Search the history of over 505 billion pages on the Internet.
Open Library
Full text of "A history of Rugby School"
See other formats
.CM
loo
CD
ENGLISH
PUBLIC
SCHOOLS
ISJJGBT
X
1 1
-,
f
A HISTORY OF
RUOBY SCHOOL
BY
W. H. D. ROUSE, M.A.
SOMETIME FELLOW OF CHRIST'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
LONDON
DUCKWORTH & CO.
3, HENRIETTA STREET, CO VENT GARDEN, W.C.
1898
V
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & Co.
At the Ballantyne Press
PREFACE
THE printed books dealing with Rugby School are the
following :
Rugby School Register, Annotated. Vol. i. 1675-1849 ; vol. ii.
1850-74; vol. iii. 1875-87. Naval and Military Records
of Rugbeians (London : Simpkin, Marshall). Rugbeians in
the Crimea.
Carlisle's Endowed Grammar Schools (short sketch). London :
Baldwin, 1818.
Nicholas's History of Rugby (the latter part speaks of the School).
The History of the Colleges of Winchester, Eton, and Westminster,
with the Charter House, the Schools of St. Paul's, Merchant
Taylor's, Harrow, and Rugby, and the Free School of Christ's
Hospital [Ackermann's Public Schools]. London : Ackermann,
1816. Illustrated.
Memorials of Rugby, drawn from Nature and on Stone, hy C. W.
Radclyffe. Rugby : Crossley, 1843. Plates, with some
descriptive letterpress.
The Book of Rugby School. Rugby : Crossley & Billington, 1856.
The Public Schools, by the author of Etonia. London : Black-
wood, 1867.
Great Public Schools: Howard Stanton. London: Sampson Low,
1865.
Rugby, the School and Neighbourhood. Collected papers of
Matthew Holbeche Bloxam, edited by the Rev. W. H. Payne
Smith. London : Whittaker, 1889.
The following bibliography of Rugby School in periodi-
cal literature may be interesting.
Nimrod's Life and Times. Erasers Magazine, 1842, ii.
" A Visit to Rugby." Blackwood's Magazine, May 1862.
v
vi PREFACE
" Football at Rugby, Eton, and Harrow." London Society,
March 1864.
" The Public Schools Report : Harrow and Rugby." Blackwood'x
Magazine, August 1864.
"A Match on the Old Big Side at Rugby." London Society,
December 1867.
"Two Addresses by the Dean of Westminster. I. John
Bunyan ; II. Arnold and Rugby " (delivered in Rugby
School Chapel,, June 12, 1874). Macmillans Magazine, July
1874.
"Recollections of Rugby under Dr. Tait." Leisure Hour,
March 20, 1875.
"An Old Rugby School List" (June 1841), by J. W. Sherer
Sime. May 1879.
" Experiences of a Day-boy at a Public School (Rugby). Mac-
millan's Magazine, March 1885.
"The Head-mastership of Rugby." Spectator, November 20,
1886.
"A Rugby Ramble" (illustrated), by H. A. Newton. English
Illustrated, August 1888.
" Rugby, Arnold and Arnoldism," by Oscar Browning. Educa-
tion, December 1890.
"Rugby School" (illustrated), by Judge Hughes arid H. L.
Warner. English Illustrated, October 1891.
" Games at Rugby School " (illustrated), by L. Knowles. English
Illustrated, November 1891.
"Rugby School" (illustrated), by W. C. Sargent. Ludgate
Monthly, October 1892.
" Music at Rugby." Magazine of Music, January 1894.
" Rugby and Oxford, 1830-50," by Dean Lake. Good Words,
October 1895.
" Memories of Arnold and Rugby Sixty Years ago," by a Member
of the School in 1835, 1836, 1837. Parents Review, Novem-
ber 1895 ; January, March, April, 1896.
" Tom Hughes and Arnold," by Lionel A. Tollemache. Journal
of Education, July 1896.
" Rugby School." Public School Magazine, May 1898.
PREFACE vii
Unfortunately none of these have any critical value
for the early history. The Register (at least the first
volume) is not reliable, even in the transcription of
names; and in the dates and names of the masters are
many mistakes. The others, all with one possible excep-
tion (Nicholas's History of Rugby), derive from one
source, one copying from another without verification.
The reader must therefore be warned that for the first
two hundred years of the School's history none of the
books can be trusted. No systematic search has hitherto
been made, even among the documents preserved at
Rugby; and with the exception of the Founder's Will
and Intent (which have been frequently reprinted), the
few documents which are given contain many and serious
mistakes. For this period, then, I have no obligation
to own to these books, but rather the reverse. On the
other hand, for the later history I desire to make the
fullest and most grateful acknowledgment to Mr. M. H.
Bloxam's Rugby. Mr. Bloxam had first-hand evidence
from his father, beginning in 1777, and his own memory
went back to the early years of the century ; for all that
relates to the last hundred years or so I have drawn freely
upon his gathered stores.
I do not flatter myself that there are no mistakes in
this book, but I have endeavoured in all cases to make
no statement without giving an exact reference to my
authority. Since much of what follows is new, or con-
tradicts preconceived ideas, I have given in an Appendix
the chief of the documents newly discovered ; and if any
viii PREFACE
reader disagrees with my conclusions, he has it in his
power without much trouble to confirm or to refute them.
I wish to thank Messrs. Duckworth for the readiness
with which they allowed me to add the somewhat bulky
Appendix. This by no means exhausts the documents
which are important for the school history, but the most
important are there. Perhaps it may be possible some
day to issue a companion volume containing the rest, or
to add them in a future edition. If this book should
come into the hands of old Rugbeians in any of the
government offices where manuscripts are kept, may I
urge upon them the pious duty of trying to fill up the
many gaps which still remain? Although I have spent
a great deal of time in examining the chaotic catalogues
of the Record Office and Somerset House, it is quite
likely that other records of Rugby exist there; not to
mention the British Museum, and other libraries, public
and private, or the Warwickshire muniment rooms. If
any who are interested in the matter would communicate
with me, I should be most grateful.
In conclusion, I have to thank several friends for help
kindly given. To Dr. James I owe it that permission
was obtained to inspect the Trustees' Books and Papers
at Rugby; and Mr. C. F. Harris has assisted me with
great readiness in many ways. Mr. G. F. Bradby and
Mr. Moms Da vies, and especially Mr. H. T. Rhoades,
have also been ready with help or candid criticism, both
equally acceptable. Two present members of the School,
Mr. H. C. Brentnall and Mr. K. Lucas, have kindly
PREFACE ix
allowed me to examine some of the school records which
they have in charge.
Many of the illustrations are reproduced or drawn
by Miss Helen James, from the photographs of George
A. Dean, High Street, Rugby, whom I desire hereby to
thank ; and I owe a similar acknowledgment to E. H.
Speight, Dunchurch Road, Rugby, for the photograph
of a Table -top. Other illustrations come from the
beautiful etchings of E. J. Burrow, published by Messrs.
W. H. Beynon & Co., Cheltenham, or from old books and
engravings. The sketches on pages 135 and 233 were
kindly drawn for me by members of the School, C. V.
Lanyon and A. A. Clarence.
MANIBVS
HENRICI HOLYOAKE
THOMAE JAMES
THOMAE ARNOLD
noc OPVSCVLVM QVALECVNQVP;
D D
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE V
CHAP.
I. THE FOUNDER 1
II. EARLY DAYS 19
III. THE FIRST TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS ... 47
IV. THE CASE IS SETTLED 70
V. THE CASE IS ALTERED 84
VI. LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 101
VII. THE NEW CONSTITUTION 121
VIII. THE NEW MAN 129
IX. THE GREAT REBELLION 177
X. THE NEW SCHOOLS 192
XI. THE NEW SPIRIT 220
XII. SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY . . . . .246'
XIII. AFTERMATH 275
XIV. A CHRONICLE 297
XV. SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 312
XVI. A LAST LOOK BACKWARD 348
APPENDIX
I. DOCUMENTS RELATING TO LAURENCE SHERIFFE . 353
II. DOCUMENTS IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT OF THE
RKCORD OFFICE 365
III. DOCUMENTS PRESERVED AT RUGBY .... 375
xiii
ILLUSTRATIONS
HIGH STREET, RUGBY, AND SCHOOL GATE,
IN 1843 Frontispiece
BROWNSOVER PARSONAGE .... To face page 11
PLAN OF THE SCHOOL PREMISES AND ADJOIN-
ING PROPERTIES MADE ABOUT 1749 . . page 107
THE SECOND SCHOOLHOUSE OF RUGBY . . To face page 108
THOMAS JAMES 129
RUGBY SCHOOL, 1809, FROM THE CLOSE . . page 132
ENTRANCE TO RUGBY SCHOOL, 1809 ... 133
THE " COACHING "-BLOCK 135
THE CLOISTERS . . . To face page 158
THE SCHOOL PREMISES : FROM A PLAN DRAWN
BY T. WILSON, 1750 page 197
THE QUADRANGLE, 1816 ,,199
TURRET OF THE BIRCHING SCHOOL . . . To face page 201
INTERIOR OF BIG SCHOOL, 1816 . . . . page 203
THOMAS ARNOLD To face page 220
THOMAS ARNOLD ,,224
RUGBY SCHOOL FROM THE CLOSE . . . page 227
INTERIOR OF THE OLD CHAPEL, LOOKING
WEST To face page 230
ARNOLD'S TABLE AND CHAIR .... page 233
xvi ILLUSTRATIONS
INTEKIOR OF SIXTH SCHOOL, FORMERLY THE
LIBRARY To face page 234
GATE, WITH WINDOW OF SIXTH FORM SCHOOL page 261
OLD QUADRANGLE, AND ENTRANCE TO THE
SCHOOLHOUSE HALL ..... 279
NEW QUADRANGLE ,,303
TABLE TOP To face page 305
NEW BIG SCHOOL page 307
SCHOOLHOUSE, SCHOOLS, AND OLD CHAPEL '. 309
SCHOOLHOUSE To face page 312
CHAPEL (WEST), NOW PULLED DOWN . . page 317
OLD QUADRANGLE ,,325
SCHOOLHOUSE, SCHOOLS, AND NEW CHAPEL,
FROM CLOSE ,,333
THE ISLAND AND OLD PAVILION AS THEY ARE
TO-DAY To face page 339
CHAPEL INTERIOR, LOOKING EAST , . . page 341
ADDENDUM.
Page 34. Edward Rolston is stated in the Diocesan Registers of
London to have been born at Wemswood, Leics., and was
ordained deacon in London, April 1579, aged thirty-three.
RUGBY SCHOOL
THE FOUNDER
LAWRENCE SHERIFFE, the founder of Rugby School, like
the founders of Harrow and of the Charterhouse, was a
man of no exalted station in life. The very names of
his parents are unknown. It is probable, however, that
they belonged to the yeoman class; they were certainly
held in some consideration, for at their death they were
buried within the parish church of Rugby. The Sheriffes
intermarried with a family named Howkins, which be-
longed to Rugby or the immediate neighbourhood. This
family appears to have been well-to-do, and some of
them died possessed of much property. So far as it
goes, this is another indication that the parents of
Lawrence Sheriffe were not of the humblest class. When
Lawrence Sheriffe was born, and where, we have no
exact knowledge. Local tradition points to an old house
in Brownsover, a village two miles from Rugby, as the
Founder's birthplace ; which tradition in the last century
was commonly believed, and in the Trustees 1 Books the
same is assumed to be true. 1 Against this we must set
1 e.g. Order of June 1, 1847.
2 RUGBY SCHOOL
the evidence of a petition drawn up in 1641, in which
the Founder is stated to have been born in Rugby. 1
Moreover, as we shall soon see that Lawrence Sheriffe
himself bought the house at Brownsover, which previously
was monastic property, it is hardly likely he was born
there. Thus the only direct evidence, set down at a
time when some may have been alive who had seen
him, and many who had spoken of him with those that
knew him well, makes for the belief that in Rugby he was
indeed born. With this jumps also the choice of Rugby
for his Free Grammar School; for else there was little
or nothing to choose between Rugby and Clifton, New-
bold or Brownsover. As regards the date of his birth,
the terms of his will show that he was not an old man
in 1567, but still hoped to live and himself carry out
his long meditated scheme. His sister, however, was
old enough to have borne a son in or about the year
1532. 2 Lawrence Sheriffe must accordingly have been
born early in the reign of Henry VIII. As he
ended his apprenticeship in 1541, the year can hardly
have been later than 1518 ; and taking his sister's
age into account, we may put it provisionally in 1515
or 1516.
Of his early days and his education, we know nothing.
Even if his father was not a poor man, there must have
been little schooling to be had at a village like Rugby.
His energy and success in after life show that he would
have profited by a good education ; and surely it is not
1 Bloxam, Rugby, p. 34. 2 Anthony Howkins. See Appendix.
THE FOUNDER 3
fanciful to assume that it may have been an eagerness for
learning, balked by circumstances, which suggested to him
the founding of a school in his native place. Be this how
it may, his father clearly was not ambitious for his son
to rise out of his own rank in life, and contented him-
self with apprenticing him to William Walcott, 1 a grocer
of London. In 1541, the year when Henry VIII. was
acknowledged King of Ireland, Lawrence Sheriffe was
admitted to the freedom of the Worshipful Company
of Grocers. If he had been seven years apprentice, 2 we
cannot go far wrong in placing his birth within the
period above suggested. From this time we lose sight
of him for many years. He plied his trade with success,
as we shall see ; but of his private life we know nothing.
We may amuse ourselves by imagining him sharing in
the public functions of the Grocers 1 Company. Once a
year, in the month of May, this Mystery was wont to
assemble for a feast or " mangerie," whither the wardens
came " wyth garlonds on their hedes"; when the three
wardens for the ensuing year were chosen. 3 Or if one
of the fraternity was to be buried, Sheriffe was in duty
bound to attend his dirge and funeral, under pain of
being fined twelvepence. 4
Ten years after his admission to this fraternity we
1 Records of the Grocers' Company, Feb. 2, 1541.
2 This is not over the mark. Barnard Field seems to have been
apprentice nine years. See Appendix.
3 Ordinances of 1376 : Some Account of the Worshipful Company of
Grocers, by J. B. Heath. Privately printed, London, 1829, p. 57.
4 Op, cit., p. 49.
4 RUGBY SCHOOL
find Lawrence Sheriffe supplying grocery and spicery to
the Princess Elizabeth, then about eighteen years of age,
and residing at Hatfield. 1 The sums disbursed to him were
considerable, varying from seventeen shillings to seventeen
pounds. Of " spicery " that is what are called on the
Continent " Colonial wares " Sheriffe, it would appear,
was the purveyor by appointment, so that he must have
used those ten years well. Shortly after came Mary's
accession, and Wyatfs rebellion, which brought Eliza-
beth to the Tower, and would have been the undoing
of her but for lack of evidence. In connection with
this, we have the one glimpse of Sheriffe the man,
which fortune has vouchsafed to give. This is an in-
cident recorded in Foxe's Book of Martyrs, 2 and as it
is highly characteristic, I make no apology for quoting
it entire :
Although this historic following be not directly appertain-
ing to the former matter, yet the same may here not unaptly
be inserted, for that it doth discover and shew forth the
malicious hearts of the Papists towards this vertuous Queene
our Sovereigne Lady in the time of Queene Marie her sister,
which is reported as a truth credibly told by sundrie honest
persons of whome some are yet alive, and doe testify the
same. The matter whereof is this.
Soon after the stir of Wiat and the troubles that
1 Camdcn Miscellany, ii. 10-13.
2 Foxe, Acts and Monuments, iii. 951 ; quoted in the History of
Ru'jby, 1816, and elsewhere. The first to discover it seems to have
been Dr. James (Head-master 1778-94), who put the reference in the
first volume of the MS. Register.
THE FOUNDER 5
happened to this Queene for that cause, it fortuned to one
Robert Farrer a haberdasher of London dwelling neare to
Newgate Market, in a certaine morning to be at the Rose
Taverne (from whence he was seldome absent), and falling to
his common drinke, as he was ever accustomed, and having
in his com panic three other companions like to himselfe,
it chanced the same time one Laurence Shiriffe Grocer,
dwelling also not farre from thence, to come into the sayd
Taverne, and finding there the sayd Farrer (to whom of long
time hee had borne good will), sate downe in the seate to
drinke with him. And Farrer being in his full cups, and
not having consideration who were present, began to talke at
large, and namely, against the Lady Elizabeth, and said :
That Jill hath been one of the chief doers of this rebellion
of Wiat, and before all be done, she and all the heretikes 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 headlesse, or be fried with faggots before she
come to it.
The foresayd Laurence Shiriffe Grocer being then ser-
vant to the Lady Elizabeth and sworn unto her Grace,
could no longer forbeare his old acquaintance and neighbour
Farrer in speaking so unreverently of his Mistresse, but sayd
unto him : 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 defie thee, and tell thee, I am her Graces sworne ser-
vant, and shee 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
upon thee. Doe thy worst, sayd Farrer, for that I said I will
say againe ; and so Shiriffe came from his company.
Shortly after the said Shiriffe, taking an honest neighbor
with him, went before the Commissioners to complaine ;
6 RUGBY SCHOOL
the which Commissioners sate then at Boner the Bishop of
Londons house beside Pauls ; and there were present Boner,
then being the chiefe Commissioner, the Lord Mordant, sir
John Baker, Dr. Darbishire chancellor to the Bishop, Doctor
Storie, Doctor Harpsfield, and other.
The aforesayd Shiriffe comming before them, declared the
manner of the said Rob. Farrers talk against the Lady Eliza-
beth. Boner answered, Peradventure you tooke him worse
than hee meant. Yea, my lord, said Doctor Storie, if you
knew the man as I doe, you would say there is not a better
Catholike, nor a honester man in the City of London.
Well, sayd Shiriffe, my Lord, shee is my gracious Lady and
Mistresse, and it is not to be suffered that such a varlet as hee
is should call so honourable a Princesse by the name of a
Jill : And I saw yesterday in the Court that my Lord Cardi-
nall Poole, meeting her in the Chamber of Presence, kneeled
down on his knees and kissed her hand ; and I saw also that
King Philip meeting her, made her such obeysance, that his
knee touched the ground ; and then me thinketh it were too
much to suffer such a Varlet as this is, to call her a Jill, and
to wish them to hop headlesse that shall wish her Grace to
enjoy the possession of the Crowne, when God shall send it
unto her, as in the right of her inheritance. 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 mistresse, and no more do we : but he like an honest and
zealous man feared the alteration of religion, which every good
man ought to fear ; therefore (said Boner), good man, goe your
waies home and report well of us toward your mistresse, and we
will send for Farrer and rebuke him for his rash and undiscreet
words, and we trust he will not do the like again. And thus
Shiriffe came away, and Farrer had a flap with a Foxe taill.
THE FOUNDER 7
Such is the story ; and slight as it is, there is enough
to show the courage and faithfulness of Lawrence Sheriffe.
He was not afraid of championing a fallen cause, and
refused to hear abuse of his mistress even from an inti-
mate friend. More, he bearded Bonner in his den, and
forced the authorities to take some notice of the offence.
Bonners tone is contemptuous enough, and probably the
matter went no further ; but at any rate Sheriffe. showed
himself to be made of sterling stuff. It should be noted
that he speaks of what he saw at court ; so Mary's acces-
sion did not materially affect his prosperity.
In the same year, 1554, Lawrence Sheriffe was elected
on to the Livery of the Grocers 1 Company, 1 and we hear
no more of him for a time. The Grocers 1 Company in
1556 officially recognised the Roman Catholic faith as
restored by Mary. On Sunday, June 8 of that year, " my
maistres the Aldermen, the Wardeyns, and the hole
Liverie, assembled at their comon house, called Grocers 1
Hawll, and from thens they went to their churche, called
St. Steven's, Wallbrooke ; where they heard dirge songe ;
and that being ended, they returned to their sayde Hawll,
where they drank according to their olde custome ; and
after, as many as were members, went to the election of
their new Wardeyn." On the day following, the whole
Livery came to the Hall at ten o'clock in the morning,
and again went to St. Stephen's, when a sermon was
preached by Mr. Christopher, " and the masse of Requiem
songe by note ; " after which they returned to the Hall for
1 See Appendix.
8 RUGBY SCHOOL
dinner. The Wardens were then elected, and were desired
to provide " an honest preste of goode fame," to wait upon
the Livery when they attended funerals, or on other
occasions " where he might be needed." Their nominee
was disallowed by Bonner, which probably implies that he
was not considered a good Catholic ; and they were forced
to appoint a sound man to their rectory of St. Stephen's.
This goes to show that their conversion was no more
than skin deep. Whether Lawrence Sheriffe was present
on these occasions we cannot say; but to judge from
what we know of his leanings, he will have preferred to
pay the fine.
But we can have no doubt that he was present at
another ceremony three years later, when Elizabeth had
restored the Protestant religion. On April 5, 1559, the
Company again went in state to St. Stephen's to hear
divine service, and on the next day to a " solemne sermon,"
after which Holy Communion was administered to the
members. 1 We may believe he was one of the pageant
displayed on July 12 of that year by the twelve chief
City Companies. 2 Fourteen hundred men were sent by
them to be mustered before the Queen in Greenwich
Park, of whom eight hundred were pikemen in bright
armour, four hundred harquebusiers in mail and helmets,
and two hundred halberdiers in German rivets. They
were attended by twenty-eight whifflers, richly dressed,
and led by the twelve chief wardens of these companies,
Account of the Grocers' Company, p. 62.
IStowe's Annals, quoted in the Account, p. 64.
THE FOUNDER 9
well mounted, and dressed in black velvet, with six ensigns
in white satin, faced with black sarsnet, and rich scarfs.
To this company the Grocers were required to send " 190
personnes, apte and picked men ; whereof 60 to be with
calyvers, flaskes, touche-boxes, morions, swords, and
daggers ; 95 to be in corselettes, with halbertes, swordes,
and daggers." 1
Lawrence Sheriffe had special cause to rejoice that
the Queen had come to her own. Elizabeth did not for-
get the man who was true to her in dark days. In 1559,
the year after her accession, we find the Heralds'* College
granting Sheriffe a coat of arms, 2 the same since adopted
by the School :
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 pods argent, the stalks and leaves vert.
This blazon, as has been suggested with much likelihood, 3
has reference to his calling as a merchant of "spices."
The griffins (which reappear on the arms granted to the
Grocers'* Company) hint at the perilous lands in the East,
with their hidden treasures guarded by dragons; and
there is no obscurity in the "bunch of dates," which
symbolise his spicery. This merchant, although now an
1 Account, p. 65.
2 His great-nephew, John Howkins, of the Middle Temple, also
used arms, but how or when obtained is not known.
3 The Boole of Rugby School, p. 14.
10 RUGBY SCHOOL
Esquire, made no attempt to claim gentle birth, and
clearly felt only an honest pride in his own achievements.
It was, perhaps, at this period that he took up his abode
in a house in Newgate Street, just within the gate, where
he was living in 1564 and in the year of his death. 1 This
was commonly called the King's Grocer's House, though
in the years named the rent was paid to Ralph Scroope,
Esq., for the Benchers of Lincoln's Inn. The house was
of considerable size, for it was rented at ^6. 13s. 4d. per
annum, more than half the sum assigned later by Sheriffe
as his schoolmaster's salary.
On November 18, 1560, he purchased from one Mr.
Streete, that field called Conduit Close, in the county of
Middlesex, which was to play so important a part in the
history of the School. 2 It was a piece of land measuring
twenty-four acres, and it cost him 320 ; his wife Eliza-
beth is mentioned as joint purchaser, so he was already
married. He continued to follow his merchant's calling ;
and we can hardly doubt that he still was the Queen's
Grocer by appointment. 3 In 1562 we find him making
the Queen a New Year's gift, "a suger loaf, a box of
ginger, a box of nutmegs, and a pound of cynomon," then
very precious, in return for which the Queen gives him
" one gilt salt with a cover," weighing seven ounces.
About this time we see Lawrence Sheriffe in a new light,
1 Records of Lincoln's Inn, vol. iii. pp. 348, 358. See the extracts in
the Appendix.
2 Trust Papers: No. 1, Copy of the Indenture.
3 I have found no mention of him, however, by a cursory examina-
tion of the Exchequer Accounts.
THE FOUNDER 11
as a speculator in landed property. Owing to the dissolu-
tion of the monasteries, there had been a great deal of
buying and selling in land, and the Crown still had some
to dispose of. Accordingly, in 1561 we find Lawrence
Sheriffe and Thomas Reve making application to Queen
Elizabeth for purchase of eighteen or twenty properties
situated in several parts of the kingdom Staffordshire,
Lincoln, Leicester, Surrey, Warwickshire, Lancashire,
Notts, and Flint. 1 Among these mention is made of
"tithes and hereditaments in Brownsover, late of the
Monastery de Prat-is of Leicester."
The transfer of these lands was accomplished two
years afterwards. By letters patent bearing date of
March 17, 5 Elizabeth (1562/3), the Queen, in considera-
tion of <2243. 11s. 3d., granted to Lawrence Sheriffe
and Thomas Reve, amongst other things, " all her tithes
of corn, grain, and hay yearly growing, renewing, and
increasing within the fields of Brownsover aforesaid, . . .
and also one messuage and one yard land with the
appurtenances in Brownsover . . . lately belonging to the
monastery of Leicester." 2
This document suggests some interesting considera-
tions. In the will of Lawrence Sheriffe none of these
lands are named, excepting this parcel in Brownsover. It
1 Kecord Office : Particulars of Grants, 4 Eliz. (1561). See
Appendix.
2 Recited in Chancery Bills and Answers, Charles I. : R. 45/32.
Bill of Anthony Howkins, Nov. 1G32. The purchase is enrolled in
Patent Rolls, 4 Elizabeth, Part I. : Lawrence Shryve and Thomas
Reve.
12 RUGBY SCHOOL
seems to follow that he and his partner bought them to
sell again. However, the bequest to his wife includes all
and singular other his lands, tenements, and heredita-
ments, being freehold, set and being in the county of
Middlesex or elsewhere within the realm of England.
The only property named in the, will, which would thus
be left for his wife, is part of a meadow situated outside
London, and measuring some sixteen acres. It is possible,
therefore, that he died possessed of some of the lands
above mentioned. But no lands are specified in Mrs.
Sheriffe's own will, 1 and the matter remains obscure.
Lastly comes the question, Who was this Thomas Reve ? 2
Whatever property was bought by the pair of partners
was held by them jointly ; and when Thomas Reve died,
the property passed into the sole possession of Lawrence
Sheriffe. 3 This is an extraordinary way of doing busi-
ness, if it was really a business transaction. Had Thomas
Reve no heirs ? or was he like Melchizedek, a solitary
figure without visible parents or kindred ? Unless the
1 She afterwards married a Mr. Clarke, of Bristol, and her will
may be found in Somerset House under the name of Elizabeth Clarke.
It is a most extraordinary will. Mrs. Clarke was possessed of a variety
of cattle and chattels, feather-beds, chests, quilts, and other articles,
most of which were in the hands of some one else. She generally
leaves them to those in whose hands they are. She died April 29,
1579, at her house in London. See also Bloxam, Rugly, p. 13.
2 A grant of lands in Wiltshire is made to Thomas Reve and George
Cotton in 1554 (S. P. Dorn., Mary, Catalogue, p. 62). This is the
only mention of the name I have been able to find, unless it was he
who sued his own wife on personal matters under Elizabeth (Chanc.
Proc. Rr. 4, 37).
3 Bill of Howkins (see above).
THE FOUNDER 13
document quoted makes a mistake, I cannot help sus-
pecting that Thomas Reve and Lawrence Sheriffe were
in fact kinsmen; and it would not greatly surprise me
if they turned out to be father and son> who would here
be associated as the husband and wife were in purchase
of Conduit Close. This may seem to some readers a
ridiculous idea ; but none will think so who know how
irregular were ancient methods of transmitting names
The name Sheriffe, which is also spelt Shreffe, Shrefe,
Shreve, Shryve, and Shirreve, is of course only the com-
pound Shire-reeve; and when this is pointed out, the
connection with Reve at once becomes clear. Nicholas
Greenhill, one of the masters of Rugby School, was
often spoken of in Rugby as Hill ; l but there are closer
parallels than that. I have met with a case exactly
similar in a will of the same period, where a father and
son bear the names of Smith and Rokesmith. 2 I would
not make too much of this suggestion ; it is nothing
more than a conjecture, neither supported nor contra-
dicted by direct evidence. That a father and son might
have borne these names is all I claim.
About this time Lawrence Sheriffe made another pur-
chase which has a more direct interest for this present
1 e.g., "That he repaired the Schoolehouse 20 tymes whilst Greene
and Kolph, Hill (who was Schoolemaster in Queene Elizabeths tyme)
his Successors, were Schoolemasters." Trust Papers, 138, fol. 10. 'Hill
his successors ' of course means ' Hill's successors.'
2 It is ten years since I noted this, and the reference is lost. To look
for a Smith in Somerset House would be to look for a straw in a hay-
stack. I would have undertaken even this labour if it would have decided
the point ; but nothing will do this except direct proof or disproof.
14 RUGBY SCHOOL
history. He bought clivers messuages in Rugby, opposite
the parish church, and on the site easternmost of the
present Almshouses. These cottages, being ancient and
ruinous, he pulled down ; and at great costs and ex-
penses of money new builded on the same site a large
house, which in his will he calls his Mansion House, 1 for
the school which he intended to found. The document
from which I take these particulars a Chancery Bill
indicted by one Anthony Howkins in 1632 goes on to
say that he also built the Schoolroom and Almshouses.
That Schoolroom, however, was not finished in 1567, when
SherinVs will was drawn up, and the Almshouses were still
not built in 1602 ; so it is probable that Howkins made
a mistake here. Howkins, when he drew up the Bill,
was a hundred years old ; and at such an age events in
the far background are apt to run together in the mind.
But his statement that Lawrence Sheriffe built this
Mansion House for the use of the schoolmaster may be
accepted without hesitation. The received theory is that
the Mansion House had belonged to SherinVs father, and
that Lawrence Sheriffe himself was born in it. But this
theory is absolutely without evidence, and is due to a
conjecture which was afterwards repeated as if it were
a proved fact. Even at the age of a hundred, Howkins
was not likely to say that Lawrence Sheriffe built the
house he was born in. 2 It is interesting to know that
1 Anthony Howkins' Bill (see Appendix C). Lawrence Sheriffe seems
to have lived in this house for a time (see Appendix B).
2 There are, however, inaccuracies in the document, as will be seen.
THE FOUNDER 15
the Mansion House was not a converted dwelling, but was
built specially for its proper purpose. Furthermore, it
now becomes easy to understand why the school premises
carried with them, as they did, the rights of two cottage
commons in Rugby field. 1
On August 1, 1562, Sheriffe was "sworne into the
Assistance" of the Grocers' Company; and four years
later he was chosen Second Warden. 2 At this time, as
we learn from his will, he had two "prentices, a man-
servant, and four maids, two of whom were his own
nieces. He had a massive gold chain, which he wore on
state occasions, and rode upon a " grey ambling nagge."
In 1567 he became seriously ill, and consequently pro-
ceeded to provide that the scheme for founding a school
at Rugby, begun by him in the building of the School-
house, should be carried out, even if he did not live to do
it. Warned by his illness, he made his will, and set forth
the long-meditated scheme in a paper called the Intent
of Lawrence Sheriffe. Of these we shall have occasion
later to speak more at large. Of the various legacies, we
need only mention one or two. Money is left for making
new pews in the parish church of Rugby, which are to
have the arms of the Grocers carved upon them, together
with the letters L and S adjoining thereto. 3 The market
cross is to be repaired, and the same device carved upon
it. A certain sum is left for the repair of Rugby Bridge
1 Alluded to in Trustees' Books, Order of Nov. 3, 1778. See also
Bloxam, Rugly Speech Day in Former Times, p. 5.
2 See Appendix. 3 See Appendix.
16 RUGBY SCHOOL
and Brownsover Bridge. His 'prentices and servants
are not forgotten. To the Grocers 1 Company he leaves
\Q. 6s. 8d., half of which is to be spent on providing
the customary funeral feast. For himself, he desires
that a funeral service may be performed in London, his
body then to be carried to Rugby, and there laid in the
parish church beside his father and mother ; and at his
burial, alms are to be distributed to the poor.
From his illness Lawrence Sheriffe must have recovered,
so far at least as to make the journey to Rugby ; for in
Rugby we find him a few weeks later. He was still busy
with the scheme for a school, and there can be no doubt
that this it was which caused him to undertake a long
journey in his weakness. No doubt he took a last survey
of the house he had built, and made such arrangements
for the future as he could make. The language of the
Inquisition of 1602 seems to imply that he was inter-
rupted in some arrangements for building both School
and Almshouses by the relapse which killed him. If, then,
he arranged at this time for the Schoolroom to be begun,
or even began it, the centenarian's memory did not fail
him after all. While at Rugby, Lawrence Sheriffe added
a codicil to his will, which has made the fortune of Rugby
School. A legacy of ^100 had been, under the will, set
apart for the future School : this legacy was now re-
voked, and in its stead was bequeathed one-third part of
Conduit Close, making eight acres or thereabouts. The
monetary value of this was little more than the original
legacy, and what his reasons were for the change it is hard
THE FOUNDER 17
to conjecture. It may have been due to the way in
which his project was received; or, again, Sheriffe may
have seen that income was for his purpose better than
capital. This piece had originally been left in reversion
to Bridget, his sister, wife of John Howkins ; and it would
seem from what happened later that the family were not
greatly pleased at being deprived of a part of their in-
heritance. There may have been a family quarrel, and
Lawrence may have distrusted John Howkins ; at all
events, he was not one of the trustees appointed to execute
the intent. A sum of money is more easily frittered away
than a parcel of land. Some such reasons as these are
not unlikely to have weighed with Lawrence Sheriffe.
Yet Howkins witnessed the codicil, so there can have been
no open breach. Possibly some payment in ready money
was made, which reconciled Howkins to losing his legacy
of ^40, receiving instead %6. 13s. 4d. and a black coat.
Immediately after executing this codicil, Lawrence
Sheriffe must have returned to London ; and in less than
three weeks he was dead. Perhaps the journey actually
cost him his life ; but if so, we may feel sure he would
not have regretted it had he known what a vast difference
it was to make for his school. It was long thought that,
according to the terms of his will, he must have been
buried at Rugby ; but, in 1864, Mr. Bloxam l discovered
the entry relating to his burial, and proved that his last
wish was disregarded. Perhaps we may see in this another
indication that his family were not pleased with the found-
/, pp. 14, 15.
18 RUGBY SCHOOL
ing of Rugby School. Lawrence SherifFe was buried at the
Grey Friars' Church (Christ Church), in Newgate Street,
close by the place where he had spent so much of his life.
The church was burnt to the ground, all but part of the
cloisters, in the great fire of 1666 ; but the registers
fortunately escaped destruction. In the earliest volume
occurs the entry
September 1567.
The xvi. Daye was buryed Mr. Lawrence
Shyryfe.
This is the last record of a life nobly dumb, but not
without deeds.
II
EARLY DAYS
EDWARD ROLSTON, M.A., about 1574-1580 RICHARD SEALED
B.A., 1580-1581 NICHOLAS GREENHILL, 1581-1604.
ALTHOUGH, as we have seen, Lawrence Sheriffe during his
lifetime had possession of a good deal of land, his will
specifies three parcels of land only. The first of these
was the Mansion House built by him in Rugby, together
with the land round it, being altogether one rood thirty
poles or thereabouts. This house was built on the site of
certain ancient cottages, and carried with it the cottage
rights over the common land in Rugby which those
cottages originally had. Secondly, the parsonage of
Brownsover, with one yard of glebe land, more or less,
and the tithes. Thirdly, the field hard by Holborn, some
half mile outside the city of London, commonly called
Conduit Close or Conduit Mead. The first two of these
were left for the use of Rugby School ; and of the last,
one-third part was so left, the other two-thirds being
bequeathed to his family. With these two-thirds we
have no present concern ; and those who are curious in
the matter may see from his will how they were appor-
tioned. But it is necessary to examine the way in which
the school property was tied up.
19
20 RUGBY SCHOOL
It was no great institution which the Founder had
planned ; and it did not occur to him to create a body
of Trustees such as that which now manages the Trust.
To Lawrence Sheriffe it seemed natural to put the
matter into the hands of persons whom he loved and
trusted; and for this purpose he chose two "dear
friends," George Harrison, of London, gentleman, and
Barnard Field, of London, grocer. The third part of
Conduit Close, together with all the property in War-
wickshire, was " bargained and sold " l to them and to
their heirs for ever, upon such trusts and to such pur-
poses as were specified in the will of the Founder, and
in a document styled the Intent of Lawrence Sheriffe.
But however truly these men might have deserved the
Founder's confidence (and I shall try to show presently
that they were not wholly unworthy of it), there was a
fatal mistake in not providing that these men should
choose suitable successors, and guarding against the possi-
bility of all coming into the hands of one man. Along
with the lives of Harrison and Field must pass away
the friendship which the Founder depended on ; and it
was hardly to be expected of human nature that the
heirs in course of time should not regard the Trust as a
burden. There would be then a strong temptation for
any such to use it to their own advantage, not to the pur-
poses for which it had been given. If the Founder had
only made the body of Trustees sufficiently large to make
a fraud unlikely, or only directed that his two friends
1 Copy of indenture among Trust Papers, No. 1.
EARLY DAYS 21
should choose suitable successors, when they by death or
otherwise must relinquish their trust, troubles and heart-
burnings infinite would have been spared. There is some
indication in the terms of the Founder's will that he
wished Harrison and Field to choose suitable successors;
but this ought to have been made clearer.
George Harrison 1 was a gentleman by birth, and
lived in the parish of St. Andrew's, Holborn not far,
that is to say, from Conduit Close. He was a rich
man, possessing an estate in St. Giles's in the Fields,
"houses, lands, tenements and hereditaments, rents,
plate and jewels," besides other properties of various
kinds. He and his wife Elizabeth were childless, but
he had several relations of his own name. He was not
only rich, and so much the less likely to be tempted by a
paltry paddock, but appears to have been of a kindly
and charitable disposition. If he was not, he and his
wife could not have agreed very well ; for a great part
of her will is taken up with charitable legacies. Mrs.
Harrison by her will founded a kind of almshouse on
her own account, to last out the lease of her dwelling-
house, which had forty-eight years to run. She provided
for the shelter and clothing of thirteen " poore ould men "
and thirteen "poore ould weemen." The men were to
receive a frieze gown in one year, and a canvas shirt
in the next ; the women, smocks of canvas and other
materials not familiar to the male intellect. Mrs. Harri-
1 These details I have found out from his will in Somerset House
(Book Rowe, f ol. 10), and his wife's ( Windsor, 68).
22 RUGBY SCHOOL
son gives the minutest directions as to price, quality, and
quantity of these materials. She also bequeaths five
pounds each to the "poor of Christ's Hospital, and the
poor prisoners of Ludgate, Newgate, King's Bench, and Mar-
shalsea." We may assume, then, that the husband of this
charitable dame was a man of honour, and that Lawrence
SherinVs good judgement did not fail him in this choice.
Barnard Field, the second trustee, has a greater in-
terest for our present purpose. He had been Lawrence
SherinVs own apprentice, 1 and, to judge from the date of
his apprenticeship, 1542, was probably the first ever bound
to Sheriffe. His master must have had every opportunity
of testing his character during the next nine years, at the
end of which time he seems to have set up business on his
own account. Nor did he confine his energies to grocery
and spicery; he had large dealings in merchandise of
other sorts. So much we may infer from a petition which
was presented to the Queen soon after the year 1567, the
same year in which Lawrence Sheriffe died. 2 This is
drawn up in the name of eight merchants, one of them
being Barnard Field, who had a grievance against the
King of Barbary. This potentate appears to have had
a dislike, or perhaps too cordial a liking, for what was
"commonly called brown-blue cloth," and in 1567 he
declared that all such cloth that found its way into his
1 Bound to him, February 1, 1542 ; Freeman of the Brotherhood,
1551 ; Livery, May 9, 1567. From the Books of the Worshipful Company
of Grocers. See Appendix.
2 State Papers : Domestic, Elizabeth, vol. xliv. No. 63 (Record
Office).
EARLY DAYS 23
dominions he would confiscate forthwith. The company
of merchants who made complaint had no notice of this
declaration, and sent sundry shiploads of the cloth to
Barbary ; whereupon the King was as good as his word, and
took possession of the whole. We find Field in a similar
strait a few years later. 1 Field and a certain John Foxall
owned a fine ship of 750 tons, being worth, with freight
and furniture, no less than =7329. In 1575 this vessel
was at Cadiz, and Philip of Spain laid an embargo upon
it. The owners made several applications to the Queen,
who was prevailed upon to interest herself in the matter.
But Sir Henry Cobham, the English Ambassador, got
nothing but vain words for his pains ; and the merchants
pray the Queen " for Christe his sake to loke vppon the
robberye and spoile done vnto the said ffoxall and
fFeild," and to seize on any Spanish ships that were
handy by way of reprisal. 2 It can hardly be imagined
that a man who could venture thousands of pounds in a
single bottom would stoop to a petty fraud. This kind
of reasoning, however, so often proves false that it is
fortunate we are not left to conjecture, and what the
Trustees in truth did will be seen shortly.
One third part of Conduit Close, then, which at
that time was worth six or eight pounds a year, and
the Brownsover property, were left in trust to Field
and Harrison and their heirs; and they were directed
1 State Papers : Domestic, Elizabeth, vol. cxx. No. 6.
2 State Papers : Domestic, Elizabeth, vol. cvii. No. 73 ; March
11, 1575/6.
24 RUGBY SCHOOL
to build a fair and convenient school house adjoin-
ing the house which Lawrence Sheriffe had built, and
four meet and distinct lodgings for four poor men. For
this purpose a sum of fifty pounds was assigned under the
will. The School was to be free to the boys of Rugby
and Brownsover. The School built, an honest, discreet,
and learned man was to be appointed to teach a free
grammar-school there, and the same was, if possible,
ever to be a Master of Arts. The Mansion House, as
Sheriffe calls it, was granted him for his dwelling, free of
all charge, and the repairs of the premises were to be paid
out of the profits of the endowments. The Master was to
receive as his salary twelve pounds by the year ; and the
almsmen were to have each his lodging, with seven pence
by the week, to be weekly paid, for maintenance. These
expenses could not be covered by the rent of Conduit
Close ; and accordingly the property in Brownsover was
left to the same Trustees, and it was charged with a yearly
rent charge of ^16. 13s. 4d., to be paid to the uses of the
Trust. Bridget, a sister of Lawrence Sheriffe, and her
husband, John Howkins, were to be " farmers " or tenants
of Brownsover during their lifetime, and, after their death,
preference was to be given to one who should be of their
body, lawfully begotten, and after to any other. Besides
paying the rent of 16. 13s. 4d., the tenant was always
to keep the chancel of Brownsover chapel in repair (to
which he was bound as lay rector), and well and sufficiently
to repair the premises. It does not appear from the will
or the intent that the tenant of Brownsover was expected
EARLY DAYS 25
to pay anything more towards repairing the school build-
ings ; but at first they did so, and in after years the Master
claimed this as a right. The dispute about it caused much
ill-feeling on both sides.
Such was the original foundation of Rugby, which
the Founder desired to be called for ever the Free
School and Almshouses of Lawrence Sheriffe of London,
Grocer : a charitable foundation of the most complete
kind, providing, as it did, for the education of the
young, and the peace and quietude of those who were
old and needy. The School was, in the first place,
meant for the boys of Rugby and Brownsover, who were
to enjoy it free of all charge; and after them it might
be made available for others on such terms as should
appear convenient. The Almsmen of Lawrence Sheriffe
were to be chosen from the same two villages, two from
Rugby and two from Brownsover. No provision is made
for an increase in the value of the property, and most
likely the Founder did not conceive that it might ever in-
crease. That he intended the rents of Conduit Close, what-
ever they might be, to be entirely given to the charity,
seems probable ; but it is not so clear whether he intended
the same of Brownsover. That property, with tithes and
glebe lands, was worth more than the specified rent ; and to
one not learned in the ways of the law, it looks as though
this charge alone would still be exacted, had it not been
for the scandalous dishonesty of the tenants in later years.
Whatever be true of later years, little fault can be
found with Trustees or tenants in the time just following
26 RUGBY SCHOOL
on Lawrence Sheriffe's death. John and Bridget How-
kins were, so far as we know, prompt and honest in
paying of their rent ; and although reason will be shown
for believing that Howkins fell out with Field, yet this
did not make him go the length of keeping the rent
back. In the great lawsuit which we shall soon come
to, a younger John Howkins asserts that John and
Bridget enjoyed the Rectory during life "according to
the special limitations," 1 which were, as we have seen,
the payment of rent charge and repair of the premises.
This does not appear to have been denied by the other
side, so we may take it as true. It was when John and
Bridget died that the mischief began; the heirs of
Field and of Howkins came very near to thwarting the
good intent of the religious Founder. The Trustees
granted a lease to their son Anthony and his son John
(who died soon after) on the prescribed terms. The docu-
ment is an indenture dated January 20, 21 Elizabeth
(1578/9), 2 and holds good for fifty years after the death of
John and Bridget Howkins, but not unless one of the two
lessees lived for that time. After their death it was to be
void. Exact provision was made that if the rent fell into
arrears, or if repairs were not properly carried out, the
Trustees or their heirs should at once resume possession.
1 Trust Papers : No. 42, a loose sheet torn off one of the briefs.
2 Inquisition : Appendix. The John mentioned in Anthony's will
must have been another son, unless the Inquisition is wrong in
speaking of this John as dead in 1602. Another John Howkins,
barrister of the Middle Temple, appears in the Papers (No. 86, fol. 93).
He was in 1654 aged about 46, and was brother of Elias.
EARLY DAYS 27
After the death of Lawrence Sheriffe the Trustees
would seem to have lost no time in beginning to carry
out their trust. The buildings were not yet ready for
the School, but four poor men were immediately appointed
as almsmen, two being of Rugby and two of Brownsover.
These were placed for the time being in the Mansion
House. No fault can be found with the arrangement,
since there was as yet no schoolmaster to inhabit in it.
There is nothing to show that the Trustees meant to
ignore Lawrence Sheriffe's directions, or to leave the
almsmen permanently in that place. The next thing
was to build a big School, and this appears to have been
needlessly delayed. It was not until seven years after
the Founder's death that the School was ready. Mean-
while the rents of Brownsover had been paid to the
Trustees by John and Bridget Howkins, so that there
was available from the Trust Moneys the sum of
116. 13s. 4d. If we deduct 4%. 9s. 4d. for the alms-
men, a balance is left of ^71. 4s., besides the 50 allotted
for building by the Founder. At the Inquisition of
1602 it was declared that V1 of the Brownsover rent
was not used in the building, nor was the said sum of
50 so used. This statement implies that the remainder
was spent on building the School ; and as no accusation
is made with regard to the rent of Conduit Close, we
may fairly assume that this also was so applied. This
leaves a residue of 54*. 4s., without the 50, or the
rent from Conduit Close. This sum (if not more), which
was then worth about ten times its present value, was
28 RUGBY SCHOOL
the sum spent on the first big School of Rugby. We
can hardly hope to clear up the matter now, but it
should be borne in mind that these statements come
from the opponents. It is therefore quite possible that
the Schoolroom had more spent on it than this minimum.
However that may be, it was well and substantially built,
and for nearly two centuries survived the destructive
influences of time, poverty, and schoolboys.
Although George Harrison was still alive, he seems
to have had little influence in the affairs of the School,
which he left entirely in the hands of Barnard Field.
The duties of the Trustees were to receive the rents of
Brownsover, to appoint the Master and almsmen, and
to make all necessary payments ; but it is Field who
is always spoken of as doing whatever had to be done,
so I presume Harrison was content to let matters
slide.
The School now being complete, Field proceeded to
appoint a Master. No exact date is given for this first
appointment, but it is reasonable to assume that it was
made soon after the buildings were ready, that is to say,
in or about the year 1574. 1
It may be worth while to pause here a moment, and
try to imagine what Rugby was like in the sixteenth
century. There has been a hamlet on the site from time
immemorial, and a number of British barrows or beacons
in the neighbourhood show that it had some importance
1 There seems to be a mistake in the Inquisition : if Harrison be the
man here supposed, he was alive when Eolleston was appointed.
EARLY DAYS 29
long before the Conquest. One of these barrows is close
by the fork of the Bilton and Lawford Roads; and
another, in the School Close, is known as the Island. The
town is described in Domesday Book under the name of
Rocheburie, and it was known as Rokeby or Rookby 1
down to the period of which we now write. There used
to be a small Norman castle here, built probably in the
reign of Stephen, of which traces are said still to remain.
But if that town be happy which has no history, happy
indeed must Rugby have been during many centuries.
Although it was in the near neighbourhood of ancient
monastic houses, of great castles, and of a great religious
centre like Coventry, yet nothing seems ever to have
happened at Rugby until Lawrence Sheriffe founded his
School there. But if any trust is to be put in legend,
this quiet past will one day be amply atoned for by one
crowded hour of glorious life. Close by a great battle
is to be fought, in which three kings will take part,
while their horses are held by a miller having two thumbs
on one hand. Whether Lawrence Sheriffe had heard of
this Armageddon, we know not ; at all events, in his day
Rugby was still but a small village, much of a size with
Brownsover. In 166S, when the hearth money was im-
posed on householders, a hundred and sixty houses were
taxed in Rugby ; 2 in 1642 there were " nine score families "
in Rugby, Brownsover being perhaps included ; 3 in 1629,
1 Rookby and Rugby hardly differed in the pronunciation of the time.
2 History of Rugby, p. 77.
3 See petition of the inhabitants in Bloxam, Rugby, p. 35.
30 RUGBY SCHOOL
half a century after the Founders death, twenty burials
are entered in the parish register. 1 We may thus put
down Rugby as containing about one hundred houses in
the sixteenth century.
The town gathered about a central market-place,
from which spread four streets. One of these led east-
wards past the parish church, opposite to which, on the
other side of the road, stood the Mansion House of
Lawrence Sheriffe ; a second led towards Newbold; the
two others were the present High Street and Sheep Street.
These last ran into the Hillmorton Road, and enclosed
a triangle, which was probably then, as now, full of houses.
At the end of the High Street was a grange of the
monks of Pipewell, and perhaps on the site of the pre-
sent Schoolhouse stood a predecessor of that house, which
was afterwards bought for the School. Both these were
built on an enclosure of part of Rugby Field, the
village common. The market-place was an important
centre, not for the town only, but for the whole neigh-
bourhood. Here were held a number of fairs every year,
when the drovers and breeders brought in horse and
beast for sale. A cross stood in the centre, and not far
away were the stocks and the pillory, probably surrounded
by paving. Here, too, in all likelihood, was the cage for
exposing malefactors, painted in " Oyle and Colours." 2
A horse-pond occupied the site of the present elementary
school, near the church ; and in it or near it was a post
1 History of Rugby, p. 76.
2 So it was at a later date (History of Rugby, p. 56).
EARLY DAYS 31
to which the cucking-stool was attached. 1 To be ducked
in the stool was the punishment for shrewish wives ; and
the boys of the grammar school must often have been
amused by this spectacle. Rugby had also its butts for
shooting with the longbow, as ordained by statute of
Henry VIII. These existed for at least two centuries
after the Founder's day ; for in 1742 the town was fined
for a deficiency in some part of them. 2 Excepting the
school buildings, and one or two dwellings on the Hill-
morton Road, there were probably no houses of any size in
Rugby. The great majority were thatched cottages, lining
the four roads or streets just mentioned. Many such still
lend a picturesque aspect to the town, and it is quite likely
that some of these are as old as the sixteenth century.
The Mansion House 3 in which the schoolmaster dwelt
1 All these have long since disappeared, but an old cucking-stool
may still be seen at Warwick, and stocks at Dunchurch, Thurlaston,
and Lawford. The last person ducked at Eugby was a man who beat
his wife. The Kugby stocks were last used about 1865, and the victim
still lives, and is proud of his record.
2 History of Rugby, p. 55.
3 Most of the details which follow have been made out from a
laborious study of two bundles of papers, after reading which I feel
as if I could find my way about the Mansion House blindfold. They are
docketed " Vouchers, 1716 to 1747, and 1746 to 1766." These contain
the original bills for repairs done during the years specified, with a
few of older date (before 1667) : it is generally impossible to give a
more exact reference. I assume that no additions were made to the
house after Greenhill's mastership. None were made later than 1667,
when the regular accounts begin, except such as will be mentioned in
their place ; and if any were made between 1604 and 1667, I should
much like to know where the money came from. The reader will soon
be able to judge whether a master of Kugby School could indulge in
"lust of housing."
32 RUGBY SCHOOL
was a brick-and-timber tenement, of the kind familiar to
us in many an ancient farmstead or manor-house of that
age. It was of two storeys, one overhanging the other ; the
roof was thatched, and presented a view of large gables
and overhanging eaves; a lofty stack of chimneys rose
in the centre ; the windows were built with stanchions
and mullions, and were glazed in small leaded panes or
" quarreys." In front was a porch supported by pillars.
The house stood in its own ground, somewhat retired
from the street, and along the street ran a fence of
palings with double gates. On the east side were the
four sets of almsmen's rooms, each having a separate door
opening outwards. The front door opened upon a hall,
which was floored in oak and had an oak wainscot ;
massive oak beams were visible above it. On the ground
floor, opening out of the hall, were a "great parlour"
and a " small parlour," and probably the Master's study ;
two kitchens, a laundry, and a scullery, with various
rooms or cupboards for coals and stores, complete this
part of the house. Two cellars were dug beneath it.
On the upper floor there were a number of rooms, six at
least, and possibly nine. There were several out-houses
about it ; we find mention of two barns, 1 a brew-house, 2
and stables. A well supplied the establishment with
water, and a small garden was barred off by a thatched
wall of mud.
Behind this messuage was the School, described by one
who was taught in it as " a long, rather lofty room, built
1 Trustees' Books. 2 Plan, p. 107, below.
EARLY DAYS 33
with timber " ; l that is to say, transverse beams with brick
or lath and plaster between. It would be needless to say
that the building was not a wooden shanty, but that
the expression has been by some misunderstood. The
tons of lime used in after years to repair the walls must
settle the question for those who doubt. That the beams
were massive and strong, is clear, for they held out un-
touched to the last. This room, called the School (or,
after the founding of Elborow's, the Latin School), was
not built separate from the Schoolhouse, but as part of
it. Like the house, it had at this period a thatched roof.
