another time-honoured pastime of Rugby boys is
cross-country running. It seems to have dated from
the end of last century at any rate, and at the begin-
ning of this it was the custom to have a run after the
prizes had been awarded, when the winners of the
prizes supplied ale at the end of the run at some public
house in the neighbourhood ; as readers of " Tom
Brown" will remember it was in full swing in the
Thirties, and since 1837 records of the runs have been
kept by the head of the running, who is called Holder
of " Bigside Bags," it being his duty to keep the bags

208

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Running

in which the " hares " carry the "scent." At that time
the runs were paper-chases in the true sense of the
word ; although the general direction Was known and
the " come-in " or end of the run was at a fixed place,
the course varied according to the pleasure of the hares,
and the tracking of their course formed a great feature
of the sport. The " come in " in those days was gener-
ally at some public house, where ale was provided for
those who succeeded in reaching the goal within a
certain time. It would seem that gradually the course
of the runs became more and more fixed (the first
"times" recorded are in 1844), and in 1858 L. N.
Prance, who then held the Bigside bags, wrote a de-
scription of the fixed course of Bigside runs. These
descriptions were revised and printed by R. S. Benson
in 1877, and since then there have been two more
editions, in 1883 and 1893, which contain not only
descriptions of the runs but records of runners. Notice-
able among the earliest recorded winners of runs are
A. H. Clough and W, S. Ho.dson, while in 1849 and
1850 occurs repeatedly the name of T. W. Jex-Blake
who held Bigside bags in those years.

There are thirteen runs described in this book, all
of which, except one, the Hillmorton, introduced in
1882, are old ones dating from the Thirties : they vary
in distance from the Hilton, which is just under five
miles, to the Crick, the most famous of them all,
which is about twelve and a quarter miles. For many
years the Crick used always to be run on the first
Thursday in December, but of late years it takes
place, like most other Bigside runs, in the spring

209 p

Running RUGBY [CHAP. IV

term. The " record " for it is held by K. B. Kellett,
who in 1889 ran it in the splendid time of i hour,
1 5 minutes, 1 5 seconds. The first half of the course
lies mostly over fields, the last six miles are along
the road from Crick to Rugby, where the very few
who under present regulations may compete are
cheered on their way by swarms of bicyclists. In
1 88 1 a cup was given by former winners of the Crick,
to be called the Running Cup : for some years this
was competed for by house running eights, the cup
going to the house whose representatives scored most
points in Bigside runs. The competition for the cup
was keen, but it began to be recognized that, except
for individual boys, long distance running is apt to
prove too much of a strain, and in 1892 the system of
inter-house competitions was abolished. At the same
time very strict regulations were laid down with re-
gard to running in general. The Running Cup for a
few years went to the winner of the Crick ; it now
goes to an individual runner, but one or two other
runs besides the Crick may count in. The interest in
running is still kept up by a School Running Eight,
who have two or three matches in the spring term
against outside running clubs. The members of the
Running Eight wear a distinctive dark and light blue
ribbon on the straw hat.

By the rules which have been in force since 1893, no
boy under sixteen is allowed to run any Bigside runs,
and leave from home is also necessary ; for the Crick
the limit of age has been put at seventeen, and leave
has to be obtained from home and from house master.

210

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Running

The organization of house runs was also altered at the
same time. The various houses, as well as Bigside,
have their traditional runs, but the method under
which they were conducted was different : starting
from some point close to the school all those who
ran (and running was compulsory for all fags and
junior boys) kept together till a point was reached
where the u come-in," generally some half-mile or more
long, began ; then those who liked raced on, the rest
going as they pleased. At the end of the " come-in "
stood the "coat fags," who had carried the coats of the
runners from the starting point to the " come-in."
This system, as being apt both to come hard on the
bad runners, and to encourage the good runners to race,
as well as providing a very poor afternoon's employ-
ment for the coat fags, was altered in 1893. Since
then all house runs have started from and finished at
the house ; no times may be taken, and instead of all
going together they are run in two divisions, senior
and junior, each under charge of two responsible per-
sons. For those who cannot manage even the junior
house runs there are special very short runs in which
the " remnants " from the different houses combine.