Two doors gave access to it one opening outwards, and
called the " School End" or " Outward Door" ; the other
opening inwards, and called the "House End." The
School End faced towards the north, and was approached
by steps. It was closed by a massive oak door having
a lock and a latch. In front of it, or to the side, was
a yard which the boys used. There were several windows
in this long room, glazed, like those of the house, in small
leaded quarreys. In summer these were made beautiful
by wooden boxes full of flowers. Somewhere in the build-
ing, or adjoining it, was a small study. The School was
floored with wood, oak or elm ; and it contained a large
desk for the Master, two or more chairs, and benches for
the boys. There were also tables with drawers in them.
The roof was probably open, as no ceiling is ever men-
tioned, and above were a number of massive oak beams.
Such in the main were the buildings of the first Rugby
1 Gentleman's Magazine, Sept. 1809.
34 RUGBY SCHOOL
School, when the builder had done with them ; and such
they remained for nearly two hundred years. Except for
the spacious Schoolhouse, the buildings differed but little
from those of many another country grammar school. The
appearance of the Big School may be realised by those who
have seen the Grammar School at Stratford-on-Avon, which
is built in just the same style as Lawrence SherifFe's, but
on a larger scale. And here, in or about the year 1574,
the first Master of Rugby School began his duties.
The first Master of Rugby School was Edward Rol-
ston, 1 of Christ's College, Cambridge, who had taken his
Bachelor's degree in the year of the Founder's death, and
proceeded M.A. in 1572. The Mansion House was given
him for his abode, but not the whole of it. The four
almsmen, it will be remembered, had their rooms in the
Mansion House, and no meet and distinct lodgings had
been built for them. This arrangement was clearly most
awkward, especially if there should happen to be boys
boarding in the house. Something was done, however,
to smooth matters. The doors of the almsmen's rooms,
which opened inwards, were blocked up, and new doors
opened upon the air on the east side of the Mansion
House. Partitions were put up within them, and a
separate chimney was built for each set. By this arrange-
ment each of the four poor men had a pair of rooms to
1 Spelt also Koleston and Kolleston (I adopt the spelling of the
Registers at Cambridge) : B.A., 1567/8 ; M.A., 1572. Two other Rol-
stons occur in the Christ's College Register, who are probably akin to
him: William, B.A., 1598/9; and Richard, B.A., 1604/5. Edward Rolston
was born at Wemswood, Leics., and ordained deacon in London, Apr.
1579, aged 33. London Diocesan Registry.
EARLY DAYS 35
himself, one over the other. Thus, like a happy family,
the recipients of the Trust lived together under one roof
quietly and without interruption for many years.
Of Edward Rolston as Master I have been able to
find out nothing, good or bad. He held the post for six
years or so, and then he disappeared, whether by death
or resignation I know not. The next Master was one
Richard Scale, 1 of Trinity College, Oxford, a Warwick-
shire man, and then some five-and-twenty years old. He
was appointed by Barnard Field about the year 1580, but
his tenure came to an abrupt end in a most unpleasant
manner. In a word, he was summarily ejected from his
post, and another man placed in his stead. What reasons
there may have been for this we shall presently consider ;
but first let us express our gratitude to that fickle jade
Fortune, who has preserved to us a document describing
the event. This is a petition now in the Record Office, 2
presented by some inhabitants of Rugby before the
Queen's most honourable Privy Council, against one
Edward Boughton, of Cawston, in the county of War-
wick, Esquire. This personage, who was a man of much
influence in the county, was a friend of Robert, Earl of
Leicester, and by his aid a few years later 3 was enabled
1 Kichard Seale, co. Warwick, Trinity College, matriculated Nov. 11,
1574, aged 19, "serviens Mri. Sanforde"; B.A., March 5, 1577/8
(Alumni Oxonienses}. There is a will of a Richard Seele in Somerset
House, who died in 1590 (Book Sainberbe, fol. 14). He describes himself
as a husbandman, and has a son Richard ; but he is of Wiltshire.
2 State Papers : Domestic, Elizabeth, vol. cxlvi. No. 65.
3 In 1585. He died in 1589. M. H. Bloxam, from whom I take these
details of Boughton's life (Rugly, p. 25), identifies the person named
36 RUGBY SCHOOL
to pull down the White Friars 1 Church in Coventry, and
with the materials to build up a magnificent mansion at
Cawston. Boughton is accused of many and varied mal-
practices, and the petitioners are too angry to be con-
sistent. Not only is he a " favorer of notorious papistes,"
and " ioyned in league with them," but he is at the same
time an "obstinate Puritane," despising the orders of
Parliament, setting up and maintaining new fasts, new
service, and such other like singular devices. Clearly the
petitioners thought they had only to throw mud enough
and some would be sure to stick. Nor does this exhaust
the catalogue of the monster's crimes. He was withal a
" packer of Juryes, to the pervertinge of justice and
equitie," and opprest his poor neighbours, by tyranny
and power making them " to stoupe vnto him in all
purposes, and if theie will not, troublethe them to their
vndoings ; as of late by indictinge at Warwick, and fetch-
inge vpp to the Starr Chamber, or otherwise vexinge and
molestinge, an hundred weomen and childrenn, or theare
aboute, in the parish of Rugby." But the important part
of this paper is yet to come. Boughton was a " boulsterer
and mayntayner of evell men and of evell causes," chief of
which evil men was one Nicholas Greenhill ; and the cause
of his vexing and molesting his neighbours in Rugby
was, that they " did not favour him in placing " a certain
person, called by a foul name, " to be scoolemaster theare."
in the petition with Edward Boughton, the son, of whom more anon.
The mistake was natural before the discovery of the Inquisition of
1602, but much to be regretted, since it has thrown all dates twenty
years wrong in the early history of the School.
EARLY DAYS 37
As the indicting of an hundred women and children, or
thereabout, had not the desired effect, Boughton took the
law into his own hands ; and, in the words of the petition,
" he him selfe, with divers others in his companie, riot-
ouslye and contrary to iustice, made a forcible entrie into
the scoole of Rugby, and from thence removed with strong
hande and displaced one Richard Seele, being quietlie
possessed of the same for the space of eighteene monethes
before." That must have been a happy day for the boys
of Rugby School.
But there are two sides to every question, and luckily
we are not without knowledge of the other side in this.
The petitioners foolishly blurt out the secret when they
say that he is in league with notorious Papists, and
" namelie, with one Barnard ffeilde." They are so angry
that they do not see how damaging such an admission
is to their cause. Barnard Field was none other than
one of Lawrence Sheriffe's trustees, who alone had the
right to appoint a Master in Rugby School; and I
strongly suspect that Seale had done something which
made it necessary to remove him. There is no need to
suppose that any of the scandalous offences urged against
Greenhill and Boughton 1 were true of Seale; we need
only assume that he neglected his duty, or proved disloyal
to Field in some way. It is not difficult to guess who is
behind this petition. The hand may be the hand of a
hundred women and children, but the voice is the voice
1 These it is unnecessary to repeat ; but those who wish to see what
they were, can easily consult the original.
38 RUGBY SCHOOL
of Howkins. In fact, we see here the beginning of that
dishonesty and greed which brought so much distress
upon Rugby and its Masters, and finally lost to the
Howkins family all interest in their kinsman's bequest.
By this time I imagine John Howkins and Bridget to
be dead ; l for their son Anthony, as we have said, took
possession of the property in 1579. I conceive that this
Anthony was probably the moving spirit in the petition.
Now, since Scale was a Warwickshire man, he may have
been an old friend of the Howkins family ; and even if
he were not so, he may have entered into some kind of
collusion with the tenant of Brownsover, whereby the Trust
was like to suffer. This would have been a sufficient
reason for Barnard Field to interfere. But whatever the
reason really was, the Trustees, and they alone, had any
right to appoint or displace, and did displace, Richard
Scale, the schoolmaster. 2 As a matter of fact, Field did
appoint Nicholas Greenhill to be schoolmaster at Michael-
mas 1581 ; 3 and as Scale is stated by the petitioners to
have been in his post for eighteen months previously, and
as this statement, if not true, is sure to be over the truth,
the appointment of Scale may be placed in 1580.
Boughton's share in the matter has yet to be explained,
but that is not difficult. Field lived in London, a long
journey in those days ; he had business of his own, and
1 I have not succeeded in finding their wills.
2 It is a curious coincidence that the two copies of Sheriffe's Will
and Intent, which are preserved among the Trust Papers at Kugby,
were made about this time. See Appendix.
3 See Appendix B.
EARLY DAYS 39
perhaps was concerned with other grievances against
Philip of Spain or the Sultan of Barbary. What more
natural than to put the affair into the hands of a power-
ful magnate of the county, and one who, as we have seen,
was his own friend ? Boughton was certainly high-handed
in his proceedings ; but if Scale would not go, the strong
hand may well have seemed better than the law's delay.
It was open to Seale, if he felt himself aggrieved, to call
in the law on his own part ; but there is nothing to show
that he ever did so. 1 Moreover, if he did prosecute, his
suit must have failed, for Greenhill remained in possession
for four-and-twenty years.
But Barnard Field, once bit, was twice shy, and deter-
mined to provide against a repetition of the late difficulty.
Nicholas Greenhill was appointed on a three years 1 pro-
bation, after which he was to be and continue schoolmaster
there during his life, if there should be no just cause given
by him to the contrary. Field allowed him four pounds
a year out of the rent of Conduit Close, over and above
the twelve pounds paid him from the rents of Brownsover.
Thus the Master received a larger salary than that assigned
by Lawrence Sheriife, and we see in this act reason to
think that Field meant honestly by the Trust. An extra
allowance of 34s. 8d. was also given to the almsmen, to
bring up their money to 7d. a week each. 2
1 I have searched the catalogues of proceedings in Chancery for his
name, but without success.
2 Chancery Bills and Answers, D. 13, 15, in the Record Office. See
Rugby in the Index Locorum to James I. This document likewise con-
firms the payment of 4 to the Master.
40 RUGBY SCHOOL
In this same year 1581, Field had given a lease of
Conduit Close for forty-eight years to Robert Carre, 1 at a
yearly rental of eight pounds. What became of the resi-
due does not appear, but it may have been expended in
repairs. No one ever accused Field of misappropriating
this money, as would have been likely if he had so done ;
it is therefore probable that he used it for the purposes
of the Trust. The case against him is more serious if it
be true, as stated in a petition drawn up half a century
later, 2 that the land was then worth twenty pounds by
the year at least. If this were so, Field cannot be
acquitted of disloyalty to his Trust, whether or not he
received a money fine on allotting the lease. But the
statement comes from the other side, and is probably
exaggerated. In any case, this alone is not sufficient to
condemn him. The only distinct fault that can be found
is, that he made no arrangements for building separate
rooms for the almsmen. It is, however, probable that he
died soon after the appointment of Greenhill. In any
case, that his death was not long delayed is clear, for the
following reasons. Conduit Close was inherited by his
only daughter, Elizabeth, 8 then unmarried. Elizabeth
afterwards married John Dakyn, and in 1600 (Nov. 20,
42 Eliz.) their son Barnard was old enough to convey
the same to a certain John Vincent. Barnard Dakyn
must have been a precocious youngster if Field lived to
1 Carre was evidently a friend ; he signs Mrs. Harrison's will as
witness.
2 Trust Papers, No. 72, fol. 12.
3 Trust Papers, No. 72, fol. 9.
EARLY DAYS 41
the end of the sixteenth century, or anywhere near it.
But George Harrison died at the end of 1582 or early in
1583, 1 and Field survived him. Field's death must there-
fore be placed not earlier than 1583, and it cannot have
been much later. That 1583 is the actual date is made
practically certain by the Books of the Grocers' Company.
In these Barnard Field appears as paying the brotherhood
money regularly each year up to July 1582, and then the
payment ceases. Field's death must therefore have fol-
lowed close upon Harrison's. At all events, the Alms-
houses were not built, and the four poor men continued
to dwell in their rooms, cut off from the Master's house.
Of Nicholas Greenhill, thus appointed schoolmaster
by Field, and instituted by the strong hand of Edward
Boughton, I have little to tell. He has hitherto been
identified with a namesake who appears in the Oxford
Register as matriculating in 1598, and died " periwigged
with snow" in 1650 ; but at the time of the first Green-
hill's appointment to Rugby, the second was an infant
of one year old. Nor was the younger man son of the
1 His will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury,
February 22, 1582/3. The identity of this George Harrison is not
beyond doubt, since the Inquisition says that he died before the
appointment of Kolston. But the coincidences are so many as to
make the identity of the two George Harrisons all but certain. These
are that both are described as "gentlemen"; that both lived in
London, and the Harrison of the will lived close to Lawrence Sheriffe,
and close to the property ; that neither has heirs of his body lawfully
begotten ; that the name of Kobert Carre occurs in Mrs. Harrison's
will in 1584, and as the lessee of the property in 1581. Further, the
Inquisition of 1602 states that Harrison died later than 1579.
Field's will I have been unable to find, either in the ordinary London
courts or in the Bishops' Books of London.
42 RUGBY SCHOOL
elder, unless his unnatural father cut him off without a
shilling. The Rugbeian Greenhill had an abundance of
sisters and daughters, nephews and nieces, but no sons. 1
It is strange if there should have been two Nicholas Green-
hills, both scholars, both clergymen, and so close together
in time, yet not related, and I am therefore inclined to
think that the Greenhill already known was a son of
William Greenhill, the brother of Nicholas. 2 In his will
Nicholas describes himself as "of Rugby, alias Rokeby,
Clerk " ; he was perhaps a Master of Arts for that reason,
as well as because the Master of Rugby was always to be
so if possible. He is also spoken of as Mr. Nicholas
Greenhill, but this was many years after his death. 3 No
record of him exists, however, in the University Registers
of Oxford or Cambridge. Of his career as a schoolmaster
I know one thing only, that he educated John Howkins, 4
and thereby nourished a snake in his bosom. This
John Howkins was the third or fourth son of Anthony
Howkins, and grandson of the John who married Bridget
Sheriffe. 5 He became a barrister of the Middle Temple,
and lived at South Minis, in Middlesex. He died
possessed of considerable wealth, and of a coat of arms. 6
Born just before the appointment of Greenhill, he spent
1 See his will in Somerset House, Book Harte, fol. 100. The date is
Jan. 2, 1603/4 ; proved May 9, 1604.
2 Mentioned in the will. One of the family was named Nicholas
after him ; why not another ?
3 Papers, No. 72, fol. 18.
4 Trust Papers : Depositions, No. 86, fol. 150 ; 100A, fol. 8.
5 Will of Anthony Howkins ; original at Eugby (Trust Papers).
6 Bloxam, Rugby, p. 23.
EARLY DAYS 43
" several years " under his tuition, and it does not appear
that he had any other. It follows that Rugby School,
unpretentious though it was, could then educate a gentle-
man well enough for the learned professions.
Greenhill seems himself to have been a man of con-
siderable wealth for those days, or else he made more money
by the School than might have been looked for. In his
will he disposes of a couple of hundred pounds in legacies.
Moreover, he spent some money on additions to the School-
house, made necessary, doubtless, by the presence of the
almsmen in it. He built out at the back several new
rooms at his own proper costs and charges, which lasted
until they were accidentally destroyed by fire about 1654.
So at least deposes his ungrateful pupil John Howkins, 1
who adds that the Master repaired all the premises at his
own expense. Greenhill also fitted up the hall with
wainscot, and made a number of cupboards, and did other
things for the improvement of the place. He married
Elizabeth Fitzherbert, a widow, of Coventry. In one of
the Chancery petitions, 2 " Nicholas Greenhill, of Rookebie,
in the County of Warwick, scholemaster of the free gram-
mar schole there," supplicates the Lord Chancellor (Sir
Thomas Bromley) against John Emerston, whose sister
Greenhill had married. Emerston, being of a " gredie and
covetous minde and disposition," had refused to pay up a
sum of forty pounds which Greenhill laid claim to.
During the latter years of GreenhilPs mastership
1 Trust Papers, No. 100A, fol. 8.
3 Chancery Proceedings : Elizabeth, Gg. 13, No. 7. Date not given.
44 RUGBY SCHOOL
things began to look dark, and there were heard as it
were thunderclaps prophetic of the coming storm. Field
was dead, and Conduit Close had come into the hands of
Barnard Dakyn, as already related. About the year 1598
Dakyn discontinued the payment of four pounds to the
schoolmaster, 1 and refused to pay the almsmen. Upon
this Greenhill instituted a suit in Chancery against him.
Dakyn went even further, and " unconscionably sold away
the land from the school and almshouse " ; in other words,
on November 20, 1600, he conveyed the third part of
Conduit Close to John Vincent. The Chancery suit
dragged on for a long time, until Anthony Howkins
stepped in, and sued out a Commission to sit upon that
case. This was done " contrary to the liking " of Nicholas
Greenhill ; and thus the action which was to result in the
victory of the Trust and the discomfiture of its enemies
was due to one of those enemies themselves. GreenhilPs
suit was now stopped by a special order of the Lord
Keeper, and in 1602 issued forth the first Commission
under the Statute of Charitable Uses.
With the results of this first Commission we shall deal
in the next chapter; but it will be convenient here to
follow GreenhilPs mastership to the end. He survived the
Commission by only two years, and died in the first half
of 1604. 2 By his last will and testament he bequeathed
to the School where he had taught so long, "all the
1 Inquisition of 1602. See Appendix B : " Until about three years
and a half last past," the money was paid.
2 He is clearly stated to have held the Mastership till his death.
See Trust Papers, No. 72, fol. 18, et al.
EARLY DAYS 45
wainescots, cubbordes, and keyes in the hall, with all the
glasse and dores about the house, there to remain to the
use of the said Schole." With this last token of affection
his shadowy figure disappears.
Before closing this chapter in the school history, I
wish to say a word of the conduct of Field, the first
active Trustee of Rugby School. Hitherto he has been
severely blamed as being false to his trust, and as using
the moneys and lands of the Trust to his own profit and
gain. But I think that no one can read what has gone
before without seeing that there is no real ground for
this grave charge. Neither he nor Harrison can be
absolved on the evidence from carelessness; though it is
possible that did we know all, this imputation would like-
wise prove to be undeserved. What evidence there is
comes from Field's enemies, so far as the deponents 1 names
are known, 1 and we are therefore bound to assume he
was at least no worse than they assert him to be. His
delay in building the School, his neglect in not building
the Almshouses, his omission to choose a fit and proper
trustee to succeed him, instead of leaving the property
to the heirs of his body all these things go to show that
he might have done more in the trust committed to him.
Nor is there evidence to show that he ever visited the
School to see that all was going on well. On the other
hand, his action in Scale's case, and in the stipulation for
three years 1 trial of the next Master, proves that he did
1 Unfortunately the depositions made at the Inquisition of 1602 are
not in the Kecord Office, so far as can be discovered.
46 RUGBY SCHOOL
something to ensure the proper behaviour of his nominees.
Be it also remembered that London was a long journey
from Rugby, and that Field had other and weighty
concerns on his hands. Again, he is proved to have
spent the greater part of the rents of the Conduit Close
share in the proper way ; and though he did not so spend
it all, yet he may really have thought that it was not
intended by Lawrence Sheriffe that the whole should be
so spent. The Founder's intention certainly seems to
have been to impose a fixed rent-charge on Brownsover,
and perhaps also on Conduit Close. On the whole, then,
the graver charge breaks down, while the lesser -is perhaps
capable of explanation; and it is well that this tardy
reparation can be made to one whose memory has long
been branded with an undeserved stigma.
Ill
THE FIRST TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS
AUGUSTINE ROLFE, M.A. (?)l604-(?)l625 1 WILGENT GREENE,
B.A., (?)1 625-1641 EDWARD CLERKE, MA., 1641
RAPHAEL PEARCE, MA., 1641-1 651.
WE have now followed the School through its early years,
and seen it settling down after one shock into what might
seem likely to be a useful if quiet existence. But the
evils which might have been expected from the mode of
endowment have already begun to appear, and these are
destined in the next fifty years to make head in such a
way as to threaten the very existence of Rugby School.
It is indeed a p'eriod of storm and stress which we now
enter upon, and marvellous it is how the School ever
survived it.
Sometime in the last few years of the sixteenth
century, Nicholas Greenhill, as we have seen, brought an
action for recovery of certain moneys which were being
unlawfully kept back by the heir of Lawrence Sheriffe's
Trustees. This heir, Barnard Dakyn, was evidently a
headstrong youth who would stick at nothing; and not
deterred by the suit, he actually sold the school share
1 For the date 1625, see below.
47
48 RUGBY SCHOOL
of Conduit Close in the year 1600 to John Vincent for
1%0, a little more than the Founder gave for it. It
appears that John Vincent died in 1602, 1 leaving the
property to his wife Rose (who afterwards married Roger
Wood), and in reversion to her infant daughters Phila-
delphia and Anne. Meanwhile, Anthony Howkins got
a Commission in Chancery appointed, thinking no doubt
that he would settle the Master's troublesome claims once
and for all. This was in the next year after the passing
of an Act called the Statute for Charitable Uses, which
became law on October 27, 1601. The Commission, ap-
pointed under the Great Seal of England in May 1602,
held an Inquisition at Rugby the September following ; 2
and it is to the document which records the finding of
this Inquisition we owe most of our knowledge of the
early history of Rugby School. 3 The result of this In-
quisition was a complete remodelling of the Trust, which
was placed on a basis which ought to have been firm.
The vice of the previous arrangement having been clearly
shown, all the school property was vested in a body of
twelve Trustees or Feoffees, 4 who were thereby duly
appointed. Those chosen were men of standing and re-
pute, and thus provision was made for avoiding a repeti-
tion of the late frauds. Lest by the death of these in
succession one man should again get the whole property
into his hands, it was provided that when any three
1 Trust Papers, No. 72, fol. 10. See tables in Appendix.
2 Trust Papers, No. 72.
3 See Appendix. Copy of Decree : Trust Papers, No. 76.
4 The list given in the Rugby Register, vol. i. p. vii., is correct.
TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS 49
vacancies should have occurred, they should be filled up
forthwith by co-opting, and that a new deed of feofftnent
should be drawn up conveying the property to the whole
body thus constituted. All the new Trustees were gentle-
men of the county of Warwick; one of them, Richard
Neale, lived in Rugby, and another, James Willington,
was of Brownsover. Among the names we find that of
John Leigh, Esq., son of Sir Thomas Leigh, of Stone-
leigh ; and this family is still connected in the same way
with Rugby School in the person of Lord Leigh, Chair-
man of the Trustees. Ever since this date of 1602, a
few years only being excepted, a Leigh has been among
the Trustees or Governors of Rugby School.
The Commission went on to confirm Nicholas Green-
hill as Master, and to decree that those who were then
almsmen in possession should so remain for their lives, on
condition of good behaviour. The schoolmaster's salary
was to be for the future sixteen pounds. Of this the
tenants of Brownsover were to pay twelve pounds,
with six shillings and eightpence for repairs; and five-
pence a week was to be paid to the almsmen. The
Howkinses were to continue as farmers of Brownsover,
paying the rent of 16. 13s. 4d., fixed by Lawrence
SherifFe, which exactly covers the allowances here specified.
The remainder was to be paid out of the rents of Conduit
Close, together with twopence a week more to the alms-
men, making sevenpence in all. The sale made to Vincent
was annulled, and Dakyn was ordered to repay the pur-
chase money to his heirs. Any surplus, together with
50 RUGBY SCHOOL
the sums of ^50 and Yl above mentioned, was to be
used in building new almshouses. This done, any further
surplus was to be used for repairs, and for augmenting
the allowances of the Master and the almsmen. It
should be mentioned that the Inquisition found Conduit
Close to be worth at least 20 a year, though leased for
8. Perhaps a remark about digging for clay and
gravel, which is to be seen in a later document, 1 may
help to explain this increase in value.
As regards the buildings, the Schoolhouse was found
to be in good repair; but not so the Almshouses, which
were ruinous. The reader will recollect that there were
no separate lodgings for the almsmen as yet ; and it was
decreed
That the said ffoure poore Almesmen should dwell in the
houses and lodgings as they then did, till such time as other
houses and lodgings should be builded or provided for them
according to that Order, and after that, then the Schoole-
master for the time being to have the same House wholly :
and until some new and convenient provision of houses
should be made for the said ffoure poore Almesmen accord-
ing to the Intent of the said Lawrence Sheriffe, the same
ffoure Almesmen not to be put out of the said houses then
used as Almeshouses, in noe wise. 2
This looks excellent on paper ; but one small neglect
spoilt the whole nothing was said in the decree as to
the Trustees' meeting at fixed intervals. Consequently
1 Trust Papers, No. 72, fol. 36.
2 Trust Papers, No. 72, fol. 12, quoted from Decree, fol. 13,
TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS 51
they appear to have neglected their trust; at least so I
gather from the fact that Vincent's wife refused to pay
her part of the rent, and claimed the full possession of
Conduit Close by right of inheritance. She denied that
she had been given notice of the Inquisition, notwith-
standing that she was interested in it ; and it was even
asserted that Vincent when he bought the land was not
aware of the conditions of the Trust. The last statement
was false, 1 but there may have been some truth in the
other, although that too is denied by the other side. 2
However, Rose Wood (as she was now called) succeeded
in persuading the Court of Chancery that she had just
cause of complaint ; and a new Commission was ordered.
Meanwhile the Masters had not been idle. Between
1602 and^!604, 3 Nicholas Greenhill continued to do all
he could to get Dakyn to pay his dues. As a counter-
buffet Dakyn filed a bill in Chancery against Greenhill
and Richard Neale, "two of the defendants" (the Com-
mission of 1602 was sued out, it will be remembered, by
Anthony Howkins). GreenhilPs reply states that Dakyn
had "detained the wages" of himself and the almsmen,
and specified the causes of complaint. After the death
of Greenhill, Augustine Rolfe was appointed Master, and
he continued the suit against Dakyn. But the man still
proved obdurate, and nothing could be done. We may
1 Inquisition ut supra; Nicholas Greenhill's Answer to Barnard
Dakyn.
2 By Nicholas Greenhill.
3 Chancery Sills and Answers, James I., D. 13, 15. The date must
be 1603 or 1604, for obvious reasons.
52 RUGBY SCHOOL
well ask what the Trustees were doing all this time. It
is clear that they, or some of them, instituted proceedings
in or soon after the year 1602 ; for Richard Neale, " one
of the defendants," was also one of the Trustees. But it
is equally clear that they cannot have taken a very keen
interest in the business; otherwise, with the support of
men of influence, Rugby School must have come better out
of it. Even the law would hardly delay a dozen years to
enforce its own decrees. However, matters were at last
brought to a head in 1612, when Rolfe got a writ de
executione against Barnard Dakyn. But now Rose Wood
succeeded in getting the second Commission appointed.
This Commission, allowing the plaintiff's plea, annulled
the decree of the first, and the whole business was done
over again in 1614 at Hixhall, or Hicks Hall, in Middle-
sex. 1 But Rose found that a Commission has its thorns,
for in the end it confirmed the decree of 1602. Now
Rose, whom we can hardly pity, found herself saddled
with arrears and costs, as well as with all the obligations
she had hoped to escape. Not only had she to pay
35. 10s. in arrears of the rent due for the years 1600-2,
but rent from 1602 onwards at the rate of %Q a year.
The schoolmaster was to have d24. 10s. 8d., and the
almsmen fourpence per week, besides the fivepence from
Brownsover; and for the future, repairs of the school
premises were to be paid for by the Master for the time
being. At the same time, a new body of twelve Trustees
1 Trust Papers, No. 72; also in Kecord Office (Charitable Uses, War-
wickshire; Inquisitions, Bundle 6, No. 1). 12. 10s. 8d. from Conduit
Close only.
TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS 53
was appointed, containing several of the old names. As
nothing is said here of building almshouses, it is to be
gathered that separate lodgings were built as decreed
after 1602.
Augustine Rolfe, or Rolph, who has been mentioned
as fourth Master of Rugby School, will probably have
been appointed by the Trustees when Greenhill died in
] 604. They were new brooms then, and doubtless swept
a clean corner. No record exists of his appointment,
however, nor of his scholastic career, nor of the date of
his death. That he died at his post is to be inferred
from the document so often quoted; 1 and if his will
should ever turn up, 2 this would settle the date of his
end and the next appointment. I know of him only that
he was of Queen's College, Cambridge, that he took his
Master's degree in 1595, 3 and that he was incorporated at
Oxford in 1599. 4 In the next generation another Augus-
tine Rolfe makes his appearance at Queen's, 5 and it is
surely not improbable that this was the son of the first.
If so, he was probably educated at his father's school.
At this period Rugby was sending boys to the Univer-
sities, as we see from the entry of George Isham, 6 at Sidney
1 No. 72 ; see Appendix.
2 I have searched the chief Somerset House Kegisters for it in vain.
3 Cambridge University Register. 4 Alumni Oxonienses.
5 Queen's College : matriculated as a Sizar, July 13, 1628 ; B.A., 1631 ;
M.A., 1635.
6 Registers : 1621. Georgyis Isham natus Bugbruckiae in Comitatu
Northamptoniensi filius Gregorij Isham de Barby in eodem Com: Armi-
geri, Rugbiae in Comitatu Warwicensi in communi schola sub Augus-
tino Rolfe Artium M ro per triennium plus minus Litteris Grammaticis
54 RUGBY SCHOOL
Sussex College, Cambridge. The entry, which is given
below, proves Rolfe to have been living in 1621, and
another entry of the same register shows his successor in
office a few years later. Isham, it will be seen, came from
Barby, and was therefore not on the foundation. It is
more likely that he boarded with Rolfe than that he
walked or rode in to school every day, but nothing can be
said with certainty of that. Isham is the first Rugbeian
who is proved by direct evidence to have proceeded to
either University.
About the year 1612 another enemy of Rugby School
appeared. This was Edward Boughton, son of the Edward
Boughton who gave the boys of Rugby a pleasant enter-
tainment thirty years before. Perhaps emboldened by the
success of the Vincent brood, Boughton cast a covetous
eye on the tithes and glebe land of Brownsover. The
tenant was then Anthony Howkins, the son of Bridget
and John, and he consented to alienate the tithes and a
portion of the glebe land for a yearly payment of %8.
17s. 6d. According to Howkins 1 own account, 1 Boughton
was even more high-handed than his father. He sent a
man to survey the land and to mark out the portion he
wanted ; he anticipated no difficulty, being a man " of
institutus, adolescens annorum 19 admissus est pensionarius minor
Jun. 30. Tutore et fideiussore M ro Ki. Danford S. Theologiae bacca-
laureo Solvitqwe pro ingressu v s .
1 Chancery Bills and Answers, Charles I., R. 45, No. 62 ; Nov. 1632-
This gives a detailed account of the transaction, with names. Another,
given in Trust Papers, Nos. 91 and 100A (evidence taken on oath), bears
this out as far as it goes, but it is less full. See also his will (original
at Rugby).
TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS 55
great worth, power, and command in the said county of
Warwick " (his friends call him also " well beloved,"" but
we take that with a grain). Poor Anthony was eighty
years old at the time, " very lame and of a weak under-
standing, and had no friends present at the measuring
thereof ; " all he could do was to write and beg Boughton
to do no wrong to him or the charity. He adds that he
besought the great man to wait until his son came from
London, but Boughton persuaded him it was needless.
Boughton also gave Mrs. Howkins " five pounds and many
good words " for Howkins to sign the necessary document.
But they would not let him examine it, and Howkins now
began to fight shy. Upon this Boughton and some of
his friends determined upon a surprise. He " and other
of his subtil company " entered the house of Anthony on
a sudden, and forced or frightened him into lending his
hand and seal to the deed, which they then carried off,
leaving him "full of doubts and fears." Anthony now
"in very much discontent complained that he was sur-
prised and abused by the said Edward Boughton," and
demanded a copy of the deed, or he would not alienate
the tithes. Whereat Boughton, " in great fury and out-
rage, with his said tenants and confederates, came again
to the said farmer's house, threatening to lay him in
prison, and not leave him worth a groat." He also seized
cattle and sheep belonging to Anthony, and did so much
to annoy him that the unlucky old man gave way for
the sake of peace and quiet. Thus, he says plaintively,
Boughton " circumvented and entrapped your poor
56 RUGBY SCHOOL
orator." There is some reason for thinking that An-
thony was not so coy as he would have us believe; still
there is little doubt that he was coerced into doing this
wrong. Man v years afterwards a later body of Trustees
found oat what had been done, and called upon Bough-
ton's heir for reparation ; * but it does not appear that
the Trustees at the time made any kind of protest. Pro-
bably they never even heard of the fraud ; and so far
did thev carry their laxity, that Anthony, Elias his son,
and William his grandson, all enjoyed the use of the
Brownsover property without taking any lease from the
Trustees. 1 Not only so, bat Anthony in his will entailed
the Brownsover property on his male descendants for
ever, according to the custom of primogeniture ; and the
Conduit Close third part he left to his son John, as
though the whole property were his own.
We now return to the fortunes of the Rugby School
case. Will it be believed that, after all the evidence
given before the first Commission as to the value of
Conduit Close, the Trustees in 1614 proceeded to assign
a lease of it for a rental of ten pounds only? Indeed
so they did; 3 and the fortunate lessee, Henry Clarke,
of WhrtechapeL having obtained this lease for forty
years, promptly transferred it to the previous tenant,
Rose Wood, who doubtless paid him a handsome fine
for the privilege, as did a later lessee on Clarke's lease. 4
, Order of Aogut 7, 1753.
* Trot Pepfn, Xo. 19, et aL One lease, burtq, was granted to
Anthony, which copiied in 1638/9 (p. 26).
No. 72, foL 26, 27. * No. SO, foL 21.
TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS 57
There is no evidence that the Trustees took further
trouble about the charity, but all the evidence these is
points to the contrary. Whereas it was their duty to
receive the rents and make disbursements, we find this
being done by others. Towards the end of RohVs reign
the Howkinses paid their twelve pounds to the Master
direct, and this practice continued for twenty years or
more. Witnesses before the third Commission deposed
to having seen a regular book of accounts kept by Ehas
Howkins, in which Rolfe and his two next successors had
written their receipts for three pounds a quarter. 1 For
some years previous to 1628, John Howkins, a son of
Anthony, was considered as the owner of Conduit Close,
and paid ten pounds a year to Anthony. 1 What he did
with it does not appear, nor m it dear in what relation
John stood to the tenants of that property afterwards.
Rose Wood seems to have bowed to the inevitable, paid
up her arrears, and continued to pay the rent of ten
pounds, though doubtless with a bad grace. So things
to mm tiheraoi
ledged for good
id
58 RUGBY SCHOOL
went on for a few years longer, until the death of Rolfe
brought a new actor on the scene.
The Master who next followed Rolfe bore the remark-
able name of Wilgent Greene. 1 He is described in the
Oxford books as a " gentleman,' 1 and matriculated from
Oriel College. In 1616 he proceeded B.A., but there is no
record of his having taken a Master's degree. He seems
to have lost no time in lodging a complaint against the
lease of Henry Clarke, as being an injury to the Trust,
pointing out that the Trust was suffering from the neglect
of the Trustees. We may infer that the complaint was
not immediately settled, not only from the universal
experience of mankind, but because he found it prudent
to make a private agreement with Rose Wood. The law
and the lady together seem to have been too much for
poor Greene, and he in a weak moment consented to
accept five pounds more by the year, making fifteen
pounds in all. Greene, of course, had no right whatever
to do this, but it was not his fault. The Trustees must
be held responsible, both for this and for the misfortunes
of the succeeding years. The court agreed to the com-
promise, and ordained that on these terms Rose Wood
should enjoy the tenancy during her life. This was in
1633, 2 which bears out the supposition that Greene was
appointed shortly before that date.
Notwithstanding the vexations of legal proceedings
1 Alumni Oxonienses, s.v. For the date of his appointment, see
below, p. 59.
2 May 1, 8 Car. : Trust Papers, No. 72, fol. 31.
TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS 59
and the neglect of the Trustees, Rugby School continued
to do its appointed task. Greene's predecessors, with one
notable exception, appear to have been men discreet and
learned enough ; and Greene himself was no less so. During
his Mastership there is record of four Rugbeians at Cam-
bridge. The first of these is Edward Sclater, 1 who entered
at Sidney in 1629. From this entry we can make a rough
calculation as to the date of Greene's appointment. Sclater
is said to have been one year under Greene at the " public
School of Rugby," and afterwards to have been taught
at home per annos aliquot. The phrase can hardly mean
less than three, so we get 1625 as the latest date possible
for Greene's coming to Rugby. In 1634, Thomas Bletsoe 2
entered from the school at St. John's, and Richard Hal-
ford 3 went up to Christ's four years later. These to us are
mere names ; but greater interest attaches to the fourth,
Knightley Harrison, who entered in 1634 at Sidney. 4
1 3 Sid-ney Sussex Register : 1629. Edvardus Sclater filius Joannis
Sclater S.S.T. Baccalaur. et Eectoris Ecclesiae de Lawford,vulgo dictae,
Church Lawford in agro Warwi- sen Vervicensi, natus Laytoniae in
comitatu Bedfordiensi, literis grammaticalibus operam dedit per unius
anni spacium in oppido de Rugby, praeceptore Wilgentio Greene, postea
vero in paternis aedibus per annos aliquot a patri institutus, tandem
Cantabrigiawi petiit et admissus est Pensionarius minor anno aetat :
suae 17 Jun. 11, 1629. Tutore M ro Ri. Minshall, solvitqwe pro
ingressu 5 s .
3 1634. Thomas Bletsoe, son of Hugh Bletsoe, gent., of Lutterworth,
School Rugby (Mr. Greene). Sizar, 17 Dec., age 17. (I have to thank
Mr. E. E. Sikes, of St. John's, for this entry.)
3 1638. 11 June. Ri. Halford, son of Henry Halford, of Bowden,
Northants, Rugby (Greene), age 16. (I have to thank Dr. Peile, Master
of Christ's, for this entry.)
4 1634. Knightleius Harrison filius M ri Joannis Harrison Rectoris de
Yelvertoft in agro Northampt : ibidem natus et literis grammaticis
60 RUGBY SCHOOL
He was one year at Rugby School, and for the rest was
something of a rolling stone. Knightley Harrison after-
wards became Master of Rugby, the first Rugbeian who
is recorded to have been Master of his old School.
Greene was evidently working the School up, in spite
of difficulties. Two of these boys must have been boarders,
and they all may have been so. Nor is it in the least
likely that these were the only boys sent up to the Uni-
versities from Rugby. Of all the colleges in Oxford and
Cambridge, four only, so far as I have been able to
discover, show details of schools and masters in their
Entrance Registers at this early date. These are Christ's
and St. John's (both on the same royal foundation),
Gonville and Caius, and Sidney Sussex, at Cambridge; 1
and at Oxford, not one. If Rugby boys are found within
a few years at three out of these four, it is only fair to
assume that there were others elsewhere. It is also pro-
bable that the same is true of an earlier date, though
perhaps in a less degree. The reader needs only to recall
the case of John Howkins, and Mr. Nicholas GreenhilFs
comfortable nest of eggs.
institutes per septennium opera M ri Nicholai Lovingdein, in Schola
publica Rugbeiensi in Com. Warwicensi per spatiuw anni, ultimo
Coventriae in schola communi sub M ro White per biennium et aliquot
menses adolescens annorum 16 admissus est pensionarius ad convictum
Scholarium discipulorum Maii 10. Tutore Clemente Burton SS. The.
Bac. solvitqwe pro ingressu v s .
1 The entries in question begin at the following dates : Caius,
1559/60 ; Sidney, 1609 ; Christ's, 1622 ; St. John's, 1629/30. The first
and last are printed, and the third soon will be. The Sidney Registers
are very interesting, and it is to be hoped they will not be left in MS.
TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS 61
In 1641, Wilgent Greene died ; and on his death an
event took place which shows how careless the Trustees
must have been in fulfilling their trust. All the Trustees
of 1614 were dead except two, Sir Thomas Leigh, of Stone-
leigh, and Sir Roger Fielding. Evidently the clause of
the decree providing for the co-opting of new Trustees
after the death of any three, had been entirely neglected,
for five new ones had been appointed by Chancery in
1632. 1 But a still greater neglect is shown in the terms
of a petition 2 presented in 1642 by some of the inhabit-
ants of Rugby to Francis Lord Dunsmore, son of the late
John Leigh, Esq., one of the Trustees of 1602. In this
remarkable document the inhabitants of Rugby claim as
" their accustomed right " the choice of the schoolmaster.
If this be not mere bluster, it means that Wilgent Greene
was elected by the people of Rugby, and perhaps Rolfe
also. We may suppose the fact to be that the people of
Rugby, or those prominent among them, chose a man for
the post, and then asked the Trustees to confirm the
1 List in Kugby School Eegister is correct.
2 Printed in Bloxam's Rugby, pp. 34, 35. I use this copy because I
cannot trace the original. But I have some reluctance in so doing,
since there are evidences of incorrect copying. " Delay ne the Schooles
Gallary, the poores means," is not lucid ; and I have no doubt the
manuscript reads, " detayne the Schoole [or Schoolm] sallary," which
is what the defaulters always did. "Detayned their wages" has
already occurred in Greenhill's Answer (above, p. 51), and it is a kind
of stock phrase. Yet a theory has been based upon the supposed
"gallary." I may mention that a long s carelessly written is easily
mistaken for g. Since writing the above, I have found a transcript of
this petition, which appears to be in Mr. Bloxam's hand. It reads,
" detayne the Schoole sallary."
62 RUGBY SCHOOL
choice. No doubt the Trustees were glad enough to
accept an arrangement which saved so much trouble. Of
any official appointment by Trustees or by one of them,
in document or otherwise, no trace exists among the Trust
Papers until 1651. There were no regular accounts kept,
no minutes made, and everything bears out the supposi-
tion that since Greenhiirs day the inhabitants of Rugby
had been the real governors of Rugby Charity. Among
the "inhabitants of Rugby 11 there were, as we see, two
factions those who wished well to the Trust, though
perhaps not without some desire to have a finger of their
own in the pie ; and those who wished to use the Trust
to their own private advantage. The latter rallied round
the Howkins clan, who paid the schoolmaster and alms-
men, as we have seen. There is also reason to think they
had a great deal to say in appointing of the almsmen.
William Howkins on one occasion took a leaf out of an
old book, and finding an almsman already in possession,
knocked the lock off the door, and put in his man by
force. 1 Another enemy (though perhaps united to the
Howkinses in a dual alliance, which has its parallel in
modern political life) was Sir William Boughton, son of
Edward. One of the Howkinses' grievances against this
man was that he " placed and displaced almsmen at his
own pleasure." Once he even put in an able-bodied youth
of twenty, one of his own tenants, who took his sevenpence
or ninepence a week, and enjoyed himself for many a long
year. 2 The friendly party, whom we may call the benevo-
1 Trust Papers, No. 19. 2 Named Butler. Ibid., No. 86, fol. 20, et al.
TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS 63
lent despots, consisted at the time of which we now speak,
of the Rector, Mr. Nalton, of Richard Elbrowe, and a
number of others, 1 some of whom we meet again as trades-
men in the Trustees 1 Accounts. These persons seem to
have called a representative public meeting ; for they state
that the " inhabitants of Rugby, consisting of nine score
families,'" 1 chose as Master a certain Edward Clerke, Master
of Arts. The choice was approved by " the neighbouring
towns who are to have benefit, as well as your petitioners,"
and then submitted for ratification to the surviving Trustees
of 1614, and to the heirs of those who were dead. The
majority of those applied to appear to have consented to
place Clerke in the School ; but as there was some dispute,
the matter " came to hearing before the late Lord Keeper,
who thought fit and so ordered that Clerke should have
the place. And the said Clerke was thereupon, and by
an order of this court, placed accordingly in the said
School." There is other evidence to confirm this state-
ment that Clerke actually held the post for some little
time. Among the papers of the Trust 2 is a case stated for
the opinion of counsel. The historical recital in the earlier
part of it contains mistakes, but there can be no mistake
about one sentence, " Now [Edwjard Clerke is Schoolem r ;
and hee may alsoe in his tyme avoyde the Lease and
obteyne all arerages which will bee about 250 U ." We
must therefore add Clerke's name to the list of Masters.
1 See the petition, I.e.
2 Not numbered, but enclosed by me in a white envelope. Opinion
of K. W. Newdigate at foot. The paper is torn.
64 RUGBY SCHOOL
There is no reason for doubting that this Edward
Clerke is the man described in Alumni Oxonienses as the
son of Henry Clerke, 1 of Rugby, plebeius? From his later
record he was clearly a fit and proper person for the post,
and it was a pity that he was not continued in it. His
rival was by no means so satisfactory a person ; and it is
one of the many puzzles of these years why this appoint-
ment was allowed to be set aside. As a Rugby man, he
was probably educated in the School, although no evi-
dence to prove it is forthcoming. If so, Clerke, and not
Harrison, is the first Rugbeian who was Master of his old
School.
The rival candidate was backed by Sir Roger Fielding,
one of the two surviving Trustees of 1614. His name was
Raphael Pearce, and he, like Clerke, was a " plebeian, 1 ' of
Warwickshire. 3 At this time Pearce was, and for some
fourteen years had been, vicar of Long Itchington, near
Rugby. The petitioners amiably point out that Pearce
was poor and had many children, who might become
chargeable to the parish if he were appointed. These
arguments naturally showed themselves in a different
1 Was this the Henry Clerke, then of Whitechapel, who took a lease
of Conduit Close for 10 ? See above, p. 56.
2 Matriculated from Magdalen Hall, July 4, 1634, aged 16 ; B.A.,
Jan. 15, 1635/6 ; M.A., from Hart Hall, Oct. 30, 1638 ; D.D., Dec. 1,
1660 ; Canon of Kochester, 1670 ; " perhaps Rector of Bowers Gifford,
Essex, 1641, and again 1661, having probably been ejected."
3 Matriculated from Balliol College, Nov. 10, 1618, aged 18 ; B.A.,
Nov. 14, 1622; M.A., July 6, 1626 (called Ralph); vicar of Long
Itchington, 1628-42. He is always Raphael in the Papers and Books at
Rugby.
TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS 65
light to Pearce, who was glad to exchange his poor
vicarage for the luxury of sixteen pounds a year and a
boarding-house. Sir Roger Fielding and Mr. Bassett,
who was afterwards elected a Trustee, moved the influen-
tial people of the county on his behalf, running a cross-fire
of accusations of bribery and corruption, but undismayed.
In the end they prevailed ; Edward Clerke was deposed
from his post, and in 1641 1 Raphael Pearce became the
seventh Master of Rugby School.
Poor Pearce seems to have been a weak man, and
during his lifetime things went from bad to worse in the
Rugby charity. In vain he prayed and petitioned Sir
Thomas Leigh to choose other Trustees who might take
some interest in the School, " having found the want of
feoffees very prejudicial," and those already elected living
remote and being occupied with greater cares. 2 There
was no response, and the School seemed left to its fate.
A pitiful picture of the Master's life is given in a peti-
tion 3 drawn up after his death 011 behalf of Mrs. Pearce,
the almsmen, and certain inhabitants of Rugby, to obtain
arrears claimed by them. The Master, according to this
interesting document, " for his singular Learning and
Industry was exceeding fitt for the said Place, and
1 The date follows from Note 2, p. 66, combined with the statement
in No. 72 that he was appointed in 17 Charles I. (ie. between March
27, 1641, and March 26, 1642). See also 100 A., fol. 8, where a receipt
of Pearce's is dated 1641.
2 Trust Papers : bundle of documents without numbers, now en-
closed in white envelope.
3 See Appendix : Trust Papers, No. 72.
66 RUGBY SCHOOL
deserved much more than his share of the income of the
Trust." His industry we will take for granted ; but the
lady's judgement of learning may perhaps be suspected,
inasmuch as she could not write her own name. She
signs a receipt for moneys received with a cross, "Joan
Pearce + her mark." l However, we must not be too
severe on a disability which Joan Pearce shared with
Shakespeare's mother and Milton's daughter. Yet
although with Pearce learning did not begin at home, he
managed to send up his boys to the Universities as here-
tofore, unless Richard Mason of St. John's is a solitary
instance. 2 Mason lived at Pailton, so he must have been
a boarder. But this was at the beginning of Pearce's
tenure, and as time went on there can have been little work
done at Rugby School. With the poor man's sufferings we
cannot but feel the fullest sympathy. The Howkinses,
seeing what manner of man they had to do with, began to
keep back part of his salary. As the petitioners plead,
" his great meritt and paines taking notwithstanding," a
certain Widow Howkins, tenant of the Brownsover par-
sonage, " did ever since the beginning of these unhappy
Warres to the time of his death denye to pay unto him "
and the almsmen the rent due from her. The tenants of the
1 Trust Papers, No. 130 : Joan Pearce's receipt for fifteen pounds
in part payment of arrears, February 2, 1668/9.
2 St. John's College, Cambridge, 1642. " Eichard Mason, son of
Edward Mason, plebei, of Pelton, Warwickshire ; born at Pelton ;
school, Kugby (Mr. Peirse) for one year ; admitted sizar for Mr. Peachy,
surety Mr. Topping, Nov., a3t. past 16." (For this entry I am indebted
to Mr. E. E, Sikes. )
TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS 67
Close property also waxed fat and wanton, refusing to pay
even the rent of fifteen pounds a year which they had agreed
to pay to Wilgent Greene. They urged in excuse that
their land had been damaged by breastworks drawn across
it during the Civil War, " whereas the said Close conteyneth
Ten acres or thereabouts, and not the quantitie of one acre
thereof was spoyled by the said workes." The complaint
was well grounded, and is attested by evidence. We are
told that neither Elias, Jane, and William Howkins, " nor
any of them, did pay unto the said Raphael Pearce the
aforesaid sum of Twelve pounds yearly, but did deduct and
keepe back a greate parte thereof for taxes and quarters,
amounting in the whole to the summe of ll u 17 s 5V 1
From other entries 2 it would appear that this sum was
kept back in one or more years, so that the unfortu-
nate Pearce seems to have received for his year's salary
two shillings and sevenpence sterling. It is not surprising
to learn that thereby " he was much dampnified." In con-
sequence, Pearce " 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, 11 to
the great loss of the children of the neighbourhood, " who
might otherwise to this day and for a long time have
1 Trust Papers, No. 25, fol. 33. The language leaves it doubtful
whether this was not a sum total of more years than one.
2 As in the Appendix, Breviate ; and elsewhere in the Papers.
68 RUGBY SCHOOL
been taught by so able honest and painfull a Schoole
master. 11 Pearce died about midsummer 1651, 1 having for
some little time before ceased to teach, 2 and leaving his
family destitute.
During this gloomy period the School and School-
house were falling into a terrible state of ruin. As the
Master did not receive his salary, he could hardly be
expected to keep the premises in repair; and although
the Howkinses swore they had done so, this was certainly
not true. Some small jobs may have been done, but it
was proved that for many years the house had been totter-
ing, and one Henry Perkins deposed that "the Schoole
house end in all his tyme was stopped with straw to keepe
out rain and wind. 11 3 John Howkins accused Pearce of
suffering " decayes and tymber to be carried away. 11 4
Perhaps the timbers had fallen down, or perhaps the
poor man sold them to keep body and soul together. He
is also accused of breaking up the beams and benches of
the School for firewood. 5 This was after a fire which
destroyed part of the house.
Such was the deplorable state of Rugby School in the
middle of the seventeenth century. And not of Rugby
only ; for during many years the nation had been con-
1 Trust Papers, No. 95, Brief, section 20.
2 Trust Papers, No. 51, printed in Appendix : "first by the deser-
cion and after by the death of Mr. Kaphaell Peirce."
3 Trust Papers, No. 97. Perkins was educated at the school under
Greene, No. 86, fol. 60.
4 Francis Satchell's evidence, Trust Papers, No. 138, fol. 10.
5 Chancery Depositions : Charitable Uses, Warwickshire, Bundle 1 6,
No. 4 (1654). Papers, No. 86, fol. 15.
TWO CHANCERY COMMISSIONS 69
cerned more with fighting than teaching. Many a school
must have been nigh to destruction, like the Grammar
School of Grimston, which, as well as Rugby, had its
schoolhouse in ruins, and its master gone. 1 But, as the
old ballad says, " when bale is at highest, boot is at next. 11
Brighter days were approaching, and a new stage in the
School's history will be opened in the following chapter.
1 Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 1656, p. 387.
IV
THE CASE IS SETTLED
PETER WHITEHEAD, 1661-1660 JOHN ALLEN, M.A.,
1660-1670.
IT was now more than half a century since the proceed-
ings in Chancery began, and the state of affairs were
this. Rose Wood had disappeared from this mortal
scene, and the Howkins family had got into their hands
the whole of the property at stake. Over the property
in Brownsover they claimed absolute ownership and right
of disposal, subject only to the annual rent charge of
. 13s. 4d., although the value of it had increased to
The actual tenant at this time was William How-
kins, great-grandson of John and of Bridget, the sister
of Lawrence Sheriffe; he had lately married, and upon
marriage, he, with his wife Mary, settled in the old par-
sonage house. John Howkins, of whom we have already
spoken, the barrister of South Minis, had got a lease
of the Conduit Close share from Rose Wood^s executor,
and acknowledged no more than a claim of fifteen
pounds a year on the part of the School. He even
made deductions from this sum for taxes and occasional
damages. Yet the land was already sublet for twenty
70
THE CASE IS SETTLED 71
pounds. 1 John Howkins was now the heart of the whole
business, moving heaven and earth to effect his purposes,
and alleging all manner of malice and evil intent. Two
Commissions having already sat in 1602 and 1614, How-
kins applied for a third, which is said to have been
granted in 1652. 2 But as it appeared that certain docu-
ments had been taken out and burnt (this is laid at the
door of the Howkins family), this Commission proved
abortive, and in 1653 it was superseded by another,
which finally settled the case. 3 The inquiry proved that
the Howkinses and the previous tenants of Conduit Close
had misused the profits of the lands which they held. It
consequently decreed that William and Mary Howkins
were to be outed of the possession of the Brownsover
property, and arrears were to be paid amounting in all to
the large sum of <^?74&. 8s. 4d., which was to be employed
in paying salaries due, and costs, and in repair of the
School buildings and Almshouses. A new body of twelve
Trustees was appointed ; or rather, those still surviving,
namely, Sir John Cave, William Dixwell, Timothy St.