House runs form the regular exercise throughout
the winter on days when it is too wet for football.
Formerly they were the mainstay of the spring term,
but of late years increase of ground has enabled foot-
ball to be played in the spring term by all the school.
The football season generally stops soon after the first
week in March ; after this boys begin practising for the
Athletics, which take place at the end of March. The

Athletics RUGBY [CHAP. IV

earliest recorded athletics were held in 1853, but the
institution apparently dates from before that time.
The School House seems to have started the idea,
which is the reason why the head of the School
House is an ex officio steward. The Athetics were
very comprehensive at first, including not only running
and jumping but hand-fives, place-kicking and drop-
ping, swimming and diving. The competitions in
these still take place, but are not associated with the
athletics. The events now included in these comprise
flat races of a mile, half-mile, quarter-mile, 150 and
100 yards ; 100 yards hurdle races, high jump, broad
jump, throwing the cricket ball, putting the weight,
and an inter-house tug of war. For most of these
events there are junior as well as open competitions.
The prizes are almost all provided by school subscrip-
tions, three weekly allowances being stopped for the
purpose, but the head master gives the prize for the
mile. The rule that no other prizes should be given
was only broken in favour of the late Mr. M. H.
Bloxam, who for many years gave prizes for two flat
races of 300 yards for junior boys ; these races are
still called after his name. Some of the events, how-
ever, have challenge cups attached to them which
go to the winner for the year, and there are two
Athletic Cups for the two who win most points in the
events. Finally, there is the Wrigley Cup, instituted
in 1891 in memory of H. C. Wrigley, a member of the
Sixth Form and Army Class, who died in the Easter
holidays of 1890. It goes to the house which gains
most points in the sports, and greatly increases the in-

212

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC.

Athletics

terest in the competitions, for points can be scored in
all events, and in the open events go down to the fourth
in the order of winners. Not unfrequently the issue de-
pends on the tug of war, and the interest is sustained
right to the end. The Athletics, which take place on

E. H. Speight.

A STEEPLECHASE.

two days, are managed by five stewards. The heads of
the School, School House, the Eleven and the Fifteen,
are stewards ex officio. Bigside levee elects the one or
more stewards necessary to complete the number. Of
p<jrformances recorded at the Athletics the most
notable are C. W. L. Bulpett's mile in 4 minutes,
391 seconds (1871), K. L. Curry's 105 feet, 2 inches, for

213

Athletics RUOIIY [CHAP. IV

throwing the cricket ball in the same year, F. W.
Capron's high jump of 5 feet, 5 inches, in 1879, ar|d
C. A. S. Leggatt's broad jump of 20 feet, 2 inches,
also in 1879. M. J. Brooks, the famous Oxford high
jumper, did not do anything phenomenal at school.
There are plenty of ten seconds " dead " recorded for
the 100 yards, but times in such races cannot, at any
rate before the perfection of stop-watches, be relied
upon.

Other athletic events of the spring term are the
School and House Steeplechases. The courses for
these, of varying length and difficulty, according to
the age of the competitors, but never exceeding about
a mile, are set with flags through the fields by the
Clifton brook ; they cross and recross the brook, and
finish up not far from the Clifton road and Butler's
Leap, the leap from the road over the low railing and
the brook below, just before it passes under the bridge,
made famous by A. G. Butler. Organized house
brook-jumping, " paper chasing " as it was called, has
died out, but brook-jumping is still a popular pursuit
on fine spring days.

FIVES AND RACQUETS.

Two other games largely played at Rugby de-
serve mention, Fives and Racquets. The former is
the older game : when it first came into existence we
do not know, but given a wall, a paved ground and
a boy, one may be fairly safe in conjecturing that
some sort of fives will be played. The buildings