Nicholas, Walter Marriott, were confirmed in the Trust,
and others were added to fill up the number of twelve. 4
The whole property of the Trust was vested in these
Trustees ; but it was recommended that those of the body
of John and Mary Howkins should have preference as
tenants in Brownsover, as directed by the Founder ; not,
1 Trust Papers, No. 80, fol. 21, where full details are given.
2 Bloxam, Rugby, p. 37 ; Brief printed in full.
3 See Appendix.
4 List in Rugby School Register, vol. i. p. viii.
72 RUGBY SCHOOL
however, paying the sum of 16. IBs. 4d. as rent, but
" such rents as the feoffees shall think fit." At the same
time the Commission, mindful of the past, administered
a gentle rebuke to the Trustees by making provisions
which must keep them up to their work, or else lay them
open to a serious action at law. They were told to meet
four times a year; and to prevent these meetings being
crowded together to the detriment of the Trust, the days
were fixed as the first Tuesday in February, May, August,
and November. They were to draw up orders for the
good conduct of School and almsmen ; they were en-
joined to fill up vacancies at their next meeting after
each; they were to receive rents and pay salaries. No
lands were to be let for more than seven years, and never
for less than the greatest rent that could be got. All
repairs were to be paid for by the Trustees out of surplus
moneys, not by the Schoolmaster as heretofore; and
any overplus after all expenses were paid to be divided
pro rata between Schoolmaster and almsmen. They were
to provide a chest with four locks and keys, only to be
opened at their meetings, wherein they were directed to
place all records, deeds, and counterparts of leases. The
Howkinses, still game, exhibited exceptions to this de-
cree, and the legal adviser of the Trust made replications
thereto. This dragged the wearisome case on for four-
teen years longer, but the decree was not upset. At last,
on November 26, 1667, just a century after the decease
of the Founder, Sir Orlando Bridgeman, Lord Keeper
of the Great Seal of England, finally confirmed the
THE CASE IS SETTLED 73
previous decree. Since that day no vexatious litigants
have attacked the property of Rugby School.
In 1678 died one of the chief opponents of the Trust,
John Howkins, barrister-at-law, of South Minis, in the
county of Middlesex, at the age of ninety-nine years. His
will 1 disposes of several pieces of land in Hadley, Browns-
over, Middlesex, and the Strand, and shows him to have
been a rich man. To the last he kept his ineradicable
bitterness against the school where he had been educated ;
and this is the more remarkable, because he was by way of
being a charitable person himself in his own county. He
speaks of five almshouses which he had built in South
Minis many years before. His bequest for them, how-
ever, is coupled with conditions that indicate a quarrel
with the clergyman or churchwardens. Perhaps he believed
it just that he should rob Peter to pay Paul ; for his last
request to his cousin, William Howkins, is that he should
get the opinion of counsel about his right in Brownsover
parsonage, from which " the grandson of John and Bridget
Howkins was outed contrary to the intent of Lawrence
Sheriffe, and contrary to all equity and good conscience. 1 '
The last years of Raphael Pearce were embittered by
want, and it is not surprising to learn that he ceased to
perform his duties some little time before his death. We
have nothing to show who, if any one, took care of the
School between Pearce's "desertion" (as our authority
calls it) 2 and the appointment of his successor in the
1 In Somerset House, Book Reeve, fol. 126 ; proved Nov. 6, 1678.
2 Letter of Lord Leigh. Papers, No. 6.
74 RUGBY SCHOOL
December following his death. Pearce died about mid-
summer, and thus a clear six months elapsed of which
we have no account. To this must be added at least
three months more, for the following reason : The suc-
ceeding Schoolmaster claimed a sum of three pounds,
that is one quarter's salary, from Howkins, which should
have been paid to Pearce ; and we know that Pearce dis-
continued his work towards the end of his lifetime. For
nine months then, at least, Rugby seems to have had no
Schoolmaster in charge. It is possible that assistance of
some sort was to be had, but there is no hint of it. A
paragraph of the decree of 1653 provides, that " if the
Trustees find the multitude of the scholars to be too great
for one man's teaching, they are either themselves to find,
or to enjoin the Schoolmaster to provide, an usher, and
allow him such salary out of the overplus of the rents,
which would otherwise come to the Master, as they think
fit." Had there ever been an usher before ? Had Pearce
any kind of assistance, rendered by a curate or some
other ? We know nothing of it ; but that does not prove
that this was not the case. In Holyoake's time we first
hear of ushers, but we hear of them by accident. No
entry is made in the Trustees 1 Books when they are
appointed or cease to act ; and at the period of which
we now speak there were no Trustees 1 Books even. Per-
haps Howkins put in a man, or Boughton (as his father,
Sir William, once tried to do, 1 and as the first Edward
Boughton actually did); perhaps the nine score families
1 Trust Papers, No. 138, fol. 19 (Evidence of Perkins).
THE CASE IS SETTLED 75
of Rugby stepped into the breach. But there is no hint
anywhere, so far as I know, of any such thing. Nothing
can be asserted, and we must wait for future light.
Fortunately here all uncertainty ends for ever. The
next two appointments have, by a happy chance, been
preserved among the papers of the Trust, where they lay
until the other day unregarded. Both these interesting
documents are printed in the Appendix. 1 The appoint-
ments are made by Thomas Lord Leigh, who claims to
be the sole surviving feoffee of the Rugby Charity.
On December 4, 1651, Lord Leigh nominated and
appointed his "well-beloved in Christ, Peter White-
head, Schoolmaster of the said Free School. 1 ' The
wording of this should be noticed, because it has
some importance. There is a mystery about Peter
Whitehead. Was he a Master of Arts? Howkins
roundly asserts that he was not, but that he was " proved
a Proctor of the Civill Lawe at Leicester " ; 2 being there-
fore not qualified for a Schoolmaster according to the
intent of the Founder ; that he was not legally elected,
Sir Thomas Leigh being only a son of the last surviving
feoffee. 3 To this Harrison, the legal representative of
the Trust, replies that he "was and is lawfully elected
and established Schoolemaster of the ffree Schoole of
Lawrence Sheriffe, by lawfull authority as hee ought to be
by Sir Thomas Leigh, the surviving" ffeoffee as by the
1 Below, Appendix III. c.
2 Trust Papers, No. 80, fol. 24.
3 Trust Papers, No. 138, fol. 4, and elsewhere.
76 RUGBY SCHOOL
aforesaid Inquisition is found " ; that he " conceives and
believes " Whitehead to have been " a very fitt man for
the said Imployment." But the cautious lawyer does not
say Whitehead was a Master of Arts, only that no evi-
dence had been brought to the contrary. 1 When we
observe that Lord Leigh does not call his nominee Mr.
Whitehead, as he does call the next appointed, 2 we begin
to suspect that Howkins had some truth. Neither Oxford
nor Cambridge knows Peter Whitehead as a Master of
Arts, or in any other capacity ; and this practically settles
the question. We must take it that, on the evidence,
Whitehead was not a Master of Arts.
But it by no means follows that Whitehead was not a
fit person for the post. Even by the Founder's intent it
was not absolutely necessary that the Schoolmaster should
be a Master of Arts. Richard Scale and Wilgent Greene
are only recorded to have taken the Bachelor's degree ; and
at this time the one thing needful was to settle the lawsuit
for ever. Under these circumstances, it is impossible not
to suspect that Whitehead was put in by Lord Leigh as
a hard-headed man of business, who would be likely to see
the case well through the court. For, it must be remem-
bered, the Schoolmaster and almsmen always appear on
the one part as against the exceptants. They were, of
course, represented by a lawyer ; but the case of Greene,
not to mention Pearce, is enough to show that the School-
master was an important figure in the affair. Whitehead
may have actually been a lawyer, as asserted by Howkins.
1 Trust Papers, No. 80, fol. 24. 2 Below, Appendix III. d.
THE CASE IS SETTLED 77
The supposition is confirmed by his shrewdness in dealing
with Howkins. The other Masters took what they could
get, and were truly thankful; Whitehead absolutely re-
fuses to give a receipt for any payment, without adding a
proviso, that this should not prejudice a certain quarter's
salary which had not been paid to Pearce. 1 This, it would
seem, Howkins kept back, on pretence that Pearce had
died before the quarter-day. Whether the pretence were
true or not (and it probably was not true 2 ), the money
was not the tenant's to keep, but belonged to the Trust.
Whitehead may or may not have been a Master of Arts,
but he held the Mastership for nine years ; and of that
period Sir Thomas Leigh writes, "I never heard but
that Mr. Whitehead was very diligent and painfull in
the Schoole." 3 He resigned in 1660, 4 and so passes out
of this history. He must have died soon after, for we
find a receipt from his relict, Frances Whitehead, for
arrears, dated Oct. 20, 1665. 5 Mrs. Whitehead, like Mrs.
Pearce, could not write her name ; but education is clearly
advancing, for she signs two immense and weedy initials.
The remainder of the name is written by Mary Whitehead,
who is also a witness, in one document; 6 in others the
friendly hand is absent, and the Schoolmaster's wife has
frankly to make " her mark." 7
1 Trust Papers, No. 138 : Brief, fol. 19.
2 See p. 68 ; and Harrison's answers deny it.
3 Original letter of T. L. to Mr. Blunt : Trust Papers, No. 51 B.
4 Same letter. 5 Trust Papers, No. 51 C.
6 Trust Papers, No. 137 (1668).
7 Trust Papers, No.- 157, dated Aug. 3, 1670. In No. 151, dated
1668, John Allen signs as witness.
78 RUGBY SCHOOL
On the resignation of Peter Whitehead, Lord Leigh
promptly appointed John Allen to succeed him. 1 I have
not been able to identify John Allen with one of the
numerous persons who appear by that name on the Uni-
versity books. Of him as a Schoolmaster we know nothing ;
but of the School and the general management of the
Charity from this time we have more full information.
The decree conveying the decision of 1653 laid down
exact directions for the management of the property,
similar to those of previous decrees, which we have already
described. The income of the Charity was to be spent
at the discretion of the Trustees, and consequently they
were henceforward responsible for any misuse. During
the fourteen years between 1653 and 1667 these regula-
tions must have been neglected. Lord Leigh's appoint-
ment of John Allen, in which he calls himself " the
surviving feoffee " of Rugby School, is sufficient to prove
that he did not act in concert with the others, perhaps
did not acknowledge them ; and that there were others,
the first page of the Trustees' Books is evidence. That
page is signed by five, who call themselves "the survivors"
of the body, as appointed, I presume, in 1653. There
is no evidence that the Trustees had held the quarterly
1 [Resignation, Oct. 19 : Letter of Lord Leigh, Trust Papers, No.
51 B. Appointment, Oct. 13 : Paper not numbered (now enclosed in
white envelope). The latter is a certified copy, and must be correct.
The letter was doubtless written in 1668, just before the receipt
No. 151, which acknowledges a payment demanded in the letter ; thus
the writer's memory probably misled him in placing the appointment
of one before the resignation of the other.
THE CASE IS SETTLED 79
meetings, and in all probability they held very few. 1
What moneys were paid in by the various tenants were
received by the Master, and some part of them he con-
tinued to receive until a Clerk was appointed 2 in 1668.
Whether the Master paid the almsmen, we can only guess;
but he was doubtless responsible for repairs, and the anti-
cipation of good things to come led Whitehead to launch
out in this direction as early as 1652. 3 But in 1667,
when the suit ended for good and all, the Trustees pulled
themselves together and turned over a new leaf. They
met in Rugby in the autumn of that year, and continued
to meet quarterly for sixty-three years before their ardour
began to cool. The attendance is fairly good at these
meetings, though the whole body is rarely if ever present.
Shortly after the first meeting, a chest was bought to
contain all documents relating to the Trust (as had been
directed by Chancery fifty years before), and a Clerk
(Edmund Bromwich) appointed to receive and account
for moneys, and to represent the Trust. The accounts
and orders are set down in the books from this time
without intermission. The Trustees 1 meetings at this
time appear to have been held in the School-house ; the
Master entertained them and received five shillings for
the expenses of each meeting.
1 The only evidence for meetings is a payment of one pound to Allen
for "four meetings of the former feoffees," Aug. 4, 1668.
2 Trustees Books, Oct. 10, 1667 : John Allen to receive the rents of
Conduit Close until further order.
3 Bill for hair, lime, glazing school windows, and work, May 15,
1652. (Papers; not numbered.)
80 RUGBY SCHOOL
The Trustees also busied themselves in seeing to the
good government of the School. They drew up a scheme
of rules, which was copied out on vellum, framed, and
posted up in the School. 1 These probably did little
more than codify and enforce existing practice, and must
have had to do with general behaviour rather than with
matters scholastic. One of the rules (the only one known
to us) was that the almsmen were to attend prayers at
the School, morning and evening, in their gowns. We are
to understand that the almsmen, judging from past laxi-
ties, were less punctual in obeying this than might be
desired. Accordingly, a few years later 2 a sharp lesson was
administered to them, their quarter's salary being declared
forfeit " for their neglect in observing the order of re-
sorting to the Schoole to heare prayers." The fright was
considered sufficient, however, and at the next meeting
the forfeited money was returned. The almsmen appear
to have been quite exemplary after this fright, for only
one other entry occurs in the books regarding the attend-
ance at prayers. This was in 1707, when George Webb,
" haveing been absent two mornings and ffive evenings
from prayers this last Quarter, is ffined ffour pence half-
penny according to the Orders." 3 The terms of this
order will show that the interpretation was strict : the
fine would seem to have been a penny for morning
1 Trustees' Books, Nov. 4, 1673. Old Vouchers, 1749 : "For a frame
for y e Orders of y e School, 0-2 8 -6 d . One skin of parchment, 0-1-6.
Engrossing the Orders of y e School, 0-6-0."
2 Trustees' Books: Order of August 4, 1674.
3 Trustees' Books: Order of May 6, 1707
THE CASE IS SETTLED 81
prayers, and a halfpenny for the evening. When the
almsmen discontinued attending prayers is not known;
but they used to take part in Speech Day proceedings
until the middle of the present century, since when all direct
connection of the almsmen with the School has ceased.
One remarkable paragraph in the abstract of pro-
ceedings printed in the Appendix 1 has been already
noticed. By this the Trustees were authorised, if they
found that " the multitude of the scholars was too great
for one man's teaching, 11 to pay for an usher, or to allow
the Master money to pay one. We have seen that even
in its darkest days, when the Master had not bread for
his family, Rugby boys were not unknown at the Universi-
ties. During the years that had since elapsed, things
looked so much brighter, that we may believe the School
was already beginning to grow. No entry in the books
records the appointment of an usher for many years, but
it is not improbable (as we shall see) that one was
appointed by the Master on his own account, before we
first hear of them under Holyoake. The right of appoint-
ing assistant masters remained with the Trustees, though
they delegated the practical exercise of it to the Master.
In this Rugby differs from many other schools, and the
facts here given explain why.
Immediately after the final order of Sir Orlando
Bridgeman, money began to come in. The receipts in
August 1668 amounted to %50. 6s. 8d., but of course a
great deal of this was already due. There were outstand-
1 Page 74.
82 RUGBY SCHOOL
ing lawyers' bills (portentously long bills, which still
exist), and the Trust was besieged by widows of previous
Masters who claimed arrears to a considerable amount.
Mrs. Pearce and Mrs. Whitehead, to our great relief, have
their husbands' salaries paid by degrees, and in 1670 all
is paid up. But the Howkinses were still refractory, and
refused to give possession of the property. Consequently,
William Howkins was prosecuted, and thrown into prison,
whence he was not released until he paid ^100 and gave
security for \%fl more. 1 The income being now regular,
so are the allowances ; from the year 1668 Mr. Allen re-
ceives 15 a year, and the almsmen in proportion. The
Master arranged for repairs at his own discretion, and was
repaid by the Trustees ; until a rather long bill caused them
to forbid any work to be done about the buildings without
their order. 2 Thus we have the Schoolmaster in the en-
joyment of a regular if modest competence, and the School
gathering strength for new efforts which were before long
to bring it fame.
NOTE TO CHAPTER IV
It is impossible to pass over the name of John Singleton, though
it is impossible with the light we have to find him a place. The
only evidence for any connection with Rugby School is a passage
quoted by Bloxam/ from Pike's Ancient Meeting Houses in Old
1 Trustees' Books, May 3, 1670.
3 Nov. 4, 1673.
3 Rugby ', p. 39. I take from the same place the quotation out of Wilson.
I have been unable to verify the references.
THE CASE IS SETTLED 83
London, where he is called the ee ejected Head Master of Rugby
School." As an ejected Schoolmaster he would be by no means
unique in Rugby ; but it is difficult to see where he could come in.
The gap between Pearce and Whitehead calls aloud for Singleton
to walk into it ; but, unluckily, Singleton did not enter at Oxford
until three years later. 1 Calamy, in his Nonconformist Memorials, 2
says that he was ejected from Brasenose in 1660, and went into
Warwickshire, where he lived with his wife's brother, Dr. Timothy
Gibbons, a physician. He seems to have had a genius for being
ejected, which would naturally attract him to Rugby ; and it is
just possible he occupied the place for a short time between White-
head and Allen. The inhabitants of Rugby perhaps knew of him
from Dr. Timothy Gibbons, the physician, and placed him in charge
like Clerke, only to meet the same fate. Lord Leigh's date for
Whitehead's resignation is obviously wrong, and there may have
been a gap here. On the other hand, we know of none, nor is the
thing likely, since Whitehead resigned ; and as there is no such
evidence for Singleton as there is for Clerke, it is best not to place
him in the list of Masters. He would probably have been a wel-
come acquisition to Rugby ; for he is spoken of as famous for classi-
cal learning, arid as having great skill in the education of youth. 3
That worthy physician, Dr. Timothy Gibbons, would seem to have
had some influence over Singleton, for Singleton studied physic at
Ley den, in Holland. 4
Bloxam's suggestion that he was appointed to Rugby in 1660,
and left it under the Act of Uniformity in 1662, is ingenious, but
is now seen to be impossible. During these years Allen was in
possession.
1 Servitor of Christ Church ; matriculated October 18, 1654 (age not
stated) ; B.A., December 1655; M.A., June 15, 1658.
2 i. 217.
3 "Wilson, History and Antiquities of Dissenting Churches and Meeting
Houses in London.
4 Alumni Oxonienses.
THE CASE IS ALTERED
KNIGHTLEY HARRISON, M.A., 1670-1675 ROBERT ASHBRIDGE,
M.A., 1675-1681 LEONARD JEACOCKS, M.A., 1681-1688
HENRY HOLYOAKE, M.A., 1688-1731.
THE period of danger was now over at last, and the history
of the School from this time is one of almost continuous
growth. Foreseeing that its importance must increase
now that the income was secure, and moreover was greater
than ever before, 1 the Trustees thought fit to exact from
the Schoolmaster, on appointment, a security in ,500 ; to
be forfeited if the Master refused to obey the orders of the
Trustees, or to give up the School at three months 1 notice
from the major part of the Trustees. 2 This security was
first asked in the case of Knightley Harrison. 3 This, the
first Master appointed since the conclusion of the lawsuit,
succeeded John Allen on his death early in 1670.
1 The details are as follows, though a year or two passed before
Howkins began to pay : Conduit Close (Mr. Blunt) : 20 per annum.
Brownsover property (William Howkins) : 18 per annum. Browns-
over, in lieu of tithes (Mr. Pettever, on behalf of Sir Edward Boughton) :
28. 17s. 6d. Total, 66. 17s. 6d.
2 Does this suggest that any previous Master had been contu-
macious in this respect ?
3 His original bond, and some others, are among the Trust Papers.
THE CASE IS ALTERED 85
Knightley Harrison 1 was at that time a man of middle
age, having taken his M.A. at the University of Cam-
bridge in 1641. He was a son of Mr. John Harrison,
sometime Rector of Yelvertoft, and had spent one year in
Rugby School under Greene (1631-32). He is thus the
first old Rugbeian who is recorded to have become
Master, unless Edward Clerke was one.
In Harrison"^ first year his salary amounted to about
thirty-four pounds, and it seems to have increased later
to about forty pounds. 2 A good deal of money is spent
in repairs of the School, Schoolhouse, and buildings;
sometimes as much as ten guineas at one meeting. This
is significant as showing the ruinous state of the build-
ings. We must remember that it was more than the
Master received for his whole salary.
In 1675 Mr. Harrison resigned his post, and the
Trustees appointed Robert Ashbridge, M.A., a Cumber-
land man, from Queen's College, Oxford. 3 His Mastership
marks an epoch in the history of the School, for immedi-
ately upon his appointment he began the School Register. 4
From the first entries we see clearly a fact of which there
have already been indications, that the School was not
1 Matriculated as a pensioner at Sidney Sussex, December 13, 1634,
age 16 (see p. 59) ; proceeded A.B. 1637, A.M. 1641. Appointed to
Kugby, May 3, 1670 (see Appendix). No other of the name appears
on the University books.
2 See Trustees' Books, November 4, 1673, and onwards.
3 Matriculated (plebeius) 1663, aged 17 ; B.A. 1668, M.A. 1671/2.
Alumni Oxonienses.
4 Published by A. J. Lawrence, Rugby, 1881-1891 ; 3 volumes. The
earliest volume contains a great many errors, and a new edition is
desirable.
86 RUGBY SCHOOL
merely or chiefly a free school for the boys of the neigh-
bourhood. The names are arranged in two columns,
foundationers and non-foundationers being kept apart.
Of the twenty-six boys entered in 1675, nearly half lived
at a distance from Rugby, and were not foundationers.
One of them is a Vaux, of a well-known family of Cumber-
land, and so we may suppose that Ashbridge was not
without honour in his own country. Many of those
admitted under Ashbridge bear names well known in
the neighbourhood, such as Dixwell, Pettiver, Boughton,
Shuckburgh, Cave, Caldecott. One of these, James Pet-
tiver, became a distinguished naturalist; 1 and another,
Ambrose Cave (son of Sir Thomas Cave, of Stomford
Hall, Leicestershire), was afterwards a brigadier in the
Life Guards.
These boys, as has been pointed out already, must
have boarded with the Master; in this matter we are
fortunately not left at the mercy of a guess. Ashbridge
had not been a year in the School when he saw the neces-
sity of more accommodation for the increasing numbers.
The Schoolhouse was probably too shaky to make any
addition there convenient, and in consequence another
storey was added over the School. 2 At least two cham-
bers were built, and probably not more than two. Small
dormitories or cubicles are a modern fashion ; and were it
not for direct evidence, we should suppose the addition
to have been one large room. In any case, there was no
1 Bloxam's Rugby, p. 41.
2 Order of May 20, 1676. See Appendix.
THE CASE IS ALTERED 87
reason for building a number of small chambers, and every
reason against it. Perhaps one of these rooms was used for
a playroom or workroom by the boys, as we shall see later
done in the new school buildings. At this period the
roof of the School was tiled, 1 though previously it had been
thatched, like the house. At the same time, repairs of
all sorts went on. New floors were put in the School
and Schoolhouse hall ; 2 the barn was thatched, 2 and
some of the walls 3 (which must therefore have been mud-
walls, such as are still seen in the neighbourhood) ; doors
and windows were put in, timbered, or glazed ; 4 locks were
added ; 4 the pump and the coalhouse were put in order. 5
A new desk was put up in the School for the Master's use. 6
From all this activity it is clear that the School and
all concerned in it were becoming more efficient, and the
good intent of the religious Founder was in a way to be
more fully realised.
In the autumn of 1681 Ashbridge resigned, and his
place was taken by Leonard Jeacock or Jeacocks, M.A.,
of New Inn Hall, Oxford. 7 During his six years of tenure
1 See Trustees' Books, August 1, 1682. That the School was tiled
is proved by the " estimate " for pulling it down.
2 Trustees' Books, Feb. 5, 1677/8.
3 May 7, 1678.
4 Feb. 6, 1676/7 ; Nov. 6, 1677 ; Aug. 7, 1678, &c,
5 May 1, 1677 ; Aug. 7, 1678, &c.
6 Nov. 4, 1679.
7 Matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford, March 24, 1670/1, pleb.,
aged 16; B.A. from New Inn Hall, 1674; M.A. 1677; appointed to
Eugby, Aug. 2, 1681. The name is Jeacocke in the Trustees' Books,
but it is given in the Alumni as Jeacockes, and in a deed preserved
in Kugby School Museum he signs Jeacockes.
88 RUGBY SCHOOL
the School seems to have fallen off. It is true, boys con-
tinue to come from a distance, and the sons or kindred of
some of the Trustees are sent to the School ; but there
are only three entries in 1683 and 1684 together, while
the two years following have none at all. The only
event of importance to the School which occurred during
Jeacocks" time was a lease of the Conduit Close property
assigned for fifty-one years to Dr. Nicholas Barbon. 1
The new tenant was to pay a large advance on the former
rent, and to lay out a thousand pounds in building upon
the land. At the same time a partition was made of the
Close, so that a certain definite portion might be set apart
for the School ; previously the School was entitled to one-
third, but which third was not specified. This partition
had actually been decreed in 1602, but never carried out.
Henceforward Barbon paid a yearly rent of fifty pounds,
until in 1695 he seems to have got into difficulties. The
Master's income gradually rose to about fifty-six pounds.
On the death of Jeacocks in 1688, the Trustees
appointed to succeed him Henry Holyoake, who was
destined to make a name for Rugby School. 2 He came of
a family of scholars. 3 His father had a chequered career
in Oxford as chaplain of his college, as captain of a com-
pany of foot in the civil wars, as physician, and as lexi-
cographer. Francis Holyoake, the grandfather of Henry,
was also a lexicographer ; he, like his son, was a staunch
1 Trustees' Books : Order of May 4, 1686. Indenture summarised in
Bloxam, Rugby, p. 42.
2 Trustees' Books : Order of Feb. 7, 1687/8.
3 See Wood's Athence Oxon., and Bloxam, Rugby, p. 44.
THE CASE IS ALTERED 89
Royalist, and in the troubles his house was pillaged by
the Parliament troops, who found arms in it. Henry
Holyoake was a sturdy twig of this militant stock ; and
during the forty-three years of his Mastership, Rugby
sensibly increased in numbers and prestige.
Holyoake received his early education in Magdalen
College School, and afterwards entered the College, 1 rising
finally to the post of chaplain. Owing to the arbitrary
interference of James II., who ejected the President and a
number of the Fellows, the rest of the Society, and Mr.
Holyoake with them, left the College. When the Prince of
Orange landed, James II. tried to atone for this injustice
by reinstating those who had been expelled or had with-
drawn, and amongst them is mentioned Holyoake. But
meanwhile Holyoake had been elected to Rugby School,
and there he chose to remain. He continued, however,
to hold the chaplaincy two years longer, when he resigned
from it. Holyoake was an incurable pluralist, and had
already been Rector of Bourton upon Dunsmore. 2 Be-
sides this, he accepted and held at various times the livings
of Bilton 3 and of Harborough, 4 near Rugby ; putting a
curate in each, who (as we shall see) also helped him in
the School.
With Holyoake's coming, the School began to increase
1 Matriculated March 12, 1674, aged 17 ; B.A., Oct. 22, 1678 ; M.A.,
July 4, 1681 ; Clerk, 1676-81 ; Chaplain of Magdalen College, 1681-90.
Mag. Coll. Registers, i. 95, by K. K. Bloxam,
2 Appointed 1678 (Alumni Oxonienses).
3 Trustees' Books : Order of Aug. 7, 1705.
4 Trustees' Books : Order of Aug. 3, 1712.
90 RUGBY SCHOOL
at once. It is, of course, possible that the Register was
not duly filled in during the previous years, but there is
nothing to prove it. Anyhow, in Holyoake''s first year
the number of entries is twenty-six, including two who
were not foundationers. But the proportion soon changes,
and for the whole number of boys entered during
his tenure nearly four-fifths were not on the founda-
tion. Quite a number of these were sons of the old
Warwickshire and Northamptonshire families. Some of
the Trustees sent their own sons, and many of those
educated in the School became Trustees in their turn.
In this way a school tradition was formed and fostered.
Others of the boys grew up to achieve greatness, or to
have greatness thrust upon them. A long list has been
compiled 1 of noblemen and baronets who were educated
at Rugby in this period, which has its use in showing that
the School was in high repute. There were others, again,
who distinguished themselves in Church or State, in the
Army and Navy, and in the Colonies. Two who made a
considerable figure in letters deserve a brief mention. 2
Thomas Carte entered the School in 1695. He gra-
duated at Cambridge, and, after a period of flight and
proscription for his political opinions, settled down to
literary work. He produced a voluminous History of
England, two volumes of Historical Documents, a Life
of James, Dulte of Ormond, and other works of the same
kind. But his fame, though solid, is perhaps eclipsed by
1 Bloxam, Bugby, pp. 50-53.
2 Rugby Register, i. 11, 15, and 12, notes ; Bloxam, Rugby, p. 49.
THE CASE IS ALTERED 91
Edward Cave, a journalist, and the friend of Dr. Johnson,
who wrote Cave's life. Holyoake was not without tact, 1
but there appears to have been a grievous misunderstanding
between him and Cave, the result of which was that Cave
left School under a cloud. Cave was the founder of the
Gentleman's Magazine, which still goes on, while younger
and more pretentious prints fly past and disappear.
Appropriately enough, it is in this magazine, nearly a
century later, that we find the first historical sketch of
Rugby School. Fame of another kind belongs to the
Reverend William Paul, who was tried in Westminster
Hall for complicity in the Rebellion of 1715, and ended
his career at Tyburn by being hanged, drawn, and quar-
tered. Another Rugbeian of this date, Charles Holt, 2
spent his life at Oxford, where he belonged to Magdalen
College. He filled many of the University posts, amongst
others those of University Lecturer in Moral Philosophy
and in Natural Philosophy. He received the degree of
D.C.L., and was buried in Magdalen College Chapel.
The respect felt for Mr. Holyoake's powers and char-
acter is shown not only by the number of boys sent him
from a distance, but by other signs. He was presented,
for one thing, to two livings in the neighbourhood of
Rugby while he was Master, and the fact of his being
allowed to hold them with the School shows the confidence
which the Trustees felt in him. So also do the expres-
sions used in their Orders concerning this matter. The
1 See his letter in Bloxam, Rugly, p. 52.
2 Ma dalen College Registers, vi. 140. Entered 1694.
92 RUGBY SCHOOL
praise given in the two Orders in question is almost
unparalleled in the history of Rugby. Other Masters
have done good service to the School, but never before
had the Trustees thought fit to recognise such service by
a formal resolution ; and it never was done afterwards
during any man's tenure of office, until the days of Arnold.
They speak, on the first occasion, of their particular esteem
for Mr. Holyoake, and approval of his labours, in "re-
covering the Creditt and reputation of the Schoole," and
hardly expect that such qualities as his will ever be seen
in another Master. 1 They therefore suspend that Order
by which no Master was allowed to have any other em-
ployment along with the School. The second occasion 2
brings out his character more clearly. Mr. Blake, who
had married Holyoake's sister, was the previous incum-
bent, and had spent much money in repairing and re-
building the chancel and the parsonage house. He had,
moreover, lost money by the failure of a tenant who
farmed his tithes. Holyoake accordingly undertook to
hold the living in the interest of Mrs. Blake and her child,
paying a curate to do the work, and giving over the rest
of the income to the widow. This is hardly in accord
with modern ideas on the subject of clerical duty, but the
man must be judged by his own times. The plain fact is,
he might have had the income without losing in the
estimation of his world, and yet resigned it out of kindli-
ness. The same kindliness is shown by his will, 3 from
1 Trustees' Books: Order of Aug. 7, 1705 ; printed in Appendix.
2 Order of Aug. 3, 1712 ; printed in Appendix.
3 Printed by Bloxam, Rugby, pp. 53, 54.
THE CASE IS ALTERED 93
which it appears that he kept a little cousin, Tommy
Durnford, 1 for several years at the School at his own
charges. He was of a quaint turn of mind, and perhaps
the fanciful Latinising of his name, which he delighted
to write De Sacra Quercu, is a sign of a salt of humour
in him.
The number of boys in the School, if we estimate six
years to a school generation, must have been little short
of a hundred ; and when Holyoake was in his prime, there
were probably more. It is clear that one man could not
have carried on the School alone, and there is evidence
that Holyoake did not try. As we have already seen,
the appointment of assistant masters was contemplated
half a century before ; and it is quite possible that there
may have been such under previous Masters. It is true
no appointments were made by the -Trustees ; but neither
were any made by them under Holyoake. The Master
provided them himself. When he was permitted to accept
the rectory of Bilton, in 1705, he undertook to engage a
curate who should take care of his scholars when he
officiated there in person. 2 The curate can hardly have
spent all the days of the week in visiting the parishioners
of a tiny village, and we cannot doubt that he made him-
self useful in the School at times. Moreover, John Plomer,
his successor, M.A. of Wadham, was one of Holyoake's
ushers at some time between 1711 and 1717. 3 Another
was John Pinley or Pinlay, a Master of Arts of Balliol
1 1723-1731. 2 See Order, Appendix.
3 See below.
94 RUGBY SCHOOL
College, Oxford, who also held his post for several years.
In his will, Holyoake bequeaths him %QQ, and releases him
from debts to the amount of 4*5. 12s., " in consideration
of his service in my schoole." We may fairly assume that
Hodgkinson, who did the Master's work between Holyoake
and Plomer, was previously an usher in the School.
In this mastership the number of boarders must have
taxed the accommodation to the utmost. We have already
seen Ashbridge building two or more chambers over the
big schoolroom ; and although Holyoake seems to have
built another storey, 1 it is more than doubtful whether even
so there would have been room for all Holyoake's boarders
in the school premises. We have no evidence that any
were boarded out in the town, or with an assistant;
but it is not unlikely. Plomer or Pinley, therefore, was
probably the first House Master among the assistants.
They were both married men, 2 and therefore must have
had houses of their own. It is difficult to see where they
lived, for Rugby was a small place, and there were few
houses in it of any size ; but they must have lived some-
where. Holyoake was unmarried, but his cousin, Judith
Holyoake, kept house for him ; and to her he left a legacy
by his will, " as having been very serviceable in my house,
1 Trustees' Books : Order of May 1, 1694 53, 19s. 8d. is spent in
" making new chambers over the School." This is three times the sum
spent by Ashbridge eighteen years before, and points to an extensive
plan. If rebuilding had been meant, the phrase must have been
different.
2 For Pinley, see Holyoake's will. Two sons of Plomer are entered
in the Register under 1731.
THE CASE IS ALTERED 95
and seemingly kind.' 1 Another relative, Elizabeth Story,
also received acknowledgments for services of the same sort.
What charge was made to the boarders we do not know,
but Tommy DurnfoixTs incidental expenses for six years
amounted to about ten pounds. This, of course, does not
include board and lodging ; but a modern parent would
not think it excessive for extras.
What with boarders, and what with livings, Holy-
oake's income must have been, for the times, not incon-
siderable. His will shows him to have died possessed of
some sixteen hundred pounds, not to mention outstanding
"debts, dues, and demands." The salary paid by the
Trustees was also increasing. In his first year he received
upwards of fifty-six pounds, which by degrees grew to over
seventy. At the same time the almsmen's pay was also
increased, until they must have become the envied of all
their peers. This was because, by the constitution of the
Charity, after repairs and necessary expenses had been
provided for, the income was to be divided in certain
proportions between Master and almsmen.
The value of the property was growing fast. Barbon,
who had taken the first building lease of the London lands, 1
failed to pay his rent for some years; but during the
years 1702-5 2 arrears were paid up, and a new lease was
granted to William Milman for sixty pounds, an increase
of ten pounds over Barbon's. The Brownsover lands,
again, now brought in twenty-eight pounds a year. 3 But
1 Above, p. 88.
2 Trustees' Books, Aug. 4, 1702 ; Aug. 3, 1703, and later.
3 Trustees' Books, Order of Feb. 1, 1714/5.
96 RUGBY SCHOOL
the expenses for repairs were considerable, and show that
the buildings were fast getting into such a state that no
more could be done with them. Tilers and glaziers,
masons and ironmongers, whiters and wallers and paviors,
all claim their share. There is thatching and flooring to
be done, new chambers to be made over the School, ceil-
ings mended, walls built, a second barn l suddenly appears
on the scene, and our old friend the pump is always with
us. In one memorable quarter nearly forty pounds were
spent in this way. 2 In the midst of this turmoil we per-
ceive the hiring of a new garden, 3 and the purchase of a
house adjoining the School. 4 The last was pulled down,
and a wall built facing the street ; 5 and perhaps we may
suppose that its site was used by the boys.
Under Holyoake the Speeches became an important
function. We have seen that the Trustees visited the
School four times a year, and were the guests of the
Master. They came partly for the purpose of inspecting
the School. The August meeting was always regarded
as the most important of the four ; and while the attend-
ance of the Trustees was less regular on the other three
days, they usually came in force for August. It was
natural that this should be made the occasion for show-
1 Trustees' Books, Aug. 1. 1693 : "For repairing two barnes and two
houses of office, 012 . 10 . 00."
2 Trustees' Books, Aug. 2, 1726.
3 Trustees' Books, Nov. 6, 1705, and later; rented at 13s. 4d.
4 Trustees' Books, Feb. 3, 1719/20. It was a messuage called the
Swan, and cost one hundred pounds.
5 Trustees' Books, Aug. 2, 1726.
THE CASE IS ALTERED 97
ing off the boys, and this I conceive to have been the
way in which the practice grew up at Rugby. The time
of the year was altered afterwards to June ; but this was
not the case in Holyoake^s day. Fifty years later we still
find the first Tuesday in August kept as the Speech Day. 1
By a happy freak of fate, several of the pieces recited
before the Trustees still survive. These are written in
Latin and English, and though not faultless, have suffi-
cient interest for Rugbeians to be worth printing. The
earliest known 2 is a Latin composition Patronorum Laudes,
partly in prose and partly in verse, signed Gulielmus Pet-
tever. Pettever mentions each of the Trustees, ending
with Richard Elborowe, elected in 1698. As the lad
entered in 1690, we may follow Bloxam in assigning this
exercise to 1699. A set of Latin hexameters, addressed
Ad Patronos, alludes to
Moenia tot fidis valide suffulta columnis,
1 See below, p. 119.
2 This I only know of through a letter of Mr. Bloxam's in a Kugby
paper of June 12, 1875, reprinted as a pamphlet. Another is signed
" Ed. Wheler, July 28, 1722." A third, Mr. Bloxam notes, was scribbled
on the back of an old play -bill, which shows that there was a " play-
house " in Kugby at that early date :
Beiiig Desird
At the Play-House in Kugby,
This present Evening will be Acted a
Tragedy call'd
The Fair Penitent
With Entertainments
To begin exactly at 6 a-clock.
Vivat Rex !
The words in italics are filled in by hand on a printed form.
G
98 RUGBY SCHOOL
but whether these are the pillars of the schoolhouse
porch, or the pillars of the scholastic state, is not made
clear. A far more ambitious piece is the Eclogue of
Thyrsis, Corydon, and Damoetas. Topical allusions seem
to appear in it, and thankfulness is expressed by one of
the shepherds that " we and our sheepfolds " have escaped
a terrible plague which has been raging in the neigh-
bourhood, and has carried off many victims. This " dire
contagion " is mentioned in another piece of verse of
respectable merit, written in English. We may fairly
infer from the last named that some epidemic had caused
a scare, and that a large number of boys had been kept
back from School, or left altogether :
The lonely Shepherd moan'd the desert shade
When half his flock to distant pastures stray'd,
Careful of life, with weakling fears dismay' d.
But by the time this speech was delivered
Thanks to Heav'n, the threat'ning danger past,
Safe is our flock, and all return' d at last.
In the same hand as the last is The Happy Nuptials,
which was written as a dialogue in verse between three
persons. The piece celebrates the wedding of Miss
Tilney and Lord Craven, a Trustee of the School, and
an old Rugbeian, having entered in 1703. The date
of this was probably about 1724, for we have a com-
plement in another of these compositions dated 1725. 1
This ambitious but dull Hymn to Diana is made in
1 From a MS. book in the possession of C. L. Lockton, Esq. See the
Laurentian, No. 2.
THE CASE IS ALTERED 99
honour of the birth of a daughter to Lord Craven. Rugby
School must have been a place of great importance when
Diana is confidently summoned thither from Delos. But
in spite of all prayers to various heathen deities, no son
came to Lord Craven, and his brother afterwards inherited
the title.
Of these celebrations we know no more, except from a
brief notice in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1809, 1 part
of which has been already quoted. The time referred to
is a few years after Holyoake's death. " On the anniver-
sary," says Mr. Urban's correspondent, " which was in the
summer, the School was strewn with rushes, the Trustees
attended, and speeches were made by several of the boys,
some in Latin and some in English." The custom of
strewing rushes on the floor is familiar in earlier centuries,
but it is most unlikely that such a thing can have origi-
nated in the eighteenth. It is most reasonable to regard
this as a survival of an old tradition ; and if so, there
may have been Speech Days of a sort much earlier in the
history of the School. The almsmen of Lawrence Sheriffe
also had to appear on the Gala Day, as they long con-
tinued to do, dressed in their grey gowns, and holding
long staves in their hands.
One last service that Holyoake did to the School re-
mains to be mentioned. He was, as we might expect from
his parentage, a man of literary tastes, and had collected
a library. This he bequeathed to the School ; and a great
benefit the books must have been in an age when books
1 Above, p. 33.
100 RUGBY SCHOOL
were expensive. The books were preserved thenceforward
by each successive Head-master. When the new schools
were built, they were placed together in the Clock Tower,
where they remained until about the year 1850. Since
then they have disappeared, no man knows how or
whither. 1 Some are said to be still among the books of
the School Library, but there cannot be many there.
1 Bloxam, p. 99.
VI
LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL
JOHN PLOMER, M.A., 1731-1742 THOMAS CROSSFIELD, M.A.,
1742-1744 WILLIAM KNAIL, M.A., 1744-1751 JOSEPH
RICHMOND, M.A., 1751-1755 STANLEY BURROUGH, M.A.,
1755-1778.
EAELY in 1731 Henry Holyoake died, and was buried in
Warwick. A short interregnum ensued, and for a few
months the Master's duties were performed by Joseph
Hodgkinson, who was himself educated at the School, 1
and doubtless was at the time an assistant master. On
August 3 the Trustees elected into the vacant place John
Plomer, 2 also an old Rugbeian. 3 Plomer had served
several years as an Usher under Holyoake, and so well
had he behaved himself in that office that the Trustees
dispensed with a standing order for him, as for his prede-
cessor, and allowed him to hold a living with the School.
He accordingly took the living of Bilton, which Holyoake
1 Entered 1709.
2 John Plomer, of Stone, Bucks., pleb., Wadham College. Sub-
scribed June 1, 1704, aged 16 ; scholar, 1705 ; B.A., Feb. 13, 1707/8 ;
M.A., 1711 ; Vicar of Culworth, Northamptonshire, 1717-31 ; Hector of
Bilton, 1731-59. Alumni Oxonienses.
3 Entered 1699.
101
102 RUGBY SCHOOL
had held before him. The position must have had attrac-
tions, for Plomer resigned the valuable living of Culworth
in order to come to Rugby, but no doubt affection for his
old school had something to do with it. His work as
Usher probably lies between 1711, when he took his
Master's degree, and 1717, when he went to Culworth.
One of the first things Plomer did was to set apart
some place for housing Holyoake's library, and this small
beginning of greater things is so significant that the Order
relating to it is printed in the Appendix. 1 The study
was fitted with shelves, and a lock put on the door.
Books which Holyoake had lent out were to be called in,
and no doubt regulations were made by the Master for
use and custody. We shall see evidence later that these
books continued in use.
Plomer may have behaved himself well as an Usher,
but as a Head-master he was not a success. We have no
clue to the cause, but the School went down in numbers
very considerably during his eleven years of office. Non-
foundationers continue to come, it is true, and some are
of good social standing ; but it does not appear that any
of them distinguished themselves greatly in after life, and
the numbers decreased gradually. Plomer was probably
a man of weak initiative ; for not only did the numbers
go down, but nothing seems to have been done to im-
prove the School while he held it. The Trustees during
the same period seem to have lost their interest in the
place, and for the first time since 1667 they began sys-
1 Appendix III. A, under date Aug. 3, 1731.
LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 103
tematically to neglect the meetings. Only in August do
they attend as a body ; at the other three meetings all
business is managed by Mr. Towers, Rector of Rugby,
who was one of the board, and he alone signs the book.
When at length the Trustees grew vigilant, Towers
thought he deserved a holiday, and so left them on a few
occasions to get on without him : whereupon the Trustees
(who were evidently not without a sense of humour)
promptly passed a vote of censure upon Mr. Towers, and
desired him either to attend the meetings or relinquish
his trust. 1 Towers, I rejoice to add, rose to the occa-
sion, and continued a Trustee until he attained a green
old age.
Plomer's salary remained much the same as in previous
years. He received each quarter \5. 16s. 8d., with a
share of the extra income. In all, he received something
like seventy to seventy-three pounds as his year's stipend.
On May 4, 1742, Plomer resigned from his post ; 2 and
on the same day was elected a man of most brilliant pro-
mise, Thomas Crossfield. 3
Young as he was, Crossfield came to Rugby with
a great reputation for power and scholarship. He had
already been master of two other schools, of Daventry,
near Rugby, and of Preston Capes. The eloquent
epitaph written upon him by William Knail, his suc-
1 Trustees' Books: Order of Aug. 4, 1747.
2 Order of that date, signed in autograph.
3 Son of John Crossfield, of Kendal, Westmoreland, plebeius. Matri-
culated from Queen's College, Oxford, Oct. 17, 1729, aged 21 ; B.A.
1733 ; M.A. 1736.
104 RUGBY SCHOOL
cessor, is probably truer than such things usually are.
He is there described as marvellously gifted by nature
for the difficult task of teaching and administration,
and trained in the same by experience. A simplicity
of manners worthy of the old days, a singular modesty
and lack of self-seeking or greed, a devotion to the welfare
of others, make up this picture at once noble and rare.
Crossfield's first year augured, well for the future. He
came, in truth, splendidae dux coloniae, as Knail puts it.
No less than fifty-three new boys entered in 1742, and
only two of them were foundationers. The others came
not only from Warwick and Northamptonshire, but from
Surrey, Gloucestershire, Cheshire, Buckinghamshire, and
London. This must have made a great difference to the
Master's income ; and where he housed them all, we can
only guess. Amongst these were some who proceeded to
the Universities in the usual course, and one at least who
gained a lasting reputation. This was John Parkhurst,
who was afterwards Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, and
author of Hebrew and Greek lexicons. In the following
year entered Thomas Skipwith, afterwards fourth Baronet,
and the ninth Earl of Kincardine.
There is little of interest to be said of the next two
years. Mr. Towers and Mr. Crossfield are directed on
one occasion 1 to inspect the books belonging to the
School, to dispose of such part of them as should be
thought useless, and to buy others more useful in their
place. Large sums continue to be spent in repairing the
1 Trustees' Pools: Order of Aug. 4, 1743.
LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 105
ruinous buildings ; in one quarter as much as twenty-five
pounds at once.
Crossfield began his work with high hopes, which were
soon dashed to the ground. The bud came never to
flower, for in two years he was dead. It is idle to specu-
late on what might have been ; but had Crossfield lived,
he had it in him to anticipate the fame of James or
of Arnold, and he perhaps might have gone down to
posterity as one of the great names of Rugby.
The next Master was William Knail, M.A., also of
Queen's College, Oxford, 1 who was appointed on August
17, 1744. 2 Knail and Crossfield had been at the same
college together, and were fast friends. The first thing
Knail did was to write a fine epitaph for his dead friend,
which was engraved on his monument. Mrs. Crossfield
continued to live in the Schoolhouse, where she assisted
in the management. There we still find her 3 during the
arrangements for removing the School, but whether she
remained long after KnaiFs departure is not known.
On the election of Crossfield an important resolution
was made by the Trustees. 4 This was to lay up as a
reserve fund the surplus income of the Charity, which had
hitherto been divided proportionably between Master and
1 Of Whitehaven, Cumberland, pleb. Queen's College : matriculated
Mar. 24, 1728/9, age 16; B.A. 1734; M.A. 1737; Fellow, 1751; B.D.
1759 ; D.D. 1762. Alumni Oxonienses.
2 Trustees' Books of that date. His bond for 500 is preserved
among the Papers.
3 Vouchers, 1746-66 ; several bills of 1750 and 1752.
4 Trustees' BooTcs : Order of May 4, 1742.
106 RUGBY SCHOOL
almsmen. The fund was to be applied, as the Trustees
from time to time should think proper, for the "repairs
and improvement of the premises belonging to the School.'"
It has been pointed out already that the buildings were
not likely to last much longer, and it must have been
about this time that a change of premises began to be
talked of.
An architect, Mr. Hiorn, 1 was employed to survey
the premises, which he did on March 1, 1748, and again
in 1751. 2 He found them to be in a ruinous condition.
The roof could not be repaired by any means ; and if it
should be taken off, the walls were expected at once to
fall in. Thus either a new structure must be built up on
the same site, or one must be bought or built elsewhere.
Not far from the Mansion House of Lawrence Sheriffe
had been lately built a "large and convenient house,"
looking out on the market-place, the same now inhabited
by Mr. C. F. Harris, the Clerk to the Trust. It is a large
building of red brick, with Corinthian pilasters, and has
an air of solid respectability which should win the heart
of any parent. One might feel sure that within those
walls no doctrine pernicious to Church or State could
ever be so much as mentioned. Why the negotiations
for purchase of this eminently desirable site came to
nothing, we do not know ; but the fact remains, that the
house was not purchased. This was fortunate, for the
1 Keport given in Bloxam, Rugby, p. 63. I have not been able to
find the original, but a letter of Hiorn's in the Old Vouchers (1750)
confirms the report in part.
2 Letter, see below.
LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 107
house finally pitched upon was outside the town; and
whereas near the market-place there was no room for
expansion in case the School should grow, the site chosen
PLAN OF THE OLD SCHOOL PREMISES AND ADJOINING PROPERTIES,
MADE ABOUT I749- 1
a Alms House ; b Brewhouse ; B Mr. Boughton's ; G School Garden ; E Everdon's
Boundereys ; S Front of y 8 School and Garden ; C Mrs. Crofts, Front of her
House ; Green Mrs. Crofts ; g Garden, Mrs. Crofts.
was then bounded by fields, many of which were one by
one added to the Close or covered with buildings.
1 Trust Papers. C faces the Market Place ; S faces the Church.
Mr. Bloxam has a less accurate copy of this plan or a duplicate (Rugby,
p. 61) ; he states that the area of the School premises was 1 rood
30 poles.
108 RUGBY SCHOOL
But the difficulty was where to raise money. The
London property was let out on building lease, which had
still many years to run ; and the choice seemed to be
between selling a portion of this, or raising the money by
a mortgage of it. Sir Thomas Cave 1 was at that time
one of the Trustees, and he used his influence to get a
Bill through the House of Commons authorising the
Trustees to act. In 1748 the Bill passed, and it contains
a good deal of information about the School. The whole
income of the Foundation, as appears from that document,
amounted, in ordinary years, to 1~L6. 17s. 6d., of which
the Master. received ^?63. 6s. 8d. as his salary, half the
same sum went to the doles of the almsmen, and the
balance of something more than 20 was all that was
available for keeping the school buildings in repair,
together with the chancel of Brownsover Church, and
paying for the almsmen's gowns. The Act also informs
us that the School "had for many years been in great
repute, and had been of public utility."
This Act empowered the Trustees to raise ^1800 by
mortgage of not more than two-thirds of the Conduit
Close share; for most fortunately it had been decided
not to ask leave to sell. Of this sum, ^lOOO was spent
in buying the old Mansion House of Rugby, then stand-
ing on the site of the present Schoolhouse. The aspect
of the front of this tenement may be seen in the frontis-
piece, and its back in the illustration given opposite,
which is taken from a contemporary drawing by Mr.
1 See Bloxam's Rugly, pp. 57 ff.
3 *
11
& |>
Q ?
LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 109
Pretty, who, at the end of the eighteenth century, was
drawing-master. It has the appearance of having been
built, or at least altered, in the middle of the seventeenth
century. The house consisted of a main building and
two wings, joined by a long corridor, 1 and surmounted
by steep gables and a tiled roof. From the front the
gables do not appear, because in the Georgian era the
front of the house had been altered. Considerable altera-
tions were made to prepare the house for its new purpose ;
but these consisted of fittings and additions, and the
original plan was not otherwise interfered with. In this,
as in the old Schoolhouse, were two parlours and a study
on the ground floor, opening out of an entrance hall.
Kitchen, scullery, pantry, laundry, dairy, and brew-house
also appear on this floor, some inside the house and some
outside. On the upper floor were bedrooms, and rooms
for the boys were also made, or existed before, over
kitchen and scullery. One room was set apart for the
men-servants, and one for the maids. Mrs. Crossfield had
a room of her own, skirted with deal wainscot, and called
the Green Room. Underneath were cellars and vaults,
and above all a few garrets. Storerooms were set apart
for cheese, apples, and other such provisions. One of the
wings was used for almshouses until the new block was
built ; and afterwards served for the Writing and French
Schools. There were a number of out-houses besides these,
such as a kiln and stables ; these two were pulled down,
1 Details not to be deduced from the drawings are taken from the
Old Vouchers.
110 RUGBY SCHOOL
and new stables were built. Adjoining the house was a
garden, which, with some fields and farm buildings, dwell-
ing-house and barns, all passed into the possession of the
Trustees. And now, for the first time in the history of
Rugby School, we find mention of a "play place, 1 ' for
which a tithe is paid in 1752 and onwards. Hitherto
every boy had played where it seemed right in his own
eyes, and the place where it was usual to play was none
other than the churchyard.
On the west side of the Schoolhouse the new School
was built, on the site of the present Schoolhouse Hall.
The work was superintended by a local builder, named
Johnson, and we need not be surprised to find that he
copied the plan of the old School quite closely. It was
a long and lofty room, like the first, with two chambers
above it. Even the small lean-to visible under the new
School was copied from the old. The dimensions in both
appear to have been much the same, and the only new
feature was a semi-circular apse on the side of the Close,
with a large window below and a bull's eye above.
Within this apse was the Master's throne, from which
his eagle eye could scan the various classes at their work.
For it is needless to remind my readers that at that
period the ideal system was to keep all classes together
in one room. The din naturally resulting was believed
to have blessings that far outweighed its disadvantages.
This system is still defended by some as a valuable lesson
in concentration. The Big School had an oak wainscot,
and had fixed seats and tables for the boys. At the west
LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 111
side of the Schoolroom was a Doric portico, of which a
picture has been preserved. The doors that closed this
sacred gate were only opened once in the year, when the
Trustees met. Over the north end of the Big School was
a clock tower, which the workmen called a " Cupuloe."
Of the two chambers over the Big School, the larger was
the chief dormitory, looking out upon the Close, and
used to be called Paradise. The appearance of the great
trees made a happy scene, which recalled the idyllic days
of our first parents ; but it is to be feared that the scenes
within more often suggested Pandemonium. The other
room was known as Over-School, and was used as a trunk-
room. 1 Some of the rooms in the dwelling-house were
used as schools, and in one of them the writing-master
held his court.
Such was the second Big School of Rugby; and no
sooner was it made ready than the boys migrated thither
from the old place. This happened in 1750, and the old
School, which had seen so troublous days, and weathered
so many storms, was immediately pulled down. 2 With
it depart into the past many memories of the Boughtons
and the Howkinses, the Scales and the Pearces, which had
made its history picturesque. The scene of Holyoake's
strenuous service, and of Crossfield's bright promise, was
no more. But the Master and his household seem to
have remained for some time in the old house, and for
a year or two more the workmen continue their sawings
1 The Public Schools, p. 349.
2 Old Vouchers, 1750.
RUGBY SCHOOL
and paintings in the new place. Finally the School-
house built by Lawrence Sheriffe was deserted like the
rest. It was let for a few years longer, and then finally
pulled down about the year 178S. 1 Thus broke the last
link connecting Rugby School with the person of the
Founder.
Of Mr. Knail, who was Master while these changes
were going on, we know little. One of his old pupils,
whom Bloxam 2 identifies not improbably with the anti-
quary William Bray, wrote a letter to the Gentleman's
Magazine 3 which speaks of him. Although part of this
letter has already been given, 4 it is worth while quoting
as a whole the part relating to the writer's school-days.
The original schoolroom at Rugby, in which I received
the first part of my education, under Dr. Knail, was a long,
rather lofty room, built with timber, opposite the Church.
The house was very indifferent. 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. On the anniversary,
which was in the summer, the School was strewed with
rushes, the Trustees attended, and speeches were made by
some of the boys, some in Latin, some in English. When
this was pulled down, and a new one built, I was one of the
class which said the first lesson in it. The rushes and the
speeches were continued. . . . The general number of the
scholars in my time was, I think, under seventy. ... I do
1 History of Rugby, p. 113. 2 Rugby, p. 62.
3 Sept. 1809, p. 799. 4 Above, pp. 33 and 99.
LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 113
not recollect any playground belonging to the old School;
but there was a piece of ground beyond the churchyard,
sometimes used by them. There were several almsmen, who
used to attend prayers in blue gowns.
Several of KnaiFs pupils became men of mark in the
world. William Bray, supposed to be the writer of the
above letter to Sylvanus Urban, entered the School in
1746, and we learn through his experiences that Rugby
had then no regular bookseller. Books had to be pro-
cured from Daventry or other of the neighbouring towns,
unless they happened to be found on the stall of a woman
hawker who appeared in Rugby on market days. Bray
wrote the greater part of the History of Surrey, and was
a prominent member of the Antiquarian Society. 1 He
lived to a great age, and died in 1832. It is much to be
regretted that he did not write reminiscences of his school-
days, before he departed and was no more seen. Sir
Thomas Cave, 2 another pupil of KnaiFs, was afterwards a
Trustee of the School, and did the School excellent ser-
vice in the parliamentary proceedings. A third was John
Mansel, 3 who rose to be Major-General in the Dragoon
Guards. In the Duke of York^s campaign in 1794 he
was stung into a brilliant feat of arms. Some imputation
had been put upon him, which he determined to wipe
out ; and accordingly in an action on April 25 of that
year he devoted himself to death like a modern Decius.
The troops under his command seemed invincible ; and
* Rugby School Register, vol. i. p. 34. 2 Op. cit., p. 33.
3 Naval and Military Records of Rugbeians, p. 1.
H
114 RUGBY SCHOOL
finally, after having had three horses shot under him, he
fell in a desperate charge upon a battery of French guns,
which he destroyed. Passing over various dignitaries of
Church and State, we come last to the distinguished sol-
dier Sir Ralph Abercromby. 1 While Abercromby was at
school, the victor of Culloden passed through Hillmorton
and Dunchurch, and all Rugby seems to have gone over
to see the sight. It is said that every boy in the School
was there, with the sole exception of Abercromby. His
military instincts would seem to have developed after-
wards, unless it was a political prejudice that kept him
away. After entering the army, he soon rose to the rank
of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was mentioned in despatches
by the Duke of York, and wounded at Nimeguen. In
1798 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief in the West
Indies, and for services there done he received the order
of the Bath. After being in command of the forces in
Ireland, and seeing more active service on the Continent,
he was made Commander-in-Chief of the English army
in Egypt. Here he defeated the French at Aboukir in
1801, but was mortally wounded in the same year at
Alexandria. A monument was erected to him in St.
PauPs, and a peerage was given to his family.
Mr. Knail did not stay long enough to carry the
School over to the new premises. On September 30,
1751, he sent in his resignation, 2 and carried away the
1 Op. cit., p. 4.
2 Trustees' Books, of the date ; signed in autograph. Original docu-
ment among the Papers.
LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 115
aroma of his pipes of tobacco to another sphere. He
was succeeded by Joseph Richmond, M.A., 1 the third
Queen's man in succession who had been appointed Master
of Rugby School. During the four years of Richmond's
mastership, he made no entries in the Register, which for
those years is a blank. This does not look well for his
diligence, and it was probably no misfortune for Rugby
when he resigned in 1755. 2
On this the Trustees actually elected another Queen's
man, Stanley Burrough, M.A., who had previously been
an Usher in the School. 3 He was perhaps descended
from Edward Burrough (1634-62), a famous Quaker
controversialist of former days ; but the mantle of the
old fighting man did not descend on Stanley. Al-
though he remained at Rugby for three -and -twenty
years, the place seems to have stagnated rather than
lived. The most that can be said is that it did not go
back ; but it never approached the fame and name of
Holyoake's day. Burrough's scholarship may be estimated
from a neat Latin oration 4 delivered at Queen's on
Founder's Day, August 15, 1752. As the letter accom-
1 Son of Eichard Kichmond, of Crosby, Cumberland, pleb. Queen's
College : matriculated April 2, 1737, age 17 ; B.A. 1742 ; M.A. 1745 ;
Fellow and B.D. 1759 ; D.D. 1762 ; Rector of Newnham, 1762 ; died
Jan. 9, 1816. Alumni Oxonienses.
2 Trustees' Books: Aug. 5, 1755 (autograph).
3 Son of Edward Burroughs, Drigg, Cumberland, clerk. Queen's
College : matriculated June 14, 1744, age 18 ; B.A. 1747 ; M.A. 1753
(drops the final s in his name) ; Rector of Sapcote, 1778, where he died
April 2, 1807. Alumni Oxonienses.
4 Autograph MS. now in Rugby School Library.
116 RUGBY SCHOOL
panying it is dated " Rugby, August 18, 1752," it may
be surmised that Burrough was then an assistant to
Joseph Richmond.
It is in this period that we find the first attempt to
unite the School for religious services on Sunday. Prayers
had been held, as we know, morning and evening, certainly
for a century and a quarter, and probably been since its
foundation. But we now find the Master entering into
an arrangement with the Rector of Rugby, by which a
gallery should be erected in the parish church for the use
of the School. 1 For this privilege the Trust paid a yearly
rent of one guinea, and defrayed the cost of building. The
names were called over after the service from this gallery.
A number of Burroughs pupils distinguished them-
selves in their day and generation. The most famous
of these, though not by his own deeds, was Archibald
Stewart Douglas. 2 His mother was the only sister of
the Duke of Douglas, and the Hamilton family tried to
persuade the Duke that since his mother was forty-seven
years old when she married, the child must be supposi-
titious. A gentleman was sent to Rugby to see whether
or not he could identify the boy, whom he had never set
eyes on. There was a dramatic scene in the Big School,
when Burrough assembled the boys, and the visitor picked
out young Douglas by his likeness to his mother's family.
By this and his other inquiries the Duke was convinced,
and Archibald became heir to his vast estates. How-
ever, on the Duke's death in 1761, a lawsuit was brought
Trustees' Books : Order of Aug. 5, 1766. 2 Entered 1758.
LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 117
in behalf of the young Duke of Hamilton, in which it
was suggested that Douglas was not the child of the
Lady Jane Douglas. The "great Douglas case" was
tried before a bench of fifteen Judges, and was decided
by a casting vote in favour of the Duke of Hamilton.
An appeal was made to the House of Lords, who reversed
the decision, and Douglas came to his own. 1
It would be of small interest to call the roll, of those of
Burrough's pupils who became soldiers, sheriffs, members of
Parliament, or scholars in various kinds of learning. One
of them, William Sleath, 2 was an assistant master at his
old School, and afterwards became the most distinguished
Head-master of Repton. John Sleath, 3 also an assistant
at Rugby, became High Master of St. Paul's School.
Another, Sir George Townsend Walker, 4 served through
many campaigns with distinction. In the Peninsula he
was the hero of -a brilliant action at Vimiera in 1808,
when he routed a far superior body of the enemy, and
broke the prestige of that "column of attack" which
the French prided themselves upon. At Badajoz he
carried the bastion of St. Vincent by escalade, being
severely wounded. A fourth was almost equally distin-
guished in a very different sphere of human endeavour.
This was Sir Henry Halford Vaughan, 5 President of the
College of Physicians. The romance of old-world chivalry
1 Rugby School Register, i. 38 ; The Public Schools, p. 351.
2 Entered 1773.
3 Entered 1776.
4 Entered 1773 (Naval and Military Records, p 6).
5 Entered 1774.
118 RUGBY SCHOOL
gathers about the name of Dymoke, the hereditary
champions of England; John Dymoke, 1 the sixteenth
champion, once submitted to the paternal discipline of
Burrough.
In 1777 entered Rugby School, one whose name must
ever be interesting to Rugbeians, for the devotion shown
by him and his to the interests of the School. This was
Richard Rouse Bloxam, afterwards a Rugby Master, and
father of the Matthew Holbeche Bloxam to whose labours
this book is so much indebted. Little Bloxam paid
fourteen guineas a year for board, 2 and yet they did not
give him enough to eat. Moreover, he had to find his own
towels, knife and fork, and drinking horn. These hard-
ships so preyed upon his mind that he ran away from
school. His home was at Market Harborough, and on
the road thither it is necessary to pass the Brook of
Clifton. So far the runaway got without mishap, but the
sight of this roaring torrent so dismayed him that he
thought better of it and went back. This is fortunate
for us, because at the tender age of twelve the family
taste for letters appears already. The little lad actually
kept a diary, and in it he has preserved the programme
of Speech Day in the year of his own entry. As the first
complete programme existing of a Rugby Speech Day, it
is worth reproducing here : 3
1 Entered 1772.
2 Bloxain, Rugby, p. 141 ; Old School, Bath. The sum was raised
to 16. 16s., with 4. 4s. for schooling.
3 From Bloxam, Rugby Speech Day in Former Times.
LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 119
EXTRACT FROM DIARY OF 1777.
August the 3rd. The Trustee Day. There were present
at the Speeches, Lord Denby, Lord Craven, Sir Wm. Wheler,
Mr. Grimes, and many other gentlemen. The speakers were
as follows :
STAFFORD Address to the Trustees.
G. GORDON \ Ajax.
C. GORDON I Ulysses. Ovid. M. 13.
RD. WALKER Hor. L. 1., Sat. 9.
T. TANQUERAY Cicero on the death of Crassus.
WM. SMITH Caractacus' supplication to Claudius Caesar.
STAFFORD for ) The Usurpation of Cromwell.
S. HEYRICK against } Cowley.
ED. TANQUERAY Mucius Screvola to Porsena.
G. GORDON Psalm 114.
WM. LEE Sophonisba to Masanesson.
AM. CALDECOTT Demosthenes' first Philippic.
WM. SMITH Waller to the House of Commons.
S. HEYRICK On the British Fleet. Shakespear.
Lord Denby begged us a holiday for Wednesday.
The same diary records, under date of Friday, Septem-
ber 3, " Workmen began to dig the foundation of the new
School." This was probably an addition to the westward
of the Big School of 1750. On Monday, September 6,
the diarist notes that the bath was finished, and the
foundation of the new School begun. The bath alluded
to was dug in the Close.
A list of the boys at Rugby School exists for the year
1777, containing eighty names. Under Holyoake, in the
120 RUGBY SCHOOL
earlier part of the century, there were (as we have seen)
probably a hundred boys in the School, and under Knail
the numbers dropped to fifty or so. In June 1778, Bur-
roughs last year, there were fifty-two boys to hand over
to the new Head-master. By Christmas the number was
sixty-six ; l and it was not long before all previous
records were outstripped far under the new constitution,
and a total was reached of two hundred and forty-five. 2
1 MS. Letter of Thomas James, p. 6.
2 Letter of June 25, 1794 : Thomas James.
VII
THE NEW CONSTITUTION
TOWARDS the end of Burrough's mastership an important
change took place in the constitution of the School. The
lease of the London property was soon to fall in, and as a
consequence the income of the Trust was about to increase
largely. The debt incurred to build the new Schools had
by this time accumulated to something like six thousand
pounds ; l and it was calculated that when Milman's lease
came to an end in 1780, the Trustees would be able to
pay off this debt, as well as a further sum of four thou-
sand pounds which was needed for various purposes, and
that the clear income of the Charity would thereafter be
more than two thousand pounds a year. It was therefore
suggested to Sir John Eardley Wilmot, Lord Chief Justice
of the Common Pleas, who was a Trustee, that he should
draft a new constitution. Sir Eardley Wilmot spent a long
time in working the matter out and in meeting the many
legal difficulties ; and finally having surmounted these, he
presented the Trustees with a scheme in outline. 2 The
Trustees cordially approved this scheme, and in thanking
him for his great care and trouble, authorised him to put
1 History of Rugby, pp. 115 ff.
2 First draft in autograph among the Papers ; not numbered.
121
122 RUGBY SCHOOL
it into execution. 1 The result was embodied in the
statute of 17 George III. cap. 71, and its main pro-
visions will now be stated.
It is entitled "An Act to enable the Feoffees and
Trustees of an Estate in Middlesex, given by Lawrence
Sheriff, for the Founding and Maintaining a School and
Almshouses at Rugby, in the County of Warwick, to sell
part of the said Estate, or to grant Leases thereof, or of
any Part thereof, and to effectuate the other purposes
therein mentioned. 1777."" The Act first recites that
Act of 21 George II., describing the foundation of the
Charity by Lawrence Sheriffe, and the results of the In-
quisition of 1653. A recital of Barbon's lease follows, and
of Sir William Milman's ; the ^1800 borrowed for buying
a new house, on the security of a mortgage ; the change
of plan which resulted in erecting the new Schools ; and
that there was in 1776 a debt of ,26180. 19s. 7d., with
other liabilities amounting to 6600 or thereabouts in
the whole. Whereas, therefore, Milman's lease would
expire on Jan. 5, 1780, and considerable sums must then
be laid out in rebuilding old houses on the estate and in
other improvements, it was proposed to raise a sum not
exceeding ^10,000, by sale, fines, or mortgage, to dis-
charge the said debts and to effect the said improvements.
Powers were asked for the Trustees to give leases of the
property for specified periods, and to dispose of the rents
for the benefit of the Charity. Finally, a schedule was
drawn up regulating the constitution of the School for
1 Order of Aug. 5, 1777.
THE NEW CONSTITUTION
future time; and this is so important that it must be
given in full :
THE SCHEDULE,
To which this Act of Parliament doth refer ; containing
RULES, ORDERS, and OBSERVATIONS, for the good Govern-
ment of Rugby School and Charity.
First, The Reverend Stanley Burrough, Master of Arts, the
present School-Master, to be continued, so long as he shall
behave well ; and the House now inhabited by the said Stanley
Burrough, to be the Place of his Residence ; and of the Resi-
dence of all the Masters of the Grammar School, who shall
succeed the said Stanley Burrough : and the Room now used
as a School to be the Place in which the Boys resorting to the
said School, shall be taught Grammar, and the Latin and
Greek Languages; and one or more Usher or Ushers, pro-
perly qualified to teach Grammar, and the Latin and Greek
Languages, to be appointed by the Trustees, or a major Part
of them, at a Public Meeting appointed for that Purpose, to
aid and assist the Master, and to hear the Boys under the
Age of Twelve Years, say their Catechism once every Fort-
night : Also, a Master to be appointed to teach Writing and
Arithmetic in all its Branches ; and that when, and as soon
as the Monies owing from the said Trust Estate, shall have
been paid off and discharged, and the Trust Estate remaining
unsold, shall have been leased by the said Trustees, or the
major Part of them, and the Rents and Profits thereof, shall
be sufficient to answer the Payments herein after directed ;
there shall be paid to the Master of the said Grammar School,
for the Time being, over and above the annual Sum of sixty-
three pounds six shillings and eight-pence now paid, a Sum
RUGBY SCHOOL
not exceeding fifty pounds per annum, by Quarterly Payments :
and that then there shall be paid to the Usher or Ushers, to
be respectively appointed as herein before-mentioned, such
annual Sum not exceeding eighty pounds each, as the Trustees,
or the major Part of them shall think proper: And such
annual Sum, not exceeding forty pounds, to the Writing
Master, as the Trustees or the major Part of them shall think
proper.
Second, That all the Masters of the Grammar School, who
shall succeed the said Stanley Burrough, the present Master,
the Usher or Ushers, and the Writing masters who shall
succeed those first to be nominated, as herein before-men-
tioned, shall be chosen within three Calendar Months next
after any Vacancy shall happen, by the Trustees, or the major
Part of them present at a Meeting to be held for that Purpose,
and be removeable at the Will and Pleasure of the Trustees,
or a major Part of them present at their Meeting, on the first
Tuesday in the Month of August : And that the Masters and
Usher or Ushers, shall be Protestants of the Church of Eng-
land as by Law established ; And the Master of the Grammar
School shall have taken the Degree of a Master of Arts, in the
University of Oxford or Cambridge: And in the Choice of
such Master of the said Grammar School, Regard shall be had
to the Genius of such Master, for Teaching and Instructing
the Children : and a Preference shall be given to such as are
duly qualified, and have received their Education at this
School. And the said Master and Usher or Ushers, shall take
Care to Instruct the Boys resorting to the School, in the Prin-
ciples of the Christian Religion, Morality, and good Manners,
and thereby qualify them to become useful Members of the
Community. And in case such Masters, Usher or Ushers,
shall be removed on Account of old Age, or Infirmity of Body
or Mind, it shall be lawful for the Trustees, or the major Part
THE NEW CONSTITUTION 125
of them, present at such annual Meeting, if they think proper,
by and out of the Rents and Profits of the Estate, to pay and
allow the Master or Usher so removed, an annual Sum not
exceeding eighty pounds a Year for the Master of the Gram-
mar School ; forty pounds a Year, a piece, for the Usher or
Ushers ; twenty pounds a year for the Writing Master, deter-
minable at the Will and Pleasure of the Trustees, or the major
Part of them present at any quarterly Meeting.
Third, That the Boys of Rugby, Brorvnsover, or in any
Towns, Villages, or Hamlets, lying within five measured Miles of
Rugby, or such other Distance as the major Part of the Trustees,
present at any Public Meeting, shall ascertain, Regard being
had to the annual Revenues of the said Trust Estate for the
time being, shall be instructed by the said Masters and Ushers,
respectively, in Grammar, and such other Branches of Learn-
ing as are herein before mentioned, without taking from the
said Boys or their Parents, Friends or Relations, any Fee or
Reward for the same, directly or indirectly. And that such
Boys shall regularly attend Divine Service on a Sunday unless
prevented by sickness. And in order to proportion in some
Degree, the Profits of the Master of the Grammar School, to
the number of the Boys under his Care and Tuition; such
yearly Sum as the major Part of the Trustees, at any Public
Meeting, shall approve of, not exceeding the yearly Sum of
three pounds, shall be paid yearly, by and out of the Rents
and Revenues of the said Charity Estates, to the Master of
the Grammar School, over and above the Salary herein before
directed to be paid, for every Boy of Rugby, Brownsover, or
any Town, Village or Hamlet, lying within five measured
Miles of Rugby, or such other Distance as aforesaid, who shall
be instructed by the said Master and Usher in Grammar, and
the Latin and Greek Languages, and so in Proportion for any
less Time than a year.
126 RUGBY SCHOOL
Fourth, The Trustees to meet Quarterly, on the first Tues-
day in the Months of February, May, August, and November, in
every Year, in the School, at Rugby, aforesaid, at Twelve in
the Forenoon, and hear the Boys of Rugby, Brownsaver, or
within five measured Miles of Rugby, examined. And at their
Annual Meeting in August to make such Rules and Orders
for the better regulation of the said School and the Masters
and Ushers thereof, and of the said Almsmen, as the said
Trustees, or the major Part of them present at such Meeting
shall think proper, all which Rules and Orders shall be ob-
served by the Master and Ushers of the said School and
Almsmen respectively for the time being.
Fifth, That the Trustees shall, or may, cause to be built
such additional Number of Alms-houses, not exceeding Four,
as the Trustees, or the major part of them for the Time being
shall approve of; Regard being had to the Revenues of the
said Charity, to be for old Men of Rugby, or Brorvnsover, who
shall be provided with a Gown the Value of Thirty Shillings,
and a load of Coals not less than Forty Hundred Weight, nor
exceeding Forty-four Hundred Weight, to each of them
yearly, and shall be paid such Weekly Allowance, not less
than Three Shillings and Sixpence, nor more than Four
Shillings and Sixpence, as the Trustees, or the major part
of them present at any public Meeting, shall from Time to
Time direct, provided that such Persons do constantly reside
within the said Alms-houses. The School-house, School-
building, and Alms-houses to be kept in good Repair, and
all Taxes, Parish Rates, and other Rates and Taxes, to be paid
by the said Trustees.
Sixth, A Clerk to be chosen by the Trustees, with a reason-
able Salary, to keep Accounts of all Monies received and paid,
and to examine the Accounts of the Receiver of the Middlesex
Estate, and prepare the same for the Inspection of the Trustees
THE NEW CONSTITUTION 127
at their General Meeting; To register all Orders of the
Trustees, and Names of all the Boys on the Foundation, and
when they came to the School, and when they left it, and
the same of Almsmen ; and to make short Abstracts of Dates
and Parties, Names, to all Deeds, Writings, &c., and to
Register the same in a Book, with References to the Places
where they are kept, for the more easy finding them when
wanted. And to execute all the Orders and Directions of
the Trustees, in respect to the said Charity. That the Clerk
for the Time being shall attend all the Meetings of the
Trustees, and upon the Deaths of the Masters, or Ushers,
or any of them, give Notice thereof, to Three of the Trustees,
residing nearest to Rugby, who are to appoint a Day within
Three Calender Months of such Death, for an extraordinary
Meeting of all the Trustees, to proceed to a new Election ;
and Fourteen Days Notice at the least to be previously given
to each of the Trustees of such Day ; and that Notice of such
Vacancy and Day of Election, shall be inserted in the White-
hall and General Evening Posts, Six Times in each Paper,
before the Day appointed for such Election.
Seventh, That a Receiver of the Rents of the Middlesex
Estate shall be appointed by the Trustees, or the major Part
of them, present at their annual Meeting, with a reasonable
Salary ; and to give sufficient Security to be approved of by
the Trustees, to pass the Accounts yearly, and to pay the
Balance as the Trustees, or the major Part of them, present
at such annual Meeting, shall direct.
Eighth, That a Fire-Engine shall be bought, when, and
so soon as the major Part of the Trustees present at any public
Meeting, shall direct, and the same shall be kept in repair
for the Use of the School, Alms-houses, and Town of Rugby,
at the Expence of the said Trust Estate.
Ninth, The Trustees, or the major Part of them, to elect
128 RUGBY SCHOOL
and send, at such Time or Times as they shall think proper,
Eight Boys to any of the Colleges or Halls in Oxford or Cam-
bridge ; the Sum of Forty Pounds a Year, by half yearly Pay-
ments, to be paid out of the Revenues of the said Charity
Estate, to each Boy, for the Term of Seven Years, and no
longer ; and to be called " THE EXHIBITIONERS OF LAWRENCE
SHERIFF," and the number of such Exhibitioners, to be from
Time to Time filled up in Manner aforesaid : Which Boys re-
spectively shall not be entitled to receive the same annual
Sum of Forty Pounds, unless they shall actually reside Eight
Months in the Year, in such Colleges, or Halls, and shall
previous to such Payment, obtain a Certificate of such Resi-
dence, from the Master, or Head of each College or Hall.
The School was about to become more important than
it had ever yet been, and Burrough, being then of an
advanced age, and perhaps not feeling equal to the call
upon his energies which the new scheme must involve,
thought fit to resign his post. During his long master-
ship Rugby School had remained pretty much as it was,
and he departed, leaving behind him the memory of a
kindly heart, and " a most happy command of temper." 1
1 The Public Schools, p. 350.
THOMAS JAMES.
(From an old portrait.}
To face page 129.
VIII
THE NEW MAN
THOMAS JAMES, D.D., 1 1778-1794
THE Trustees were well advised in their choice of the
man who was to be first titular Head-master of Rugby.
Thomas James was an Etonian who had distinguished
himself at Cambridge, having been twice Members'* Prize-
man, and at the time of his election being Fellow 'and
Tutor of King's College. He was not only an accom-
plished classical scholar, but had no mean skill in mathe-
matics, which formed his chief recreation. What is even
more important for a head-master, he showed himself a
firm disciplinarian, and an organiser for whose care no
detail was too small. James brought with him to Rugby
1 Born Oct. 19, 1748, at St. Ives, Huntingdonshire ; at Eton from
1760 ; scholar of King's College, Cambridge, 1767 ; Fellow, 1770 ; B. A.
1771; M.A. 1774. First Members' Prize for Latin Essay (Middle
Bachelors), 1772 ; Senior Bachelors, 1773. D.D. 1786 ; Prebend of
Worcester, and Hector of Harvingdon, 1797. Died at Harvingdon,
1804 ; buried in Worcester Cathedral. Author of Compendium of
Geography, and the Fifth Book of Euclid, for use at Rugby. Die.
Nat. Biog.
129
130 RUGBY SCHOOL
Cambridge scholarship and Eton methods. We shall
soon find not merely the tutorial system in full swing,
and a body of praepostors served by fags, but dames'
houses, and other things and customs which speak of the
same origin. Even the very books used at Eton were
to be transplanted to Rugby. In this remodelling James
was assisted by another Etonian, James Chartres, also
Fellow of King's, whom the Trustees at the same time
appointed to be Second Master.
Christopher Moor, an assistant of Burrough's, must
have continued to do duty for a year or two, as in 1781 l
he receives a pension. James seems to have himself
appointed and paid other ushers at first, and the sums
thus expended are reimbursed to him in 1780. 2 At
the same meeting a whole batch of assistants receives
official sanction James Chartres as Second Master ;
Thomas Butcher and William Sleath as " Ushers to
assist the Schoolmasters," with a salary of ^60 a year
each; Henry Draper Lye to teach writing and arith-
metic. To the last-named %0 was allowed for teach-
ing the free boys, the others paying a moderate fee.
The benefits of the Foundation were at the same time
extended to boys living within ten measured miles of
Rugby, if within the county of Warwick. In the pre-
vious year 1 it had -been ordered that no boy should be
eligible as a Foundationer after the age of fourteen years.
1 Order of Aug. 7, 1781.
2 Order of Aug. 1, 1780.
THE NEW MAN 131
The Act described in the last chapter provided for the
establishing of exhibitions, and these were to be awarded
on the results of an examination held by the Head-master
in the presence of the Trustees. 2 For these exhibitions,
boys of Rugby and Brownsover were to have the prefer-
ence, if otherwise worthy. No boy was eligible for an
exhibition after the age of eighteen, or without having
been three years in the School.
The Head-master 3 received a salary of ^113. 6s. 8d.,
together with a capitation fee of 2 for each free boy.
He also had use of the Schoolhouse and gardens rent
free, with the fields or closes adjoining.
Building of new schools had already begun, as we have
seen ; and these were in the block westward of the Big
School which is shown in Pretty^s drawing. This build-
ing occupied the site of what were later the Fifth-form
and Twenty Schools ; and it communicated with the Big
School by the folding-doors which had been its chief
entrance, the portico being removed to the north side.
There were four rooms in this new building. The first
was fitted with four long tables, and was the dining-room
of the Schoolhouse; the others were set apart for the
First, Second, and Third Forms. The upper part was
divided by James into studies for the boys, wooden
partitions being set up, and a long passage left in the
1 Order of Aug. 3, 1779.
2 Same date.
3 Same date.
RUGBY SCHOOL
middle. One of the wings in front of the Schoolhouse,
a building of three storeys, was used for the same
purpose. 1
But these additions were not nearly enough. The
'
RUGBY SCHOOL, 1 809, FROM THE CLOSE.
(Nicholas's "History of Rugby -," from a drawing by E. Pretty.)
number of boys was increasing fast, and already a scheme
appears to have been under consideration for the complete
rebuilding of the School. As early as 1782 a petition
had been drafted for the right to use in building those
surplus moneys which were expected soon to come in.
1 The Public Schools, p. 355.
THE NEW MAN
133
Another usher was also to be added as soon as the num-
bers in school should amount to ten more. Meanwhile,
some of the barns and outbuildings belonging to the school
ENTRANCE TO RUGBY SCHOOL,
(Nicholas's "History of Rugby " from a drawing by E. Pretty.}
property were fitted up for schools as best might be done.
For more than twenty years after this time, a large barn
by the D unchurch Road was used for the two upper
forms. Part of this " Barn-school, 11 as it was called, was
134 RUGBY SCHOOL
given to the French master; and a small lean-to beside
it was used for the execution of offenders by birch and
block.
We have seen that for many years the boys had
attended service in the parish church. The gallery where
they sat was by this time too small to hold them, and
James began the practice of holding a Sunday service
in school. One of the Masters was appointed chaplain, 1
and allowed ^?20 a year for "reading prayers and
preaching," which sum was afterwards raised to thirty
guineas. 2 Apparently the boys were usually divided, part
going to church and the remainder attending service at
school. The room used for this purpose was for a long
time the Barn-school on the Dunchurch Road. A chapel
clerk was first appointed in 1785 ; there was also an organ
and an organist. 3
James himself was at the bottom of most of these
improvements; and he showed in many ways his devotion
to the interests of the School. He bought land adjoining
the property at his own expense and costs as opportunity
offered. In 1784 we find the Trustees repaying him 200
which had been so spent. He also paid considerable sums
out of his own pocket to his assistants. New Almshouses
were being rapidly built ; and James hit on the idea of
converting the old Almshouses near the School into a
1 Order of Aug. 3, 1779.
2 Order of Aug. 2, 1785.
3 Sumptuary Laws and Letter-Book.
THE NEW MAN 135
" nursery " that is, a sanatorium and " lodgings." l He
also concerned himself about the boys' exercise. The
Head-master had a private bath of his own, which boys
were allowed to use if they wished. But in 1784 a move-
able shed was erected by the river for boys bathing there ;
THE "COACHING "-BLOCK.
(From a drawing by C. V. Lanyon.)
and bathing-men were appointed to look after them, each
boy being charged a small fee of a shilling or two by the
year. Perhaps Mr. Sleath, who was Master of the Lower
School, had some kind of oversight of this place ; for a
1 Order of Aug. 3, 1784.
136 RUGBY SCHOOL
part of the river was (and still is by old Rugbeians)
known as " Sleath's " or " Sleet's." This place is shallow,
and was set apart in former days for those who were
learning to swim.
Of James's methods of teaching and government we
have very full information, thanks to various letters and
manuscripts of his own which survive ; and in view of his
importance in the history of Rugby School, it will be
worth while to consider these at some length. 1
In the morning, bedroom doors were opened at half-
past six, or at seven on Sundays and whole holidays.
" Absence " was called at nine for breakfast, and at all
other meals. The work of the day was divided into five
lessons. The first began at seven in the morning, the
second at ten or half-past, the third at twelve, and the
two remaining at three and five in the afternoon. This
is, to all intents and purposes, the system still followed
at Rugby ; and there is no reason for doubting that the
extreme limits of the lessons were then (as now) fixed,
but the times of beginning and ending varied to suit con-
venience. Tuesday and Saturday were always half-holidays,
and two "absences'" were called in the afternoon, one
at three, and another at five in winter, or in summer at
half-past five. The Thursday half-holiday was a gift of
grace, always supposed to be earned by one or more good
" copies " done in the Sixth or Fifth. These three half-
holidays were used for play, or for lessons in dancing,
1 See his detailed scheme in Letter-Book : Letter to Samuel Butler,
written about 1798 (copy).
THE NEW MAN 137
drawing, fencing, and other " accomplishments. 11 A whole
holiday was, in James's opinion (and most practical teachers
will agree with him), " the worst of plagues ; " and if he
was obliged to give one, he took care to set some regular
exercise to " preserve it from wild schemes and excursions. 1 ' 1
For evening preparation, boys were locked up (the phrase
then had its literal meaning) from a quarter after six to
eight, by increases or decreases of a quarter of an hour,
according to the season. At locking-up, prayers were
said, and any boy absent without reason when the clock
struck was whipped. Candles were allowed till nine for
the lower forms, and until a quarter to ten for the Fifth
and Sixth. " Before I had studies, 11 James writes, 1 " I used
to let my boys study by day in their bedrooms ; but ob-
serve, this will spoil all your beds, bed-quilts, bedding,
and curtains. Better, therefore, to send them into school
to get their lessons, with an assistant. 11
The School was from this time divided into six forms,
on the system which is now almost universal. The
Head-master taught the Fifth and Sixth Forms, with
some assistance from others. First lesson on Monday
was given to Scripture History, which apparently alter-
nated with Goldsmith's Roman History, or the History
of England, in a cycle. Construing followed after break-
fast and in the afternoon, Homer, Virgil, and Scriptores
Romani being the books used. The amount done at
each was thirty or forty lines; and previous work was
revised as far as might be on Friday. On Tuesday, at
1 Letter of 1798, p. 39 ; in Letter-Book.
RUGBY SCHOOL
first lesson, Cicero was translated in one week, and Latin
prose done the next ; occasionally an English theme was
set instead. The rest of the morning was occupied with
Poetae Graeci, and a verse theme and English translation
set to be done during the day. On Wednesday the
translation or English theme was looked over, and yes-
terday's Poetae Graeci repeated. Scriptores Graeci were
read in the morning, and the afternoon was filled as on
Monday, with Livy, Tacitus, or Cicero, with Ovid or
Greek grammar. Latin verses were set as the day's exer-
cise. The Latin verses were looked over at first lesson
on Thursday, and thirty lines of Ovid or some Greek
grammar were also done. After breakfast, Homer was
done as on Monday. Thursday's exercise was a copy of
lyric verse: Iambics, Sapphics, Asclepiads, Alconics, or
Trochaics. Some few boys did Greek verses ; and W. S.
Landor says that he and Butler were the first boys at
Rugby, " or *at any school," to do these. The first lesson
of Friday was devoted to Homer, with a revision of
Thursday's lesson or thirty-five new lines. Sometimes
the hour was taken up in revising part of the Homer,
and whatever part of the Virgil could not be done at
the usual time. At ten o'clock sixty lines were done in
the Satires or Epistles of Horace, or the Ars Poetica;
sometimes select satires of Juvenal and Persius; both
Horace and Juvenal being worked 'through once in
two years and a half. At three o'clock fifty lines of
Virgil were revised, with the morning's lesson in Horace.
At five, thirty lines were done in Cicero's de
THE NEW MAN 139
which were revised in the week next following ; and thirty
lines of Ovid once construed and once hastily read off
in English, this also being repeated in the next week.
On Saturday the first lesson was a revision of sixty lines
of Horace, which was sometimes done by an assistant,
while the Head-master examined a lower form. Fifty
lines in some Greek play or in Demosthenes were done
at second lesson, and a Latin theme set for Monday.
For third lesson of Saturday, at twelve o'clock, thirty-five
lines of Milton were read. James used sometimes to
give this hour to rehearsing speeches, or to mathematics,
"which was my utter ruin at the time." The study of
mathematics was a hobby which cost Dr. James dear,
for he seems to have found the mental strain of lecturing
on this subject very great. " The regular preachment
or delivering of such a lecture," he writes, 1 " for an hour
together, from twelve to one, after Saturday morning's
business (when there was no exercise, and only twenty-
five lines of Virgil repeated, sacrificed to it), not only kept
my mind upon the full stretch during the delivery, and
so was sometimes painful, but even wearied my body to
excess, and made it hot, or, at any rate, perspire too much.
The boys must have observed the truth of these things,
especially on Saturdays at dinner, and how pale I used
then to look." It is to be feared that the boys were
rather amused than concerned at the sight of Dr. James
perspiring in his wig, through " honest but indiscreet zeal."
On Sunday, " absence " was called at nine, before break-
1 Letter of Resignation, p. 21.
140 RUGBY SCHOOL
fast, and at ten o'clock Greek Testament or some Scrip-
ture book was read, such as Seeker.
The Odes and Epodes were divided into four parts,
one of which was construed each half year. Four or five
weeks, not more, were allowed for this, during which time
Virgil was dropped. Four lessons were given to these
in each week, and revised in the week following. Modern
geography, with ancient Greece and Italy, was worked
through, one in each year. In each half, " two declama-
tions pro and con" were made. Each declamation was
divided into two exercises, and made as two Latin themes,
the first being exordium et prima pars probationis, the
second secunda pars probationis et peroratw. For Greek
plays there were used Burgess's Pentalogia with Latin
translation, or separate editions of Hippolytus, Medea,
Philoctetes, Prometheus, and Plutus, in the Eton editions.
Demosthenes and Pindar might be read in selections
instead of a play.
The lower forms we may dismiss with a shorter notice,
though the scheme drawn up by James has for these
the same minuteness as for the Fifth or Sixth. The
Fourth Form used Caesar, Cicero, Terence, Ovid, Virgil,
Horace, Lucian, Aesop, and Poetae Graeci, and their
exercises were in Latin prose and verse translation, and
Latin themes in prose and verse. Boys of this form did
some of their copies under supervision. The Lower School
included the Third Form and all below. Here were used
Bell's Pantheon, Exempla Moralia, Selecta eprofanis, Ovid,
Tibullus, with Ellis's Exercises and nonsense verses. On
THE NEW MAN 141
Sunday the Catechism took the place of Greek Testament.
Much attention is paid in the lower forms to Accidence
and Syntax. In the Second Form Selecta e Veteri Testa-
mento was one of the books used, and others were Exempla
Minora, Phaedrus, and Ellis. No rules are laid down
for the First Form, which consisted of very young boys,
who knew practically nothing. The construing lesson
varied from four lines of an elementary book, to one.
Some minor regulations made by James are not with-
out interest. He first established the system of trades-
men's notes, by which no article could be supplied to a
schoolboy without a note signed by the Boarding-house
keeper. 1 Tradesmen violating this rule were put out of
bounds for a time or altogether. Special paper was
supplied " for punishments imposed." 2 The bookseller,
Rowel or Gascoigne, was required to write the boy's name
in each book he sold to a boy. 3 For books lost or left
about, a fine was imposed. 4 As to pocket-money, three-
pence a week was allowed for boys " in the Latin grammar
or in the First Form," " fourpence may be right in the
Second Form, sixpence in the Third, ninepence or less
than a shilling in the Fourth, and a shilling in the Fifth
and Sixth Forms." 5 To this a " diligent boy " might add
by deserving the " Merit Money," which was awarded
each week if earned. 6 For classical work in the First and
Second Forms, threepence was the sum fixed, sixpence for
the two next above, and a shilling for the Fifth and
1 Sumptuary Laws, 1, 2.
2 15. 3 16. 4 15. 6 10. 6 11.
142 RUGBY SCHOOL
Sixth. Other less sums were given in the French and
Writing Schools. Most of this merit money was found
by the Head-master. It should be borne in mind that
there were no prizes then given.
James made a great point of speeches and declamations.
Boys were regularly practised in these, as we have seen,
and the third lesson of Saturday was sometimes used for
rehearsal, " the most painful and laborious instruction that
can be given." "James took vast pains with such boys
as were selected, 11 writes his pupil "Nimrod," "and he
was well qualified for the undertaking. 111 He did not
attempt to teach theatrical action, 2 but aimed merely at
"a delivery with propriety. 11 Speakers were placed at
raised desks opposite to each other in the School. Not
more than six or eight, ten at the most, should take part,
and the speeches should not be frequent, as they inter-
rupt the work of a school. The regular Speech Day was,
until 1791, the day when the Trustees met in August.
On that day the candidates for exhibitions were examined
before the Trustees, and various boys performed in the
traditional manner. For this function a wooden gallery 8
was erected in the Big School, to accommodate old
Rugbeians and other visitors. 4 The School used to be
decorated no longer with rushes, but with oak boughs,
and the place was all gay with flowers begged, borrowed,
1 Nimrod's Life and Times; Eraser's Magazine, 1842, ii. 173.
2 Letter-Book : Letter of Oct. 24, 1800.
3 Afterwards called the Oxford Gallery.
4 See Order of Aug. 17, 1795, repaying the Head-master what he
had spent on this.
THE NEW MAN 143
or otherwise obtained. The boys were gloriously arrayed
in their best ; long single-breasted coats, flowered waist-
coats slit at the hips, and silk stockings, perhaps also
shoes of sealskin 1 with silver buckles. A printed list
of the speeches in 1781 2 is reproduced here :
HENRY VAUGHAN The Supplication of Caractacus to Clau-
dius Caesar. Tacitus s Ann. B. 12. 37.
TANQUERAY Latinus \
JOHN HUNT Drances > Virgil's Mn. 11. 343.
HARRISON Turnus )
JAMES VAUGHAN The Defence of Charles I. upon his Trial.
Humes Hist. Vol. 7. p. 142.
WILLIAM BABINGTON Sophonisba's Supplication to Masinissa.
Livy. Book 30. 12.
KNIGHT Part of Tully's Fourth Oration against Catiline.
Sect. I.
HUGHES Phaedria ) ,
V lerences Lunuch. Act 1.
EBDELL rarmeno J
KENING The Popular Applause bestowed on Bolingbroke,
when he entered London with Richard II. Shakes-
pear s Richard II. Act 5.
PEARCE Archbishop of York The Decline of Bolingbroke's
Popularity, after his advancement to the throne.
Shakespear. Second Part of Henry IF. End of
Act 1.
PHILIP HOMER Part of the first Philippic of Demosthenes.
Sect. 4.
HUGHES The beginning of ^Eneas's Speech to Dido.
JEn. 2.
1 See Dr. James's Sumptuary Laws.
2 Now in the possession of Mr. A. J. Lawrence.
144 RUGBY SCHOOL
HENRY VAUGHAN The Earl of Oxford's Speech in the
House of Lords after his impeachment.
BAYLEY Part of Tully's First Oration against Catiline
Sect. 2.
STAFFORD Speech of Henry V. before the battle of Agin-
court fought on St. Crispian's Day. Shakespear.
Henry V. Act 4.
But in 1791 1 the Trustees, finding it inconvenient
from multiplicity of business to attend and hear public
speeches on that day, requested the Head-master to ap-
point another day for the purpose. The day chosen was
the second Tuesday in June, just before the School broke
up for the summer holidays ; and for many years this
continued to be the Rugby Speech Day. In choosing
subjects for themes and declamations, James spent a vast
deal of time and trouble. At the end of his Mastership
he had a large collection of them, which he offered to lend
his successor. I have not discovered whether this offer
was accepted ; but it is likely that it was, and if so, that
the themes became traditional at Rugby. James does not
appear to have seen that boys as well as masters can hand
down their themes from generation to generation. This
they certainly did, and the " Vulguses " were in Arnold's
day a great convenience to the boys of Rugby School.
James took a great interest in the School Library,
now some sixty years old. The Trustees allowed him
ten guineas yearly to purchase new books; and though
he had no library subscription, 2 it seems to have been
1 Order of Aug. 2, 1791.
2 Letter of Dec. 10, 1793 : in Letter-Book.
THE NEW MAN 145
customary for new boys, on being admitted to the freedom
of the Library, to make a small present (a crown or
so), and another when leaving school. The Library was
used by the Fifth and Sixth Forms, and the following
list of books is given : l
Guthrie's Geography.
Beauties of the Spectator, Taller, Rambler, Adventurer, Pope's
Works.
Elegant Extracts in Prose and Verse.
Elegant Epistles.
Adam's Roman Antiquities.
Lempriere's Bibliotheca Classica.
Enfield's Speaker.
FOR THE LITTLE BOYS' LIBRARY.
Percival's Moral Tales.
Goldsmith's History of England.
Tales of the Castle.
The Old English Baron.
Sandford and Merton.
Adelaide and Theodore.
Mannontel's Tales.
Bible Epitomised.
Principles of Politeness (from Lord Chesterfield's Letters).
Flowers of Ancient and Modern History, and Modern
Voyages and Travels.
Gay's Fables.
Robinson Crusoe.
1 Scheme in Letter-Book, p. 34 (copy). These books were used at
Rugby (Sumptuary Laws, 16).
146 RUGBY SCHOOL
Another list given in the Sumptuary Laws adds Footsteps
to Mrs. Trimmer, and the History of Little Jack, " which
is full of goodness. 11 It is not to be supposed that this list
is complete, for ten guineas would buy the whole of it
twice over. These are merely the books for recreation;
besides which there were the learned tomes bequeathed by
Holyoake, and some other classical books since added.
As a disciplinarian, James was strong according to
the ideas of the day, but the school machine at that time
was anything but perfect, either at Rugby or elsewhere.
Boys were then left very much to themselves for their
leisure hours ; and it is odd to find a Head-master writing
that a Head-master's house may be expected always to
prove a hot-bed of rebellion, because he will have a larger
number of big boys there. When we find this stated as
a matter of course, Arnold's transformation of the moni-
torial system is better appreciated. In James's day the
praepostors (as they were then called) had many privileges,
but few duties. There was certainly some sort of organi-
sation among them. A " Senior Monitor" is mentioned,
who called over the boys aloud in church, and pricked
down the absentees ; or at other times " form praepostors "
did the like severally. 1 But the Head-master does not
appear to have depended on the boys for help in support-
ing the school discipline ; and even the assistant masters
would seem to have thought that beyond their sphere.
So much may be gathered from an Order of the Trustees,
which takes the pains to point out, that it is considered
1 Thomas James's Letter-Book, in Rugby School Library.
THE NEW MAN 147
"equally incumbent on them to co-operate with the
Head-master in enforcing the discipline of the School, as
in the instruction of the boys." 1 Of his own principles in
school government James writes : 2
I have never governed the Boys by that secret informa-
tion which some Masters are thought to have derived from
their own subjects. It would be a high crime and even
Treason against the Virtue and Honour of the School to
induce Boys to be traitors to their Fellows. I have, however,
had good-natured hints thrown in at my study windows in
a sort of letters printed with a pen ; and the like have also
been found hanging on the knocker of my street Door, or
thrust under a hole at the bottom of the Door ; but I know
not now for certain by whom ; but such hints shew only the
good hearts of the boys who did it, and how perfectly they
knew that the Master would accept no dishonourable method
of information from a School boy. Secret information from
any others I have always thought fair, together with general
reports in the case of mischief; and I have acted upon it
(as I told the Boys openly within this month in School), even
to expulsion, as in the case of the old man's teeth knocked
out a year since ; and they well knew that I was justified.
Such things as now would be punished by the Sixth,
and never come to a master's ears, were clearly then left
for him to find out as best he could, with or without the
aid of pellets thrown in at his window by kind-hearted
boys. The letter continues :
1 Trustees 1 JBooJcs : Order of Sept. 27, 1825.
2 Letter of Resignation, p. 7.
148 RUGBY SCHOOL
I governed more by principles of justice, and what I
called among the boys (my only law) the Eternal Rule of
Right and Wrong which is the same from Adam to the
present hour, let French politicians say what they will (for
so I have talked to the School on various occasions). ... I
have governed, I say, more by maintaining such a sort of
character among the boys by my actions, than by the terrors
of the Rod ; though I have established that on all becoming
occasions (in my own opinion) from boys of 6 years old to
boys of 18, or even more than 18 years of age.
These are excellent principles, rarer perhaps in those
days, when the "terrors of the Rod" were the main-
stay of school discipline. Yet James by no means
spared the rod, 1 and it was used to what would now be
deemed an alarming extent. One thing we miss any
studious attempt to win confidence and affection; but
that is a later growth. The ideal Head-master in the
mind of James was an embodiment of strict and impartial
justice. If he erred on the one side, it must not be for-
gotten that the modern and softer ideal errs on tbe other.
One of James's pupils, Charles Apperley, better known
to the sporting world as Nimrod, has left a picture of his
Head-master, which is none too flattering. 2 " The Rev.
Dr. James," he begins, " was a little inclined to be mad-
after the fashion of great wits, and a great wit he was."
The hint of madness is somewhat suspicious from Nimrod,
who reveals himself as a very scatter-brain. But the
1 "For Kods or Birch for a year ... 2. 2. 0." (Letter of
Resignation).
2 Fraser's Magazine, 1842, ii. "My Life and Times."
THE NEW MAN 149
reader can hardly fail to be struck by the success of
James's system, as exemplified in a hard-riding old fox-
hunter, who cheerily owns that he has "no university
honours to boast of, 1 ' yet carries a volume of Virgil or
Horace in his portmanteau when he goes on his hunting
excursions. His classical training has imbued him, not
only with a store of apt quotations, but with a real
taste for literature. There is a wide gulf fixed between
Nimrod's garrulous but racy Reminiscences and the ele-
phantine humour of a certain pink periodical. The latter
(to use its own choice language) is a quadruped of quite
another tint. Nimrod holds the view that James, in
spite of his " great wit," was not quite the man for the
situation he held. What with "familiar jokes" at one
time, and " ill-timed severity " at another, he was " neither
respected nor beloved." I take leave to doubt this, on
the testimony of other of James's pupils. Butler at
least respected him, and probably more than that; after
he left school, he and James corresponded regularly, on
terms which are almost affectionate. Nimrod indeed
was hardly in the frame of mind to appreciate the
virtues of his preceptor. " On second thoughts," he goes
on, " who ever loved a schoolmaster ? Quern Jupiter odit,
pedagogum fecit: a schoolmaster never was intended
to be beloved." From the delicate allusions which
follow, I gather that Nimrod had an extensive acquaint-
ance with James in the character of Nemesis ; and when
he comes to speak of some other of the masters, he forgets
all about Jupiter and the pedagogue.
150 RUGBY SCHOOL
Notwithstanding the justice and severity of Thomas
James, there were two serious rebellions during his Master-
ship, which he mentions in the letter already quoted. At
that period rebellion seems to have been in the air. Per-
haps it is not fanciful to suppose that the revolutionary
wave in France, which excited James and all his contem-
poraries among men, was not without influence on the
thoughts of boys, who are always apt to imitate their
elders. It was just then also that the system of school
discipline was in its beginning, and it was but natural
that schoolboys, who had so often hitherto been left to
run wild, should chafe under the first attempts at restraint.
Whatever were the cause, several of the great schools had
to face uprisings of boys during the last quarter of the
eighteenth century, or towards the end of the great
French war ; and Rugby was no exception. Nothing is
known of the two rebellions which occurred under James,
but that he succeeded in quelling them both. The more
serious of them seems to have occurred in November
1786, in which month (apparently just after it was over)
the Trustees held a special meeting in Rugby. We are
to suppose this was done at the Head-master's request,
to confirm the measures he had found necessary in the
matter. The Order is as follows :
We, the Trustees of Lawrence Sherriff's School, present
at a Meeting held at Rugby on the 17th day of November
1786, do entirely and earnestly disapprove of the late Rio-
tous and Rebellious Behaviour of the Scholars in the said
School ; and are unanimously determined to support the
THE NEW MAN 151
Authority and Discipline of the Master ; and from a sense
of our own obligation to promote the interests of the
Trust, we shall be zealous to assist with vigour and firmness
every salutary Regulation which Doctor James may have
occasion to establish, and every exertion of his Authority
that may be necessary to give it Effect. And we hope he
will not hesitate to remove every Boy from the School who
shall presume to dispute his Authority, or disturb the peace
of the same.
At the end of his tenure of office, James had six assis-
tant masters or ushers, 1 besides the teachers of writing
and accomplishments. There were about two hundred
boys in the school ; and James's scale was six assistants
for that number, five for one hundred and sixty-five, and
four for one hundred and thirty. William Sleath was
then Second Master, taking the Upper Fourth. Nimrod
" thought nothing of him as &\ scholar," which Sleath
perhaps learned to bear with equanimity. He was called
Bacchus by the boys, on the principle of lucus a non
lucendo, for " he was a very temperate liver." A good-
natured man was William Sleath, and Nimrod (who was
not allowed a private tutor) presumed upon his good
nature and short sight by creeping into Sleath's tutor
set and getting the benefit of his instruction free of cost.
" What do you do here ? " Sleath would say if he spied
him ; " you can do without me, you idle young dog, if
you like." Sleath was an old Rugbeian himself, and had
1 In the MS. Register^ places a list of the staff at the head of each
year. See also Letter of Kesignation, p. 34 ; Fraser's Magazine, 1842,
ii. 168 ft.
152 RUGBY SCHOOL
been schoolboy in one half year and master in the next ;
he afterwards became Head-master of Repton (1800-34).
He was a noted conversationalist, and even as a schoolboy
would often keep his dormitory awake by his stories out
of the Arabian Nights. Even when at last Nature had
her way and the boys fell asleep, Sleath went on; and
when they awoke in the morning they would sometimes
find him still talking, like Socrates in the immortal Sym-
posium. John Sleath, who had previously been on the
staff "the eloquent and generous John Sleath," as
Landor calls him also made himself a name in the
scholastic world. He was for many years High Master
of St. Paul's School, and both he and William trained
many distinguished scholars.
Another of James's assistants, George Innes, 1 is de-
scribed by Nimrod as "a gentleman in thought, word,
and deed," though extremely strict. He won the hearts
of his pupils by a marvellous skill at single-stick. " His
manner," Nimrod writes, " and the carriage of his person
were graceful and commanding ; and his taste, which he
seemed to communicate to the boys, was acute, accurate,
and elegant. I liked much to hear him read; and I do
not think that this accomplishment could be carried to a
greater degree of perfection than it was by him." Innes
afterwards became Head-master of Warwick School.