214

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Fives

completed in 1816 afforded, unintentionally no doubt,
special facilities for the game, for a narrow stone
coping runs all round them about three feet from
the ground, where the wall becomes slightly thinner ;
it thus forms a natural line over which the ball must
be hit. There were two specially suitable places
known in the Thirties, at any rate, as the Great and
Little Fives Courts. The Little Fives Court was under
the old Sixth School, the library as it was then, just
inside the school gates : the door in the east wall is
modern, and the place was well adapted for hand fives,
which was played there ; it was used by the School
House long after it had ceased to be a recognized fives
court, but the door has spoilt it. On the Great Fives
Court bat fives only was played : the front wall was
formed by the windowless west wall of the block of
schools which faces the Close ; the floor was paved,
and when a form room was built against the vestry
of the old chapel, there was a back wall ; when the
new chapel was built the space was no longer free. A
third fives court was built in 1848 in what is now the
New Quadrangle, on the site of some old cottages
which were bought up and pulled down : this of course
disappeared when the new buildings were erected.
All the fives courts nowadays are at the south end of
the Close, and were built for the purpose (see p. 139) :
bat fives is still a popular game, though there is only
one court, the flooring of which is not what it might
be, while, besides the plain wall Rugby hand fives
courts, there are four Eton fives courts, which are
not however so well frequented. These courts are most

215

Racquets RUGBY [CHAP. IV

sought after in the spring term, when school competi-
tions are carried on as well as house competitions
(generally handicaps) of all kinds. There are, how-
ever, no matches with outside players, and conse-
quently there is no regular school pair at fives.
Racquets was introduced with the building of the old
court in 1859. Since 1884 there have been two
courts. A professional racquet player is employed
at the courts, who, besides playing, sells the requisite
materials for fives and racquets and looks after the
courts. From 1868 to 1894 the well-known champion
player, J. Gray, was professional, and since then his
son has carried on the work. The school has from the
first competed for the Public Schools Challenge Cup,
but has only been successful twice, in 1870, when
H. W. Gardner and T. S. Pearson carried it off, and
again in 1896, when it was won after a most exciting
struggle by W. E. Wilson-Johnston and G. T. Hawes.
There have, however, been many good players, notable
amongst them, besides the pair of 1870, being J. W.
Weston, R. O. Milne, S. K. Gwyer, and C. F. H. Leslie,
while successive Bowden-Smiths have identified their
name with the game.

The best players in the school form what is known
as the Racquet Club : these have the privilege of book-
ing courts at a fixed time for the whole term, care
being taken that they do not monopolize the courts,
and of changing in the dressing-room at the courts.
The six best players in the club are selected by com-
petition in the autumn term, and these six compete
with each other in the spring term after reasonable

216

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, C'.AMES, ETC. Racquets

time allowed for practice ; those who come out first
and second are chosen as the pair to represent the
school. By this method the pair can be fixed upon
early enough in the spring term to allow of their
practising together, in ordinary games and in matches
with outside players, for nearly a couple of months
before the competition, even if, which is not often the
case, they have not played much together before. The
expenses of racquet playing being heavy, those who
represent the school are subsidized, but only to a
reasonable degree, by the Old Rugbeian Society.
The racquet pair have two distinctions in dress, a
jersey trimmed with light blue for playing in, and a
special badge instead of the school crest on the
ordinary school blazer. Besides the regular school
racquet competitions in the spring term for singles
and doubles, there is a challenge cup competed for by
pairs from the different houses in the summer term.
The head master, too, gives a -racquet to be played for
by boys under sixteen.

GVMNASIUM.

To the few who may not play active games, and to
many others, exercise and employment is afforded by
the gymnasium and workshops. They are open
regularly during play hours, while for the gymnasium
the various boarding-houses have a special hour in the
evening once a week. A subscription of los. a term
is charged for the gymnasium, js. a term for the
workshops. Boxing and fencing are taught without

217

O. R. Society RUGBY [CHAP. IV

extra charge at the gymnasium at certain stated
times, and private lessons may also be had. Dis-
tinctions, worn only inside the gymnasium, are given
to the best gymnasts, the best pair of whom are chosen
to represent the school in the inter-school competition
at Aldershot. A gymnastic eight is also now selected
to compete with Harrow. The workshops afford facili-
ties for turning and all kinds of carpentry.

OLD RUGBEIAN SOCIETY.