Two other masters rejoiced in the appropriate names of
Homer and Birch. Philip Homer, who was " first assist-
ant " when James left, and then took the Lower Fourth,
1 Appointed 1783 ; Second Master 1787-92.
THE NEW MAN 153
had the reputation of being one of the best Greek scholars
of his day. The sceptical Nimrod, however, thought as
little of Homer's scholarship as of James's, but graciously
grants him a " turn for poetry," both Latin and English.
As his appearance was somewhat feminine, he was dubbed
Filly Homer, and it was thought a great joke to conjugate
the verb <tXeo> loudly in his neighbourhood, taking care
that $u\i(0pev sounded like Filly- Omer. William Birch
had the Lower Third in 1794, and a " fist like a sledge-
hammer, which he pretty freely made use of. 11 The two
remaining masters were Richard Bloxam in the Second
Form, and Peter Vaughan in the First.
Several of these, it will be seen, were no ordinary men.
James says no more of them than that they were as good
as the Eton masters; but there was more in them than
mere scholarship, as their after careers may show. James
clearly had one mark of genius, the power of attracting
exceptional men, and of inspiring even ordinary men to
carry out his ideas. What makes the quality of these
men the more remarkable (and consequently the attrac-
tion of James) is the small salary which they were paid.
The official salary of an " usher " was not to exceed ^80,
and usually was ^60 ; and though additional sums were
found either by special grant of the Trustees or by James
himself, the whole did not amount to more than 100 a
year. Those boarders who did not enter the Schoolhouse
were boarded out at a " dame's " in the town ; and though
an assistant master was sometimes a " dame," this privilege
was not .general nor of great value. In fact, almost the
154 RUGBY SCHOOL
only things which could amend the ushers 1 pittance were
a curacy or private tuition ; which last, although optional,
was by James made general in the School. The private
pupils paid four guineas a year each, and received help
in construing their lessons for school. On this matter
James writes to Butler : l " Rugby would not support a
second assistant with a growing family : an assistantship
thus is very well for an unmarried man ; but, believe me,
it is not enough for a family." The Head-master himself
did all he could for his men, far more in proportion than
any modern head-master would dream of doing. Every
one of his six assistants received supplementary sums from
his purse, varying from twenty to sixty pounds a year.
His own income was less than might have been expected,
probably not one-fifth of that which his pupil Butler after-
wards had at Shrewsbury. In his Letter of Resignation,
Dr. James gives an account of his incomings and expenses,
which enters into the minutest details. The elaborate cal-
culations which (after his manner) James sets down in full
we may omit, and taking the totals we find the following:
Receipts from School
Salary
Profit on Candles and
Fees for 1793
Coals .
755
113
35
s.
17
6
15
d.
8
Christmas Presents 2
School Entrance
Total .
...
166
21
19
. 1092
17
8
1 Jan. 23, 1797 : in Letter-Book.
2 This money was used to augment the salaries of assistants, or
to increase their number. Each boy paid a guinea, except Founda-
THE NEW MAN 155
In addition to this, he received his house and
grounds free, which he estimated as worth 8%. 11s. per
annum. From the above total must be deducted for the
Second Master's share of the Christmas presents and for
supplementary salaries, 269. 4s. 8d.; the balance comes
to 822. 13s. Now as " change of scene in the vacations
is as necessary as good to a Master who wisely consults
his health," a sum of 80 in the summer is allowed " for
journey to Margate and all expenses, and stopping a few
days in London by the way, with himself and his wife,
and at least one man and one horse." The like sum is
allowed in the winter for "London lodgings, London
amusements, and journey in Chaises for the Master and
his wife, and man and horse." The clear gain which may
be laid by for a rainy day is ^663. 13s. The passage
which follows is worth adding in full :
"Such would be the Head Master's Gains for a year, if
his 40 Boarders can afford a gain equal to the support of
himself and family and 7 or 8 servants, according to the
circumstances of his private family. I know nothing really
about the gains of the Head Master's Boarding House ; but
I doubt whether the Head Master can receive Parents and
Company, pay for his wife, &c., and keep his children and
servants and 3 horses (as I do) upon the gains of the Board-
ing House at any rate."
The charge for board was sixteen guineas a year, with
a few extras, such as a guinea for a separate study, or
tioners. Poorer boys paid less, or nothing. James adds : " I had this
half year what I never had before, even a ten-pound note for the
entrance of two boys."
156 RUGBY SCHOOL
sometimes a charge for a separate bed. But it was
possible (and this was often done) to educate a boy at
Rugby for thirty pounds a year. 1
Besides the Schoolhouse, there were at this time
several boarding-houses or " dames' houses " in the town.
This was no new institution, for boys boarded in " the
School or town 11 in Burroughs day. 2 The Rector of
Rugby took in some at one time, and Elborow's Charity
had others. 3 In James's time, Mr. Gascoigne, the school
bookseller, had a dame's house 4 in what was afterwards
Loverock's shop. Another appears to have been Finch's. 6
And several others which we shall meet at a later date,
such as BucknilPs, may perhaps have existed thus early,
but I have no certain evidence for them. It is certain,
however, that there must have been others to house
James's two hundred and forty-five boys, 6 and some, at least,
of the masters took boarders. 7
It is possible to form a fair idea of the life of a Rugby
schoolboy in the latter part of the eighteenth century.
When terms began, boys would dribble in as conveni-
ence served. 8 Some came on pillion behind a servant, or
Letter of Resignation, p. 22.
MS. Diary, quoted by Bloxam, The Old School Bath.
The Public Schools, p. 358.
Sumptuary Laws, 15.
Writing Master's Bill for Finch's : in Papers.
This number is said to have been exclusive of Foundationers living
in Kugby, but on what grounds I know not. Inhabitants of Rugby are
mentioned in the Register.
7 See account of the Great Rebellion, Bloxam, Rugby, p. 66.
See Sumpt. Laws, 41, and Letter of Resignation.
THE NEW MAN 157
on their own horses, with a man to attend them and take
the horses back ; others in the stage-coach to Dunchurch,
then an important place on one of the great high-roads,
whence to Rugby is only a couple of miles. Or they went
by one of the many stages passing through Leicester or
Northampton, and posted the remaining two-and-twenty
miles to school. The rich or pretentious came in their
own chaises, or posted from home, but this was not common.
The classes, as they gradually filled up, went over again
some work done in the previous term. This time of grace
lasted for several days. "The Master," writes James to
the parents, "will always be glad to receive his scholars re-
turning to school within the first week after every vaca-
tion."" There is a tone of timidity about this not usual
in James, which suggests that his modest expectation was
not always fulfilled. So, too, when school broke up for
the half-yearly holiday of one month, 1 on the Thursday
before St. Thomas, or on the third Tuesday in June,
after the public speeches, the boys gradually melted away,
and took another week or ten days about it. At Christ-
mas, leave to go down began on the Friday before the
Thursday in question; in the summer, not before two
o'clock on Speech Day. We may imagine how boys
enjoyed those slack times, what "guttles" they had,
what expeditions, what harryings and worryings of each
other ! " A sort of saturnalia," writes Nimrod, " followed
the speeches. The last few days of the half-year were
spent in all kinds of riotous excesses. No lessons were
1 Sumpt. Laws, 40.
158 RUGBY SCHOOL
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."
Nimrod had not so strong a head as Socrates, and the
punch was usually too much for him. Perhaps we have
here one explanation of his view of Jameses scholarship.
"Although a small man," says Nimrod, with some re-
spect, " he had a very powerful arm ! "
Rugby had not, like some schools, a special uniform,
but boys came to school in the dress of a gentleman of
the day. Earlier in the century they sometimes ap-
peared in suits of scarlet cloth, gorgeous with gold
lace. The common wear at this time, we are told, was
cocked hat and queue. 1 Dr. James has been good enough
to leave behind him, in his book of Sumptuary Laws,
the most minute regulations as to dress. It is clear
from this volume that if he had been at the head of
the French army in 1870, the famous boast about the
last gaiter button would have been true. We see the
boys troop past in their stiff hats, with band and buckle ;
waistcoats of red and scarlet cloth ; coat of cloth or ker-
seymere ; breeches buckled at the knee, and made of wash-
leather, doeskin, cloth, or even Nanking, if they were
extravagant enough to indulge in extra washing ; worsted
1 Rugby Register, p. 47.
is
C/3 <
S I
U K
s
w j-
s &
THE NEW MAN 159
stockings, which might be exchanged for silk on Speech
Day; and half-boots, ankle-boots, or shoes with metal
shoe-buckles. Muslin cravats were bound about the
neck, since a " master cannot but disapprove of silk neck
handkerchiefs, or silk capes to waistcoats." 1 At night
each cherubic face was framed in a nightcap. In their
spare time the boys might saunter down town to pre-
sent their notes for purchases, or on a happier errand
to " Queen " Rebecca Treen, who then ruled supreme in
Rugby as purveyor of " stodge." Then if after third lesson
the welcome sound was heard of "Play for Butler" or
" Play for Landor," the boys would hasten over their
work in anticipation of a fine afternoon's sport. Some
would go down to the river for a bathe, or use the
Head-master's private bath. Perhaps a run would be
organised, in which (if report speak true) the praepostors
were huntsmen or hounds, and fags the hares ; the hunts-
men arrayed in pink, and armed with long whips, which
made pretty play about the hares 1 legs if they caught
them. Some of the bigger boys would perhaps steal
into the Doctor's stable, and lame his horses by making
them take impossible fences. 2 Or, again, they might even
break bounds, and go a-hunting in the season of the
year, or try to find sport for their guns in the neigh-
bouring covers.
But the great delight of a Rugby boy was fishing,
within bounds or without. Many a raid was made on
1 18.
2 Thomas James, MS. Letter to Trustees, in Trust Papers.
160 RUGBY SCHOOL
the schools for the " five large fire-shovels " which were
kept there. " Boys dig worms with them," writes James
pathetically, 1 u and leave them, and others take them.
Hence these, and so also Tin Pots vanish so knives
vanish with forks, plates, &c." The unlucky Head-
master was always bringing new ones, and always they
silently vanished away. Armed with these lifted tin
pots, full of worms dug by lifted shovels, knives, forks,
&c., the boys sallied forth for their sport.
Certain ponds along the Dunchurch Road were known
only to the elder boys, who used to hie thither in all secrecy
and spend many an hour in the gentle craft. Walter
Savage Landor was an expert in fishing, and of one day's
sport we have an amusing record from the pen of Charles
Reade, which deserves quoting : 2
"My father, John Reade, of Ipsden, Oxon/' he writes,
" was sent to Rugby at eight years of age. Next day, in the
afternoon, a much bigger boy espied him, and said, ' Hy, you
new boy, I want you/ It was to carry a casting-net. Young
Reade found it rather heavy. Master Landor cast the net
several times in a certain water, and caught nothing. There-
upon he blamed his attendant. ' You are the cause of this/
said he. ' I begin to fear you are a boy of ill omen ' (sic). He
cast again, and drew a blank. < Decidedly/ said Master
Landor, ' you are a boy of ill omen. However/ says he, e we
wont lay it on the Fates till we have tried all mortal means.
Sapiens dominabiiur astris. We must poach a little.' Accord-
1 Letter of Resignation.
Forster's Life of W, S, Landor, p. vii.
THE NEW MAN 161
ingly he proceeded to a forbidden preserve. At the gate
stood a butcher, contemplating heifers at feed. "I say,
butcher, let me fish the brook there." "Well, sir, 'tain't
mine." "Then what objection can you possibly have?"
"Why, master, I ha'n't no objection; but, you see "
" Much obliged," says this smart boy, and entered the field
directly, cast in the brook, but caught nothing. " Reade,"
said he, " this is not to be borne. You are a boy of loo ill
omen. Now here is a favourite hole ; if I catch nothing in
it I shall yield to your evil Destiny ; but I warn you I shall
make you carry the net home, and I shall flick you all the
way with my handkerchief." Little Reade looked very rueful
at that. The net even when dry had seemed mortal heavy to
him, and he began to calculate how much more it would weigh
when wet and dirty. The net was cast a good circle
drawn steadily to land, and lo ! struggling in its meshes a
pike of really unusual size. Master Landor raised a shout of
triumph ; then instantly remembering his partner, he turned to
Master Reade : " Welcome to Rugby, sir, welcome ! You are
a boy of excellent omen. I'll carry the net home, and you shall
sup off this fish ; it is the joint production of my skill and
your favourable star." Next day there was a complaint against
him for fishing out of bounds. " Mr. X. (the butcher) gave
me leave," said he quietly.
On another occasion Landor was fishing in forbidden
waters, when a farmer protested, and demanded his tackle.
Landor complied by throwing his casting-net over the
irate farmer, and soon reduced him to submission. 1 The
poor fags did not always find a " master " so considerate
as Landor, who used to protect them from bullying, 2 and
1 Life, p. 12. 2 Life, p. 16.
162 RUGBY SCHOOL
even paid his own particular fag threepence a week.
Their duties were many and burdensome ; blacking shoes,
cleaning knives and forks, and carrying up water from the
pump to the dormitories, were among them. Sometimes
a fag was made to warm two or three beds in succession
by lying in them, or he had to rise at some unearthly hour
of the morning, to run a couple of miles out into the
country, and take up a night-line which his "master"
had set overnight. 1
The Rugby boy^s study was his castle, into which none
might intrude without leave. Dr. James himself once paid
a paternal visit to Landor. The lad knew perfectly well
who was there, but the Doctor, on knocking at the door,
was met with the cry, " Get thee hence, Satan ! " The
tenant might, if he chose, have a lock put on the door,
and so hold himself free from the madding crowd. Within
he was monarch of all he surveyed, but that was not much. 2
The chief furniture was a plain wooden table covered with
green baize, a stool with three round legs, a cupboard, and
nails for his hat and coat. In addition there were a plain
flat-bottom tin candlestick with iron extinguisher and
snuffers, a wooden candle-box, a staff-handle brush, a
leaden inkpot, basin and bottle for washing the hands,
and a saucer or gallipot for soap. The window was pro-
tected outside by a wire lattice, and was hung with a
cotton curtain on four rings, or a blind. This mansion
cost him from ten to fifteen shillings a year, and the
1 The Public Schools, p. 360.
2 Sumptuary Laws, 24, 26.
THE NEW MAN 163
tenant bought his own furniture. No looking-glass is
mentioned, so probably the Rugby boy did not comb his
hair many times in the day. Indeed, it seems that only a
" prudent boy " l was allowed a comb ; others went to the
" combing-house " 2 at certain times and had the combing
done for them. This den was the scene of his work or
feasting, or of the rough horseplay of friends and enemies.
When illness attacked him, the boy was placed in the
" Sick Nursery," 3 where he had a separate fire and candle,
and one or more nurses to look after him if he were
seriously ill. He was also allowed the luxury of tea
morning and afternoon, at a cost of sixpence a day.
Tea then cost eight shillings a pound, and sugar one
shilling, and these were never allowed to the boys when
well. Such were " not school articles, but suggested only
by the indulgence of some few parents." 4 Beer was the
common drink of that generation, and James, like all his
predecessors, had his own brew-house. Luxurious persons
in the dames' houses might have two studies knocked
into one, and even enjoy a fire ; the others got warm as
best they could with the aid of a fire in the corridor.
There must have been a great " froust " in those studies.
A hardy life those boys must have led. Only in the schools
were fires kept up during the winter. 5 One was in the
" Big Old School," one in the Masters' 1 School, the Head-
master's School had a third, the " Dining School " a fourth,
and the last was in the " Upper Boys 1 Room over the
1 Sumptuary Laws, 8. 2 Paper not numbered.
3 Sumptuary Laws, 30. 4 Sumptuary Laws, 32.
5 Letter of Resignation.
164 RUGBY SCHOOL
School.''' Was the intention to make the boys look for-
ward to their hours of work, as the Spartans found war
a relief from the horrors of peace ?
In certain of the dames 1 houses things were in some
respects more comfortable, in spite of old boys' memories
of the whitewashed dormitory and hard bed, and the
surly old man-servant, with his good-night greeting of
" Get to bed with you ! " Nimrod and his brother had
a very commodious study, with a fireplace, in which
they, with a chum, provided breakfast and tea at their
own cost. The house belonged to one Powell, a country
apothecary, who went about in a drab suit of clothes,
cauliflower wig, and black-topped boots. "Old Mother
Powell " was a "regular skinflint," and her thin dinners
were avenged by many a prank. " Horrible were the tricks
we played this old housewife," writes Nimrod, and gives
a sample. Mother Powell had a tea-party one evening,
and the boys " blew the fumes of assafoetida, by the means
of a tobacco-pipe, through the keyhole of the door," and
drove Mother Powell and her gossips out of the room.
In school, or out of it, boys had then more sport than
they have now. With what gusto Nimrod tells of a jest
broken on poor L'Estrange, who had innocently asked
some one to write him a verse or two :
" With all my heart ! " says the other. " Take your pen
and write as I dictate/' and he thus dictated the two last
lines
' Hos ego versiculos scripsi, sed non ego feci :
Da mihi, praeceptor, verbera multa, precor.'
THE NEW MAN 165
I think I now see Paddy L'Estrange, as he was called,
showing up these verses to Birch, and his surprise when
the pedagogue told him he should certainly comply with his
request, and have him flogged ; which he surely was as soon
as school was over.
Nor was the fun confined to schoolfellows. Some
of the masters were harried to desperation, and one
of the writing masters was forced to resign because
of "the many insults he had received from the boys." 1
Even the person of the chief was not sacred from their
irreverence. William Henry Lyttelton, afterwards
third Lord Lyttelton, and Landor must have led poor
Dr. James a sad life between them. Lyttelton's humour
took a practical turn, but so amiable was he that every-
thing was forgiven him. He and some friends one day
tied up a young donkey in the Doctor's desk at school,
and all Dr. James said was, " Take him down, but, pray,
don't hurt the young doctor. 1 ' 2 Landor was a more
serious opponent, being perhaps the cleverest boy in the
School. In Latin scholarship, at least, he was probably
equal to his schoolfellow, Butler, the great Head-master
of Shrewsbury, and he used to delight in sharpening his
wits on James. The two had frequent differences in
school, and when Landor was attacked, he retorted by
some abstruse question as to " longs and shorts," 3 which
served as a red-herring across the scent. On one occa-
1 MS. Letter in the Papers.
3 Fraser'slMag., 1842, ii. p. 325.
3 Life, p. 12.
166 RUGBY SCHOOL
sion Lander's impudence carried him far; it shall be
given in the words of Charles Reade : l
One day in full school, Master Landor had an apple of
singular size and beauty. He had his Livy in one hand and
this apple in the other, and read and read, and munched and
munched, till the sound struck the Doctor. He espied the
delinquent, and ordered him to bring that apple to him.
He put it on his desk coram populo ; and then, half relenting,
said : " There, sir. Now, if you want that again, you had
better go and sit down and make me a short line on the
occasion." " Oh, I can do that and stand here," says Master
Landor. " Do it then." The boy thought a moment, and
soon obliged him with a pentameter
" Esuriens doctor dulcia poma rapit."
" Hum ! " says Dr. James. " And pray, sir, what do you
mean by E-su-riens doctor ?" " The gormandising doctor."
"Take it, sir. You are too hard for me, you are too hard
for me/' said the Doctor, delighted with his pupil.
Another instance of Lander's ready wit may be given :
There were seven boys in the School of the name of Hill.
The boys wanted a half-holiday, and came to Landor. " Write
to old James for one," said they. Landor consented, and
wrote a copy of verses, wherein he compared Rugby to Rome,
because it was built on seven Hills. " Ah," said the Doctor,
" I don't ask you who wrote this, for there is only one of you
with the brains to do it. Half-holiday ? Yes."
Lander's chief grievance seems to have been that
his verses were not appreciated, especially when a copy
1 Life, p. viii.
THE NEW MAN 167
had to be chosen for Thursday "Play. 11 "Mine were
always the best," l he says, with Olympian candour,
" but out of malice, I am afraid, the very worst of them
were chosen." Accordingly, when he was told to copy
his verses into the Head-master's album, he added two
stanzas beginning
Haec sunt malorum pessima carminum
Quae Landor uriquam scripsit. 2
" This was my revenge," says Landor ; and all he got
for it was a reprimand. Emboldened by this mild treat-
ment, the next time he wrote a copy in the album he
put in verses so scurrilous that James had to request
he might be removed from the School. James himself
was fond of a joke, as already related, and enlivened his
translation by topical allusions. " I take it for granted,"
he writes to Butler in 1796, 8 "you did not forget how
we used to construe 'Est Ulubris, animus si te non
deficit aequus ' c how happy a man might be at Brown-
soever, .'" But it takes a keen sense of humour to be
amused at squibs composed in the most elegant Latin to
one's own ridicule, by a pupil of one's own. James must
have been greatly relieved to be rid of his too clever pupil.
Fighting was very common at Rugby in those days,
as it was everywhere until a very few years ago. Those
were the palmy days of Humphries and Mendoza, and the
fashionable world was beginning to patronise the prize-
ring. If fighting was not exactly encouraged at school,
1 Life, p. 101. 2 Life, p. 19.
3 Letter-Boole : from Upton, March 2, 1796.
168 RUGBY SCHOOL
we have NimrocTs word for it that little notice was taken
of black eyes and bloody noses.
The head of the ring for some time (he writes) was a boy
named Birch, brother to the Master, who was himself an
expert boxer, and would often look on when a good fight was
proceeding. And the fighting at Rugby was not in the
pulling, bawling, and scratching style ; far from it. A ring was
formed, and each boy had his second and bottle-holder, and
all the ceremonies of the fistic art were religiously observed.
Battles would often last an hour or more, and amongst the
boys of the Upper School much science was displayed. All
this practice of self-defence, however, had a very good effect.
No unfair blow was ever allowed to be given, the part of a
little boy was always espoused when he was seen to be
bullied by a big one, arid when once a lad had shown him-
self a good one in the ring, he was generally respected in the
School.
Landor, who excelled in boxing, running, leaping,
and all manner of athletics, was himself quite a little
fire-eater. At the age of eight he fought a great battle
with Arthur Benjamin Clifton, 1 who afterwards fought
more serious foes at Talavera, Vittoria, and Waterloo.
This mode of settling differences, so well suited to the
age of boyhood, and so unjustly abused, often served to
make lasting friendships. Landor had another battle
with William Birch, who gave him a sound thrashing.
" We were intimate ever afterwards," writes Landor,
"until his death." 2
1 Entered 1783. Afterwards General Sir A. B. Clifton, G.C.B., &c.
2 Life, p. 15.
THE NEW MAN 169
It was a rough time, but the boys for all that (or
perhaps because of that) became manly and courageous
men. The roasting so vividly described in Tom Brown's
School Days was not without parallels. 1 One such cer-
tainly occurred a few years later, the victim of which
fought at Waterloo. 2 A custom which belonged to those
days was called Ash-planting. 3 Any grave offence against
the traditions of the School, such as a personal assault
made by a fag on a praepostor, was punished in the
presence of a judicial committee of praepostors and by
their order. The offender was chastised with three ash
saplings, two of which had to be broken over his body.
Sometimes he was sent out to gather the saplings himself;
but whether this was meant as an added indignity or as
an act of mercy, does not appear.
Pure mischief is always plentiful in a healthy boy, and
at that time this quality had free scope. In the intervals
of smoking out their unlucky dames, the boys would
indulge in a town and school row, or a raid on some one
else's boarding-house where better dinners were to be had,
or in breaking any windows that they happened to see.
But James's organisation was equal to any emergency.
Boys in the boarding-houses were condemned to repair at
the end of each week the windows of any of their neigh-
bours broken by them, unless the offender were dis-
covered, in which case he of course paid the piper himself. 4
Not many boys, perhaps, earned the " Merit Money "
1 Macready's Life. 2 The Public Schools, p. 359.
3 The Public Schools, p. 349. 4 Sumpt. Laws, 31.
170 RUGBY SCHOOL
which was offered as an inducement to diligence ; and
their own modest allowance of from threepence to a shil-
ling each week l must have been sorely taxed to meet
liabilities.
Another custom, which is only vouched for at a later
date, 2 was probably introduced under James. Shirking is
a recognised custom at Eton, and a variety of it used to
be observed at Rugby. It was illegal to be out of bounds
that is to say, beyond the radius of some half a mile
round the School. If a fag out of bounds spied a prae-
postor, he had to hide, or scud over hedge and ditch until
the great man called " On ! " The fag then resumed his
occupation as if nothing had happened. But if the call
was " Back ! " the fag had to come up to the praepostor
and answer for himself.
Nimrod says nothing of football at Rugby at this time ;
but cricket was, according to him, " in high repute. 1 '
Never had he seen neater batters or surer bowlers than
some of his schoolfellows, although he had seen many of
the best performers of the day. The bowling was doubt-
less underhand ; " it is now become more like throwing,"
says he, in the spirit of laudator temporis acti, " and has
lost all its grace in my eyes." Nor had he seen " balls
sent further or higher from the bat than those which
Joseph Port, Harry Wise, or Ned Tompkinson could
send in the Rugby playground." These hard hitters are
otherwise unknown to fame ; and Rugby had yet many
1 Sumptuary Laws, 10.
2 Melly, Experiences of a Fag, p. 241 ; Echoes Far Of, p. 9.
THE NEW MAN 171
years to wait until Wynch and Sandford won glory for
their School among the cricketers of England.
As might have been expected, many of James's pupils
distinguished themselves in after life. It is no longer
worth while to record mere university distinctions, which
at this time become numerous ; but one man stands out
from the rest as a scholar whose memory still lives. This
was Samuel Butler. 1 At Cambridge he won the Craven
scholarship, the Browne's medals for Greek and Latin
odes, the Chancellor's medal, and two Members' prizes.
After being elected Fellow of St. John's, he was appointed
Head-master of Shrewsbury School, which he completely
reorganised and raised to the highest pitch of efficiency.
It may be doubted if any other schoolmaster, even Dr.
Kennedy, has been so good a trainer of scholars as Butler ;
the successes of his pupils at the university were pheno-
menal, and excited the admiration of the scholastic world.
His career is the more remarkable in that he was a
pioneer, like his own master James ; and one of James's
truest satisfactions was in seeing the success of the man he
had trained. Nimrod slept four years in the same room
as " this learned man," who used to surprise the unsophis-
ticated junior by never appearing to do any work. He
seemed to be the idlest boy in Rugby, and spent his time
in fishing, or in reading novels and plays. On awaking in
the morning, he would order some fag to fetch him a sheet
of paper ; and then taking " a novel or book of plays, often
Shakespeare, of course," from under his pillow, he would
1 Entered 1 783.
172 RUGBY SCHOOL
write his exercise off-hand. This, " whether in prose or
verse, Greek, Latin, or English, was sure to be the best of
the day."" He never made any real preparation for class,
yet " displayed " his author beautifully ; and James, who
was very proud of him, would often appeal to him for
his interpretation of a hard passage. This is clearly the
roseate account of a hero -worshipper ; and if there is any
truth in it, Butler must indeed, as Nimrod suggests, have
" worked hard at Cambridge."
Besides Landor, there were others of Jameses pupils
who made their mark in literature. Henry Carey, 1 the
translator of Dante, was at school with Landor; and a
few years after him 2 entered John Parkhurst, the author
of Greek and Hebrew lexicons, which were for long used
as standard works. Charles Apperley, 3 the entertaining
" Nimrod, 11 was a writer on sporting matters, whose trum-
pet (to use his own modest words) "has already been
heard in all habitable quarters of the globe. 11 Though,
as a literary man he deserves no mention beside the great
name of Landor, we have drawn so freely on his anec-
dotes that we owe him a parting blast. It is interesting
to add that his best book has in this very year been
reprinted.
Others of James's pupils served their day and genera-
tion in the State, as Stephen Lushington, 4 Secretary to the
Treasury, and Governor of Madras; or in the Church,
as John James, the Head-master's son, who became Bishop
1 Entered 1783. 2 1788.
3 Entered 1789, 4 Entered 1778.
THE NEW MAN 173
of Calcutta ; 1 Edward Legge/ and Richard Bagot, 3 each
being Bishop of Oxford. A large number entered the
army or navy, and of these there is no space to speak
in detail. One Rugbeian, the Hon. Granville Leveson
Proby, 4 afterwards Vice-Admiral, and third Earl of
Carysfort, was a midshipman of Nelson's flagship at
the battle of the Nile, and lieutenant of the Neptune at
Trafalgar. Robert Mansel, 5 afterwards Rear-Admiral,
when in command of the Penguin, pluckily engaged three
large ships of the enemy, one of which struck to him. A
number of Rugbeians of this period fought in the Peninsula
or at Waterloo; one of them, George L'Estrange, 6 was
mentioned in despatches by Wellington after the battle
of Albuera, and recommended strongly for promotion,
for a successful defence against overwhelming odds.
The strenuous toil of sixteen years at length told
on Dr. James's health to such an extent that he found
it necessary to resign. He retired to enjoy his well-
earned ease at Upton-on-Severn, which living he held
for a year or two, until he was placed in a prebendary
stall at Worcester. Two of his letters draw the picture
of his peaceful life in the country, with wife and children,
and three or four private pupils. 7
" I thank God," he writes, " that I have recovered my
1 Entered 1792 ; Bishop of Calcutta 1826.
2 Entered 1781
3 Entered 1790. 4 Entered 1792.
5 Entered 1780. Naval and Military Records, p. 9.
6 Entered 1791. Naval and Military Records, p. 21.
7 To S. Butler, March 2, 1796 ; and to Mr. Grimes, Nov. 1. 1796.
174 RUGBY SCHOOL
spirits ... I no longer see anything in a gloomy light.
The night has dispersed at last, and my sun has arisen
again after a long absence. 11 He invites his friend to a
"jaunt in an Irish carr," which he had just purchased,
but had never gone abroad " with more than eleven
souls mounted upon it."
Two of my lesser satellites (he goes on) sit in the
middle between rail and rail, or between the one side chair
and the other ; and in a line with them in the middle is my
servant, John Oneley, the driver; on the one side chair is
Mrs. James with four lesser satellites ; and on the opposite
side chair is, a Nurse maid and child in the lap, little Mary,
and two bright luminaries of this lower world, commonly
called two fair Ladies among my Upton Neighbours, who
pleased themselves and us by the brightness of their influ-
ence. The power of attraction is all centred in the one
horse, fixed directly in the center of the Carr's front, before
John Jupiter Oneley, the Chariotteer. Come, and let us
whisk you along with us in our Worcestershire vertex ; come,
be soused with me into the bath at Malvern; be scoured
with me by the salts of Cheltenham ; and be sulfurised with
me both within your skin and without it, by potation and
ablution, by repletion and absorption, in plain language, by
drinking and washing in what are called a sort of Harrow-
gate waters springing within a mile of Upton.
In this playful and happy mood let us leave the
labourer to his rest.
On the wall of Rugby School Chapel is a fine
memorial tablet by Chantrey, representing Thomas James
in his wig and gown, and seated in a chair of the ancient
THE NEW MAN 175
Greek type. Beneath it is an inscription composed
by Samuel Butler, his favourite pupil, which reads as
follows :
THOMAS JAMES S.T.P.
COLL REGAL APVD CANTABR OLIM soc
SCHOLAE RVGBEIENSIS AB A S MDCCLXXVIII -AD A S
MDCCXCIV MAGISTER
VIXIT ANNIS LV MENSIBVS X DIEBVS IX
DECESSIT X KAL OCTOBR A S MDCCCIV VlGORNIAE
SEPULTUS EST
ERAT IN HOC VIRO INGENII ACVMEN SINGULARS
QUO VENVSTATES LITERARVM IPSE PENITVS PERSENTIRET
ERAT IN IIS EXPONENDIS VERBORVM NATVRALIS NON
FVCATVS NITOR
ITA VT QVOD IPSE OPTIME INTELLEXISSET
COPIOSE ET DILVCIDE CVM ALIIS COMMVNICARET
ERAT LEPORE CONDITA GRAVITAS QVA MENTES PVERORVM
AD SE ALLICERET
ET DISCENDI TAEDIVM DOCENDI SVAVITATE LENIRET
ERAT IN SVMPTIBVS EORVMDEM MODERANDIS IN
VALETVDINE TVENDA
IN MORIBVS AD PUDICITIAM PROBITATEM PIETATEM
INFORMANDIS
ANIMVS VERB PATERNVS
HIS ILLE VIRTVTIBVS INSTRVCTVS
SCHOLAM HANCCE MAGNA DISCIPVLORUM FREQVENTIA
MAGNO FAMAE CVMVLO
AVXIT ATQVE ORNAVIT
QVI AVTEM APVD DISCIPVLOS SVOS SANCTI PARENTIS
LOCVM TENVIT
IDEM ILLE HUIUS SCHOLAE GVBERNATORIBVS ITA CARVS
ACCEPTVSQVE FVIT
VT AB IIS VNA MENTE REGI HONORIFICE COMMENDARETVR
CVIVS FAVORE PRAEBENDARIVS IN ECCLESIA CATHEDRALI
VlGORNIAE CONSTITVTVS ESSET
TALI ET PRAECEPTORI ET AMICO
ALVMNI EIVS PIO GRATOQVE ANIMO 'H-M-P-C-A-S.
MDCCCXXIV
176 RUGBY SCHOOL
A portion of the money collected for this monument
not being needed for that purpose, there was also founded
a prize for Greek Verse, to be called for ever after his
name. But a memorial yet more abiding is that which
he built for himself. Thomas James was the creator of
Rugby as it now is; and of him, as truly as of the
architect of St. Paul's, it might be said, " Si monumentum
quaeris, circumspice."
IX
THE GREAT REBELLION
HENRY INGLES, D.D., 1794-1806
As earlier in the century one Queen's man led to another,
so was Thomas James followed by Henry Ingles, another
Etonian, and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. 1
Ingles had previously had some experience of school work
as Head-master of Macclesfield School ; and he arrived
at Rugby, as James writes to Samuel Butler, "still
panting for glory." 2 From the first he ruled with great
strictness, and even severity. Perhaps there was a reason
for this, as discipline may have slackened somewhat during
the late Head-master's long illness; but the change did
not commend itself to the boys. The new Head-master
was known in school as the "Black Tiger," and, as we
shall see, a very strong method was taken by the boys
on one occasion to show their disapproval of him.
Ingles is described by one of his pupils as
1 Born about 1749. Son of Anthony Ingles, of Ashford, Kent.
Matriculated Dec. 17, 1767; B.A., 1772; M.A., 1775; D.D. (Lambeth),
Dec. 19, 1796.
2 Letter of Sept. 7, 1794 : in Letter-Book.
177 M
178 RUGBY SCHOOL
A pale, ascetic-looking man, whose deportment was grave,
dignified, and awe-inspiring. The clicking of the latch of the
door by which he entered the Upper Schoolroom instantly
produced a silence like a chill, and the boldest held his
breath for a time. It was in the deepest hush of both Upper
and Lower Schools that the sound of his tread was distinctly
heard, or that his voice echoed through the halls as he gave
out on a Thursday morning the name or names of the boys
whose exercises entitled them to the honour of " Play," i.e.
of obtaining for the School one of the half-holidays of the
week. 1
Ingles made several small changes in the government
of the School, which, without touching the main features
of the existing system, were certainly improvements upon
it. He abolished the presents usually one guinea
which his predecessor used to receive from boys on
leaving School. He also did away with the "Christmas
present " of one guinea, which most parents were in the
habit of sending the Head-master, "in order to enable
him to engage able scholars and respectable gentlemen."
This sum was added to the Head-master's tuition fee,
making five guineas in all. 2 He also introduced the
custom of having outside examiners for the exhibitions.
In the Trustees 1 Order Book, 3 the year after Ingles's
accession, stands the following resolution :
Resolved : That two Posers or Examiners be appointed to
attend at the School House on the first Tuesday in August, at
1 W. C. Macready, in Pollock's Life, vol. i. p. 11.
2 Ingles's note to Sumpt. Laws, 49. 3 Aug. 17, 1795.
THE GREAT REBELLION 179
Ten o'clock in the Morning, for the purpose of assisting the
Trustees in the examination of the scholars who are candi-
dates for the vacant Exhibitions.
That the Examination be in the presence of the Trustees,
or a Committee of their Appointment, and of the Head Master
of Rugby School.
That the candidates be examined in the Books which they
have read in School during the two preceding years, and in
Latin Composition.
That the whole Sixth Form, or such Boys among them as
the Trustees shall appoint, be afterwards examined in the
Lessons of the Preceding Year.
That the two Examiners, who it is presumed will not con-
sider the Appointment in a lucrative view, shall receive each
Ten Guineas to defray the expences of their journey.
It was also provided that the Examiners should be
Masters of Arts, and "educated after the Eton or
Rugby method." Apparently the Posers did consider
the appointment in a lucrative view, for it was found
necessary in the next year to increase the fee to twenty
guineas. Thus the two Posers earned in one day what
an assistant master took four months to earn. It is
comforting to find that the Trustees considered even
the assistants to some extent in a lucrative view, for in
1797, owing to the increased price of provisions, their
official salary was increased to eighty pounds. In the
same year (1797) the boarding-house fee was increased
to twenty guineas a year for the same cause. This shows
how the great war was pressing on all classes of the
community. Whether this Head-master was as generous
180 RUGBY SCHOOL
to the assistants as his predecessor, I know not; but
he helped them to live by getting them curacies. 1
About this period we begin to find more names of
the various boarding-houses mentioned. Besides the
Schoolhouse and Birch's, of which more will be said
anon, the following names occur : Moor, Maling, " Dame
Powell," Bloxam, Bucknill, Stanley, Wratislaw ; and Gas-
coigne still continues. This list will show that some of
the masters, at least, took boarders under Ingles.
Ingles did what he could to give a separate study to
each boy. It does not appear how far he succeeded,
but he certainly intended to carry the reform through. 2
He also saw that the care of a large boarding-house was
"incompatible with the general duties of the School." 3
He had two-and-twenty boys then in the Schoolhouse
(no great matter according to modern ideas), yet proposed
to reduce these gradually to six or seven, thus leaving
himself free for his own proper duties as Head-master.
A third innovation was to establish a kind of pre-
paratory department. 4 It was decided to admit boys to
the writing school one year before they were entered into
the grammar school. These boys were not counted as of
the School proper, and no capitation fee was paid on their
account.
Of this Head-mastership there is little more to tell.
Ingles appears to have carried on the School with ability,
1 Letter of T. James to S. Butler : in Letter-Book.
2 Note to Sumpt. Laws, 59.
3 Letter to the Trustees ; no date.
4 Order of Aug. 3, 1802.
THE GREAT REBELLION 181
and not without success, notwithstanding that the num-
bers fell off somewhat. The figures for the five central
years of his tenure are as follows : l
1799 Foundationers, 28; Boarders, 116=144
1800 . . 27; 122 = 149
1801 .. 32; 110=142
1802 . . 31 ; 109=140
1803 . . 33; 108 = 141
These numbers are less by about fifty than James left in
the School. When Ingles resigned, however, in 1806,
the Trustees accepted his resignation " with the greatest
regret, 11 and expressed their satisfaction at "the present
exemplary state of the learning and discipline of the
School." 2 These are no empty phrases, for compliments
of the kind are rare among the Trustees 1 resolutions.
Ingles, like his predecessor, received a small pension, with
which he retired to a country living. He died at Easton,
Hants, in 1826, and left directions that no monument
should be put up over his grave. 3 Saddened by a terrible
shock in his early married life, when he suddenly met
bearers carrying home the body of his eldest son, who
had been drowned, Dr. Ingles seems to have been a
gloomy and morose man ; but though he may not have
been loved at Rugby, he was always respected.
Two events of importance occurred while Ingles was
1 Schedule among the Papers, drawn up for presenting to Parlia-
ment.
2 Order- Book: Aug. 5, 1806.
3 See Bloxam's Rugby, p. 67.
182 RUGBY SCHOOL
Head-master. The first was a determination to rebuild
completely the Schools and Schoolhouse, to add a chapel,
and to make the whole pile worthy of the position
which Rugby School had attained. For many years the
surplus income had been accumulating, until in 1799 it
amounted to more than twenty-five thousand pounds, 1
which stood invested in Government stocks. The pro-
perty seems to have been rapidly improving in value, and
a large permanent increase of income was to be expected.
It was therefore resolved to procure plans and estimates
for the purpose named, and permission was asked to sell
stock up to ten thousand pounds for building. At the
same time it was proposed to add two pounds to the capi-
tation fee for each Foundationer, to increase the number
of exhibitions to twenty-one, and to augment the value
of each by ten pounds. 2 The completion of the plan for
building belongs to the next chapter ; but it is proper to
mention it here, for we can hardly doubt that the Head-
master's hand is to be traced in this as in the other
improvements of this period.
The second important event was a mutiny of the boys,
thereafter known as the Great Rebellion. 3
One day in November of the year 1797, the Head-
master was walking down the street, when he heard the
sound of pistol shots from Gascoigne's boarding-house.
He promptly entered the yard, and saw one of the boys
1 Order-Book: Aug. 6, 1799.
2 Aug. 2, 1803.
3 Bloxam, Rugby, p. 65, from the accounts of some who had been
in it ; The Public Schools, p. 368 ; New Rugbeian, iii. 125-130.
THE GREAT REBELLION 183
shooting off" cork pellets at the study windows. Mr.
Gascoigne seemed to be taking this calmly enough ;
perhaps he was used to it, for we have seen that it was
taken for granted windows must be broken every week, and
he may have been grateful it was not the windows of a
neighbour. Not so Dr. Ingles ; he pounced upon the boy,
and demanded where he had bought the gunpowder. The
boy gave the name of Rowell, a tradesman who com-
bined the functions of grocer, bookseller, and ironmonger.
But the wily Rowell had entered the article as tea,
and denied the offence ; his books supported him. Con-
sequently Astley, the young sportsman in question, was
flogged. Astley related his grievance to indignant
friends, and a party of them sallied forth and smashed
RowelPs windows. When this came to the Head-master's
ears he decreed that the damage should be paid for by
the Fifth and Sixth Forms. Thereupon the boys drew up
a round robin, in which they declared they would do no
such thing. The Head-master breathed out threatenings
and slaughter, which only made matters worse. The first
act of war was the explosion of a petard by the door of
Ingles's school, which blew it off its hinges. Next day,
Saturday, fags were sent round to the different houses to
whip in all boys to the schools ; and in the morning, after
second lesson, the bell clanging violently sounded the
alarum. At the signal, small boys, mounted on big boys 1
shoulders, broke the school windows through the pro-
tecting latticework. Then all the boys began to lug out
desks and benches, and tear down wainscoting from the
184 RUGBY SCHOOL
walls ; all these fragments were piled in the centre of the
Close, and set fire to, Ingles's books being thrown on the
top. The schoolhouse butler, " Billy Plus " as he was
called, like a hero of the Victoria Cross, risked his skin
to rescue some valuable books from the holocaust. Mean-
while a crowd of delighted farmers and horse-jockeys lined
the Dunchurch Road to behold the scene. Rugby was full
that day, which was the day of the great November horse-
fair.
Ingles at once sent messengers post-haste for the
masters, but they were all away shooting or otherwise
amusing themselves. Then he sent into the town, where
a recruiting party of soldiers happened just then to be,
summoning them to his help. The men responded with
alacrity. Ingles posted one of them before his door with
fixed bayonet, and then the Black Tiger showed a white
feather he locked himself in. The boys triumphed
around their bonfire, until an awful rumour was whis-
pered among them : the enemy was coming. Some of
the masters had returned, and a force was rapidly
organised of special constables, farmers armed with horse-
whips and other nondescript elements, with the recruiting
sergeant to stiffen them. The sight of this serried host
was too much for the rebels, who executed a strategic
movement to the rear, and occupied the Island. This
was at that time really an island, and the moat which sur-
rounded it was about fifteen feet wide, and four or five
feet deep. Here the rebels hastily took refuge, drew up
the drawbridge, and bade defiance to the invaders. One
THE GREAT REBELLION 185
Mr. Butlin proceeded to read the Riot Act, and sum-
moned the castle to surrender ; while this was being done,
the soldiers stole round to the rear, and wading across
the moat, drawn sword in hand, took the whole party
prisoners. Then at length Dr. Ingles emerged from his
study, the thunders of Jove upon his brow, and condign
punishment fell on the captives. The floggings adminis-
tered on that memorable occasion were for ever a sore
subject with the victims; and those who were expelled
apparently blessed their good luck. One of the sufferers,
and a ringleader in this Great Rebellion, soon afterwards
entered the army, and served with distinction in the
Peninsula and in Burmah. This was Lieut.-General Sir
Willoughby Cotton, G.C.B., who showed more skill in
his later career as a soldier than he did in this first
attempt. Perhaps his experience as a corpus vile helped
him to put down the rebellion of the slaves in Jamaica.
Other schools have had their rebellions, but Rugby pro-
bably enjoys a unique distinction in the reading of the
Riot Act, and in the presence of full-blown soldiers among
the attacking party. It is noteworthy that no kind of
reference occurs to this event in the Trustees 1 Book. It
may be imagined how serious that mutiny must have
been which they so solemnly rebuked during the Head-
mastership of Dr. James. The garrulous " Nimrod " calls
it "awful, 11 and declines to enlarge on the subject; but
James (he adds) learnt a lesson which he never forgot.
It is amusing to find the story of this rebellion completely
transformed in popular tradition. For many a year a
186 RUGBY SCHOOL
legend was current in the School of a battle fought be-
tween the boys and a regiment of Irish soldiers, in which
the boys gained glory and great renown. 1
Foiled in this essay of real warfare, the School had
recourse to playing at war. Just at this time all England
was in fevers of apprehension lest a French army should
land. Loyal subscriptions were sent in from all parts of
the kingdom to aid in the national defence or insurance,
and in 1798 the boys of Rugby School collected 52. 10s.
for this purpose. 2 Volunteer forces were enrolled all over
the country, whose strange weapons or head-gear may still
sometimes be seen reposing peacefully in a country church.
Rugby was not behindhand, and in 1803 a corps was
formed in the town. 3 There were over a hundred mem-
bers in Rugby itself, and about sixty from the neighbour-
ing villages. In the following year the School would seem
to have followed suit, 4 and its two companies might have
been seen any day after school, drest in blue lapel led coats,
cuffed and collared with scarlet, tin sheaths girt about
their loins. They wielded thick wooden broadswords,
with which (being on foot) they naturally practised the
cavalry exercise. Occasionally they would divide into
two armies, one to defend the Island and one to attack,
and many a broken pate had those wooden swords to
answer for. It must be admitted, the Rugby boys made
the most of their weapons.
1 New Rugleian, ii. 187.
2 Printed Keceipt in Register, vol. i.
3 Roll and other documents among the Papers,
4 Pollock, Life of W. C. Macready, i. 15.
THE GREAT REBELLION 187
Of Ingles's pupils a very large number, as might be
expected in the great war, entered the army or navy.
Admiral Lord Somerville l served against the French
and in the American War of 1813-14. Sir Willoughby
Cotton, 2 leader of the Great Rebellion, has already been
mentioned ; he served in the army for more than half a
century, and one of his aides-de-camp in the East was
Henry Havelock. The Hon. Edward Henry Irby 3 was
captain of the 2nd Life Guards at Waterloo, Edward
Holbeche 4 was captain of the Enniskillens, and many
of their old schoolfellows fought beside them. George
James, 5 a son of the late Head-master of Rugby, served in
the Peninsula and in the second American War. Some of
the Rugby boys of that day were in the tented field at an
age when most boys are aspiring to play in their house
fifteen; one of them had fought in nine pitched battles
before he came of age. Among the deeds of these youth-
ful heroes is one plucky feat which ought not to be for-
gotten. After the battle of Vittoria, Soult was attempting
to raise the siege of Pampluna, which was then surrounded
by a Spanish force. Lord Wellington brought up a
brigade to check this movement, and arrived just when
the opposing armies were engaged. Henry Hanmer, 6
then aide to Sir Robert Hill, was sent on to announce the
arrival of the English brigade. The shortest way lay
across a bridge over the Arc, which had been blown up ;
1 Entered 1795. 2 Entered 1795. 3 Entered 1796.
4 Entered 1796. 5 Entered 1804.
6 Entered 1799. See Naval and Military Records, p. 37.
188 RUGBY SCHOOL
the choice otherwise lying between going some miles
round by a ford. Hanmer examined the bridge through
his glass, and saw that the explosion had only destroyed
the centre arch. As time was of great importance, he took
the risk. Clapping spurs to his horse, he galloped under
the walls of the town, through a hot fire, and came to
the bridge. A yawning chasm now lay before him, but
he put the horse at it, and just managed to clear the gap.
Even then he was all but down, for the stones on the
far side gave way, and the horse fell. But horse and man
got up again, and Hanmer, waving his sword in the air,
galloped away to complete his errand. If he leamt some-
thing of horsemanship by making his Head-master's horses
leap over bars, as others had done, this daring deed might
fairly have earned forgiveness.
In literature and scholarship none of the boys of this
time would seem to have attained eminence ; unless, per-
haps, this may be said of Thomas Robinson, 1 afterwards
Professor of Arabic at Cambridge, translator of the Bible
into Persian, and Master of the Temple. But one genius
of another kind was among them : this was William
Charles Macready, the famous actor. 2 He lodged in the
boarding-house of his cousin, Mr. Birch, and at first had
a hard time of it.
The 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
1 Entered 1805. 2 Entered 1803.
THE GREAT REBELLION 189
young man of the name of Ridge, an Irishman, who was a
very harsh task -master ; and I was made so uncomfortable
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. 1
The praepostors used to abuse their power shamefully,
and Macready has a tale of a roasting even worse than
that in Tom Brown, which made the victim seriously
ill. But he soon began to rise rapidly in the School,
and forgot his old terrors in the joys of stage manage-
ment. One amusement of the bigger boys was in getting
up plays, which were acted to their schoolfellows in
BucknilFs. Ere long Macready was to the fore, of
course, in these performances ; and he gives a description
of them :
They were very fairly done, only that it was necessary at
the end of every scene to drop the curtain in order to change
one for another. In the course of time these plays were
removed to a sort of hall at the Schoolhouse, called the
" Over School," the reading and sitting room of the School-
house Fifth and Sixth Form boys. It opened into a large
bedroom, which went by the name of " Paradise," with nine
beds appropriated to the head boys, arid was very convenient
to the actors for dressing and undressing. The actors in
these plays made application through me to my father for
the loan of books, and afterwards for dresses, with which, to
their great delight, he readily furnished them. In grateful
1 Life, i. 2.
190 RUGBY SCHOOL
testimony they considered themselves obliged to give me,
although in the Under School, parts in their performances,
and my theatrical career at Rugby was begun as prompter a
distinguished post for an Under School boy ; and I ran through
the characters of Dame Ashfield in " Speed the Plough," Mrs.
Bulgruddery in "John Bull/' the Jew in Dibdin's "School
for Prejudice," and Briefwit in the farce of " Weathercock."
Macready had a great respect for Ingles, and " liked
him very much, stern and inaccessible as he seemed to
all of us." One day as Macready was playing at football
in the Close, the Head-master called him out, and bidding
him keep on his hat, walked along by his side. What
follows shall be told in Macready's words.
He inquired of me what my father designed for me. I
told him I was intended for the law. He continued : " Have
you not thought of your father's profession ? " " No, sir."
" Should you not like it ? " " No, sir, I should wish to go
to the bar." "Are you quite certain you should not wish
to go on the stage ? " " Quite certain, sir ; I very much dis-
like it, and the thought of it." "Well," he added, "I am
glad of it. But if you had had any thoughts that way 1
should have wished to give you some advice, which I am glad
to believe is now unnecessary."
What that advice would have been, it is not difficult
to gather. Macready, it is clear, had not yet found out
his vocation ; but in the next chapter we shall see a
change, when the fostering care of Wooll gives play to
his talents.
Another amusement much affected by the Rugby
THE GREAT REBELLION 191
boys was coaching. 1 Those were the days of the Four-in-
Hand Club; and as the boys had emulated their elders
in patronising the ring, so now they got up their own
coaching clubs.
Mr. Over, the school carpenter, was appointed coach-
maker ; and rival chariots, drawn by teams of from four to
twelve fags in harness, and tooled by a praepostor, raced
round the school close, or took longer drives to the neigh-
bouring villages. Once a return coach from Dunchurch
overtook an old dame coming to Rugby market with eggs
and butter. In spite of all her attempts to decline the
honour, she was hoisted into the seat beside the driver,
and carried into the town in triumph.
It is amusing to find house contests of this kind
waged with as much excitement as a football match.
Bucknill's and Birch's were reported the fastest teams.
As in the hare and hounds, so in coaching, the prae-
postors seem to have had the best of it. This youthful
training had its effect, and Rugby turned out one of
the best gentlemen coachmen of the day in "Long
Parry " of Llanrhaiadr, 2 who gave to this pursuit what
time he could spare from winning Chancellor's medals
and prizes for Latin verse.
1 The Public Schools, p. 371. 2 Entered 1784.
X
THE NEW SCHOOLS
JOHN WOOLL, D.D., 1806-1828
THERE were a large number of candidates for the post
made vacant by Ingles's resignation, and among them
a man who soon was to become the most famous school-
master of his generation. This was Samuel Butler, the
Head-master of Shrewsbury School. Butler has been
already spoken of in these pages as the ablest scholar
among the pupils of Thomas James. As having been
educated at Rugby School, he had by statute a prior
claim to election, other things being equal. But for
some reason he was not chosen by the Trustees; it is
said because of the severity of his discipline. Butler
was deeply hurt by his rejection, and justly so. In later
years many of the Trustees must have seen that they
had made a mistake. Yet, fortunately for the School,
the mistake was not fatal to Rugby ; for the man chosen
was worthy of the place on his merits, and only the
brilliancy of his rival could have suggested to any that
a mistake had been made. John Wooll was " a perfect
gentleman and a good disciplinarian," says one of his
pupils, and he seems to have won the respect and affec-
tion of all whom he taught.
192
THE NEW SCHOOLS 193
The new Head-master 1 entered upon his duties at
the beginning of 1807. He had been several years
Master of Midhurst Grammar School; and though of
no great mark as a scholar, he was a thoroughly good
schoolmaster. He was one of those men whose bland and
almost jovial appearance covers a reserve of power, which
careless observers would not suspect to be there. He is
indeed a strong contrast to his two immediate pre-
decessors, Ingles the gloomy, and the excitable James.
It is curious how this difference between the three comes
out in their handwriting and composition. James writes
in a small irregular hand, his letters running into each
other in such a way as often to be almost illegible. His
manuscript is full of erasures, corrections, and additions ;
his thoughts throng, and one ripples over the next like
little waves on the seashore. He is garrulous to a degree,
and shows a delightful and quaint simplicity which re-
veals him in every line. On the other hand, the one or
two letters of Ingles which are preserved are without
signature, and go straight to the point with grim Spartan
brevity. Wooll uses a neat and regular style of writing,
pointed like that in vogue years ago in ladies' schools;
there is some formality of phrase, a studious restraint,
and no self-revelation. To judge from the letters, few
would imagine James to have been the genius ; yet so
1 Son of John Wooll, Winchester, arm. Balliol College : matricu-
lated Jan. 17, 1785, age 17 ; B.A. from New, 1790; M.A. 1794; B.D.
and D.D. 1807 ; Rector of Blackford, Somerset, 1796 ; Master of Mid-
hurst Free Grammar School, 1799-1806 ; died Nov. 23, 1833. Alumni
Oxonienses.
N
194 RUGBY SCHOOL
it was. In him was a strength which held in check
his natural irritability and fussiness when it came to
action ; but when he took up his pen, the bow relaxed.
It is odd to find the prim and precise Dr. Wooll
arriving at Rugby in a tandem, with his servant " Thos "
mounted upon the leader. " Thos " was for the next half
century a familiar figure to all Rugbeians, a storehouse
of ancient tradition, and a veritable link with the past. 1
In the first year of Dr. WoolPs mastership the charge
for board was increased to twenty-five guineas per annum, 2
and an entrance fee of two guineas was ordered for each
non-Foundationer, with one guinea paid to the tutor by
each boy that had a tutor. The boarding charge was
subsequently put at thirty guineas, 3 and this may explain
why the number of boys in the School fell off towards the
end of WoolPs time. Under Wooll the School attained
the number of 381 4 in one year, the highest number ever
yet known at Rugby ; and it quite kept up its reputa-
tion for sound learning. There were the nine assistant
masters, and the School ranked second among the public
schools in England.
Wooll lost no time in carrying out three improvements.
The first was, to establish prizes in Latin and English
verse. At his request the Trustees voted ten guineas 5
1 The Public Schools, p. 376 ; Book of Rugby School, p. 143 (portrait).
2 Order of Aug. 4, 1807.
3 Letter of John Wooll, Jan. 26, 1812 ; Order of Jan. 26, 1813. One
cause was the still rising cost of food.
4 The Public Schools, p. 382.
5 Order of August 4, 1807.
THE NEW SCHOOLS 195
for a copy of Latin hexameters, and six guineas for an
English poem, both to be awarded at the Speech Day
in June. These prizes continued to be voted each year
at the Head-master's request, during the time that Wooll
was in office. From time to time special prizes were also
voted to boys who had done well in the examinations. 1
At the same time the Head-master seems to have inter-
ested himself in the internal economy of the boarding-
houses. Such an arrangement as this, by which boys lodged
with persons not directly responsible for their behaviour,
must often have proved unsatisfactory ; and although
the true solution of the difficulty was not hit upon until
Arnold's time, the Head-master was directed to see that
prayers were held regularly in them. This was a begin-
ning which afterwards led to better things. The third
improvement was a pension scheme started in 1824 2 for
assistant masters, since they had no emolument beyond
their salary, and "the uncertain advantage arising from
their profits." At the same time a substantial addition
was made to the salary of five masters, who had been on
the staff' for periods varying from twenty-four to seven-
and- thirty years. Mr. Sale, the writing-master, was
appointed librarian in 1824. 3
But the most important event of this period was the
rebuilding of the whole block of school buildings. It
had long been felt that some change was necessary.
1 Order of Aug. 7, 1809, and see 1816, 1818, et al.
2 Order of July 6, 1824.
3 Order of July 6, 1824 : 5, 5s. per annum.
196 RUGBY SCHOOL
James found it as much as he could do to house his
classes, and was reduced to using an old almshouse for
one of them, sheds for others, and a barn for the chapel.
He had erected some new rooms, together with a long
line of sheds for shelter in rough weather. What with
these and the barns and hedges, u cow- lodges " and
"hog-lodges/ 1 the School must have looked somewhat
like a small chapel gone astray in a large farmyard.
The space now occupied by the New Quadrangle was
partly covered with tumble-down cottages and their
appurtenances ; along the back of these ran the shelter-
sheds. The Schoolhouse was not conveniently built
for its purpose, and the front was not lovely to look
upon. Add to this that the Trustees had in hand a very
large sum of money, being the surplus income invested in
good securities. The accumulations now amounted to
more than ^40,000. Conduit Close, which two hundred
years before was worth 8 a year, was now worth more
than %QQO ; and the income of the School altogether was
nearly 3500, and more than double the expenditure.
The plan had been some years maturing. In 1799,
as we have seen, 1 a Committee had been appointed to
procure plans and estimates for building a new house
for the Master, a chapel, and schools, together with such
other buildings as should be thought necessary. The
Committee set to work, and in 1808 2 an architect named
Hakewill 3 was fixed upon to do the building.
1 Above, p. 182. 2 Order of May 12, 1808.
8 So spelt in his autograph, July 20, 1819.
THE NEW SCHOOLS
197
In the next year building commenced, and took six
years in completion. We can trace its gradual progress
by the gradual increase of the sums paid year by year for
insurance against fire. Dr. Wooll seems to have accom-
plished the difficult feat of carrying on the school work
all the same. Each school was in use to the last
RUGBY FIELD.
RllBBY FlCLO.
FROM CRICK TO RUGBY.
rinf
THE SCHOOL PREMISES.
From apian drawn by T. Wilson, 1750. (The Sibyl, No. 2.)
moment; then exeunt boys and enter workmen, and
the place which in one hour echoed to the melodious
sounds of Latin declensions, echoed in the next to pick-
axe and hammer.
The sum of <10,000 which was at first asked for
soon proved insufficient. Johnson's Big School, sound
198 RUGBY SCHOOL
as it doubtless was, had to come down after a very
short lease of life, not one-third of the time during which
the first Big School had lasted. So many new schools
were required, that in the end the cost mounted
up to some ^35,000. In 1816, after the house
and schools were completed, the Close was made
into one large playground. In the estate bought in
1749 there were three fields : the Barn Close, towards
the D unchurch Road ; the Garden Close, by the house ;
and beyond these the Pond Close, which contained the
Island, and near it the ruins of a moated grange and a
square pool once belonging to the monks of Pipe well.
In 1816 the fences between these various fields were
levelled, and a plain piece of eight acres or so thus made
ready for games. It is interesting to note that this Close
(the present playground less New Big Side) was exactly
the same size as the third part of Conduit Field left
to the School by Lawrence Sheriffe. Although the hedges
went down, the trees were left standing, and these have
ever since been one of the chief beauties of Rugby. They
are even now a fine sight to look upon ; but those who
knew the Close before the great storms of 1881 and
1895 cry Ichabod. In the centre of this ground stood the
famous Three Trees. The boys themselves assisted in
levelling part of the Close for a cricket field. 1 Paul
1 "July 8, 1823. Ordered that the Clerk do pay to the young
gentlemen at the School the sum of three pounds fifteen shillings and
sixpence, which they have expended in levelling parts of the cricket
ground."
THE QUADRANGLE, l8l6.
(From Ackermami's "Public Schools"}
200 RUGBY SCHOOL
Saumarez 1 is credited with having been the first to intro-
duce cricket into the School ; but this cannot be true, for
Nimrod 2 recollects cricket among the sports and pastimes
of the previous reign.
An addition to the school property was made in
1825, 3 when the " Close and gardens opposite the School
House garden " were bought for two thousand guineas.
From time to time the old tenements adjoining the
School were bought as opportunity served, and thus the
first step was taken towards the enlargement afterwards
carried out.
The block thus built by Hakewill consisted of the
Old Quadrangle and the Master's House. The house has
a picturesque appearance, owing to the turreted doorway,
and now also to the ivy which covers the walls. The
door opens into an octagonal hall, with oak panelling,
on which are emblazoned the arms of those who were
Trustees at the time of building, and others connected
with the School. Living rooms are found on this floor,
one of them the Head-master's study, with its memories
of Dr. Arnold. The study can be entered by another
door in the corner, which leads up to it from the open
by a winding staircase in a second small turret. This
turret door will be familiar to readers of Tom Brown's
School Days, and by this many a boy has entered with
the most gloomy anticipations, often fulfilled. From the
Master's part of the Schoolhouse a paved corridor leads
1 Entered 1807. See Register, p. 97. 2 Above, p. 170.
3 Order of Sept. 27, 1825.
TURRET OF THE BIRCHING SCHOOL.
(From an etching by E.J. Burrow.}
To face page 201.
THE NEW SCHOOLS 201
past some of the studies into the Schoolhouse Hall.
This is a " long, rather lofty room," wainscoted part way
up in oak, which is black with age and elbow-grease.
Strong oak tables and benches run the length of the
room, and experience has shown that these require to be
firmly screwed to the floor. At the upper end, where a
window looks out upon the Close, is a raised platform,
with another table and bench. Here sit the Head-
master (when he shares a meal with the boys), the head
of the house on his left, and the other house poten-
tates in a grim line beside him. On the east side is a
huge fireplace, screened off by a fence of strong iron bars.
Within this screen took place many a roasting famous in
story or tradition. This hall stands on the site of John-
son's Big School, and resembles it closely, except that
the south end is not rounded. As in Johnson n s School,
so here, rooms occupy the storey above ; and almost
above it is the Fifth Form Room. As we have seen
that Johnson copied the original school of Lawrence
Sheriffe in its main features, it follows that the School-
house Hall and the rooms above it resemble that school.
The Hall thus forms the one link of continuity in the
school buildings, joining the present pile to the first.
Over the Hall rose a tower containing a bell and a clock,
which at that time (while the front gate was low) could
be seen from the High Street.
A large door opens from the Hall into the School-
house Quadrangle. Along the south side of this quad-
rangle is a row of four schools, opening upon cloisters,
202 RUGBY SCHOOL
with studies and dormitories above. One of these is now
the Armoury. At right angles to this on the east runs
another row of cloisters ; and on the west is HakewilFs
Big School, now called Old Big School. On the western
side is a large gateway, which, as Hakewill built it, had
no rooms above. There were schools on the ground-floor
of this side. A projection beyond the block of schools
was built on the southern side, ending in a turret which
by a winding stairway leads up to a curious little room,
with a window at each end, and a good draught through
it. This room has sad associations for many an old
Rugbeian. Its peaceful hours are past as a form-room ;
and here it was that the famous Tom Evans, George
Cotton, and Bonamy Price used to interest or amuse
their pupils. But it is known to the fates by another
name ; for here, during almost a century past, execution
has been done upon convicted criminals.
We now enter the Old Big School by one of its
massive doors, studded with iron nails. The room is long
and high, and panelled part way up in oak. Here, until
lately, two or more forms used to work together, as
may be seen in the picture opposite. The same picture
shows two huge fireplaces, made on the same principle
as that of the Schoolhouse Hall, already described ; but,
like the rest of the school buildings, it is now warmed
by hot-water pipes. Three of the four thrones for the
Masters have also disappeared, leaving a single throne in
solitary glory at the south end. At the north end of the
room are boards bearing the names of exhibitioners from
THE NEW SCHOOLS
the year 1829 onward, among which may be seen names
not unknown to fame : Bradley, Conington, Waddington,
Hort, Goschen, Bowen, Sidgwick. Along the walls are
boards with the names of the different form masters,
opposite which the boys range themselves at " Co " or
INTERIOR OF BIG SCHOOL, l8l6.
calling-over, on half-holiday afternoons. In this Big
School morning prayers used to be said, and here the
boys were assembled whenever it was necessary to address
them together. Here too, from 1814 to 1820, divine
service was held for the School on Sundays.
204 RUGBY SCHOOL
It would be easy to find fault with the architecture of
the old buildings. Architecture was in a parlous state at
the beginning of this century, and one who tried to imitate
the castellated style of the fifteenth century was bound
to err in details. Moreover, the mock battlements, which
never could be of practical use for anything except for
schoolboys'* hide-and-seek, may be in bad taste ; never-
theless, the effect is undoubtedly good. A building
thoroughly sound, twice as strong as it need be, with
materials all of the very best, and no trouble spared,
must at any rate win respect ; and moreover, the appear-
ance is striking. Whether it is seen from the front, the
strong gateway now dominating the street ; or from the
Close, a long low mass of rectangular outline, with high
windows, and plenty of play with light and shadow : the
sight is at once impressive and pleasing. This is espe-
cially so when the elms are in leaf, and half hide the
massive pile with green; or when the Virginia creeper
which clings to it is all one red. These buildings were
made to last ; and on looking closely at their strength,
one is tempted to wonder whether the architect was think-
ing of Napoleon and the invasion of England, or perhaps
had not forgotten the Great School Rebellion of ten years
before.
A chapel was, as we have seen, part of the original
plan ; but it was left until the more pressing needs of the
School were met. This done, Mr. Hakewill entered into
a contract with the Trustees to build a chapel. 1 It was
1 Autograph in Order- Book, July 20, 1819.
THE NEW SCHOOLS 205
to be ninety feet long, by thirty broad and thirty feet
high, and was to cost ^7500. A famous relic of an-
tiquity disappeared when the chapel was begun. This
was a great elm known as Treen*s Tree. Its fall in
181 8 l inspired one of those who had often sheltered
beneath it to break out into rapturous if uninspired
verse. Its " classic arms " fell, its " summit strewed
the plain," and the wood was used in panelling the
vestry.
Dr. Wooll laid the foundation-stone of the new chapel,
and in two years it was completed. It was built of brick,
with stone dressings, and heavy tracery in the windows.
It had a door at the west end leading into the street, and
at the same end was the ante-chapel, with an organ-loft
above it. Another door led into the ante-chapel from
the south. The north-east corner had a turret (Hakewill
evidently loved his turrets, as former architects doted on
pillared porches) and a small vestry. Within, the chapel
looked like a long room, having a flat ceiling, and nothing
but the windows to relieve the straight lines. At the
west end were eight stalls in oak, two canopied, of which
one was used by the Head-master and one by the chaplain.
These stalls still exist in the present chapel, and stand in
the same position. Above was a gallery, with seats in
front for some of the lower forms, and the organ loft.
The seats were arranged facing, like a college chapel, and
the pulpit (the same which is still used) was towards the
east. At each corner of the east end was a huge square
1 Bloxam, Rugby, p. 93 ; see also 96-98.
206 RUGBY SCHOOL
pew, one for the Head-master's family, and the other for
the assistants. The windows were filled with plain glass,
and the ceiling (which was made of plaster) was actually
painted to imitate boards. This imitation painting was
the one feature in common between the first Rugby
Chapel and Milan Cathedral. Two mural tablets were
placed here in WoolPs time : one of Edward Lecky, a boy
who was accidentally killed by falling from a tree in the
Close ; the other to the Rev. George Loggin, chaplain and
assistant master. The monument of Dr. James was placed
in this chapel at a later date, and opposite was placed a
similar monument to Dr. Wooll, by Westmacott. In
1822 the organist was instructed to train eight boys in
singing at the chapel, and was allowed ten pounds a year
for so doing. 1 This choir was dressed in surplices, and
each boy was paid forty shillings a year for his services.
A new organ was presented in 1823, 2 and in 1824 3
Frederick Marshall was appointed organist at a salary of
fifty pounds. Mr. Anstey was made chaplain in 1825,
receiving ninety pounds a year. 4 In 1824, for the first
time, a school hymn-book was published, and Rugby
appears to have been the first school to have one of its own.
The architectural style of the Old School Chapel has
been much derided. It cannot be denied that the
" Georgian Gothic " bears little resemblance to the true
Gothic, and is not a thing of beauty ; and yet this first
chapel, modest and unobtrusive, harmonised better in
1 Order of July 9, 1822. 2 Order of July 8, 1823.
3 Order of July 6, 1824. 4 Order of July 5, 1825.
THE NEW SCHOOLS 207
both colour and size with the rest of the School than the
more pretentious erections which afterwards took its place.
Two more events of WoolPs mastership must be men-
tioned. In 1827, 1 HakewilTs plan was accepted for
building a school library at the cost of 1350 ; and this
we shall see carried out in the next reign. The second
was the founding of a prize for Greek verse, named after
Dr. James, and subscribed for by his old pupils. This
was done in the same year. On September 10, 1827, Dr.
Wooll resigned.
It had been for many years the practice to hold a
dinner or supper for old Rugbeians at Rugby on the day
of the speeches. One of these is advertised in the Cam-
bridge Chronicle for May 8, 1784 : 2
April 17, 1784.
RUGBY SCHOOL.
The Anniversary Meeting of the Gentlemen educated at
Rugby School will be held on Tuesday, the 1st of June. The
ladies and gentlemen who intend to favour the Meeting with
their company, if they wish to hear the speeches, are desired
to be at the School-house at 12 o'clock. An ordinary will
be provided at the George for the ladies, and at the Bear
for the gentlemen.
The Rev. Dr. CLARE, | _
._.-___ } stewards.
The Rev. Mr. KNIGHTLEY, J
In WoolPs time these gatherings were held at the
Freemasons' Tavern, or afterwards at the Spread Eagle.
1 Order of July 3, 1827. 2 Sibyl, No. 20.
RUGBY SCHOOL
Sometimes the jovial Wooll himself would preside ; and
there appears to have been usually a topical song composed
for the occasion, after the fashion of the " Vive la " of later
days. One of these songs is still preserved, 1 written by
Lyttelton. The chorus of "Sheriff's Song, 11 as it is
called, is somewhat bacchanalian :
Let Rugby's true sons, at the Free Masons' Tavern,
Booze as stoutly as Polypheme did in his cavern ;
And mark, boys, the toast be it stav'd ter and quater,
Here's the memory of old Lawrence our princely Fundator.
The glories of the ancients pall before those of Rugby ;
and by some process of legerdemain, Shakespeare is ab-
sorbed into the magic circle. As for rival schools
Our Greek and our Latin
Would soon come so pat in,
Who should hear us would think we were Antients a-chatting ;
And I'll prove we can match, though it kindle their choler,
Any Westminster, Eton, or Wykehamist scholar.
The Trustees had clearly not wasted their six guineas.
From the date of WoolPs accession a record has been
kept of the university honours of Rugbeians. 2 By this
document it appears that among his pupils were sixteen
Fellows of different colleges at Oxford and Cambridge,
one Senior Wrangler, one Ireland scholar, one Craven
scholar at Cambridge, one Chancellor's medallist, and
four Bell scholars. A university prize for Latin verse
1 In the possession of Mr. A. J. Lawrence.
2 MS. in Rugby School Library ; see also notes to Register.
THE NEW SCHOOLS 209
was won four times, for Latin essay twice ; there was one
Newdigate prizeman and two Members 1 prizemen. This
shows clearly that the work of Thomas James was bearing
its fruit, thanks to the care and skill of his successors.
But university honours are small things in the life of a
nation, and there is no need to dwell on these. Dr. Wooll
had his share of the honours of the great world. Among
his pupils were statesmen, as Edward John Walhouse, 1
afterwards Lord Hatherton, and Secretary of State for
Ireland ; Frederick James Halliday, 2 Lieutenant-Governor
of Bengal during the Indian Mutiny ; Edward Horsman, 3
a Lord of the Treasury and Chief Secretary for Ireland ;
Sir James Hudson, K.C.B, 4 Minister Plenipotentiary at
Florence and Turin ; and Roundell Palmer, 5 afterwards
Solicitor-General, Attorney-General, and Lord Chancel-
lor. There were future scholars and antiquarians, such
as Sir Thomas Phillipps ; 6 Francis Knyvett Leighton, 7
Warden of All Souls ; Henry Halford Vaughan, 8 Regius
Professor of Modern History at Oxford ; and Lord Sidney
Godolphin Osborne. 9 Others became eminent physicians,
such as Sir Charles Locock; 10 divines such as Thomas
Legh Claughton, 11 first Bishop of St. Albans, and Edward
Field, 12 afterwards Bishop of Newfoundland ; and Joseph
Miles Berkeley 13 was afterwards famous as a naturalist.
The number of those who entered the services is very
1 Entered 1806.
Entered 1823.
Entered 1816.
Entered 1810.
2 Entered 1814.
5 Entered 1823.
8 Entered 1823.
" Entered 1819.
is Entered 1817.
s Entered 1819.
6 Entered 1807.
9 Entered 1819.
12 Entered 1814.
210 RUGBY SCHOOL
great. Somerville Waldemar Burges l was a lieutenant
in the Coldstream Guards at Waterloo, and had previously
fought in the Peninsula. Francis Wheler 2 raised a regi-
ment of irregular cavalry, served with distinction in the
Afghan war of 1841, and commanded in the Bundelcand
expedition of 1859. Another Rugbeian who distinguished
himself in the Afghan campaign was David Rattray, 8 who
was in the defence of Jellalabad and the chief actions which
followed its relief. A third, Robert Trevor, 4 was mur-
dered in 1841 at Cabul with poor Macnaghten. Horatio
Shirley, 5 afterwards Major- General, commanded at the
Alma and fought at Inkermann, winning honourable
mention on both occasions. William Hayhurst Hall, 6
lieutenant of the Alligator, showed conspicuous gallantry
in storming forts in Burmah and exterminating the Bur-
mese pirates, and was present in the Thunderer at the
bombardment of Acre in 1840.
In the previous chapter mention was made of W. C.
Macready and the beginnings of the drama at Rugby. If
Ingles knew of the surreptitious performances that went
on, and winked at them under his grim brows, he did
nothing to encourage them. But with WoolPs benign
influence the young tragedian^ light comes forth from
beneath its bushel. Macready's imagination had already
been fired by the performance of a " wonderful boy, a
miracle of beauty, grace, and genius,"" whom Macready's
father had brought to England. He acted in Belfast and
1 Entered 1808. 2 Entered 1810. 3 Entered 1827.
4 Entered 1813. 5 Entered 1820. 6 Entered 1811.
THE NEW SCHOOLS
Edinburgh before crowded houses, and Betty, " the young
Roscius," became the rage throughout the country. So
charming was he that he even made people forget Bona-
parte and the dreaded invasion. One day Macready and
young Tom Birch were smuggled into a chaise, and went
over to Leicester to see him act in Richard III. The two
truants saw the play out, then mounting into their chaise,
drove back to Rugby in the night, and got back in time
for first lesson. This was perhaps the turning-point in
Macready's career ; but at all events, we soon find him in
the thick of it at Rugby.
On October 15, 1807, the boys' company acted TheCastk
Spectre in Over School, the following being the cast :
Earl Osmond . . . T. ROBINSON (afterwards Master of the
Temple).
Earl Percy . . . . G. RICKETTS (Sir G. W. Ricketts, Judge
of the Supreme Court, Madras).
Kenrick HOPKINS.
Father Philip . . . WILLIS (Prebendary of Wells).
Reginald . . . . ) doubled b w c MACREADY.
Motley J
Hassan WALHOUSE (Lord Hatherton).
Saib H. ROBINSON (Tutor of St. John's Col-
lege, Cambridge).
Muley W. AYLING.
Allan HON. E. FINCH (British Chaplain in
Ceylon).
Evelina R. TWOPENNY.
Angela W. DICKENS (Chairman of Quarter
Sessions, Warwickshire).
Alice H. W. WHINFIELD.
RUGBY SCHOOL
Not only did the company act this play to their school-
fellows, but they were actually allowed to give a perform-
ance for the town after locking-up. Just before Macready
left, The Revenge was acted in Dr. WoolPs own school,
before the Doctor and "Mother Wooll," most of the
masters, and a number of friends. Macready was Zanga,
and Hastings Robinson was Don Manuel. Macready had
hardly left Rugby a year and a half when he made his
debut on the public stage at Birmingham, in the character
of Romeo. Some little time after he appeared as Hamlet,
by WoolFs special request, and Wooll, with several of
the masters, went to Birmingham on purpose to see him.
Wooll entertained the whole party at dinner before the play.
Forty years later, Macready paid his last visit to
Rugby. 1 It was at the time when some enterprising
American wished to buy Shakespeare's house at Stratford,
and to transport it bodily to the New World. A fund
was being collected in England to buy it and make it
national property, and in aid of this fund Macready
read the play of Hamlet before the School. He was re-
ceived with enthusiasm, and heard with attention, and
retired with a cheque for fifty pounds in his pocket. His
last performance was Macbeth, and he considered it his
best. He retired in 1851, and died at Cheltenham in
1873, keeping to the last the kindliest memories of his old
Head-master. " I think of him with great regard,"" he
says ; " he was very kind to me, and greatly liked by the
boys of gentlemanly character. 11
1 Bloxam, Rugby, p. 116. See Big Side Records of the date.
THE NEW SCHOOLS 213
We are now within the range of Mr. M. H. Bloxam's
reminiscences, and his scattered papers are a veritable
storehouse of interesting tales. In 1813 1 he made his
first appearance at Rugby, a small urchin in the " skeleton
dress," consisting of jacket close buttoned, with a frill
round his neck, and trousers (for the old knee-breeches
were already disappearing). The School must have pre-
sented a motley appearance, with Dr. Wooll and his
powdered hair, Mr. Sleath in a cocked hat, the big boys
in white duck trousers and green or blue swallow-tail
coats with metal buttons. Even for games the ordinary
dress was used, and all that a boy did by way of prepara-
tion was to throw off* his coat and tall hat. Caps were
a thing unknown. The condition of the boys after a
scrummage, or a good cross-country run, must have been
enough to scare any fond mother out of her senses. The
runs at this period were often enlivened by some refresh-
ment at the other end. There used to be a run every
year after the prizes had been awarded, and the winners
were expected to refresh the whole posse comitatus there
assembled. Thus, in the great Prize Poem Run in 1816
the two prizemen stood treat to hares, hounds, and hunts-
men at a certain inn at Newbold, where they drank as
much bad beer as they could contain. On the way back
the potation had its effect, and with one accord the boys
leapt into a plantation and tore up each a young sapling ;
but they paid dearly for the fun. Those that did not like
beer could climb into a farmyard and milk somebody^s cow.
1 Rugby, p. 81 foil., and papers in the Meteor and other periodicals.
214 RUGBY SCHOOL
Rugby boys were still as pugnacious as ever, and some
daring few risked all pains and penalties to obtain private
lessons from any bruiser of repute who might be in
Rugby. By this means they might perhaps attain to
the coveted position of Cock of their house, or even
Cock of the School. In an old house at the corner of
Sheep Street 1 lived old Mother Treen, whose three sons,
Tom, Joe, and John, were a redoubtable trio. Opposite
was a boarding-house kept by Mr. Stanley, then the
writing-master, and three "swells'" of this house, two
Blewitts and a Proby, challenged the Treen Trio, or
were challenged by them, to decide the superiority of
town or school in one fell battle. A field was chosen
for the meeting, and the champions stripped, several
other couples joining in the fun. Then
Proby young, and Blewitts twain,
Wrestled with sons of Treen,
And other chieftains on the plain
Of Lawford, now were seen.
They had not been at it above twenty minutes, and were
just warming to their work, when a cry was raised,
" WoolPs coming ! " Like the insubstantial fabric of a
vision the crowd melted away, Horatii and Curiatii fled
in six different directions, and the championship had to
remain undecided. Not only against the " town louts " did
Rugby boys vent their wrath, but, when chance offered,
even against their own masters. There were barrings out
1 The site is now occupied by a chemist's shop.
THE NEW SCHOOLS 215
and lockings in, " Rebelion " (sic) chalked up on this door,
and "Blood" on that. Even a worm will turn, much
more a fag ; and in 1822 the fags, having been unjustly
punished for some seditious squibs, defied both masters
and praepostors for some time. They were at length re-
duced to submission, some were expelled, and many more
left in disgust. On another occasion the Lower Fourth
had a spree of its own. 1 All the boys left their school
together in the midst of a lesson, except one who happened
to be standing beside the Master's desk. Prompt and
dire was the vengeance that fell on the sinners. At three
the praepostors were assembled, the Lower Fourth Form
called up, and Wooll flogged the whole of them from first
to last, including the innocent boy who did not go out
with the rest. The despatch was a marvel : the whole
thirty-eight were begun and done in a quarter of an hour.
Although so kindly and jovial-looking, the Doctor was a
rare hand with the birch. Most appropriate was the
motto one of his pupils proposed for the place of execu-
tion, "Much cry and little Wooll." It sometimes hap-
pened, however, that the outside world attacked the masters,
and then, in the true English fashion, the boys ceased from
baiting them, and took up the cudgels on their behalf.
One poor writing-master was occasionally in difficulties
about money ; but no bailiff durst show his nose inside
the school precincts, he would have been bonneted and
hustled out in a trice.
When they were tired of the prize-ring and " rebelion,"
1 The Public Schools, p. 380.
216 RUGBY SCHOOL
the boys turned on their own kind. The path of learning
is thorny for the best of us, but at Rugby it lay through
a veritable vale of terrors. No boy could pass into a
higher form without enduring some ordeal which recalls
the altars of Sparta or the tests of manhood among North
American Indians. For the lower forms it was a chairing,
accompanied with most unpleasant experiences. On enter-
ing the Remove in the Upper School from the Fourth,
new-comers had to run the gauntlet several times up and
down the Big School, while the boys of their new form
buffeted them with handkerchiefs tied into hard " Win-
chester knots." For the " Buffets," as this was called, the
wary would wrap themselves round in boards or book
covers, secured by string upon all tender portions of their
frame, which must have caused a delightful din. Boys
entering the Fifth were " clodded " along the sheds which
then stood between the old barn and the schools. Fatigue
parties of fags were kept hard at it to provide ammunition,
by moulding clods of mud from the square pool in the
Close. It was a fine opportunity for paying off old scores ;
and the more unpopular the boy, the clods were the harder.
In 1814 these charming old customs were stopped, and
commuted for a "guttle." The new-comer stood treat,
and provided a feast for all the boys of his new form who
were in the same house as himself. Meat was provided
on the sly, and cooked by the fags in some remote
study. Some houses kept a battered collection of pots
and pans, forks and spoons, for these occasions, renewed
only when a successful master's raid lifted them and
THE NEW SCHOOLS 217
distributed the spoil among the almsmen of Lawrence
Sheriffe.
One or two glimpses have been vouchsafed before this
of cricket and football at Rugby, but nothing sufficient
to give any idea of the game played. One thing, how-
ever, seems certain : there was no traditional game in
Rugby School before 1749, when the first playground was
bought. In WoolPs time the game of football was still
simple and primitive, and was played on the north-west
corner of the Close, adjoining the Dunchurch Road.
When the chapel was built it became necessary to move
the ground to the front, just south of the schoolhouse
garden. The method of procedure on Big Side is best
told in Mr. Bloxam's words : l
All fags were stopped on going out after three o'clock
calling over (I should add that the fifth form only, which was
then next to the sixth form, was exempt from fagging) and
compelled to go into the Close, except those specially exempt,
by having to attend the French Master, Drawing Master, or
Drill Sergeant, the times for which, being extras, were taken
out of the half holidays. . . . When, then, all had assembled
in the Close, two of the best players in the School commenced
choosing in one for each side. . . . After choosing in about a
score on each side, a somewhat rude division was made of the
remaining fags, half of whom were sent to keep goal on the
one side, the other half to the opposite goal for the same
purpose. Any fag, though not specially chosen in, might
1 Meteor, No. 157 (1880) ; quoted also in the pamphlet, Origin of
Rugby Football, p. 8, to which the reader is referred for more evidence.
218 RUGBY SCHOOL
follow up on that side to the goal of which he was attached.
Some of these were ready enough to mingle in the fray,
others judiciously kept half back, watching their opportunity
for a casual kick, which was not unfrequently awarded them.
Few and simple were the rules of the game : touch on the
sides of the ground was marked out, and no one was allowed
to run with the ball in his grasp towards the opposite goal.
It was Football, and not handball, plenty of hacking, but
little struggling. As to costume, there were neither flannels
or caps ; the players simply doffed their hats and coats, or
jackets, which were heaped together on either side near the
goals till the game was over. All were scratch matches, one
boarding-house was never pitted against another, and there
was no Cock House. There were no Old Rugbeian matches.
The distinctive feature of the Rugby game seems to have
owed its origin to chance. A boy named William Webb
Ellis, 1 a Foundationer, was playing in a Bigside game in
the year 1823, when he caught the ball.
This being so (writes Mr. Bloxam), according to the
then rules, he ought to have retired back as far as he pleased,
without parting with the ball, for the combatants on the oppo-
site side could only advance to the spot where he had caught
the ball, and were unable to rush forward till he had either
punted it or had placed it for some one else to kick, for it was
by means of these placed kicks that most of the goals were in
those days kicked ; but the moment the ball touched the
ground the opposite side might rush on. Ellis, for the first
time, disregarded this rule, and on catching the ball, instead of
retiring backwards, rushed forwards with the ball in his hands
1 Entered 1816.
THE NEW SCHOOLS 219
towards the opposite goal, with what result as to the game 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 now,
a standing rule.
It was probably a mere act of bravado, and yet it was
destined to influence the whole future of the Rugby game,
and to place Ellis among the immortals. For a time no
more is heard of the bold innovation ; then running with
the ball is tolerated under certain conditions ; and lastly,
it becomes the rule.
XI
THE NEW SPIRIT
THOMAS ARNOLD, D.D., 1 1829-1842
IT was not without much reluctance, and some doubt of
his own powers, that Thomas Arnold was prevailed upon
to become a candidate for Rugby School. He had pre-
viously had no experience of school work, though for
some years he had been working as a private tutor at
Laleham. In this capacity he showed the same enthu-
siasm as he afterwards showed in the great work of his
life, and on his pupils he produced the same deep im-
pressions. He not only directed their studies, but shared
their amusements, bathing with them and playing " like
a boy," with his " leaping-pole and gallows," and entering
fully into their life. But to the world he was entirely
unknown, although such as knew him had formed a very
high estimate of his powers. His testimonials spoke in
his favour in the strongest manner, and in one of them,
Dr. Hawkins (afterwards Provost of Oriel) foretold that
1 Son of William Arnold, West Cowes. Oxford, Corpus Christi
College: matriculated Feb. 22, 1811, age 15; B.A. 1814; Fellow of
Oriel, 1815; M.A. 1817; B.D. and D.D. 1828; Regius Professor of
Modern History, 1841-42. Alumni Oxonienses.
THOMAS ARNOLD.
(From a painting by Richmond, in New Big School, Rugby.)
To face page 220.
THE NEW SPIRIT
if he were elected he would change the face of education
all through the public schools of England. 1
Although Arnold had not yet had experience of
school work, he had been educated at Winchester, and
was consequently familiar with the faults and virtues of
the public school system. He had, moreover, thought
much on the subject of education, and his theories and
plans were ready for trial when the opportunity should
come. With these in his mind, he was determined to
accept no post unless he were allowed full power to act
as he thought best for the school. A divided or limited
authority was all insufficient to carry out such a task as
he had set before him. The evils which then existed in
public schools have been much exaggerated, but there
is no doubt they were serious ; and Arnold felt that it
was of no use
9prjVLV CTT^SaS 7T/30? TOjOttOVTl TT^/XttTl.
A head-master's duty was, in his opinion, to get rid
of unpromising boys. This included not merely the
morally bad, but the intellectually unpromising; for he
saw that there is no greater danger than a boy whose
strength wins the admiration of his fellows, while his
mind is incapable of real culture. Those who were not
ready to reform, and seemed only to corrupt the body
corporate, he was determined to remove, and thus clear
the way for a healthy life and growth. This done, he
wished to try "whether his notions of Christian educa-
i Stanley's Life of Arnold, i. 49.
222 RUGBY SCHOOL
tion were really impracticable. 1 ' 1 It was not at all his
idea to thrust religion down boys' throats, for he recognised
that the capacity for religious feeling is not the same
in a boy as in a man. Nor was it his wish to compel
them to attend innumerable services, which would have
made formalists of them, or implanted a lasting dislike
of religion and all connected with it. His aim was to
infuse a Christian spirit into the existing system, so far
as this should prove to be possible; to teach boys how
to apply the principles of Christianity to their work and
their play, and to make them not scholars merely, but
honourable gentlemen. What he looked for was " First,
religious and moral principle ; secondly, gentlemanly con-
duct ; and thirdly, intellectual ability. 11
To-day this has the sound of a commonplace, but
it was not so when Arnold ^conceived the idea. Rough
and ready rules of schoolboy honour there of course were ;
but every practical teacher knows how Curiously these
differ in many points from the code of honour of a man
of the world, and from the Christian ideal even more
widely. The problem which he had to solve was not
so much how to train the intellect, as how to trAin
character. The teaching in English public schools before*
Arnold's day has been rated far below its real quality.
In turning out trained scholars Arnold never surpassed
Samuel Butler, to mention but one name ; it may be
doubted if he equalled him. The teaching of Rugby
School had been well organised by Thomas James, and
i Life, i. 74.
THE NEW SPIRIT
was by no means so exclusively classical as has been
asserted by some. English authors were included in
James's scheme, and although mathematics and modern
languages were in name extras, they were not neglected,
but encouraged. In this department Arnold made his own
improvements, which will be spoken of by-and-by ; but his
main problem, as has been said, was how to train character.
In theory two alterations were possible : one, to over-
throw the existing system completely, and to devise a
new; the other, to infuse new life into the existing
system by reformation or transformation. At that
period a great outcry was being made against public
schools by many, and the whole system was being de-
nounced as incapable of improvement. Public schools
were declared to be hotbeds of vice and cruelty, and
nothing but evil was supposed to come out of them.
These were the blind polemics of partisans, and the
suggestion to build up a new system was the idle talk
of inexperience. It is no easy matter to build up new
systems; and in a nation which clings tenaciously to
the past, such an attempt would be doubly hazardous.
But in the case of the public schools, it was not only
hazardous, but impossible. The public school system
was a genuine national growth; and nothing short of
national disaster can uproot national institutions, unless
they are already dying of their own inherent vice. The
public school system was not dying, as the event made
clear. Nothing shows Arnold's genius so clearly as his
grasp of the fact that the system, though corrupt, had
RUGBY SCHOOL
great possibilities. Like a skilful gardener, he did not fell
the tree, but set his graft in it, and thus used the strength
of the old stock to produce the fruit of the new.
The system as he found it at Rugby was not unlike
to the administration of a conquered state. The Head-
master was an autocrat, dispensing punishments with no
sparing hand. He and his colleagues alike were looked
on as the natural enemies of boyhood, set over them
by a mysterious dispensation of Providence to interfere
with personal liberty and enjoyment. To these rulers
the boys rendered a grudging obedience, which ceased
when it ceased to be enforced. They had their own
organisation, by which the weaker were slaves of the
stronger; and their own code of honour, mercilessly
strict among themselves, but lax towards their masters.
A lie told to a schoolfellow was a very different thing
from a lie told to the master. Differences between them-
selves were settled by an appeal to brute force, not only
amongst the younger, where it was natural, but amongst
older boys already on the verge of manhood. Ideals of
conduct were otherwise low, and intemperate indulgence
of various kinds was not condemned by public opinion.
Arnold seized upon this organisation among the boys as
the mainspring of the whole system, and he used it to his
own ends. The praepostors, as has been already said, had
many privileges, but few duties. The privileges were by
Arnold confirmed to the Sixth Form only, but restrained
within limits ; and the duties changed their character com-
pletely. The privilege of exacting obedience from fags, or
THOMAS ARNOLD.
(From a bust by Boehm, in A'ew Big School, Rugby.}
To face page 224.
THE NEW SPIRIT
of punishing them for a personal offence, was continued
so long as the service demanded were not wrong or un-
reasonable, and the punishment inflicted not unjust or
excessive. Moreover, the boys immediately below the
Sixth were made into a kind of intermediate class, neither
themselves liable to be fagged, nor allowed to have fags
of their own. But in return for this charter of privi-
lege, the Head-master expected his head boys to see
that the fags did not break the rules of the School,
and to observe these rules themselves. This at one
sweep got rid of a number of vexatious trifles, which
previously either escaped the Master's eye, or wasted his
time in dealing with them. Serious offences would of
course be reported; and as the official position of the
Sixth came to be recognised by themselves and the other
boys, any feeling there may once have been against it
as " sneaking "" gradually died away. It is clearly not
the same thing when a boy tells tales of his equal, and
when a Sixth Form boy reports one of those who are
below him. In the one case, fear or petty malice may
play a part, but hardly so in the other. This gift of
responsibility developed the strength of the elder boys,
and made them respect themselves. A grave offence
committed by one of them would naturally not be
reported by another; but the whole body might deal
with it 1 (and there are ways in which boys can
1 An instance is given in Echoes Far Off, p. 39 (Midland Educa-
tional Company, 1897), by a member of Arnold's Sixth. See also
Experiences of a Fag, chap. xv.
P
226 RUGBY SCHOOL
make life very hard for each other), or might officially
report it to the Head-master. If any such offence were
found out by the Head-master, the first punishment was
obvious : to reduce the offender to the ranks. This
would at once be an open disgrace, and would be un-
pleasant for the person concerned by taking away his
privileges. Arnold used constantly to speak to his Sixth
Form, explaining exactly what it was he required of
them, praising if praise were deserved, or pointing out
where they had fallen short. He treated the elder boys
as gentlemen and as reasoning beings, at an age when
their reason was beginning to develop, and their natures
to respond to a generous trust. The result was that
the tone of the upper boys soon grew more healthy, and
each felt the natural delight of one who is trusted with
responsibility and does not fail. The leaven then leavened
the whole lump, so that gradually the best of the School
in strength of character, intellect, and bodily power found
themselves as it were unconsciously ranged on the side of
orderliness and temperance.
In dealing with the lower boys Arnold's principles
were the same, though modified so as to suit their age
and inexperience. Arnold believed a boy's word as he
believed a man's ; and if he was sometimes deceived
even then (as who is not?), yet the greater number
of the boys were ashamed to tell him a lie. Responsi-
bility was not given to them, but they were trained by
his influence and words to regard the well being of
the School as their own concern. A wise reform was
i
I* %
e
*
I I
228 RUGBY SCHOOL
also carried out in the matter of punishments. Arnold
did not in the least suffer from that false sentimenta-
lity common in our own generation, which condemns
all corporal punishment as degrading. There can be no
degradation when none is felt, and ordinary boys (as
every practical teacher will admit) feel none in corporal
punishment. They hail it rather as far preferable to long
and monotonous impositions; if judiciously and calmly
administered, it never leaves a grudge behind, as imposi-
tions often do. But exceptional boys do sometimes feel
degraded by this kind of punishment, and Arnold put
it in the power of all such to escape it altogether. This
he did by restricting the punishment of flogging to grave
moral offences, such as lying, and to persistent idleness or
wilful disobedience, which are equally fatal to all govern-
ment. For more venial offences, such as every healthy
schoolboy must commit at times, milder punishments
were ordained, such as caning or extra tasks. 1 Of course,
any persistence in smaller faults, carelessness or unpunc-
tuality, or neglect, not wilful, of work and orders, would
result at last in a flogging, or even in removal from the
School. Such boys, whether young or old, as either could
not or would not conform to the rules of the School, got
no good from it themselves, and only demoralised the
1 Arnold wished at one time to introduce the punishment of solitary
confinement for certain offences, and applied to the Trustees for leave
to build rooms for the purpose. This kind of punishment is used in
France and Germany, but we cannot but be thankful that the Trustees
refused to allow it to be tried in an English public school. (Order of
October 25, 1831.)
THE NEW SPIRIT 229
others. In these cases Arnold would request that the
boy should be removed, but he was careful to attach
no disgrace to the proceeding. They were boys who
would do better with a private tutor, and were not suited
to a public school : that was all. For the Sixth Form,
flogging was no longer used, because it was not needed.
Under Arnold"^ system no boy was likely ever to reach
the Sixth Form who would be guilty of grosser faults
or was a lover of anarchy. If any such did reach it,
they would be kept within bounds by public opinion;
or if finally he proved unworthy of trust, he would
have to go.
Such was the new plan, simple enough in its essence ;
but its genius lies in its very simplicity. Any one can
balance an egg on end when he is shown how to do it.
To carry out the plan was not so simple ; that needed the
whole force of an exceptionally strong will. The School
had first to be purged, and in doing this Arnold had to
face great opposition from the boys themselves and from
the outside world. At the beginning he was met by a
storm of opposition which would have shaken a weaker
man. He was accused of folly in entrusting boys with
disciplinary power, and of undue severity in punishment,
of lax views on religious subjects, and of political un-
soundness. Yet he was really limiting the elder boys 1
disciplinary power, and softening the rigour of punish-
ment ; his religious convictions were part of his life, and
his eager desire for reform only part of a whole-hearted
devotion to law and order. In due time the storm
230 RUGBY SCHOOL
abated : the boys saw the wisdom of his enactments,
and worked with him to the same end ; the world re-
cognised that a new power had arisen, and public opinion
was far stronger in his favour than it had ever been
against him. "Always expect to succeed," was his
motto, "and never think you have succeeded." Arnold
expected to succeed, and he did succeed.
Arnold's intercourse with the lower boys was of neces-
sity less close. He gained an insight into the characters
of many by the institution of periodical reports, which
were sent to the parents ; and though the chief impres-
sion made on most of them was an extreme fear, they
always found him ready to listen to them with the
gentlest sympathy. With their work he had little to
do beyond organising it. He used to take all the forms
in turn for an occasional lesson : this practice has been
claimed as of his own originating, but wrongly, for it
was instituted by James. Arnold, however, extended the
yearly examinations to include the whole School, and
used the same means at other times to test and to improve
its efficiency. Otherwise he left the work of the lower
forms to his assistants, whom he soon fired with his
own spirit.
All the principles which Arnold instilled into his staff
and his Sixth Form, and diffused through the School by
his influence, were enforced by his sermons in the school
chapel. The services had hitherto been conducted by
a chaplain, and at Arnold's coming the chaplain was
Charles Alleyne Anstey. In 1831 the chaplain resigned.
INTERIOR OF THE OLD CHAPEL, LOOKING WEST.
(" Memorials of Rugby "}
To face page 230.
THE NEW SPIRIT 231
Arnold now saw an opportunity of making his influ-
ence tell yet more strongly upon the School, and at once
applied for the vacant post. The Trustees gladly acceded
to his request, 1 and from that time Arnold preached to
the School almost every Sunday of the school year.
These sermons were vastly different from those usually
preached at that time, or indeed even now. They were
a mirror of the man : plain, forcible, and direct, wholly
free from cant, full of the knowledge of a boy's mind and
its limitations, and directed to practical ends. They
were, and still remain, models of what a school sermon
should be. The discourses were listened to with real
attention, being usually within the comprehension of the
young, and yet appealing to the more mature intellect.
He did not try to force boys' minds to heights of spiri-
tuality of which boys are not capable ; but by his own fiery
earnestness he implanted in them those Christian prin-
ciples of conduct which were his own guides. His earnest-
ness made them earnest, and his reverence made them
reverent. He taught them to love all things that are
lovely and of good report, to despise what is mean or
base. Thus did he carry out his idea of a system of
Christian education.
In the routine of teaching, Arnold made few changes.
The excellent system devised by Thomas James was kept
in its main features, the chief improvement being that
1 Order of Oct. 25, 1831. He wished to receive no salary, but the
Trustees insisted he should accept it, however he might see fit to use
the money.
RUGBY SCHOOL
mathematics and modern languages, hitherto regarded
as extra, were incorporated in the regular scheme. A
new importance was given to the study of English, and
to history, geography, and. kindred subjects. English
was, as we have seen, not unknown in James's original
plan, and Arnold himself does not seem to have done
much by way of making it a school subject. It is very
difficult, as he saw, to make boys study books written in
their own language with the same concentration of mind
which is necessary for a language like Latin or Greek.
But he encouraged reading and thought in every possible
way. His pieces for translation were chosen for their
own worth, out of the best authors ; themes were set
which encouraged boys to read standard books; and in
every way, direct or indirect, the boys were sent to
good models, and shown how to use them. Under
James there had been a regular cycle of history, al-
though the introduction of this also has been claimed
for Arnold ; but Arnold certainly made this study most
interesting by his stores of apt knowledge and his vivid
manner of description. The combination of geography
with history, then a new idea, although since become a
commonplace, assisted both memory and intelligence.
He was the first among schoolmasters to draw practical
lessons out of the politics and philosophy of the past.
Throughout all his teaching the same energy and life was
seen, and he taught his pupils the love of learning and
the way to learn. Deep were the impressions produced
upon the most dissimilar natures. He became the hero
THE NEW SPIRIT
233
not only of a refined and scholarly boy like Arthur
Penrhyn Stanley, but of the more robust and practical
Thomas Hughes.
It is now time to turn to. the history of the School
during Arnold's mastership. With a Head-master so
ARNOLD S TABLE AND CHAIR.
(From a drawing by A. A. Clarence.)
devoted to literary studies, it was most appropriate
that the library was at length worthily housed. It had
previously been kept in a barn by the Dunchurch Road ;
but in 1829 the tower chamber was built over the front
gate, and the books removed thither. Around this room
they were ranged from floor to ceiling, a gallery giving
234 RUGBY SCHOOL
access to the upper shelves. Here it was Arnold's wont
to teach the Sixth Form, " sitting," as he writes, " in that
undignified kitchen chair, at that little table, a just pro-
portional to the tables of the Sixth themselves.'" When
in 1875 new desks were substituted for these tables of the
Sixth, the tops of the tables, scored with innumerable
names, were fixed along the walls, there to remain as
a memorial for ever. No other building was done
during Arnold's mastership. But Arnold did something
to beautify the chapel. His eye was offended by the
flat ceiling, and he made great efforts to get rid of his
" old enemy,' 1 as he calls it. In this he was not success-
ful ; but he was most fortunate in securing some old
stained glass for the windows. By a lucky chance the
church of Aershot, near Louvain, was in need of funds for
a restoration, and to get money, sold some of its stained
glass. One of its windows, dating from the fifteenth
century, was purchased for the school chapel, and placed
there in 1834 : l this is the east window, representing
the Adoration of the Magi. Another ancient window
represents the Presentation in the Temple. It was made
in the fourteenth century, and was brought from Rouen.
A third depicts a scene which has been differently inter-
preted by different persons. It is inscribed as though
the scene meant were the appearance of Christ to Mary
Magdalene, but the inscription has no authority ; it was
added when the window was placed in the chapel. The
1 See Bloxam, Rugby, p. 98 ; Boole of Ruyby School, p. 77. Two other
windows from the same church went to Wadham College, Oxford.
INTERIOR OF SIXTH SCHOOL.
FORMERLY THE LIBRARY.
(From an etching by E.J. Burrow.}
To face page 234.
THE NEW SPIRIT 235
scene is believed really to be Christ's appearance to His
mother. 1 This window, of the fifteenth century, was put
up in 1836. An old German window representing Christ
before Pilate was given in 1840 by the old Rugbeians at
the two universities. One of the masters presented for
the altar a pair of seventeenth-century candlesticks made
of bronze gilt. Arnold was especially interested in these
things, because the Rugby chapel lacked the associations
of antiquity.
Arnold felt it to be important that he should not be
hampered for lack of funds, and this led to another
change. His election was to date from July 1828, 2 but a
few months previously 3 two resolutions were passed which
were probably due to his suggestion. He had already
expressed a strong opinion that the school fees were too
low, and by these orders the charge for board was in-
creased to fifty guineas (to include washing, single beds,
and other things hitherto considered as extra), while the
capitation fee for Foundationers was increased from five
to twelve guineas. Half of this sum was for the Head-
master, and the other half was his to divide amongst his
assistants as he should think proper. 4 Private tuition was
made optional for non-Foundationers as well as Founda-
tioners, and the school fee for the former class was fixed
at twelve guineas, to be divided as above.
One important reform still remains to be mentioned.
As it was Arnold's aim to get the training of the boys
1 Boole of Rugby School, p. 86. 2 Order of Dec. 10, 1827.
3 Orders of April 11, 1828. 4 Order of July 8, 1828.
236 RUGBY SCHOOL
into his hands completely, it was obvious that the system
of dames 1 houses must be put an end to. In this, as in
other things, Arnold showed a wise restraint. He did
not try to abolish the whole system at once, any more
than he tried to abolish the public school system; but
he resolved that no more dames' houses should be allowed,
and as each fell vacant for whatever reason, he transferred
the house to one of his assistants. The Head-master's
relations with his staff also underwent a change. By the
increase of their emoluments which has been mentioned,
and by their appointment as boarding-house masters, he
had so improved their position that he could now fairly
assert a right to their whole time. The assistants were
no longer allowed to take curacies along with the school
work, and their services were claimed on Sundays as on
week-clays, if necessary. 1 This clearly excited some op-
position at first, since the Trustees found it necessary to
pass a resolution on the subject. But it was not long
before Arnold got his men in hand. He had differences
with some of them, in which indolence or a dislike of
change was confronted with his unyielding temper; but
the victory lay with him, and the objector had either
to submit or to go. 2 Those who submitted, and those
whom Arnold himself appointed, soon recognised that
he was in the right. They answered as a spirited
horse to the rein ; and their reluctance once overcome,
all threw themselves into their work with an enthu-
siasm like their leader's own. Arnold gave his staff
1 Order of Aug. 24, 1829. 2 Order of July 9, 1833.
THE NEW SPIRIT 237
a voice in the school management, holding a masters'*
meeting every three or four weeks, in which all manner
of things were discussed and voted upon. He had his
reward. No more is heard of reluctance to do duty on
Sundays or any other day ; and in a year or two we find
the whole staff contributing to pay the salary of an extra
master. 1 Many of his predecessors had paid considerable
sums out of their own pockets towards the salaries of
assistants, and Arnold did the same ; 2 but this is the first
example of a general self-denying ordinance, and it implies
a real devotion of all alike to the interests of the School.
It has been mentioned that Arnold was resolved to
get rid of all corrupting elements in the School. As this
might mean the expulsion of a considerable number of
boys at once, the Head -master might possibly be brought
into collision with the Trustees. It is a habit of
governing bodies to suppose that the prosperity of a
school is in direct ratio to its numbers; and if the
numbers fall of, they are apt to find fault, or even to
interfere. There was at one time a part of the Trustees
who wished to have Arnold removed, possibly because
he firmly carried out his principle of purging. The
opposition failed, and perhaps in order to make any
recurrence of it unlikely, Arnold persuaded the Trustees
to limit the number of non-Foundationers in the School
to 260. 3 There were so many applicants for entering
1 Order of Oct. 25, 1831.
2 See Order of July 6, 1830, for example.
3 Order of July 6, 1830.
268 RUGBY SCHOOL
the School that he could make fairly sure of keeping
up this number without difficulty ; and if it were neces-
sary to remove a few boys, their places would at once
be filled. Whatever friction there was between the
Trustees and the Head-master very soon ceased, and the
Trustees loyally took his part when he was assailed by
outside attacks. On one or two occasions when his
conduct was called in question, special resolutions were
passed declaring full confidence in him, and confirming
all he had done. 1
We must not forget to record an event which was
long remembered by Rugby boys with joy and gratitude,
because it gained them a week's holiday. This was the
visit of the Queen Dowager, wife of William IV., on Oct.