Frequent mention has been made in these pages of
the Old Rugbeian Society. It was founded on
December 19, 1889, its object and purpose being "to
assist and promote the games of Rugby School, and
so form a bond of union between past and present
Rugbeians." The minimum donation, which is of the
nature of an entrance fee, is a sovereign ; no further
subscriptions are required, though they are gladly re-
ceived. The society has cricket colours. Its founder
and first hon. sec. was S. P. B. Bucknill ; he was
succeeded in 1893 by Morris Davies, whose presence
in Rugby is a great factor in the successful working
of the society, which is thus constantly kept in touch
with the needs which from time to time are most
pressing at the school. The membership of the
society has risen steadily since its formation, and it
now numbers 853, and has a balance in the last state-
ment of accounts of £286 los. lid. The society lends
a helping hand to all sorts of things connected with
games, e.g., payment of cricket professionals, subsidiz-

218

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. O. R. Society

ing of racquet players, levelling of ground, cementing
of racquet courts, and so on : a list of principal votes
for the last ten years (nearly) amounts to ;£8o8 : its
great object is to act as fairy godmother without
taking upon itself expenses which should reasonably
fall on the school subscriptions, and in this it has
succeeded admirably. The society sends a copy of
the " Meteor " (the school paper) and the " School
Calendar " to all subscribers of a pound and upwards,
and has published two works, frequently referred to
in these pages, a volume of Rugby School Cricket
Scores, from 1831 to 1893, with several interesting
appendices (price los. 6d.\ and a shilling pamphlet on
" The Origin of Rugby Football." It has been proposed
that the society should extend its scope so as to in-
clude other things than games, while keeping them
as its primary object, but hitherto the objection has
prevailed that such a step might lead the society into
a sphere of action for which its present constitution
would render it ill adapted. It is, however, very much
to be hoped that the society will some day see its way
to some slight alteration of its rules such as would
enable it to support such work as the publication of
the School Register ; this most interesting work has
hitherto been dependent on the energy and enterprise
of individuals.

Before leaving the subject of games it should be
mentioned that questions as to the management and
organization of games are discussed, when they arise,
before the Games Committee, which consists of
masters and boys, the latter predominating: its de-

219

Periodicals RUCI5V [CHAP. IV

cisions are of course always subject to the approval
of the head master, while any radical change has to be
submitted to a Bigside levee before being submitted
to the head master.

PERIODICALS.

It will not be out of place here to say a few words
about the periodicals which have from time to time
been published by members of the school. The
earliest of these seems to have been the " Rugby
Magazine," which flourished during the years 1835-
1836. There is an interesting letter (No. 92) in
Stanley's " Life of Dr. Arnold," in which, writing to a
pupil (H. Highton, afterwards a master at Rugby,
Principal of Cheltenham, and a distinguished scientist),
he welcomes the idea, at the same time laying down
the conditions which alone could ensure its being of
value to the school — the inexorable rejection of trash,
"or worse still, anything like local or personal
scandal or gossip," and the absence of politics ; " I do
not wish," he says, "to encourage the false notion of my
making or trying to make the school political." In a
subsequent letter (No. 116) he speaks of the second
number : " It is written wholly either by boys actually
at the school, or by undergraduates within their first
year. I delight in the spirit of it, and think there is much
ability in many of the articles. I think also that it is
likely to do good to the school." The Magazine con-
tained no chronicle of school events ; its contents are
purely literary, but some of the lighter contributions
give glimpses of the school life of the time. Amongst

220

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Periodicals

the contributors to it was A. H. Clough. Following
the Magazine, in 1840, came a single number, which
must be exceedingly rare now, of the " Rugbeian."
It contained the <puTo@xMof*ax,{a, (see p. 190).

The same traditions were kept up in the " Rugby
Miscellany "(1845), "Rugbeian" (1850-1852), "New
Rugbeian" (1858-1861), and the " New Rugby Maga-
zine " (1864-1865).

In 1867 was started the " Meteor," which has
flourished ever since. Its stability is due to the fact
that it has no other aims than to chronicle school
events : " small beer " they may be to the outside
public, but to past and present Rugbeians they are of
great interest, and the " Meteor " has become a school
institution ; once only we believe did it launch out
into literary effort, but its voyage was a very short
one. It has of late clothed itself in a pictorial
cover, designed by Mr. T. Lindsay. The head of
the school is an editor ex officio; the other editors are
co-opted : formerly the editors shared the profits, but
of late years, since the " Meteor " has been supplied to
every boy, being chargeable in the bills, they receive
a fixed sum, the surplus going to the school funds.

Literary propensities have, however, produced other
papers at intervals. There was the " T. V. W." (Two
Venturesome Wilsonites) in 1877-1878, best known
from delightful descriptions of the school in the manner
of Herodotus, from the pen of Mr. A. Sidgwick ; then
came the "Leaflet" (1883-1886), where illustrations
first make an appearance, and the " Sibyl," which had
a comparatively long life (1890-1895). Finally, in

221

Missions RUGBY [CHAP. IV

1898, comes the " Laurentian," destined, we hope, to
survive for many seasons.

MISSIONS.

We must not conclude without a word about the
two missions which the school and Old Rugbeians
support. The oldest of these is the Fox Mission. It
was founded in memory of Henry Watson Fox
(entered 1831), who went out as a missionary in
Southern India, and died young in 1848. The funds
go to maintain a mastership in the Noble College at
Masulipatam, a large native school. A sermon on
behalf of this fund is preached annually in the school
chapel on November ist, All Saints' Day. The other
mission, called the Home Mission, was started in
1889 : it was feared at the time that the Fox Mission
Fund might suffer by the new move, and a minimum
of £300 was consequently guaranteed to it, the deficit
to be a first charge on the Home Mission : hitherto
no call has been necessary, and the two have flourished
side by side, though it is only natural, perhaps, that
more interest should be felt in the Home Mission,
which consists in the maintenance of two boys' clubs,
the largest at 223, Walmer Road, Netting Hill,W., the
other at Mission Room, Theodore Street, Birmingham.

The Netting Hill "Rugby Club" has developed
from a small organization of the kind started by Mr.
A. F. Walrond, O.R. It is situated in one of the
poorest and roughest parts of London, and it still suc-
ceeds, in spite of the gradual introduction and steady
maintenance of discipline, in attracting the poorest and

222

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. Missions

roughest class of boys. The present manager, Rev. F.
Meyrick-Jones, is an old Malburian, but he is assisted
in the work by several old Rugbeians, who, living in
London, devote some of their evenings to regular
work at the club. The annual report will give the
reader a good idea of the organization of the club.
Two special annual events may be mentioned as being
the chief ways in which Rugby boys may come into
contact with the club : (i.) the visit to the school in
the spring on the day of the annual general meeting,
when members of the club come down, headed by a
capital drum and fife band loudly playing the
" Floreat," the school song, play games in the Close,
and are feasted in the boarding-houses ; (ii.) the camp
in August, when a number of them are taken down
for a week's outing, generally by the sea, and old and
present Rugbeians are welcomed by the regular staff
to take part in the various labours and amusements
which camp life affords. In such ways the Home
Mission endeavours to win the interest and sympathy
of the school in a branch of social work which must
appeal to all sorts and conditions of men.

SCHOOL SONG.

Finally, we must add a few words about the school
song. The earliest composition of the kind was an
English imitation of the Winchester " Domum," the
Latin chorus of which was retained. It flourished at the
beginning of the century and is quoted by Bloxam
in one of his contributions to the " Meteor," reprinted
in " Rugby " (p. 89) ; it is evidently a youthful com-

223

The "Floreat" RUGBY [CHAP. IV

position, and is chiefly remarkable for a curious emen-
dation in the first stanza. It ran originally :

" Let us now, my jovial fellows,
Shout aloud with youthful glee,
Sing, old Rose, and burn the bellows,
Sing sweet home and liberty."