29, 1839. Arnold came round the day before to announce
the intended visit, and hinted delicately that the boys
need not be dressed " as they might be in dirty and rainy
weather." Let the scene be described by an eye-witness : 2
Accordingly, the next day in brilliant apparel we were
arranged in rows in the quadrangle, one beginning with the
Sixth diagonally, along the pavement, and the others round
1 e.g. Order of March 23, 1836 : "We, the undersigned Trustees of
Kugby School, assembled at an especial meeting, are glad to have an
opportunity of expressing our entire satisfaction with Dr. Arnold's
management of the School. Many of the young men who have pro-
ceeded to the universities from Kugby School have distinguished them-
selves, and done honour to Dr. Arnold's system of education ; and we
believe that the discipline of the School has been conducted upon most
humane and liberal principles, and on this conviction we continue to
repose entire confidence in Dr. Arnold." See also Order of Dec. 11,
1838. 2 See New Rugleian, ii. 148.
THE NEW SPIRIT
it. In due time her Majesty emerged from the side door
into the cloisters from the Schoolhouse, which had been laid
down with crimson cloth ; behind followed Earls Howe and
Denbigh, and divers other great personages. Leaning on
Dr. Arnold's arm, her Majesty walked out at once into the
open quadrangle, cutting off the corner in which is the
Schoolhouse Hall, and made boldly for the chapel, amid
shouts shrill and hearty such as boys alone can throw out.
While our distinguished visitor was inspecting the chapel,
which then had only two painted windows, the east one
with the legend " apparuit primo M. Magdalenae," we
were with difficulty retained in the quad, and at length
like a mountain torrent were let loose into the Close.
Her Majesty proceeded completely round the Close on the
gravel walk, and expressed a desire to see us play foot-
ball. A fearful thing for thin boots, swell trowsers, and a
treacherous November soil ! these are thoughts suggested,
perhaps, by later years there was no hesitation then. Only
when we had hanged up our waistcoats and coats on the
palings by the tump at Little Side, we presented anything
but our usual martial appearance arrayed in white trowsers,
belts, and velvet caps : we looked, in fact, more like a mob
of cockneys on what might be their first introduction to the
game. Play, however, we did in a way ; we can't say it was
a very scientific performance. Her Majesty seemed most
impressed when the ball went up with a tremendous punt
into the air, or half traversed the Close in a drop. However,
there was, as might be expected, not much spirit in the game ;
and by the time the Queen had reached half-way between
the island and the doctor's garden wall, we began again to
mob about her and cheer her, and so yelling and shouting
"domum deduximus," to the Schoolhouse again. It is un-
necessary to add that we did not do all this for nothing : a
240 RUGBY SCHOOL
week's extra holiday followed as a matter of course, and
" Regina Rugbeiam invisens " brought forth countless Latin
verses of all metres in the different forms, to the tune of
" Vidit et magnas stupefacta turres
Tectaque vasta."
I excuse the Sixth from this poetical outburst : from their
serene temples no notice was in this way taken of the event.
Among Arnold's pupils were many who achieved a name
for themselves in after life. Two names at once will occur
to every reader, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, 1 his biographer,
and Thomas Hughes. 2 It is generally supposed that
Arthur in Tom Browii's School Days was drawn from
Stanley, and the author has admitted that this is sub-
stantially true. 3 A man of more distinguished genius
than either, though less generally known, was the poet
Arthur Hugh Clough. 4 Charles John Vaughan, perhaps
the most finished scholar among the pupils of Arnold,
was Craven scholar, senior classic, Fellow of Trinity Col-
lege, Cambridge, and Head-master of Harrow. He is said
to have been offered the highest position in the Church,
and to have declined it. His last years were spent as
Master of the Temple, where Sunday after Sunday his
sermons used to attract an audience of able and thoughtful
men. But there were several other scholars of eminence
at Rugby during Arnold's mastership. Professor Coning-
ton, 5 of Oxford ; Professor Hort, 6 of Cambridge ; Professor
1 Entered 1829. 2 Entered 1834.
3 See a letter in the Spectator, Nov. 13, 1897.
4 Entered 1829. 6 Entered 1838. 6 Entered 1841.
THE NEW SPIRIT
J. B. Mayor, 1 of King's College, London ; Dean Bradley, 1
for many years Master of Marlborough; Edward Henry
Bradby 3 (afterwards Head-master of Haileybury), a name
familiar to generations of Rugbeians : these are but a few
among many. Arnold's power descended in various forms
on his own children, of whom two are specially interesting
to Rugby. William Delafield Arnold, 4 after serving in
the Bengal Native Infantry, was appointed Director-
General of Public Education in the Punjaub. He was
the author of a variety of books and articles, among them
the " Sixth Match," which describes better than the Old
Boy himself the excitement of the mimic fray. Matthew
Arnold, 5 as poet and as critic, holds an honourable place
in English literature, and as the apostle of " culture, 1 ' was
once a marked figure in English society. His fame as
a poet will probably grow rather than decrease with the
lapse of time. The list of university honours won by
the School includes four Ireland scholarships, two Hert-
fords, and two Cravens, besides several minor university
scholarships. Rugby had two senior classics at Cam-
bridge, four Chancellor's classical medallists, five Browne's
medallists, two Porson prizemen, and eight Members' prize-
men. The Chancellor's medal for English verse was won
twice, the Newdigate three times, the Latin verse prize
thrice, the English essay thrice, and the Latin essay
five times.
Arnold may well have been proud of these honours
i Entered 1841. 2 Entered 1837. 3 Entered 1839.
4 Entered 1839. 5 Entered 1837.
Q
242 RUGBY SCHOOL
but he would have been still prouder had he lived to see
Lord Cross l become Home Secretary, Lord Derby 2 Secre-
tary of State for the Colonies, for India, and for Foreign
Affairs, Sir Richard Temple 3 play many parts with dis-
tinguished success, and William Henry Waddington 4
return to this country as Ambassador of France. How
it would have interested him to see three Rugbeians
conducting the official intercourse of two great nations : 5
Lord Derby as Foreign Secretary for England, Wadding-
ton Foreign Secretary for France, and F. O. Adams Chief
Secretary to the British Embassy in Paris.
In India and in the Crimea many who were boys under
Arnold fought and fell ; and one has gained a name which
Englishmen will not willingly forget. Hodson, 6 of Hodson's
Horse, was noted at school for deeds of daring and feats
of speed. In 1845 he landed in India, and in the same
year fought at Moodkee, when his schoolfellow Octavius
Carey 7 was killed. He was present at Ferozeshah and
Sobraon and other battles, and soon gained a great repu-
tation for dash and courage, being twice honourably
mentioned in despatches. But his fame is bound up with
the body of irregular horse which he raised during the
Mutiny. No account of the siege of Delhi fails to speak
of Hodson's Horse on nearly every page. His crowning
feat was the capture of the King of Delhi and of the three
remaining princes of the Mogul dynasty. He had only a
1 Entered 1837. 2 Entered 1840. 3 Entered 1839.
4 Entered 1841. 5 In 1877 ; Register, p. 227.
6 Entered 1837. See Records, p. 86. 7 Entered 1835.
THE NEW SPIRIT 243
company of sepoys to protect the prisoners ; and as on the
last occasion when he was escorting the three princes away,
a rescue seemed to be imminent, Hodson shot them all
three with his own hand. He fell in 1858 at the storm
of Lucknow. No other old Rugbeian of this epoch is
so picturesque a figure as Hodson ; but many rendered
services to their country no less valuable than his. Henry
Andrew Sorrel 1 was at one time Hodson's fag; they
were at Cambridge together, and both pulled in the
Trinity boat. Sorrel was present at Chillianwallah and
Gujerat, and commanded a body of cavalry under John
Nicholson. He afterwards took part in a number of other
actions, and was mentioned in despatches no less than
fourteen times. In the navy was Sir John Charles Dal-
rymple Hay, 2 whose Log-book has lately put forth leaves.
He served with conspicuous success in China, and after-
wards in the Crimea, and was Fellow of the Royal Society.
In the same service was Henry Can* Glyn, 8 who (like any
other jack-tar) was equally at home as a lieutenant on
board ship, as staff-officer on shore, or engineering a bridge
over the Danube.
Three names are now to be mentioned of those whose
distinction was of a kind especially pleasing to Arnold.
Henry Watson Fox 4 became a missionary to South India,
and died quite young in the midst of his labours. After
his death a fund was raised to support a master in one of
the Indian schools, which was deemed a fitting way to
1 Entered 1839. 2 Entered 1833.
3 Entered 1842. 4 Entered 1831.
RUGBY SCHOOL
perpetuate his memory. A " Fox sermon " is preached
once a year at the School, and the collection then taken
is devoted to the same purpose. Spencer Thornton l was
a boy of no remarkable ability, but of remarkable force
of character, who had a deep influence in the School.
Straightforward, manly, upright, and honest to the core,
he won the respect of all, even those who were repelled by
his somewhat narrow religious views. " Your son," wrote
Arnold at the time he left, " has done good to the School
to an extent that cannot be calculated. 11 The last is one
whose name does not appear in the Register, for he had
scarcely entered the School when his young life was cut
short. John Walker 2 was sixteen years old when he was
drowned in saving the life of a schoolfellow. His name finds
a place on the chapel walls by the side of those who fell
in their country^ wars, and no less deserves honour than
the winners of a Victoria Cross : ipse vitam vita redemit.
These were some of the fruits of Arnold^ fourteen
years ; tended and brought to ripeness with what strenu-
ous labour, and what struggles against opposition and
stupidity, no man can know but he. It might well have
seemed that he was intended for a sphere of usefulness
yet wider, and that he might have had an opportunity of
attempting the " great work " of which he dreamed : to
infuse new life into the Church as he had done into the
public schools, and to bring England nearer to that ideal
state where State and Church should be truly one. But it
was not to be. In the midst of his labours, in the prime
1 Entered 1829. 2 Entered 1841.
THE NEW SPIRIT 245
of health and strength, Arnold died. The last school
day in the summer half of 1842 was over, and Arnold
retired to rest, apparently in the best of spirits ; by eight
o'clock on the next morning he was dead.
The sudden death of Arnold, such a " death unfore-
seen " as Julius Caesar desired, filled all Rugby with con-
sternation and bewilderment. There was nothing now
left but to show all honour to the strong man who had
run his race. The Trustees held a special meeting, and
sensible " of the great loss which the School has sustained
in the death of a Master who has raised Its character to
the highest pitch," ordered that the chapel should be
hung with black on the day of his funeral. 1 On the
Friday following, exactly one week after the last speeches
where he presided, the funeral service was performed in the
chapel, and the Head-master's body was buried beneath
the communion-table. When the chapel was afterwards
enlarged, a cross was set in the floor over this spot ; and
this forms the goal of many a stranger from foreign
shores, who comes to see the last resting-place of a great
man.
O strong soul, by what shore
Tarriest thou now ? For that force
Surely has not been left vain !
Somewhere, surely, afar
In the sounding labour-house vast
Of being, is practised that strength,
Zealous, beneficent, firm.
1 Order of June 15, 1842. A picture in Rugby School Museum
represents the interior of the chapel on this day.
XII
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY
Quicquid agunt pueri
THE new life which Arnold infused into the School quick-
ened not only its moral but its intellectual part. One
outcome of this was the first Rugby Debating Society,
founded in 1833. 1 The meetings were held in the Fifth
Form Room. This not only gave the boys opportunity
to learn how to express their thoughts, but taught them
the necessity for order and decent procedure. The effect
was seen in the Sixth Form Levee. The meetings, even
of this august assemblage, had been hitherto attended
with much discomfort. All the boys clustered together
in the middle of the room, and all talked at once ; " he
only," writes one of them plaintively, " he only who was
of tall stature and loud voice had the pre-eminence."
But with the birth of a Debating Society a new spirit
of order appeared : fy ofiov iravra xprjfjbara, 1/01)9 Se avra
Siaicpivas SiKoa-fjLr)crev. The infant Debating Society had
to face rough winds, and soon perished ; but another
arose like a phoenix out of its grave, and in time, as we
shall see, it became firmly established. Another sign
1 Rugby Magazine, ii. 11, 14.
246
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 247
of intellectual activity is the first Rugby Magazine ^
with which A. H. Clough had a great deal to do. The
papers in this periodical are surprisingly good. If the
style is somewhat formal, it never condescends to smart-
ness or flippancy, and is much superior to the magazines
which people now so greedily buy. There is a great
quantity of poetry in these early volumes, written in
imitation of Coleridge, Wordsworth, Byron, or some
other reigning favourite; and this poetry, though it
lacks imagination, is carefully composed, and correct in
workmanship. In the prose, however, there is a good
deal of imagination, and a great variety of subjects are
treated. Sometimes the subject is a literary criticism;
or, it may be, a scene from ancient history is dramatised,
such as the " Departure of Crassus for the East," or
" Two Days in Athens Two Thousand Years ago." These
dramatic dialogues were a favourite form of composition,
and one at least is of considerable merit, "A Walk to
Bilton Hall in 1706." Here the characters are Henry
Holyoake and his distinguished pupil, Cave. The Greek
War of Independence had but lately ended, and this
finds its echo in a "Conversation between Byron and
Kolokotroni." Other writers turn their attention to the
daily life of the School, and we have sundry " Sketches
of School Character." In one of these sketches the society
of a school is compared to men "just emerging from
barbarism," one of Arnold's favourite ideas, though less
gently put than he put it. How pleased Arnold must
1 Vol. i. 1835 ; vol. ii. 1836 : no more, See also the Leaflet, ii. 59.
248 RUGBY SCHOOL
have been to see these evidences of quickening life, we
may readily imagine. " Promise, not performance," was
what he looked for in boys, and in these pages is abund-
ant promise.
There is unfortunately less in the Magazine than we
could wish about the daily life of the schoolboy. A few
names appear, however, which have since grown familiar,
such as Aganippe (near Holbrook Copse), or Swifts.
Though the old "Pig and Whistle" still plied to Oxford,
and the " University Drag " to Cambridge, changes were
passing over both school and town. Rugby town appears
to be just emerging out of the dark ages, and the poet
celebrates the innovation in the following lines : l
Three public charities the mind engage,
Houses of alms for indigent old age.
For malefactors one small cell is found
Small, but commodious ; roomy, altho' round.
Three great improvements have been lately made.
New flagstones yield a pleasant promenade ;
And lamps in safety see the travellers pass,
At present lit with oil instead of gas.
The public officers were lately two,
A crier and constable alone they knew ;
Now, in addition, through the town there stamps
Another gentleman, who lights the lamps.
The " School Patriarch," as in duty bound, laments the
good old times, "ere the Bilton Road was built on,"
when " composition Tutors were happily unknown." He
1 See Rugby Magazine, ii. 213.
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 249
sighs for the day " when the Island was an island," and
for the stern Spartan simplicity of ancient times.
In the days when twenty fellows drank out of one large mug,
And pewter were the dishes, and a tin can was the jug ;
In the days when shoes and boots were three times a week
japanned,
And we sat on stools, not sofas, there were giants in the land !
When new boys on the pump were set to pelt at and to sing,
Or sent from the Close to Pendred's for a pennyworth of string ;
In the days when fags a long hour in the passage had to stand,
In the days of happy night! fags, there were giants in the
land!
When Sixth and Fifth-form fellows had all been duly "chaired,"
And he who told a falsehood was e ( cobbed " and never spared ;
And we walked around the School-field with our breakfast in our
hand,
Ere the days of tea and coffee, there were giants in the land ! l
These are only glimpses at best ; but the Rugby of
Arnold lives again in the pages of Tom Browtfs School
Days. Be it football, or be it a Big Side run, with a
finish at the " Cock," and "good ale going," life in school
or life in the house, no such story of schoolboy life has
ever been written. To recall the pea-shootings and the
birds'-nestings, the fights and bullyings, Martin's menagerie
and the wrath of Velveteens, were but to re-tell a twice-
told tale. Others besides the "Old Boy" have left on
record their "Recollections" or their "Experiences." 2
1 Rugby Magazine, ii. 389.
2 Recollections of Rugby, by an Old Rugbeian ; School Experiences of
a Fag, by G. Melly.
250 RUGBY SCHOOL
With these we may go trolling in the ponds by the
Dunchurch Road, or go fishing to Brownsover or Law-
ford, or leaping over Lawford brook, or lounging in the
Spinney ; we may learn swimming at Sleath's Hole, " the
sheepwash," or take part in the internecine strife of the
houses for the best place at Swifts.
The Rugby fishermen of this date were true sports-
men, scorning the net, and trusting only to rod and line.
They were economical in their tackle, rarely spending more
than four or five shillings on a rod which might be con-
fiscated any day by some irate gamekeeper. The steady
bottom -fisherman preferred the water near Caldecotfs
spinney, which was full of deep holes suited to his
particular branch of the art. But the finest fish and
the most plentiful were to be had in the first quarter of
a mile above Rugby mill. Here many a jack or perch
was landed with one of old Pendred^s stout rods. Good
sport might be had below Brownsover mill by those
fishermen who knew their business. This water has
sacred associations for the angler : if tradition speaks
true, Izaak Walton himself has whipped it many a
time. Occasionally a few mischievous urchins would seek
more exciting sport in a duck -hunt. Hooks are baited
with bread and thrown into a farmyard, and soon
the farmer's wife beholds with amazement how her
ducks, as though demented, run flapping their wings
up a perpendicular stone wall and disappear over the
top.
What an event was the Fifth of November in those
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY
days ! For days beforehand the " Town " was astir pre-
paring the great bonfire. Tar-barrels, loads of straw and
dry brambles, logs and lumps of wood were heaped in
a mighty pile midmost the market-place, to be lighted at
eight o'clock on the eventful evening. But eight o'clock
would be too late for the boys to see it, and every
year a great fight used to take place, the School striving
to kindle the blaze before locking-up, and the Town to
prevent it. So in the boys' studies might be seen as
much bustle and business as in the town. Carpet brushes
were soaked in rosin or turpentine, and long sticks got
ready, each with a thousand lucifers fastened at one end.
At a shop near the scene of action was stored a reserve
of combustibles, to be used when the great attack is made.
The day arrives ; the hour of five is struck ; the School
assembles, and away to the market-place in a mass. A
champion is chosen of stout thews and sinews, to carry
a torch, and around him are wedged a strong body-
guard of the best fighting-men in the School. The Town
are drawn up around their pile, resolved to defend it to
the death. A first attack is made, and beaten off.
Nothing daunted, the boys charge again, and this time
break through the cordon of defenders. The torch is
applied, but no flame follows ; all this side of the heap
has been drenched with water. There is nothing for it
but to tear it down and penetrate to the middle. Now
doughty deeds are done ; sticks and bricks fall thick on
the heroes, and many a cracked crown will keep this
night's memory fresh. But at last it is done : the dry
RUGBY SCHOOL
is reached, the torch is applied ; the boys open a passage
between two strong lines, and through it pass relays of
bearers, with rockets and crackers, and the brushes and
match-sticks that have been preparing so long. A
moment more, and the blaze rises sky-high: the town
bonfire is lighted.
" Singing in Hall " was a terrible ordeal for the new-
comer. The house assembled, new boys were mounted
in turn upon a table, with a candle in each hand, and
told to sing a song. If the trembling wretch made a
false note, a violent hiss followed; and all through the
performance pellets and crusts of bread were thrown at
the boy or his candles, often knocking the candles out of
his hands and covering him with tallow. The singing
over, the new boy had to descend and pledge the house
in a bumper of salt and water stirred with a tallow
candle. He was now free of the house, and retired to
his room feeling very uncomfortable. On the night after
the " new boys'* night " there was chorus singing, in which
solos and quartets of all sorts were sung, especially old
Rugby favourites, such as
It's my delight on a shiny night
In the season of the year.
The proceedings wound up in loyal fashion with "God
Save the Queen."
One who was for some years a fag, yet never rose to
the proud position of fagging others, has written a volume
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 253
in praise of the institution. 1 In 1830, when this writer
entered Rugby, there was still a good deal of illegal
fagging by big boys not in the Sixth; but this could
be only in secret, and the fag, if he chose to resist by
force, would have been supported by public opinion.
There was school fagging and house fagging. The
former consisted chiefly of fielding out, scoring, or stand-
ing umpire at cricket; and any of the Sixth had the
right to call out any fag for this purpose. If a Sixth
Form boy wanted a fag, all he had to do was to stand
at the door at calling-over and make his choice out of
the three hundred fags or more. If a fag did well, he
was soon set free for the rest of the day; and, on the
whole, the system can have proved a hardship only to
lazy boys, who ought to be made to endure hardships.
In the winter, there was football fagging ; that is to say,
at a match every " no-cap " was obliged to stand behind
the goals.
House fagging included a variety of duties, some
which usually fall to a housemaid, and others are pecu-
liar. No sooner was the fag awake than with the sun he
must his daily round of duty run. First of all, the fags
in each dormitory must take it in turns to awake the rest,
and the fag of the week was responsible for getting the
rest out of bed by half -past six. This was done by
blows applied to various portions of the frame, by pulling
off all the bed-clothes, or by dabbing a wet sponge on
1 School Experiences of a Fag.
254 RUGBY SCHOOL
the face. It was a dangerous duty, and was carried out
amidst a hail of pillows, boots, brushes, even water-jugs.
First lesson over, the breakfast fag had to go down town
and purchase viands for any little party that his master
might be giving. When he got back he must cook it ;
and as for his own, he might go without, unless a kindly
chum stepped in to the rescue. Bread and butter could
be got from the buttery, but nothing more in the way
of eatables except the scanty allowance of a quarter of a
pound of tea and a pound of sugar per week. The next
thing was, to tidy his master's study : cups and glasses to
be cleaned, books to be put straight, bats hung up, flowers
watered, the whole place dusted as never maid dusted
room. At tea, half-a-dozen fags were sent down into Hall
to toast large rounds of bread, two for each praepostor,
before a burning fiery furnace. To make matters worse,
toasting-forks were never allowed. This done, the fag
was free for the night, unless he should be chosen to stand
by one of the fireplaces in the corridor, to answer the call
of any praepostor who wanted his supper. A weird tale
is told of one trembling urchin who sat there once in the
dark, and suddenly beheld a tall figure in white, with
clanking chains, which approached to the accompaniment
of a bright blue light, and distributed bread and cheese
and beer at the praepostorial studies.
One of the envied privileges of the Sixth was the use
of the Island, until a " proud prelate drained the time-
honoured moat." The Island was at that time surrounded
by a moat, which was spanned by a wooden drawbridge ;
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 255
across this was a gate with spikes at the top. It would
appear that in the last century, part of the ground on the
Barby Road, opposite the Close, was divided up into allot-
ments for the Sixth, where they grew radishes or cress,
and flowers. These acres were of course tilled by the
fags on the corvee system. The flowers were used for
decorations on Speech Day. When this ground was used
for building houses, the Island was allotted to the Sixth
instead, and each had his own little plot of the sacred
soil. Towards Easter, when Big Side leaping and runs
were over for the season, arrangements were made for till-
ing these plots by Island fagging. 1 After calling-over,
the fags were driven out into the Close, and then formed
in a long line, the bigger boys towards the Head-master's
wall, and the little ones on the extreme right. Two of
the Sixth posted themselves by the bridge as judges, and
at a given signal the whole line set off full tilt. The six
fags who got first to the bridge were excused, and strolled
off triumphant. Now came the second act jumping the
moat. The first six who volunteered for this forlorn hope
were also excused, but they generally earned it by actually
trying the jump, and getting wet up to the waist. Any
one else who could really take the almost impossible jump
would be excused also ; but there were only two places
where it could be done, and very few could do it even
there. And now to work : five or six fags were told off'
to each plot, and ordered to dig. The fags were now
like the Israelites of old, when driven by Pharaoh's
I, No. 1.
256 RUGBY SCHOOL
taskmasters ; for there was hardly any soil to dig, and
no tools to dig with. Knives, spikes, sharpened stakes,
broken fives-bats anything and everything was brought
into requisition, and the labourers scratched away with
vigour, until their masters got tired of watching. This
lasted all the afternoon until a quarter of an hour before
calling-over, on each half-holiday till the week before
Easter. By this time the beds were supposed to be
ready for planting, and each plot was to be surrounded
with turf. The turf was procured by " turf-cart fagging.' 1
A light lorry was brought round to the gates, and those
of the Sixth who wanted a ride got in, while twenty fags
or so were harnessed to draw it. Away went the team,
doing their best to run away with the cart, and often
there was a spill ere the goal was reached. Then turf
was cut (without leave asked of anybody), and dragged
back to School. When the Island was all neatly
turfed, it remained to procure flowers for Speech Day.
By ancient convention they were supposed to grow on the
Island, but the primitive methods of cultivation were not
favourable to flowers, as may be readily imagined. But
the fiat went forth, " Get flowers,"" and somehow or other
got they must be si possis, recte : si non, quo cumque
modo, florem. By hunting in the hedges, or making
raids on the neighbouring gardens, at length a sufficient
quantity of primroses and violets were transplanted to
their new home. Visitors were always taken to see the
Island, and great was their admiration of the diligence of
the boys in making the desert to bloom as a rose.
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 257
The Sixth Form had to keep an eye on the fags in
general, and punish them if they broke bounds, or in-
dulged in smoking of clay pipes or in beer-drinking.
Punishments varied from a short imposition to a licking.
For minor offences there was a " study-licking " of three
strokes ; for others, a more serious chastisement adminis-
tered before the Sixth, or " hall-licking." A fag might
appeal to the house, but if his appeal was not allowed,
the punishment would be increased. For example, if a
boy refused to take a study-licking and appealed, he
would be awarded a hall-licking in case his appeal failed.
When questioned, a boy's word was always taken, and it
was a matter of honour never to deceive a praepostor. A
boy might report anything to a praepostor that concerned
himself, but on no account must he give information
about others. Serious offences were carefully investi-
gated, and then either reported to the Head-master or
punished by a public thrashing in Hall.
It may be interesting to add a scheme of the daily
round, from the letters of one who was a schoolboy sixty
years ago :
On Mond. Wed. and Frid. I go into school at 7. When
prayers are read we say the lesson, and come out at about
J to eight, when I have my breakfast and prepare 2 nd lesson
till I to 10, when we go in for 2 nd lesson, and we stay there
till about 11-30. On Wednesdays we go into the writing
master for Arithmetic at 12-15 till 1-15, when we come home
(though not my home) and have dinner at 1-30. On Mond.
and Frid. we do not go for Arith c . I devote the time till
R
258 RUGBY SCHOOL
dinner to extra study. After dinner I prepare 3 rd lesson till
3-30, when we go in and say it, and come out for a \ of an
hour, and go in again and do Arith., and come out for good at
about 5-30, when I have my tea, and walk with G. P. till 7-30,
locking up time, have prayers at \ to 8, and then from then
till 10, bed time, I sit down and prepare 1 st lesson for next
day. On Tuesdays, Thursd. and Sats., which are J holidays,
we don't [MS. "do"] go in again after 2 nd lesson, from which
till dinner extra work, and after dinner till 3-30 I have for
play. From 3-30 to 6 extra work, six till lock up, play, and
in the evenings as before. As to our games here there are
none besides cricket, football, and fives. At the first I have
played twice, at the 3 rd never. Walking seems the chief
thing, which I do every day with G. P., who is my favourite
companion. 1
I will now give you a short sketch of how I spend my
Sundays. At 8-30 in the morning we have prayers, and after
that breakfast, after which I learn the gospel, or that and a
psalm for first lecture, which is at 10. At 11 I go to chapel,
which lasts till about 12, when I walk till dinner (1) with
G. P. After dinner I prepare 2 nd lecture, which is 3 or 4
chapters of the Bible, till 3, when we go in to 2 nd lecture :
2 nd chapel at 4, after which I have tea, and from tea till J
to eight I have to myself. After prayers I prepare 1 st lesson
for next day out of the New Test, in Greek, wh. does not
take me long, and I have from 9 till 10 for reading. J.
Tickell is very kind to me, and I am lucky enow to be one
of his fags, so that no one else in the house can fag me to
clean out his study, &c. (this has nothing to do with outdoor
fagging, for any preposter can fag one there), and the very
1 MS. Letter of E. H. Bradby (entered 1839), Aug. 29, 1839. For
this extract I have to thank Mr. G. F. Bradby.
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 259
fact of my knowing him preserves me from being bullyed.
He is not, as I thought he would be, a bully, but, on the
contrary, every boy likes him. 1
Most of the boys took their breakfast and supper in
their studies, where they had a whole batterie de cuisine,
pots and pans and gridirons. But the great ambition
was to be elected into "Hall," where the first twenty
fellows in the house 2 formed a select club. At the
beginning of each half, a ballot took place, and vacancies
were filled up. In Hall was glory, but in the study was
comfort, and the disappointed candidates really had the
best of the bargain. Those charming little dens, though
no larger than they were in Jameses day, had become
much more luxurious. But there is a drawback to all
human joys, and the happy owner might come in to
find everything in the place turned wrong way up : the
table tied to the ceiling, each chair hung on the walls
upside down, the sofa on the top of the door, pens and
pencils glued to the roof, every picture face downwards
on the floor, the books on their heads, and the geraniums
standing on their flowers. Even the inkstand would be
turned over, but so cunningly that the ink remained in
it. This was done by filling it quite full, and then putting
a piece of paper over the top. It would then be carefully
turned over and placed on a flat surface, the paper pulled
away, and the ink would remain until the owner tried to put
it straight again. One boy who rejoiced in the nickname
1 MS. Letter of E. H. Bradby, Sept. 7, 1839.
2 Price's, but the practice was probably much the same elsewhere.
260 RUGBY SCHOOL
of " Hen " once found his study beautifully arranged as a
coop. All the furniture was gone, the floor was covered
with gravel an inch deep, and two perches were fixed
from wall to wall ; the walls were covered with chickweed
and groundsel, and great bits of bread stuffed in the
bars of the window. In one corner was a huge nest
made of straw and hay, and full of ostrich eggs ; tin cans
of seed and basins of water stood in another; and four
Cochin-China fowls were pecking about in great con-
tentment. An inscription over the door informed all
and sundry that this was " THE HEN HER NEST." Worse
things might happen than this ; and if a boy had become
very unpopular, there was a " smoking-out." As the boy
sat quietly in his study, he would suddenly hear a fizz,
and descry the end of a red-hot poker coming through
the door. Another would follow, then a third, until the
unpleasant odour of burning paint filled his nostrils.
Then the pokers were pulled out, and pieces of brown
paper, dipped in brimstone and lighted, were pushed
through the holes, filling the place with a new variety
of unpleasant smoke. Next, funnels and other con-
trivances were inserted, and the smoke of burning hay
driven through them. The proceedings were wound up
by pouring a bucket of water down the chimney.
When the boys went home, everything that could
be locked was locked, and the study door nailed up. The
town was full of horses and post-boys come to carry the
boys off. They always started in the middle of the night
or very early in the morning, and the evening before was
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 261
spent in revelry. The travellers sat round a roaring fire
GATE, WITH WINDOW OF SIXTH FORM SCHOOL.
(Drazvn by Miss //. M.James, from a photograph by Geo. A. Dean)
in Hall, and made merry with sausages or veal-pie, a
barrel of oysters, egg-flip, or anything else they could
262 RUGBY SCHOOL
get. How much they got through by midnight, de-
ponent saith not ; but we may doubt if of the fragments
there remained more than oyster shells.
About the school games we have hitherto found only
the most scanty hints ; but from this period more exact
information begins. Thanks to the energy of the Old
Rugbeian Society, the Rugby School cricket scores l have
been collected and printed. These begin in 1831 ; and
although the record is not complete for the earlier years,
it is surprising how much has survived. Besides foreign
matches, the Eleven v. the Twenty-Two used to be played
thus early, and other Big Side matches, such as Present v.
Old Rugbeians, the Sixth v. the School, Schoolhouse v.
School. The points of the compass had also a deadly
feud, and we find East playing West, and North playing
South. In 1840 Rugby School played against the Mary-
lebone Club at Lord's, but were defeated. On this occa-
sion Thomas Hughes was captain, and made 30 not out.
Unfortunately no detailed account of any of the matches
or games at cricket has been preserved. But with foot-
ball the case is otherwise. Not only have we a careful
examination into the Origin of Rugby Football? which
we likewise owe to the Old Rugbeian Society, but three
of the heroes of the Close have left what will ever remain
classical descriptions of the old Rugby game.
1 R. S. Cricket Scores (Foreign and Big Side Matches), 1831-93.
Rugby : A. J. Lawrence. London : Whittaker, 1894.
2 Lawrence, 1897. Price Is. Several sources of information have
not been used for this book, which would have greatly increased its
value. Chief of these is the Books of the Big Side Levee.
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY
It is no part of my task to attempt a history of the game
of football in England, interesting as such a history must
be. Suffice it to say, that football is truly a national
game of great antiquity, and is associated in many parts
of the country with religious observances which have
survived from pagan times, and perhaps also with old
traditions of village feuds. Several of the big schools
have developed a peculiar type of their own, and one
of them is Rugby. But the peculiarity of the Rugby
game, running with the ball, though it is found in some
of the local varieties of football, seems to be of recent
origin at Rugby. It arose from a chance piece of bravado,
as has been already pointed out, 1 and for a long time was
not the custom at Rugby School. By degrees, however,
it came to be tolerated, and afterwards was prescribed by
the rules of the game. Thomas Hughes says that in 1834,
the first year he was at Rugby, running with the ball for
a touch in goal was absolutely forbidden. 2 This seems to
be an exaggeration, as other players remember its being
allowed at that date. The practice became "rather
popular" a few years later "from the prowess of Jem
Mackie," a swift and strong runner; and in 1841
" running in " was made lawful, but only when the ball
was caught on the bound, and not picked up. The
catcher must also not be off-side, and no passing was
allowed, and he was liable to an extra allowance of
hacking during the progress. The game at this early
1 See above, p. 218.
2 Origin of Rugby Football, pp. 12, 17, 19.
264 RUGBY SCHOOL
period was very different from that to which we are now
accustomed. In some of the Big Side matches a small
body of powerful players were opposed to a huge mob of
opponents ; in others there were two such mobs, having
a hundred or more on a side. All the School who were
not " caps " had to stand in goal during a Big Side match ;
the others were organised into detachments. The game
described in Tom Brown was fairly typical, but the rules
were by no means fixed. Old Brooke, it will be remem-
bered, arranged his forwards in three groups; behind
them came the "dodgers," who answer to the modern
half-backs ; and " in quarters " were the three-quarters
or full backs. A maul in goal was common ; and a most
exciting thing was a maul, as the present writer can
testify from experience. It must be remembered, how-
ever, that although it was lawful to hold any player in
a maul, "this holding does not include attempts to
throttle or strangle, which are totally opposed to all
the principles of the game." l The ball was not brought
out after a touch in goal, but kicked out and caught;
as soon as it was kicked, the defenders might make a
rush, and unless the ball were caught and a mark made
before the rush came up, no try was allowed. What
with these immense sides, in a match which might last
through four afternoons in succession, 2 and what with
hacking (even though hob-nails and iron plates were
not allowed), Rugby football was not then a game for
1 Football Kules : Big Side Levte, Oct. 23, 1849.
3 Schoolhouse Match of 1843 : S. H. Fasti, vol. i. init.
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 265
tender-hearted parents to look on with equanimity. The
writer has been told by an eye-witness of a certain Old
Rugbeian Match, how one who is now a high dignitary
of the Church, hacked over a man running with the ball,
and the fall broke his collar-bone and caused a compound
fracture of the leg. Nowadays we have not only our
gloves and leg-guards for cricket, but ankle-guards, ear-
guards, and sundry other guards used in the different
varieties of football.
Three accounts of the old game have been referred to.
The first of these is a description in Homeric Greek of the
Sixth Match of 1839, by Franklin Lushington. 1 Football,
hunting, love, and war are the only Homeric things which
our civilisation still retains, and in the ^wro^aXko^a^la
a spirited expression is given to one of them. The
"Old Boy "appears as ava% 'Tyrf?, o? iraai
aXXot?. Other heroes of that olden time are
easy to recognise as the present Dean of Westminster,
the tawny-haired Hodson, %av6b<; 'O8efc8?;?, who proved
himself truly an dybs dvSpwv, and MaOdalos &>/*a? T',
"Apv6\ov vlee BOKO. It is difficult to imagine the exquisite
apostle of sweetness and light in the rough-and-tumble
of a football match, but so it was. Did he appreciate
this poem as a criticism of life? The graphic descrip-
tion of Schoolhouse v. School in Tom Browns School
Days must be familiar to every one. Who has not held
his breath while young Brooke and his bull-dogs went
1 Printed in the Rugbeian, 1840 ; and reprinted in Oriyin of Rugby
Football, p. 38.
266 RUGBY SCHOOL
into the scrummage, in the days when a scrummage was
worthy of the name ? The third description, 1 no less
telling, is less widely known, and from this I venture to
make a considerable extract. It is appropriate that the
author should be William Delafield Arnold, a son of the
great Head-master.
Drawn up before the Island goal is the Sixth Form, a little
band, some forty in number some huge, strong, massive ;
others light, smart, active ; all eager, courageous, zealous. It
is with them as with the warriors of old : not the weight,
not the mass, but each man's individual prowess must gain
the victory. How well is each acquainted with his particu-
lar post and duty ! These are to play forward, these to lead
the sudden rush, or by their vast bodies check the threaten-
ing scrummage, or turn the direction of a tumultuous " run
in." These, again, are to play back or forward as occasion
offers, the tirailleurs or light infantry of the tiny army ; to
change the aspect of the moment by a happy drop, and turn
the tide of victory from the Island to the white gate. Lastly,
there are those who feel that keeping goal, defending the
very crown of conquest, is no mean or unworthy task, since
beneath those very bars were given to immortality the names
of Clough and Harry Thorpe. Nor do the adversaries pre-
sent a less magnificent and orderly appearance ; but alas, it
is a host as that of the Philistines. Of four hundred and
sixty adversaries two hundred stand forth to battle, leaving
the countless multitude to guard the camp. There they
stand, those two hundred the scarlet and gold of the School-
1 " Football : the Sixth Match." Published as a pamphlet by
Crossley and Billington ; also quoted in School Experiences of a Fag
(1854), and Book of Rugby School (1856).
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 267
house ; the green and gold of Cotton's ; the purple and silver
star of Mayor's ; the flushing red and crescent of Arnold's ;
the orange and silver of Price's ; the crossed black of Anstey's,
all stand in terrible array against the devoted band. It is
the contest of age and weight against numbers.; and numbers
are no small help ; and weight in the Fifth and Twenty
begins to be painfully respectable. But now all is silent.
Far from each other lie the opposing hosts. Between, in a
line with the three trees, reposes the yet intact ball. All is
hushed still ! Suddenly, from some stentorian lungs amid
the two hundred, comes the shout, " Are you ready ? "
A moment's pause, a hurried glance all round and again
the silence is broken, and the Sixth leader answers with a
solitary emphatic " Yes ! " Once more perfect stillness. A
single chosen champion of the Fifth steps forth between
the two lines, rushes at the quiescent ball. Shouts of " Well
kicked ! " " Catch it ! " and then adieu to words. Those sta-
tionary bands, as by a magician's wand, are transformed into
one restless, moving, thronging mass. The ball, soon stopped
in its aerial career, is lost in the gathering crowd, and the
Sixth Match is begun ; and when once begun, who shall
describe its progress ? Surely no one ungifted with Homeric
vision can do it justice ; yet for want of a worthier bard will
we ambitiously essay the arduous task.
The ball is caught ; again it rises in the air ; but this time
caught no more, for he who vainly stood forth to meet it
just touches the ball, and at the same time falls prostrate
before the weight of the advancing foe. Onward it goes
through the three trees ; but lo ! one adroit, active, cunning,
has caught it on the bound, with slippery wiles eludes count-
less adversaries, and with one successful drop sends it far over
the heads of the advancing party. Thus is the tide of war
changed with a vengeance. Onward rush the gallant Fifth,
268 RUGBY SCHOOL
and just as the ball is within a hundred yards of the goal it
is caught by some stalwart champion of the Twenty, put
under his arm, and suddenly " Maul him ! " " Well done ! "
" Go it ! " re-echoes from three hundred lungs, and every
member of either side is thronging to the conflict. Then
comes the tug of war. The hapless and too adventurous
hero who first grasped the ball, and he who first dared to
stay his course by his rough embrace, both roll on the ground,
locked in each other's arms, the foundation of a pyramid of
human flesh, giving vent to screams, yells, and groans unutter-
able. But no soldier ever grasped his colours more strenu-
ously on the field of battle than does this gallant member of
the Twenty the no less precious ball. Stifling, suffocating,
crushing backwards and forwards heaves the thickest mass.
At last numbers will tell : the goal is passed : the gallant
holder of the ball, disdaining to speak before, hears the cry
" In, In ! " and collecting what breath is left in his exhausted
lungs, gasps out " My ball." A side glance all eyes to
the left and the fact is indisputable : the ball is in goal.
Instantly every one gets or is dragged up ; stray caps are
picked up and restored, and the struggling mass dissolved.
These, exulting, retire some twenty-five yards ; those, mourn-
ful, lean against goal posts, or otherwise ease their weary
limbs.
At last suspense is over ; a try a failure ; no exultation,
though deep joy. Slowly and deliberately the ball is kicked
out ; not, however, without something of military tactic.
" Kick towards the three trees, we always do better there,
we can keep together ; and kick high, so that we may charge
up before they catch it " so counsels some venerable and
athletic Nestor ; and true to the word up goes the ball, and
before it descends, the heavy sons of the Upper Bench are
upon it, and with one shout of triumph the three trees the
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 269
Thermopylae of the Close are gained, and the ball is hasten-
ing towards the school goal. In touch. A dead silence,
both parties preparing for a struggle. Out comes the ball ;
some giant hand strikes it yards on towards the school
goal, and, like bloodhounds on the scent, the Sixth close in.
" Look out in goal ! " Vain cry ! Is not a fight going on
by the schoolhouse wall, and what discipline shall break the
ring ? Vain cry ! Already has the leader of the Sixth side,
the champion of hare and hounds, got the ball under his
arm, and who may hope to stop him ? There is a sudden
cessation of motion ; it is evident that the ball is in goal ; but
who has touched it ? Ah, that is the question. " Whose
ball ? " pant the laggers as they run up. " Theirs," is the
sullen answer in the huge host. " Ours," the thrilling re-
sponse from and for the Forty. But it is a long way out,
close to the path by the white gate. " Who'll kick it out ? "
Grave question ! Awful responsibility ! At last a man is
found ; the long line of fellows who can place are drawn up
to catch ; perfect silence ! the man who is to kick it out
walks in and takes up the ball quite quietly as if more
than kingdoms did not depend on his skill ! nay, to prove his
coolness, he looks round and requests the opposite party to
"go in." At last he kicks the ball is in the air; forth
rush the opposing host as a wave of the sea ; but even as
the mad wave dashes impotently upon the gallant break-
water, so fruitlessly rush they upon that single man, who,
short, sturdy, smiling, has already caught, and like an im-
prisoned angel hugs the ball. It is caught, and well before
too. Now another silence. Who is to kick ? Pass over
the bashfulness, the reasonable agitation, at length the
doomed man, doomed to glory or to bitter disappointment,
steps forth between two anxious lines. Those who could not
tremble in the scrummage or the charge are gasping and
270 RUGBY SCHOOL
shaking now ; the enemy with eye and foot alert, prompt for
the charge. At length the following short and pithy con-
versation, always the forerunner of action : " Place it low."
" As low as that ? " " Yes but, stop a minute don't put it
down till I give the word NOW ! ! ! " Like a cannon ball
on rushes he, and on rush the charging host ; but baffled are
their attempts ; too truly has the placer done his work ; the
ball is high in the air, and all eyes are starting from their
sockets as they watch its course. " Yes No Yes, a goal, a
decided goal, by Jove, it's a goal." Yes, it is a goal, and
there is the cry of " Over."
By this time the " runs' 11 also had reduced themselves
to a system. 1 The Big Side Books have been kept since
1837, from which date the names of the Holders have
been recorded continuously. The Holder of Big Side
Books was of the Schoolhouse for the first four years
in succession, and the first name is S. F. Craddock. In
the year 1837 we find the following runs : Barby
Hill, Bilton, Lawford, Lilbourne and Catthorpe, and
Thurlaston. In 1838 the Crick first appears with several
others. W. Lea (S. H.) was first recorded winner of the
Crick, time not recorded; and the first recorded winner
of the Barby Hill run was Arthur Hugh Clough, the
poet. The course in these runs was not always fixed
at this early date, so that a comparison of the times
would not be of much interest. In the Schoolhouse
Fasti are a few lists and facts relating to this period.
One of them is the list of a Big Side run of 1838, in
1 Rugby School Big Side Huns, last ed. by A. L. Danson. Lawrence :
Rugby, 1893.
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 271
which is the name of Hodson. The Crick run has
been described under a very transparent disguise byjone
who ran in it sixty years ago, and it may be interesting
to give here a part of his description : l
It was to be the "Crick run" to a little village eight
miles from Rugby, and passing round the village back to
within a mile or two of the School, where the great " come
in" was to take place. At three o'clock about half the
house was assembled in the Hall, in a uniform costume of
white trousers supported by a black belt, and white jerseys,
with caps of various shape, and wide-awakes of every hue.
Coats, jackets, or any outer garment are discarded, a very
fast run being anticipated from the well-known pluck of
the hares. Here they come, with two long canvas bags
full of torn-up paper, to strew along their way for " scent."
They have been in deep consultation with the leader of the
hounds as to the particular line of country they are to take, as
in so long a run as the celebrated Crick course, we are not to
be delayed by missing the scent and not knowing which way
to turn. We give them a partial cheer as they go off, and
they scatter a handful of "scent" as they jump through the
Hall window, and by this manoeuvre gain two minutes more
for the race.
Time is up ; the leader of the hounds, who is also often
a hare, and is determined to catch the hares before they
arrive at the terminus, and to do the run quicker than it
has ever been done before, puts up his watch, vaults through
the window, and walks down to the road, to give every one
time to catch him : thus all start together. He begins
1 School Experiences of a Fag, pp. 141-145. The names Brick and
Harby, used by the writer, have been changed to their proper form.
272 RUGBY SCHOOL
quietly; a six-mile-an-hour trot brings us all together to
the end of the first mile. Here the younger ones begin to
pant, and the belts of all are drawn tighter ; then the pace
quickens, till, at the end of the second mile, a few of the
smaller boys are missed. The third mile has rid us of all
who run for the name of the thing, and who now push on
at a slower pace for the " come in." We are now reduced
to a gallant little band of ten or fifteen only, and the next
five miles find us an unchanged pack, even if all the white
of our accoutrements has become of every shade from red
to black.
Crick is passed, and the pace becomes more severe, while
the scent is less frequent : were it not for the continual
checks, no wind would last out till the end. The leader
and his four or five rivals are racing now, and a field or two
intervenes between them and the courageous few behind ;
while one or two are lying in the Crick Inn, almost at their
last gasp, waiting for the coach which will convey them
to Rugby, as it passed through the little village.
" Only a mile more," the leader whispers to the school-
fellow who has been neck and neck for the last ten minutes ;
he understands the challenge, and the pace becomes terrific.
They think they are safe to be first and second, but they
forget the undaunted pluck of Smyth, who is immediately
behind them, and who intends to be the winner to-day.
They reach the brow of the hill above the river; the
hares are in sight. The leader's cheer, as he pulls out his
watch, will give Smyth a chance for the victory ; he is " in
waiting," as jockeys say, about fifty yards behind. As for
me, I am in extremis, and am in great doubt if I shall ever
reach that mound, now in full view, though the dusky
winter's evening casts a shadow over all the country. But
even if I arrive the last, the " Crick run " in ninety minutes
SCHOOL LIFE IN ARNOLD'S DAY 273
would have been a feather in my cap for ever, if I had not
lost it as we leapt over that last brook ; so we must push on
valiantly.
The two hares are lying down a few yards apart, dread-
fully out of breath, with a pencil, note-book, and watch,
ready to mark down the winner and the time. Smyth
passes the leader at a rapid pace, and wins by two yards ;
and even I put on an extra spurt, and come in last but one.
We throw ourselves on the grass, and feel as if nothing
would ever rouse us again ; fags are in attendance with
greatcoats. We walk quickly home ; after the run we have
had, so sober a pace as walking seems a rest. We burst
into the Hall, where all the house are at tea, and announce
in hoarse tones
" The Crick run, fourteen miles in eighty minutes ; beat
the hares by seven minutes ; Smyth first, leader second ;
twenty-four started, nine in," &c. And I lean over my
friend and say, " I was only six minutes behind them, and
was last but one. I am so ill, do come up and undress me."
He jumps up, and puts me to bed in no time, ejaculating
as he does so, " What a fool you were to try the great
Crick run ! "
But there was a darker side to the amusements of
Rugby boys. There was a great deal too much drinking
of strong liquors among them, and this was one of the
abuses that Arnold most firmly set his face against.
That he effected a great improvement there is no doubt,
but still he did not succeed in quite stamping out the
nuisance. Readers of Tom Brown will recollect the Cock-
tail Club. Members of this Club used to save all the
beer they could keep from supper, and this, with the
274 RUGBY SCHOOL
beer saved by the fags, was mixed with spirits and drunk
hot. This had been formerly combined with the sing-
ing in Hall ; but latterly the Club preferred to keep the
Hall to themselves, except on one Saturday night shortly
before Christmas, when the ordeal described in Tom
Brown was undergone by all comers. This Club con-
tinued to exist until Christmas 1845, when it was finally
broken up, and some of the members sent away, including
two of the Sixth. 1
Such is the picture of Rugby School life two gene-
rations ago. It will strike the observer not only by
its resemblances to the present, but by its differences.
School customs are long-lived, but many have died at
Rugby ; and the very slang of former days would be
Hebrew to the schoolboy of to-day. He no longer
"shirks," or treats his friends to a "guttle,"" and he
would be astonished at the idea of playing football in
" navvies. 11 But words and customs cover much the
same things in different ages; and if in the present we
are somewhat less rough, the same honest and courageous
heart beats beneath a skin tattooed in a different pattern.
i Schoolhouse Fasti, vol. i. init.; where two lists of the Club are
given, for 1843 and 1845.
XIII
AFTERMATH
ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL TAIT, D.C.L., 1842-1850 EDWARD
MEYRICK GOULBURN, D.D., 1850-1858.
ON July 8, 1842, Archibald Campbell Tait 1 was elected
Head-master of Rugby. Tait was at that time well
known in England by his Protest against the famous
Tract Ninety. He had been for some years tutor of
Balliol, and had there come in contact with several of
Arnold's pupils for instance, Stanley and Clough. Arnold
himself had written him a letter about Tract Ninety,
which showed him to have been thoroughly in sympathy
with the position taken up in the Protest. Among the
other candidates for Rugby School were C. J. Vaughan
and Bonamy Price. Vaughan had a prior claim by statute
as an old Rugbeian, and was beyond comparison the better
scholar ; yet, for reasons which do not appear, the Trustees
passed him over in favour of Tait. Some ill-feeling seems
1 Son of Crawford Tait, of Edinburgh. Balliol College, Oxford :
matriculated Jan. 29, 1830, age 18; scholar, 1830-35 ; B.A., 1833;
Fellow, 1834-42; M.A., 1836; D.C.L., 1842; junior dean, 1836;
tutor and logic lecturer, 1837-42 ; catechetical lecturer, 1840 ; D.D.
by diploma, 1869 ; F.K.S. Dean of Carlisle, 1850-56; Bishop of
London, 1856-69 ; Archbishop of Canterbury, 1868-82.
275
276 RUGBY SCHOOL
to have been aroused among the staff, probably on this
account; but it did not last. On those who came in
contact with him Tait left the impression of a conscien-
tious and hard-working man, and he seems to have had a
good influence on the School. 1 If he could not easily
" wear the giant's armour, 1 '* that is hardly to be won-
dered at.
The restriction put upon the number of boys in
School was now removed, and the numbers gradually
rose to 493, 2 the highest hitherto attained. Some dis-
advantages followed on this change, and the School got
a little out of gear in consequence. A great influx of
new boys set in, and the houses became overcrowded ;
and the growing School probably overtaxed Tait's powers
of organisation. The work of a school was not entirely
suited to his temperament ; and his biographer records
ample evidence to show that the " awful responsibility "
of his work was too heavy for his powers. Arnold's
essentially human character, with its robust common-
sense, and his tact and simplicity, saved him from any sus-
picion of priggishness ; but his successor pushed Arnold's
methods too far, and it is to be feared that there was too
much introspection and too little naturalness in the type
of character which he fostered.
Whatever may be the opinion held on this point,
Tait's pupils entertained for him a deep and sincere
regard. The boys found a warm welcome in that happy
family circle which has been so tastefully drawn for us by
i Life, i. 116, 117. 2 The Public Schools, p. 391.
AFTERMATH 277
his own hand. 1 His beautiful and gracious wife was ever
happy to talk or read to those in the Schoolhouse. To
her husband Mrs. Tait was a help indeed, keeping his
accounts for him, and relieving him of many of those
minor matters which a Head-master has to attend to.
When the new studies were built to the Schoolhouse,
there were seventy boys in it, and to look after this large
family must have been a task of no small difficulty. For
eight years this task was fulfilled with tact and success ;
and when at the end of his Head-mastership Dr. Tait
was leaving Rugby for the last time, the boys took the
horses out of the carriage and drew it down to the station
themselves. 2 When Dr. Tait resigned the Head-master-
ship on being appointed Dean of Carlisle, the Trustees
expressed their satisfaction that he had " fully maintained
the character and reputation which the School obtained
under the distinguished man who preceded him." 3
During those eight years there are few events to
chronicle. Soon after Tait^s coming a fund was col-
lected to erect a monument and an Arnold Library in
memory of the late Head-master. In 1846 Mr. Hussey
drew up an estimate, 4 and a room was built adjoining the
old Sixth School, to serve as a library and museum : the
cost was c1500. The process of enlarging the school
premises was proceeded with by degrees. On the site of
the present New Quad there were then standing a number
1 Catherine and Crawfurd Tait, pp. 16 ff. (Macm., 1879).
2 Op cit., p. 34. 3 Order of Nov. 9, 1849.
4 Order of Dec. 17, 1846.
278 RUGBY SCHOOL
of old cottages, one of them well known to old Rugbeians
as Sally Harro well's. These were a danger to the School
from their unsanitary condition ; and when at length a
fever broke out in these buildings, Tait bought up the
block for ^750, which was afterwards repaid him out of
the school funds. 1 At the boys 1 request, these were
pulled down, and a fives court was built on the site, the
old fives court being not enough for their wants. 2 As
the arrangements for illness were not satisfactory, it was
directed that sick-rooms should be set apart in each
boarding-house; 8 and not long after a regular sana-
torium was provided on the Barby Road. 4 In 1845 a
number of new studies were built in the Schoolhouse. 5
A field was added to the Close, and in 1847 the Island
ceased to be an island for ever, the moat being finally
drained dry. 6 A new transept was added to the chapel,
in memory of two former masters, Mr. Grenfell and Mr.