According to Bloxam the third line referred to one
" George Rose, Esq., sometime M.P. for Christchurch,
who was equally celebrated for his vocal abilities and
his wanton Destruction of furniture when in a state of
excitement. Such appears in a note to an edition of the
' Ingoldsby Legends/ published in 1863." The refer-
ence being forgotten, the line became unintelligible,
and was altered to "Sing sweet home and burn
libellos." The music, not apparently the well-known
tune of the Winchester "Domum," used to be played as
a voluntary on the organ in the parish church, and later
on in the chapel, on the last Sunday of the half year.
The Rugby " Domum " fell into disuse in Dr. Arnold's
time, and its place was not filled till in 1870 the Rev.
C. E. Moberly, a master at the school, wrote the words
and music of the " Floreat," which has endeared itself
to all Rugbeians since. It runs as follows :

" Evce laeta requies

Advenit laborum,

Fessa vult induties

Dura gens librorum,

Nunc comparatur sarcina,

Nunc praesto sunt viatica,

Nos laeta schola miserit

Nos laeta domus ceperit
yEquales, sodales, citate, clamate
Floreat, floreat, floreat Rugbeia.
224

CHAP. IV] SOCIETIES, GAMES, ETC. " The Floreat

Chorus. Floreat, floreat, floreat Rugbeia,
Floreat, floreat, floreat Rugbeia !

" Campi nostri gramina

Trita jam quiescent,

Dein bimestri spatio

Laeta revirescent,

Sic se tandem refectura

Nostrac mentis est tritura,

Et rigor omnis difHuet

Et vigor ortus affluet
Ut choro sonoro, citemus clamemus
Floreat, floreat, floreat Rugbeia.
Chorus.

" Ilia vivat operum
Strenua navatrix,
Et virtutum omnium
Unica creatrix.
Ilia regno cives bonos
Et bonorum det patronos,
Det claros senatores
Laureates bellatores,
Et donis coronis, laudata beata,
Floreat, floreat, floreat Rugbeia.
Chorus.

" At si fatum omnes nos

Tanta vult conari,

Haecce saltern tempora

Fas sit otiari ;

Nondum cancellarii

Sumus aut episcopi,

Sic fratres gaudeamus

In loco desipiamus,
Et choro sonoro citemus clamemus
Floreat, floreat, floreat Rugbeia."
Chorus.

225 Q

INDEX

Act of 1748, 32 ; of 1777, 34 ;

of 1868, 66.
Allen, John, 24.
Almshouses, 9.
Armoury, 106.
Arms School, 8.
Army Class, 158.
Arnold, Thomas, 52-62, 104 ;

Grave, 124; Monument,

133 ; Bust, 150.
Arnold Library, 105, 144.
Art Museum, 144.
Ashbridge, Robert, 24.
Athletics, 212.

Banner, 151.

Barn Close, 92.

Bath, 137.

" Benns," 99.

Benson, E. W., 129.

Bigside, Old, 90 ; New, 97 ;

Levees, 162 ; Runs, 209.
Bloxam, M. H., 71, 104, 145,

181.

Boarding-Houses, 151, 156.
Bowden-Smith, 117, 136.
" Buffetting," 49.
Burrough, Stanley, 34.
Butler, Samuel, 46, 72.
Brownsover Parsonage, 4, 14.

" Caldecotts," 99.

" Case's Gallows," 89.

Chapel, 117-136; Piece, 90.

Choir, 1 68.

Christmas Presents, 39.

Classical Side, 156.

Clerke, Henry, 20.

Clerke, Edward, 21.

" Clodding," 50.

Close, 86-98.

Commissions, 1st, 19 ; 2nd,

20 ; 3rd, 23.

Conduit Close, 14, 22, 32.
Constitution of School, 34, 66.
Crick, 209.
Cricket, 201-208. '

Dakyn, Barnard, 18, 19.
" Dames' Houses," 40, 58.
Debating Society, 177.
Drawing, 167.

"Eranos," 181.
Exhibitions, 35, 172.

Fagging, 40, 160.
Field, Barnard, 14.
Fire Brigade, 185.
Fives Courts, 103, 113, 138,
215.

229

RUGBY

" Floreat," 224.
Football, 185-201.
Foundation, 13, 35.
Foundationerships, 172.
Founder's Day, 10 ; Prayer,
12.

Garden Glose, 92.
Goulburn, E. M., 64, 98, 130.
Grange of Pipewell Monks, 96.
Greene, Wilgent, 20.
Greenhill, Nicholas, 18.
Gymnasium, 138, 217.

Hakewill, H., 102.
Harrison, George, 13, 16.
Harrison, Knightley, 24.
Hayman, H., 102.
Hodgkinson, Joseph, 30.
Holidays, 167.
Holyoake, Henry, 25-30.
Hawkins, John, 14 ; Anthony,

21 ; William, 23.
Hughes, T., 54; Statue, 141.
Hymn Book, 136.

Imposition Paper, 39.
Ingles, Henry, 44.
Island, 92-96.

James, H. A., 67.
James, Thomas, 35-43 ; Monu-
ment, 121.

Jeacocks, Leonard, 24.
Jex-Blake, T. W., 67, 116, 137.

Knail, William, 31, 33.
Lally, E, 89.

Landor, W. S., 42, 70, 97.
Library, Old, 104.
" Littleside," 90.
Lower School of Lawrence
S her i fife, 66, 172.

Macready, W. C., 48, 81.
Manor House, 32, 98, 100.
Mansion House, 13.
Merit money, 39.
Meteor, 221.
Missions, 222.
Modern Side, 158.
Music, 167.

Natural History Society, 178.
New Big School, 149.
Notes, for tradesmen, 38 ; for
fives courts, 112.

Observatory, 140.

Old Big School, 106, no.

Old Rugbeians, Statesmen and
Civil Servants, 68-70 ; Men
of Letters, 70-72 ; Scholars,
72 ; Head Masters, 72, 73 ;
Clergy, 73 ; Military and
Naval, 74-80; Miscellaneous,
80-82.

Old Rugbeian Society, 218.

Organ, 120.

Oxford Gallery, no.

" Paradise," 100.
Pearce, Raphael, 21.
Percival, J., 67.
Periodicals, 220.
Plomer, John, 5.
Pond Close, 92.

230

INDEX

" Pontines," 90.
Pool, The, 97.
Prizes, 174.
Pump, The, 112.

Quadrangle, Old, 102 ; New,
114.

Racquets, 138, 216.
Reading Room, 143.
Rebellion, Great, 44.
" Reynolds's Field," 99.
Richmond, Joseph, 33.
Rifle Corps, 182.
Rolfe, Augustine, 20.
Rolston, Edward, 16.
Rugby Town, 85.
Running, 208.

Samson's Quarters, 98.
Scholars' Walk, 97.
Scholarships, 169.
School House, original, 16 ;

2nd, 32, 100 ; present, 52,

106 ; Head master's house,

1 08.
School Improvement Fund,

115.

Seele, Richard, 17.
Shell, 162.
Sheriffe, Lawrence, 1-13.

Shooting, 184.
Singing Competitions, 168.
Sixth Form, 160.
Specialists, 159.
Speech Day, 27, 93.
Stanley, A. P., 54, 71 ; Monu-
ment, 133.
Steeplechases, 214.
Studies, 108, 156.
"Swifts," 137.

Tait, A. C., 63 ; Monument,

135-

Temple, F., 64.
Tercentenary Fund, 115.
Three Trees, 87.
Time Table, 166, 227.
Treen's Tree, 87.
Trustees, 15, 19,20, 32,43,66.
Turret School, 113.
Twenty, The, 113, 161.

Vincent, John, 20.
Vivarium,. 1 8 1.

Walker, J, 135.

Whitehead, Peter, 2 3.

Wooll, John, 46 ; Monument*

129.
Workshop, 138, 218.

231

CH1SWICK PRESS : CHARLES WH1TTINGHAM AND CO.
TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.

HANDBOOKS TO THE GREAT

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Crown 8v0, profusely illustrated,
price 35. 6d. fief each.

CHARTERHOUSE. By A. H. TOD, M.A.,
Assistant Master at Charterhouse. With 58
Illustrations.

RUGBY. By H. C. BRADBY, M.A., Assistant
Master at Rugby.

ETON. By A. GLUTTON-BROCK, New College,
Oxford. [In t tie press.

HARROW. By J. FISCHER WILLIAMS, M.A.,

Fellow of New College, Oxford.
SHREWSBURY. By PERCY ADDLESHAW, Christ-
church, Oxford.

WINCHESTER. By R. T. WARNER, New
College, Oxford.

ST. PAUL'S, WESTMINSTER, MERCHANT
TAYLORS', and others to follow.

LONDON: GEORGE BELL AND SONS.

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