Mayor; 7 the architect was Mr. Penrose. This is the
north transept, where Arnold's monument now lies. A
sum of 30 was also expended in buying Communion
plate. 8
Dr. Tait admitted 1158 boys in all into Rugby School,
and there is a goodly tale of university distinctions to be
divided among them. Let the place of honour be assigned
to one who has been the delight of thousands of children,
young and old: the immortal author of Alice in Wonder-
i Order of June 30, 1848. 2 Same date.
3 Order of June 14, 1843. 4 Order of June 3, 1847.
8 Order of June 25, 1845. 6 Order of June 3, 1847.
7 Order of same date. 8 Order of June 12, 1844.
AFTERMATH
279
OLD QUADRANGLE, AND ENTRANCE TO THE SCHOOLHOUSE HALL.
(Drawn by Miss H. M. James, from a photograph by Geo. A. Dean, Rugby.)
land and Alice through the Looking"- Glass. Charles
Lutwidge Dodgson l is known to the Rugby Register as
1 Entered 1846.
280 RUGBY SCHOOL
the "author of several mathematical publications," and
to literature as Lewis Carroll. This pen-name is a
fanciful distortion of his two Christian names, Latinised
as Ludovicus Carolus. His inexhaustible fund of humour
was locked up in a grave and solemn exterior, and
shown only to his intimate friends, particularly to chil-
dren, whom he loved as much as they loved him. He
spent a long life of retirement in Oxford, where his
serious business was the teaching of mathematics, and
his relaxation the writing of brilliant jeux (Tesprit.
Whatever event of importance happened in the Univer-
sity, forth from his quiet rooms would issue a skit such as
set the common-room tables on a roar. One of the most
famous is the " New Method of Evaluation as applied
to TT," written in 1865, when the Jowett controversy
waxed high. It is to be hoped that some one of his
friends will publish a collection of these fugitive papers,
before they perish like the equally clever classical skits of
Richard Shilleto and F. A. Paley. The School seems for
the time to have exhausted her literary powers in pro-
ducing Lewis Carroll, for we find no other name of great
distinction in literature proper. There is, however, an
historian, James Franck Bright ; * a distinguished traveller
who wrote on the East, Richard Banner Oakley ; 2 and a
mythologist, Sir George Cox. 3
In politics and the law several of Tait's pupils attained
distinction. The Right Hon. G. J. Goschen, First Lord
of the Admiralty, entered Rugby in 1845. Sir Henry
1 Entered 1845. 2 Entered 1849. 3 Entered 1842.
AFTERMATH 281
Drummond Wolff, 1 K.C.M.G., was one of Disraeli's men,
and has made him a name by his work in Constantinople
and in the House. He belonged to the once famous
Fourth Party, when A. J. Balfour and Lord Randolph
Churchill were in the ranks of the irresponsible un-
attached. The Hon. Sir Ashley Eden, 2 K.C.S.I., was
Lieutenant-Governor of Bombay. Sir Horace Davey, 3
after winning a double first at Oxford, has become one
of the Lords of Appeal. In science the name of James
Palladio Bassevi 4 recalls the jungles of Jeypore and the
heights of the Himalayas; and Alexander Goodman
More 5 is well known to botanists and ornithologists.
Sir Herbert Oakeley 6 is Rugby's first distinguished musi-
cian, the sole fruit of generations of Hall-singing. It
would be interesting to learn whether he was hissed on
New Boys' Night, or whether his native wood notes wild
perchance tamed the savage crew, as erewhile Orpheus
with his lute made Cerberus and Pluto mute.
Amongst the scholars who came forth from Rugby
during these years may be mentioned Arthur Gray
Butler, 7 afterwards Head-master of Haileybury. He is
well known in his old school as the eponymous hero of
Butler's leap. 8 Frederick William Walker, 9 after a bril-
liant career in Oxford (where, besides classical honours,
he carried off* the Boden Sanskrit Scholarship and the
Vinerian Scholarship in Law), became Fellow and Tutor
1 Entered 1843. 2 Entered 1844. 3 Entered 1848.
4 Entered 1843. 5 Entered 1844. 6 Entered 1843.
7 Entered 1845. 8 See picture of the Leap in Leaflet, ii. 21.
9 Entered 1845.
282 RUGBY SCHOOL
of Corpus, and is now High Master of St. Paul's School,
with its scholars one hundred and fifty and three. Thomas
William Jex-Blake x will shortly meet us as Head-master
of Rugby.
Nor is Rugby School found wanting in the field of
battle. In the trenches before Sebastopol, in the Indian
Mutiny, and in other wars small and great, Rugbeians
were found at the front. Henry Sacheverell Wilmot, 2
now Colonel Sir Henry Wilmot, Bart., C.B., won the
Victoria Cross at Lucknow in 1858. His company was
engaged with a large force of mutineers on the Iron
Bridge. After a while he found himself hemmed in
with four men only at the end of a narrow street. Two
of the men picked up a wounded comrade and began
to retreat, Captain Wilmot (as he then was) covering
the movement, and firing with the men^s rifles, which
they loaded and handed on to him. They were suc-
cessful in getting off, though not without wounds, and
all three received the coveted honour. Three Rugbeians
took part in the Balaclava charge : Richard Riversdale
Glyn, 3 George Gooch Clowes, 4 who was wounded, and
John Pratt Winter, 5 who was killed. Drury Wake, 6 of
the Bengal Civil Service, and C.B., was known in the
Mutiny as the Hero of Arrah. He was magistrate of
that place, and made a most gallant defence against
the rebels. Major-General Crealock, 7 saw much service
1 Entered 1844.
2 Entered 1843 ; Heroes of the Victoria Cross, p. 147.
3 Entered 1843. 4 Entered 1848. 5 Entered 1844.
6 Entered 1842. 7 Entered 1844.
AFTERMATH 283
in the Crimea, in India, and in China, and made a series
of interesting sketches of the two last campaigns. Colonel
Gawler l served in Africa and in India, and was eight
times singled out for honourable mention. After his
retirement he was made Keeper of the Regalia in the
Tower of London. Audley Henry Booth 2 was one of
those who went down to a hero's death in the wreck of
the Birkenhead. Lastly may be named one who was born
to greatness. Osmund Barnes 3 was chosen as "Lyon
King-at-Arms " to proclaim Queen Victoria Empress of
India at the Grand Durbar of 1 876 at Delhi, because he
was the tallest man in the British army in India.
We must not forget to name some Rugbeians who
became famous cricketers or athletes. C. G. Wynch, 4
who appears in the Rugby Eleven of 1850, was one of
the best leg-hitters in England. A. P. Law 5 is familiar
to Oxford men as "Infelix." E. R. F. Vickars 6 carried
out his bat to Sebastopol and Burmah, where he died
quite young. Another soldier-cricketer was Major W.
J. Kempson. 7 Mr. A. G. Butler did not leap his last
at Rugby, but won the high jump at Oxford, and played
for the university eleven. As for bowling, who knows not
the name of David Buchanan ? 8
On the resignation of Dr. Tait, Edward Meyrick
Goulburn 9 was elected into the vacant place, his election
i Entered 1844. 2 Entered 1843. s Entered 1846.
4 Entered 1844. 5 Entered 1848. 6 Entered 1847.
7 Entered 1850. 8 Entered 1845.
9 Son of Edward Goulburn, of Chelsea. Balliol College, Oxford :
matriculated Nov. 29, 1834, age sixteen ; scholar, 1834-41 ; B.A., 1839 ;
284 RUGBY SCHOOL
to take effect from midsummer 1850. 1 Few outward
changes occurred during the period of his mastership.
In 1851 a second transept was added to the chapel 2 on
the south side, and in the following year Arnold's " old
enemy/ 1 the flat roof, was removed, and an open roof
substituted, which greatly improved the appearance of
the interior. In 1855 the organ was moved from the
west window, which had been completely blocked by it, to
a house built for it on the north side of the chapel. The
organ gallery was taken away, and the screen placed
back against the west wall. The two square pews which
so offended the eye at the east end were removed, and
the floor was laid in a tessellated pavement. A new porch
was built in 1856 at the west end, partly or wholly at
the expense of the boys, who subscribed for it. 3 At the
same time the west window was enlarged, and other
improvements were made in that part of the building.
Three new windows of stained glass were inserted. The
first, representing the Flight into Egypt, was put up
in 1852 by the old Rugbeians in India, in memory
of their comrades who had fallen there. It was made
by the Kelners of Nuremberg, the same firm which
furnished some of the windows of Cologne Cathedral.
Fellow of Merton, 1841-46 ; M.A., 1842 ; D.C.L., 1850 ; D.D., 1856
Minister of Quebec Chapel, 1858-59 ; Incumbent of St. John's, Pad-
dington, 1859-67 ; Prebendary of St. Paul's, Chaplain to the Queen
Dean of Norwich, 1866.
1 Order of Dec. 17, 1849.
2 For chapel, see Book of Rugby School, p. 74.
3 Books of Big Side Levte, 1855.
AFTERMATH 285
Dr. Goulburn presented the second, also made by the
same firm, the subject being Christ blessing the little
children. The third is a window by Messrs. Hardinan,
the Confession of the Centurion, placed there in memory
of the old Rugbeians who fell in the Crimea. Over the
Communion-table was an old painting of the School by
Vandyke, presented by Mr. M. H. Bloxam. In the Close,
too, alterations of various sorts were going on. The Head-
master presented a field adjoining "Tait's field 11 in 1854, 1
and soon after some of the trees between the Old and New
Closes were felled. In 1856 the New Close was for the
first time used for cricket. Part of the Close which
previously sloped very much down to Pontines, was
levelled in the following year.
Such is the uneventful history of this reign ; and amid
this calm the work of the School went on much as usual.
A goodly list of scholars may be made from the names of
this generation of Rugbeians. In one year, 1857, which
has been called the Annus Mirabilis of Rugby, the School
carried off nearly all the open scholarships at Oxford and
Cambridge. Either university owes much of its philo-
sophy to Rugby : Cambridge to Professor Henry Sidg-
wick, 2 author of " Methods of Ethics " and " Principles
of Political Economy, 11 and to S. H. Hodgeson, 8 founder
of the Aristotelian Society, and author of several books
on metaphysics ; Oxford to Professor T. H. Green, 4
author of "Prolegomena to Ethics. 11 The name of
1 Big Side Levte Books ; Schoolhouse Fasti.
2 Entered 1862. a Entered 1846. 4 Entered 1850.
RUGBY SCHOOL
Arthur Sidgwick 1 has long been associated with Rugby,
as of one who knows the secret how to combine amuse-
ment with instruction. Not content with philosophy and
Greek, Rugby must needs teach Oxford Latin ; on which
mission Professor Robinson Ellis 2 set forth many years
ago, and his task is not yet done. Many a school has
had to thank Rugby for a head-master: University
College School for Henry Weston Eve, 3 Bedford Modern
School for Robert Burton Poole, 4 and the High School
of Newcastle, Staffordshire, for Francis Elliott Kitchener. 5
Charles Henry Tawney, 6 formerly Principal of the Presi-
dency College, Calcutta, and now Librarian at the India
Office, is well known to all Orientalists. No scholar needs
to be reminded how much Sir Edward Maunde Thompson 7
has done for students of palaeography. Dr. Goulburn
also educated a practical theologian in the person of
Bishop Webb, 8 and a theoretical, Professor Henry Wace, 9
late Principal of King's College, London. To the bench
Rugby gave Lord Justice Bowen, 10 who added to his
brilliant scholarship and legal ability a fame no less
brilliant in the football scrummage. Thomas Brassey,
who in 1851 was a new boy, perhaps trembling at the
thought of singing songs with a tallow dip in each hand,
was destined to become a Lord of the Admiralty and to
receive a peerage.
1 Entered 1853.
4 Entered 1855.
7 Entered 1854.
2 Entered 1850.
5 Entered 1854.
8 Entered 1855.
10 Entered 1850.
3 Entered 1853.
6 Entered 1851.
9 Entered 1850.
AFTERMATH 287
Rugbeian warriors of this period are found in all the
wars of England : in Russia and the East, in Abyssinia
and Zululand. Lieut.-Colonel Mitford 1 was in Hodson's
Horse during the Indian Mutiny : he won the Victoria
Cross for saving life at the risk of his own. Another
Rugbeian lost his life in a deed such as has qualified
many for that distinction. John Dawson 2 was sixteen
years old when he joined the army, and set out for the
Crimea. There he was in charge of a number of wounded
men at the time when a French siege train blew up on
Nov. 15, 1855. The explosion did him no harm, but he
rushed into the burning park, and began carrying off the
shells to prevent any damage to those under his charge.
One of these shells exploded in his arms, and Dawson
was mortally wounded. Miss Nightingale, who nursed
him, wrote of him as " the gentle and the brave."
In the department of sports and pastimes we find
W. H. Bullock, 3 the cricketer, who was also a war corre-
spondent in the Franco-Prussian War ; C. Booth, 4 captain
of the Cambridge Eleven, who played for the Marylebone
Club against the Australians ; E. Rutter, 5 the Middlesex
slow bowler; R. S. Hills, 6 who made the first century
against the School ; E. G. Sandford, 7 afterwards Arch-
deacon of Exeter, a well-known bat and wicket-keeper,
who played for the Oxford Eleven and the Gentlemen
1 R C. W. R. Mitford, entered 1851.
2 J. W. J. Dawson, entered 1850.
3 Entered 1850. He changed his name to Hall.
4 Entered 1856. 5 Entered 1853.
6 Entered 1853. 7 Entered 1852.
288 RUGBY SCHOOL
of England ; II. F. Kelly, 1 who rowed for two years in
the Oxford Eight ; and last, but not least, C. S. Dakyns. 2
Dakyns"* achievements on Old Big Side are described as
marvellous, and not to be credited by those who had never
seen him in his prime. Whether for running, dodging,
tackling, or dropping with either foot, he seems to have
been unsurpassed.
" Many a time/' says the historian of the game, " have
I seen him drop a goal from a distance of fifty or sixty yards,
when an opponent has had firm hold of one of his arms, but
failed to get possession of the ball ; which, held by the string,
Dakyns would let fall from his unencumbered hand in front
of an unerring foot. ... I have no hesitation in stating my
opinion which, I should say, is shared by many players who
have watched the Rugby game carefully for two or three
decades that the famous Pup Dakyns was the best all-round
football player who ever donned a jersey."
In 1846 we find the rules of Rugby football first
codified. 3 From these it appears that picking up the ball
from the ground was not yet legal. The practice, how-
ever, soon began to be followed, much to the indignation
of old Rugbeians, who in 1856 4 raised a protest against
it. Running into touch with the ball was not allowed,
nor " standing on the goal bar " to prevent the ball from
going over ! A player was off-side if the ball touched
a player behind him, and remained so until one of the
1 Entered 1857.
2 Entered 1855. See Marshall's Football, pp. 79 and 80.
3 Origin of K F., pp. 28-32.
4 Big Side Levte Books, 1856.
AFTERMATH 289
other side kick it. A rudimentary penalty kick was
allowed if any one took a punt when not entitled to it.
There was no referee, but the "heads of sides or their
deputies" decided all disputes. It may be interesting
to say that the Fasti contains detailed accounts of nearly
all Big Side matches from this period onwards.
One more amusement of the boys must be mentioned,
not without regret that it should have been allowed to
drop out of use. We have seen how the drama was
cultivated at Rugby under Dr. Wooll, and it seems
likely that the practice of getting up theatrical entertain-
ments may have gone on at intervals since Macready's
time. At all events, here we find them in full course
almost as soon as the Schoolhouse Fasti begins. In
the winter of 1856 the Schoolhouse Hall entertained
friends with the representation of a comedy entitled
" Only a Halfpenny," followed by the farce of " Box and
Cox." In the next year two performances are given, one
in April and one in November. For the last occasion
there is a printed programme showing the cast. This
continues for some time as a regular event each half year.
In 1845 the School Debating Society was finally organ-
ised on a firm basis ; and from that year to the present
its records have been kept with a few breaks. The first
President is W. P. Warburton, 1 of Cotton's, afterwards
Fellow of All Souls 1 , and honorary Canon of Winchester.
J. R. Byrne 2 was Secretary, and W. D. Arnold 3 "Ser-
i Entered 1841. 2 Entered 1841.
3 Entered 1839.
290 RUGBY SCHOOL
geant-at-Arms." The first recorded meeting was held
on Saturday, March 15, when Mr. Bradby (afterwards
Head-master of Haileybury) proposed "that Sir James
Gresham was justified in his treatment of the Public
Correspondence." There were five speakers, twenty-four
voters, and three " spectators admitted." The meetings
succeed each other at very short intervals, once in a week,
and sometimes twice. Officials hold office for a month
only, when new elections are made. Among the speakers
are Waddington, Conington, Hort, and other names since
well known ; Matthew Arnold is a frequent visitor, and
sometimes a bevy of ladies encourage the tourney with
their smiles. The subjects are, as usual, chosen mainly
from current politics; literary questions are discussed
now and then ; but, strange to say, our familiar friend the
Ghost makes no apparition.
The literary efforts of the School went on side by side
with the Debating Society. The Rugby Miscellany was
started in 1845, and limited in prospect to ten numbers.
The best piece in the volume is J. F. Brighfs poem on
Aihanasius. All the writers assumed fanciful initials, and
it may be of interest to identify some of these. John
Conington wrote, over the signature F. D. M., a number
of thoughtful essays on subjects historical and literary.
A. G. Butler, as Q., is the author of the " Miseries of a
Winter Whole School Day at Rugby."
" I remember, I remember, I should think I did remember
The six o clock uprising in the darkness of December,"
wails the schoolboy laureate, and then proceeds to describe
AFTERMATH
the well-known round in a minor key. Another descrip-
tion is given by G. G. Bradley 1 and W. P. Warburton,
and signed : " Experiences of our Life at Rugby." The
writers carry us into Big School at 7 A.M. for prayers,
with the hurrying crowd of boys.
" Ten minutes more/' the article goes on, " they are scat-
tered every way ; some in mercenary groups, like votaries of
some heathen shrine around the priest, whose altar is probably
the pump, and whose mysteries the secrets of the lesson."
The next quarter finds them all stowed away in their
different schools, and by 8.30 they are at breakfast, amid
the sweet monotony of " rounds, tea, or chocolate ; or
chocolate, rounds, tea ! " Next comes " a stroll to Cross-
ley's" then dinner "then the cheerful suicide of a
leaping party," the evening task, the well-earned rest.
Football, of course, claims its meed of mention : 2
The great match ; . . . and close by the shrill island,
full as an ant-hill in egging time its heroes writhing and
knotting their bodies into shapes which a monkey of any
self-respect would be ashamed of, and all that their names
may be divided from nothing."
It is interesting, too, to read a schoolboy's view of
Arnold's reformed organisation.
"The Sixth Form/' writes one contributor 1 "an aristo-
cracy of talent and worth, created neither by birth, interest,
1 Contributions by him alone are signed D. E. R.
2 Page 8. 3 Page 54.
RUGBY SCHOOL
nor personal strength. It was a happy thought, and spoke
the observant mind in him who first set boys to govern boys,
and who turned those who should otherwise have been the
ringleaders in every disturbance into an organised and re-
sponsible nobility, with power, privileges, and a character of
their own to preserve."
The New Rugbeian was started in 1858, and ran
through three volumes. One poet laments the departed
glories of football : l
This is the Football bigside ; the murmuring fags and the no-
caps,
Frosted with drizzle in garments warm, indistinct in the twilight,
Stand as others of old, with voices sad and exclaiming ;
Stand like martyrs, they think ; and nursing themselves in their
greatcoats,
Wander like spirits of ill, the frequent punt-about heed not . . .
This is the Football bigside : but where are the navvies 2 that
through it
Hackt like the woodsman tbat fells in the forest the oak with his
hatchet? . . .
Gone are those well-known forms, and their navvies for ever
departed. . . .
Another poet turns the Big Side Levee into Homeric
Greek. 3 The unhappy fag takes up his parable, 4 as at
the fire he stands forlorn, " fagged, and toasting without
measure." " Why," he indignantly asks, " why should we
go fetch hot water ? eggs and coffee ever boil ? " and
concludes with an appeal for mercy :
By our fat at hall fires wasted,
By our baked and roasted legs,
1 i. 54. 2 Heavy Boots. 3 i. 230.
AFTERMATH 293
By the miseries that we've tasted,
Heating 1 milk and boiling eggs ;
By our sufferings, since you brought us
To the man-degrading broom,
All sustained with patience taught us
Daily in your dusty room.
House Sketches l introduce us to
The filthy mixtures we used to drink under the name of
tea or coffee for breakfast ; and then the dinners ! huge
lumps of boiled salt beef, more salted than boiled; queer
substances called hashes, and resurrection pies, as they used
to be called ; . . . the puddings ; strange jams economically
laid out on masses of strange paste ; . . . lumps of suet . . .
made edible by pouring treacle over it, ... the unctuous
suet and the treacle full of dead flies ; sometimes they took
the flies out of the treacle and put them on the suet, and
called them currants."
But all was not hardship, and grumblers felt at peace
when they went skating on Bilton pond, or snowballing
one another in the quad, or fishing for farmers 1 ducks,
which were loyally paid for when the boys had had
their fun. Whole holidays at this time were rare, for
Arnold had abolished the monthly whole holidays, or
rather commuted them for the half-holiday every three
weeks, which is still called " Middle Week." 2 When
one was given, it seems to have been the correct thing to
hire a horse and cart and drive about all day. 3 Shirking
was abolished by Goulburn, 4 and with it the extra-
ordinary scenes which used to occur at the bathing-places
when a praepostor came in sight.
1 ii. 33. 2 ii. 190. 3 ii. 189. 4 ii. 189.
294 RUGBY SCHOOL
An abortive rebellion took place when Dr. Tait was
Head-master. 1 On one occasion he was ill, and a com-
mittee of masters reigned in his stead ; the time seemed
favourable, and the fags resolved to rebel against the
authority of the Sixth. So, at an hour when the Sixth
were all in school, an assembly of fags was convened
in the quad. The Lower Fifth joined them, but the
Upper Fifth took side with the Sixth. A table was
placed in the midst, whence some orator or brother-
slave might address the meeting. The idea was to set
on their tyrants, to give them a sound drubbing, and
then to let them go. But it happened that three of
the Sixth were stopping out; and meanwhile a rumour
of the uprising was brought to Anstey's, where the three
sick heroes lay. Delay was not to be thought of, and
like Nicholson in the Punjaub, the doughty three arose
from their beds or sofas, and, cane in hand, sallied forth
to execute vengeance dire. Dashing undaunted into the
midst of the mob, they laid about them so stoutly that
in a trice all the malcontents had clean disappeared, and
the table was left a solitary witness to the frustrated plot.
Another small " row " occurred a couple of years
before the Fags 1 Rebellion. 2 One day rumour ran rife
that something disgraceful had been done ; shops robbed,
or what not. There was a suppressed excitement at first
calling-over, as the praepostors walked up and down the
middle of Big School, keeping silence. The Head-master,
who was new to his work, entered with the master of
1 ii. 188. 2 ii. 255.
AFTERMATH 295
the week, and the head of the School called over ; while
the praepostor of the week answered for one or another,
" Absent with leave," " Sick-room, 11 " French or German
list, 11 " Big Side. 11 When the Shell had passed through
the door, and the Upper Fourth was about to be called
over, the Master said, "In consequence of certain dis-
graceful conduct (not specified) on the part of certain
boys (not named), the whole town will be put out of
bounds to the Lower School, including the Upper Fourth. 11
This was a thunderclap : no visits to Frosfs, or Jacomfrs,
or Webb's, or any of the tradesmen, without special leave !
And if a master caught a boy out of bounds, he would set
500 lines of Virgil in a trice, or 250 of Homer, or lock him
up for a half-holiday. Things were worse in WoolPs day,
when to be caught out of bounds meant a birching ; but
this was bad enough, in all conscience. The consequence
was, that a gentle sibilant sound arose from the corners of
the room, and swelled into an unmistakable hiss. " Thos "
was sent packing off for block and birches ; all the boys
were to be " coached " on the spot. The boys were then
collected all together on one side of Big School, and those
who hissed were called upon to walk over. About eighty
went over, leaving sixty or so behind, feeling rather mean,
though (with the exception of one or two cowards) they
had taken no part in the hissing. The Head-master deci-
mated these, and picked out every tenth man for execu-
tion. A big bully was standing next the lad who tells
the tale, and thinking he would be just a tenth man,
forced the little boy to change places with him ; but it so
296 RUGBY SCHOOL
happened that he had miscounted, and found himself one
of the scapegoats after all. The eight boys chosen were
then and there flogged publicly in Big School, contrary
to all custom.
When the boys reached their houses, six of the victims
were at once " granted the liberties of the Fifth," and
excused all fagging; while one of the cowards who had
not owned up to hissing was flogged by his fellows until
he wished he had. That same evening about a hundred
of the Lower School and Upper Fourth, together with
about half the Sixth, marched aggressively up and down
the town. Next morning a master met a Lower School
boy down by the Eagle, and in a most impressive tone
set him one line of Virgil to write out by the end of the
week. Praepostors called out " On ! " at the top of each
street, the fags responded with " Thank you," and nobody
took the slightest notice of the new rule. The Head-
master had the good sense to let the matter drop, and
soon, we may hope, retrieved his error.
XIV 1
A CHRONICLE
FREDERIC TEMPLE, D.D., 1858-1869 HENRY HAYMAN, D.D.,
1870-1874 THOMAS WILLIAM JEX-BLAKE, D.D., 1874-
1887 JOHN PERCIVAL, D.D., 1887-1895 HERBERT
ARMITAGE JAMES, D.D., 1895.
IT is the first duty of an historian to be impartial ; and to
write impartially of events within recent memory, while
the actors in them are still living, is a thing difficult in
any case, and sometimes impossible. This chapter will
therefore be little more than a chronicle. Future his-
torians will have abundant and most interesting material
in the various school records, public and private, which it
is to be hoped will be religiously preserved by the holders.
On the resignation of Dr. Goulburn, the choice of the
Trustees fell on Dr. Temple, 2 the present Archbishop of
1 For the history of this period I acknowledge my indebtedness
to the Books of the Big Side Levee and the Schoolhouse Fasti. Some
"colour" may be found in the Sibyl for 1895, No. 23.
2 Son of Octavius Temple. Balliol College, Oxford : matriculated
Oct. 12, 1838, age 16 ; Blundell scholar, 1838-42 ; B.A., 1842 ; Fellow,
1842-48 ; M.A., 1847 ; B.D. and D.D., 1858 ; mathematical and logic
lecturer, junior dean, 1845 ; honorary Fellow of Exeter, 1885 ; select
preacher, 1857 and 1872 ; Bampton lecturer, 1884 ; D.D. of St.
Andrews, 1885 ; Chaplain-in-ordinary to the Queen, 1872 ; Bishop of
Exeter, 1869-85 ; of London, 1885-96 ; Privy Councillor, Archbishop of
Canterbury, 1896.
297
298 RUGBY SCHOOL
Canterbury, who held his post at Rugby for eleven
years. Dr. Temple improved the teaching of natural
science (which had been introduced in the previous reign),
and built in I860 a laboratory and other schools on
the site of Sally HarrowelPs house. This block stands
on the north side of the new quadrangle, adjoining old
Big School. In 1865 an event took place which had been
long looked forward to. A large elm, one of the finest in
the Close, stood at the east end of the chapel. In order
to lengthen the chapel, as it was proposed to do, this elm
had to be got out of the way. As it would have been a
thousand pities to cut the tree down, a contractor under-
took to shift it from its place. Huge trenches were dug
all round it, the roots were undercut, and ropes were
fastened from the branches to pegs in the ground, in case
it might fall. The whole neighbourhood of the tree
looked like the skeleton of a gigantic umbrella. The
huge mass supported on trucks, a deep trench was dug
to its new resting-place, and rails laid down in it. All
Rugby was agog to see the lord of the forest move. But
the contractor did not contract for a raree-show, and
accordingly, early in the morning of the first of Decem-
ber, before the town was up, the tree was moved. It is
pleasant to add that the migration did it no harm, and
it still flourishes.
In the internal arrangements of the School few
changes were made. The practice of having parallel
forms, first introduced by Dr. Tait, was continued ; and
in 1863 scholarships were first offered for open competi-
A CHRONICLE 299
tion. In 1866 the custom of dividing the school year
into two halves was abolished, and from that time Rugby,
like the universities, had its three terms. More atten-
tion began to be paid to physical comfort in the houses ;
and in 1864 the inhabitants of the Schoolhouse came
back to find the traditional steel forks gone for ever,
and replaced by magnificent electro-plate. Among the
changes introduced by Dr. Temple, that which excited
most comment was the abolition of standing in goal.
For the future, no-caps were not to be required to stand
in goal except on the first day of the Sixth Match, in
the Old Rugbeian Match, and on one other day there-
after to be arranged. This momentous upheaval took
place in 1859, and loud were the laments of old Rug-
beians when they heard of it. No lament of the no-
caps has been preserved to posterity.
We learn incidentally that Tom Brown's School Days
had already made Rugby famous. This book was pub-
lished in 1857, and in 1860 a solemn ceremony took
place. Mr. William Mills, of Connecticut, U.S.A., was
aroused to such admiration by what he read in the story,
that he deputed a friend, Mr. Henry Day, to cross the
Atlantic and present in his name a large flag of crimson
velvet to the Schoolhouse. But another event, still
more impressive, befell in Dr. Temple's mastership. In
1867 it was his lot to celebrate the Tercentenary of the
founding of Rugby School. In the same year was begun
the block of schools forming the New Quadrangle.
It is worthy of remark how many of Dr. Templets
300 RUGBY SCHOOL
assistants were drafted off' to take charge of other schools.
In 1862 the Rev. Charles Evans was elected Head-master
of King Edward's School, Birmingham ; the Rev. A. G.
Butler went to Haileybury, and the Rev. J. Percival
became the first Head-master of Clifton College. On
his resignation in 1878 another Rugby master, Rev.
J. M. Wilson, took his place. In 1868 Mr. A. W. Potts
left to be Head-master of Fettes College, Edinburgh,
where he made himself a name among the most distin-
guished of his profession. In 1869 the Rev. T. W.
Jex-Blake became Principal of Cheltenham College, and
the Rev. E. W. Benson (who was afterwards Archbishop of
Canterbury) became Head-master of Wellington College.
A few years later Mr. J. S. Phillpotts departed for
Bedford, Mr. F. E. Kitchener for Newcastle, the Rev.
J. Robertson for Haileybury. Take these in conjunc-
tion with the Rugby masters who had previously been
elected to other schools, and with Rugby boys no less
distinguished, and it is clear that the influence of Rugby
upon English schools has been great. And at the period
in question, the influence of Rugby meant the influence
of Thomas Arnold.
In 1869 Dr. Temple made his farewell to Rugby.
At the farewell sermon an interesting company was
gathered, which included Thomas Hughes and his brother
George, Dean Stanley, Matthew Arnold, and two other
sons of Dr. Arnold. The chapel in which they met was
substantially the same in which Dr. Arnold had poured
out his heart week after week ; and what made the
A CHRONICLE 301
scene more memorable was that this building, so full of
memories for those present, was soon to disappear.
In 1861 the Public Schools Commission was appointed,
and its Report, issued in 1864, gives the fullest infor-
mation as to the state of Rugby School at the time.
Much praise is given to the mode of instruction, and
of the system of government by praepostors l it is said :
"It has largely assisted, we believe, to create and keep
alive a high and sound tone of feeling and opinion, has
promoted independence and manliness of character, and
has rendered possible that combination of ample liberty
with order and discipline which is among the best char-
acteristics of our great English schools." The practice
of fagging is also upheld in the main, though some modi-
fications are suggested.
As one result of the Commission by the Public Schools
Act of 1868, the constitution of the School was complete!}
reorganised. 2 The duties of the Trustees from hence-
forward ceased as far as management of the School was
concerned. They still continued to exist as the Trustees
of Rugby Charity, and the property of the endowment
(except the School itself) was, and is, vested in them ; but
their part is to manage the property and to receive the
rents, which (after deducting expenses) are then handed
over to the Governing Body. The Lord-Lieutenant of
the County of Warwick is chairman ex officio, and one
1 Page 43. For arrangement of classes and work, see pp. 236 ff.
2 See Rugby School Statutes : A. J. Lawrence, Rugby. Approved by
the Queen in Council, Aug. 9, 1871.
302 RUGBY SCHOOL
member is elected by Oxford, one by Cambridge, and
one each by the Royal Society, the Lord Chancellor, the
Masters of the School, and the Trustees of the Charity.
Two meetings at least are held in each year, and five
make a quorum. The school land and buildings are
vested in them. With them lies also the election of a
Head-master, and the decision concerning number, rank,
position, and emoluments of the assistants. By the same
Act it was provided that the old Foundationers should be
gradually done away with ; and in order to provide for
the needs of the town according to the intent of the
Founder, a subordinate school was established, of which
more anon. Regulations were laid down providing for
major and minor scholarships to be held in the School,
and for the leaving exhibitions to the universities. Three
major and four minor exhibitions, of 60 and ^30 re-
spectively, tenable for four years, are awarded every year.
As regards emoluments, the Head-master has a house of
80 or 90 boys rent free, and receives the entrance fees,
and a capitation fee of 1 per term for each boy in the
School, up to a maximum of 450 boarders and 50 day
boys. The fifteen senior masters receive =500 a year,
with d100 more if they have no boarding-house ; in
addition to which they have a capitation fee of \ a
year for every boy above the number of 300 up to a
maximum of 500. The remainder of the statutory
masters (it being necessary by statute that there should
be one master for every 20 boys, including the Head-
master) receive as their salary 4*50 a year. The board-
A CHRONICLE
ing-house masters can hold a house for not more than
fifteen years, and not after the term in which they
L
,/'\i
~~ -"// h '
:sw522I2:
PI
NEW QUADRANGLE.
(Drawn by Miss //. M. James, from a photograph by Geo. A. Dean.}
become sixty years of age. Such is the present consti-
tution ; but it should be observed that vested rights are
respected, and that masters who were in the School before
1887 fall under a separate scheme.
304 RUGBY SCHOOL
The Subordinate School, or, as it is commonly called,
the Lower School, was opened in 1878, its first Head-
master being an old Rugbeian, Mr. H. T. Rhoades. The
Head-master is appointed by the Head-master of Rugby
School, with the concurrence of the Governing Body, but
he appoints his own assistants. The boys are charged a
small fee, but there are two free scholars appointed every
year.
The Head-master next appointed was Dr. Hayman, 1
who had already been Head -master of St. Olave^s School,
Southwark, of the Cheltenham Grammar School, and of
Bradfield College. During his short mastership the new
scheme for the government of the School came into opera-
tion, and in 1871 the first Governing Body, as distinct
from the Trustees, was appointed.
A good deal of building was done during Dr. Hayman's
stay. Funds collected by the friends and pupils of Dr.
Temple were devoted to the enlargement of the chapel,
and to the erection of new schools and the Temple
Observatory. The architect was Mr. Butterfield, and the
buildings must be seen to be appreciated. In 1872 the
enlarged chapel was consecrated by the Bishop of Wor-
cester, and two windows of stained glass put up in memory
1 Son of P. D. Hayman, of London. St. John'^ College, Oxford :
matriculated Jan. 28, 1841, age 18 ; scholar, 1841-44 ; Fellow, 1844-45 ;
B.A., 1845; M.A., 1849; B.D., 1854; D.D., 1870; assistant master at
Charterhouse, 1852-55 ; Head-master of St. Glare's, 1855-59 ; of Chel-
tenham Grammar School, 1859-68 ; of Bradfield College, 1868-69 ;
assistant preacher at the Temple, 1854-57 ; Rector of Addingham, Lan-
cashire, 1874 ; honorary Canon of Carlisle, 1884. Alumni Oxonienscs.
TABLE-TOP.
(From a photograph by . H. Speight. Rugby.}
To face page 305.
A CHRONICLE 305
of Mr. Buckoll and Mr. Hutchinson, who had lately
died. In the same year the new schools were opened,
those, that is, which form the new quadrangle; and
the gymnasium, begun in the previous year, was
finished.
In 1874 Dr. Hayman resigned, and he was succeeded
by Dr. Jex-Blake, 1 the first old Rugbeian who had been
chosen into this post since the passing of the Act of 1777
At school Dr. Jex-Blake had won the Crick run in 1850 ;
his time (l h 24') was the record until it was bettered by
two minutes in 1863. He left a' memorial behind him
on one of those " little tables," which reads thus :
Sanctford and Blake,
Jolly good fellows, and no mistake.
This table is shown in our illustration ; the distich is on
the left, near the middle, very small. The first name has
been " dished," or cut out by some later hand. Dr. Jex-
Blake left other memorials behind him when he finally
departed from Rugby, in his generous gifts to the School,
one of which is the familiar " tosh " or swimming-bath.
Dr. Jex-Blake made one change in the administration
of the School, by introducing a regular evening prepara-
tion in Hall for the lower boys (1874). Previously this
had been done or not as a house master pleased. In some
1 Son of T. S. Blake, London. University College, Oxford : matri-
culated March 21, 1851, age 19; scholar, 1851; B.A., 1855; Fellow
of Queen's, 1855-58; M.A., 1857; B.D. and D.D., 1873; Principal of
Cheltenham College, 1868-74 ; assistant master at Rugby, 1858-68 ;
Rector of Alvechurch, 1886 ; Dean of Wells.
U
306 RUGBY SCHOOL
houses only the master spent " a certain part of the even-
ing in the boys' hall, at his own work, thus effectually
preventing those undesirable congregations of bigger and
idler boys round the fires, and being at hand to give
any reasonable help." 1 The new system prevented these
undesirable congregations still more effectually. In 1876
the Head-master presented the School with their " tosh,"
in the Close ; the Temple Reading-Room and Art
Museum was built in 1878; and in 1883 the New
Racquet Court was built. Dr. Jex-Blake also did
much to encourage the study and appreciation of art
in the School, and enriched the museum with many
gifts. In 1886, shortly before his resignation, a Modern
side was started. In the same year the "little tables"
in the Sixth School were exchanged for desks, and the
tops of the tables fixed upon the walls.
In 1884 BoehnTs beautiful monument to Dean Stanley
was put up in the chapel. In the following year (1885)
the block of buildings was commenced which contains
New Big School and a number of class-rooms. The
Big School is provided with a fine organ, and on the
walls are hung the pictures of former Head-masters or
those who were educated at Rugby. In the same year
Caldecotfs was added to the school playing-grounds.
The Head-master next appointed was Dr. Percival. 2
1 The Public Schools, p. 394.
2 Son of William Percival, of Brough, Westmoreland. Queen's
College, Oxford : matriculated June 22, 1854, age 19 ; tabarder, 1854-
58; B.A., 1858; Fellow, 1858-63; M.A., 1861; select preacher, 1882;
Head-master of Clifton, 1862-78 ; Prebendary of Exeter, 1871-82 ;
A CHRONICLE
307
Like his predecessor, Dr. Percival had been an assistant
master at Rugby. In 1888 the Drawing School was
NEW BIG SCHOOL.
(Drawn by Miss H. M. fames, from a photograph by Geo. A. Dean.}
built, and in 1889 the Rugby School Home Mission
was founded. In 1895 Mr. Benn, an old Rugbeian, left
President of Trinity, 1878-87 ; Canon of Bristol, 1882-87 ; Bishop of
Hereford, 1895. Alumni Oxonienses.
308 RUGBY SCHOOL
by his will forty-three acres of land on the Hillmorlon
Road, to be added to the school playing-fields. No
other outward changes belong to the Head-mastership
of Dr. Percival, and the system of school work went on
much the same as before. The chronicle must accord-
ingly pass on to its last entry, the appointment of
Dr. James l in 1895. Since Dr. James's appointment a
further enlargement of the chapel has been begun, and is
now nearly finished. This has been done in memory of
the Rev. P. Bowden Smith, who was for forty-three years
a master at Rugby School.
There would be no interest in chronicling the mere
university successes of these forty years. Suffice it to
say, there is no falling off in number or quality. If there
are not so many in this period who have attained a last-
ing fame, the reason is that the time has been too short.
The giants of previous generations still live and flourish,
and long may it be so : when the time shall come for
them to hang up their arms in the temple, other Rug-
beians will be ready to take their places. However, in
public life Rugby has a permanent Under-Secretary of
State for India in Sir Arthur Godley, 2 K.C.B. ; and one
of his schoolfellows, W. Lee Warner, 3 has filled several
posts of importance under the Indian Government ; while
1 Son of David James, of Kirkdale, Lancashire. Jesus College,
Oxford : matriculated May 27, 1863, age 18 ; Scholar of Lincoln, 1864-
67; B.A., 1867; Fellow of St. John's, 1869; M.A., 1870; B.D., 1874;
Lecturer and Dean of Arts, 1871 ; Dean of St. Asaph, 1886 ; Principal
of Cheltenham College, 1889-95 ; D.D., 1895. Alumni Oxonienses.
2 Entered 1862. 3 Entered 1859.
a ^
5j
M ^
si
3 ^
I!
310 RUGBY SCHOOL
Sir Robert Phayre l is well known in British India. Mr.
W. Mansfield 2 was Under-Secretary for War in Mr.
Gladstone's Parliament of 1886, and the Right Hon.
A. H. Dyke Acland is one of thirty or more Rugbeians
in the present House of Commons. It is interesting to
see the name of Goschen recurring in the later records
of Rugby, and the sons following in their father's foot-
steps. Mr. H. O. Arnold-Forster, 3 a grandson of the
great Head-Master, has deserved well of his country
for his efforts on behalf of army and navy. Lastly may
be mentioned another who bears an honoured name,
Austen Chamberlain. 4 Besides these, Rugbeians are to
be found in all branches of the diplomatic service, in
the Indian Civil Service, the Public Works Department,
and the Government offices. Several of the younger
generation have been travellers. It is not necessary to
do more than mention that mighty Nimrod, F. C. Selous, 5
whose explorations and huntings began in his school-
days. Mr. Tyrwhitt-Drake 6 had explored the desert
of El Tih, and had done good work in the survey of
western Palestine, before he died in 1870, not twenty-
five years old. Quite a company of old Rugbeians took
part in the solar expedition sent to Sicily by the Govern-
ment in 1870 ; and recently Mr. P. M. Sykes 7 has been
doing excellent work, in a quite unobtrusive manner,
on the Beloochee frontier and in Persia. Painting and
architecture have also claimed their votaries, and the stage
1 Entered 1865. 2 Entered 1869. 3 Entered 1869.
4 Entered 1878. 5 Entered 1866. 6 Entered 1859.
7 Entered 1882.
A CHRONICLE 311
owes Rugby her W. F. Hawtrey. In the department of
letters not only has Rugby a voice speaking through the
Times, but she helps to take care of the national collections
of manuscripts, the records, and the wills in Somerset
House. Professor Napier 1 teaches English to young
Oxford, and has besides a European reputation; Pro-
fessor York Powell 2 is known as a historian and Norse
scholar ; Mr. H. G. Hart 3 has long presided over the
welfare of Sedbergh School. It remains to mention one
strange and original genius, the late Charles Howard
Hinton, 4 whose books contain so much that is illuminat-
ing, and so much that seems unintelligible. Some Rug-
beians have written about their country's , laws, and
others have done their best to administer them; scores
of parishes have taken a Rugbeian for incumbent, and
the see of Chester has gained a Rugbeian bishop. 5 As
for the services, Rugbeians have been found everywhere
from Afghanistan to Zululand, from Lord Roberts's
march upon Kandahar to Sir Herbert Kitchener's attack
on Atbara. If there are no names which call for special
mention, this is because they are all so good that none
can fairly be singled out. For the rest, the last forty
years have not given the soldier or sailor a fair chance ;
and it is safe to prophesy, that when England has to face
the enemies who seem to be bent upon her destruction,
Rugbeians will not fall short of the standard which their
forerunners have set.
1 Entered 1867. 2 Entered 1864. 3 Entered 1858.
4 Entered 1869. Author of Scientific Romances, The Fourth Dimen-
sion, &c. 5 F. J. Jayne, entered 1859.
XV
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES
IN this chapter we have to trace the history of those school
institutions which the boys have themselves established.
These show most truly whether a school is alive or no,
and how far the system of instruction has succeeded in its
main object of training boys to think, learn, and act for
themselves. The development of schools is often one-
sided. Some deify the athlete, or make a Moloch of their
games ; others foster the bookish theoric, and lose sight
of bodily health and training. The public schools do
not generally err in the latter direction, and Rugby is
fortunate in not leaning so much as some schools to the
former.
" Reading maketh a full man ; conference a ready
man; and writing an exact man," said one who knew
well what he was speaking of. Bacon would have been
pleased to find all these three things cultivated in Rugby
School. In the Temple Reading-Room and Library, and
in the Arnold Library, he would have found excellent col-
lections of books, both ancient and modern. Here we find
not only all the standard books of reference dealing with
classical subjects, and the best editions of classical authors,
SCHOOLHOUSE.
(From an etching by E.J. Burrow.}
To face page 312.
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 313
but the masterpieces of modern literature. Footsteps to
Mrs. Trimmer appear no longer, and the History of Little
Jack) so " full of goodness," has fallen into oblivion ; but
there is plenteous store of books to be tasted, books to be
swallowed, and most of those few which are worthy to be
chewed and digested. Would any man become wise ?
here are histories to make him so. Would any become
witty ? poets are here. He that would be subtle has the
mathematics ; he that would be deep, natural philosophy ;
he that would make him able to contend, may read logic
and rhetoric, and the great orators of his own country.
The daily papers give him news of all that is happening
in the world ; the literary journals help to form his taste ;
even milk for babes is here in the illustrated magazines.
When the would-be orator has chewed and digested
what he will, the Debating Society 1 is ready with its con-
ference to sharpen a present wit. Since its foundation the
constitution of the Society has undergone a few changes,
but of no great moment. The meetings are now held on
each alternate Saturday evening during the two winter
terms. They used to take place sometimes in the after-
noon, and on other days than Saturday, but in process
of time the present arrangement survived as being the
fittest. It is now usual for a master to be President,
although at first the whole thing was managed by mem-
bers of the School. A prize was formerly given to the
1 I acknowledge indebtedness to the Records of the Debating Society.
Full reports are given in the earlier volumes ; subjects and names
later. See also an article on the " Debating Society " in the New Rug-
beian, iii. 147.
314 RUGBY SCHOOL
best speaker of the term, or for an essay on some subject
chosen, by the officers of the Society. A small subscrip-
tion has always been customary, supplemented by a poll-
tax when need arose. Fines were, and still may be, inflicted
for refusing to submit to the chairman's ruling, or for any
disturbance made, and also for continued absence from
the meetings. The officers were at first a President, two
Vice-Presidents, a Secretary and pro-Secretary, and a
Gentleman Usher. 1 At present there is only one Vice-
President, and one Secretary, who also acts as Treasurer.
Elections formerly held good for a month only, but since
1870 for the term. The President takes the chair ; the
Secretary calls out] members' names when a vote is asked ;
the Usher makes all practical arrangements for the meet-
ing, and turns out refractory members. Only the Upper
School is eligible for membership. All applicants for
admission must be proposed and seconded by members of
the Society, and voted on by ballot : a certain proportion
of black balls exclude, varying at different periods from
one in five to one in three, the present rule. Masters are
honorary members, but do not vote ; old Rugbeians are
also honorary members, but formerly they might have to
submit to a ballot. Visitors may be admitted, but neither
do they vote. Soon after the foundation of the society
a practice grew up of arranging the subjects for the
half year at its commencement, and then printing them
for members. There is the usual monotony about many of
these subjects. The virtues or iniquities of her Majesty's
1 This term first appears in 1869.
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 315
Government, capital punishment, limited monarchy v. re-
publicanism, have a perennial interest ; and at intervals
which a statistician would find instructive, the Ghost
reappears, and King Charles's head comes into the me-
morial. But the residue shows a wide interest in history
and in literature, as we should expect when the speakers
are such as Bo wen, Waddington, and T. H. Green. On
the whole, the Society, like most school societies, has been
strongly conservative ; yet any motion appealing to gene-
rosity or pity, even though radical, is sure to be popular.
One or two practical rules are worth mentioning. It is
always a difficulty to find subjects for debate ; hence the
officers of the Society are obliged to provide them if no
one else does. It is sometimes difficult to find speakers ;
accordingly the proposer has to find some one to oppose
him. The proposer was formerly elected at each meeting
for the next, and called the Minister : he had to provide
a ministry and an opposition. Meetings sometimes fall
flat, and " Herr Major bezahlt seine Schulden " ; to pre-
vent which, no meeting can be announced unless six mem-
bers have promised to speak. If any member promises,
and yet is dumb, he is fined half-a-crown. Much interest
is taken in the debates, which are often thronged. On
one occasion came thirty-nine visitors not belonging to
the School ; but it so happened that on that night there
were not the necessary two-thirds of the members pre-
sent, and a count-out followed. Occasionally half the
Middle School will put in an appearance, attracted by
some sensational subject or favourite orator ; as when the
316 RUGBY SCHOOL
fags came in a _body to hear a debate about their own
abolition. The place of debate was formerly the Sixth
School, now usually the schoolroom of the Lower Bench ;
but when a great concourse is expected, Old Big School
or even New Big School is used now and then.
Such as wish to become exact men may try to get
elected into that select club called Eranos. This consists
of twelve members, who fill up vacancies by co-opting, and
meet regularly to read papers, chiefly on literary subjects.
Only members of the Sixth are eligible for Eranos. The
Lower Bench has an Eranos of its own, not for writing,
but for reading poets : here all of the proper status are
welcome, and numbers are not limited. Or again, there
are the school magazines. Besides the Meteor (1867-98),
which makes no pretension to be more than a chronicle,
there have been founded successively, and successively
have died, the New Rugby Magazine (1864-65), the
T. V. W. (1877-78), and the Leaflet (1883-86), and the
Sibyl (1890-95). The latest born of this brood of the
Muses is the Laurentian, which began in 1898. Several
of these are illustrated from drawings made by members
of the School.
Thus refined by the society of Clio and Euterpe, one
would imagine that young Rugby must pay some devo-
tion to the sister Muses. Alas ! it is not so. Urania, it
is true, has her shrine in the Temple Observatory, where
a careful curator attends at stated times to show the
stars through a telescope. Time was when Thalia at
least, if not Melpomene, had her votaries ; but now they
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 317
CHAPEL WEST NOW PULLED DOWN.
(Drawn by Miss H. M.James, from a photograph, by Geo. A. Dean.)
receive but a scanty snuff of incense on Speech Day, which
tends ever to become less and less. In Olympus they
mourn over the golden age of Macready, and the silver
318 RUGBY SCHOOL
age of the Schoolhouse Dramatic Society ; in this age of
iron, Rugby cares for none of these things. As for
Terpsichore, she seems to have retired into obscurity
with the demolition of Dr. James's dancing-school nigh
a century since. "These things are but Toys,"" writes
Bacon, yet " acting in Song, especially in Dialogues, hath
an extreme good grace."
Music, however, is by no means neglected. Not only
have we the house-singing, where the songs are certainly
" loud," as our authority recommends, " not chirpings and
pulings ; " but there is an orchestra of no mean repute,
and a brass band. Moreover, quite a surprising number
in the School learn to play on some musical instrument.
Wind is generally a weak point in school orchestras ; but
Rugby has clarionets and oboes, horns and trumpets
ay, and a loud bassoon which makes many a listener
beat his breast. Pepys would have been truly delighted
with the woodwind. Rugby indeed is melodious with
all manner of music ; and if lute or viol hung in the
barber's shop, as they used to do in the days of good
Queen Bess, hardly a lad but could turn his hand to
it.
Those who are interested in art or antiquities have an
excellent School Museum whither they may resort. Here
are to be seen original drawings of Michael Angelo, and
others of the old masters ; of Turner, Lord Leighton, and
some of the newer ; copies of famous paintings, and a
splendid collection of photographs, which are constantly
being changed. It would be impossible, without exceed-
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 319
ing my space, to give any idea of this collection of photo-
graphs, which includes the masterpieces of painting and
sculpture both ancient and modern, English and foreign
domestic architecture, Watts^s portraits, and a host of
other things. There are casts in plaster of a number of
Greek and Roman statues, of some mediaeval busts, and
of the Gates of Ghiberti at Florence. There is also one
real antique, a torso of Greek workmanship. Several
cases contain Greek fictile vases, Greek and Roman glass,
and Greek armour. Two bronze helmets deserve special
mention : one unique, being shaped like a leather helmet
with bosses, and one that was picked up in Asia Minor
on the track of the Ten Thousand. Egyptian remains,
methods of handicraft, ancient manuscripts, and early
printed books add to the interest of the collection. Some
local antiquities are old guns and pistols, and old buff
jerkins, one of which was picked up on Naseby field, and
shows by a sword- thrust through the back that its first
owner ran away. On the staircase are casts of slabs from
the Parthenon frieze, and the British Museum series of
electrotype coins. Each year in the summer term there
is a loan exhibition of paintings, collected at great cost
and trouble, which cannot fail to do much in training the
taste of the School.
Perhaps the neglect of some of the Muses is explained
by the vigour of the Natural History Society. We have
good authority for believing that two bodies cannot occupy
the same space, and in the affections of Rugby the space
once filled by the drama is now filled by the Natural His-
320 RUGBY SCHOOL
tory Society. The Society was founded in 1867, and has
preserved Records continuously since that date. The first
President was Mr. F. E. Kitchener, then a master, and one
of its early members was F. C. Selous. A very liberal
interpretation is put on the name. Not only are there
sections which scour the woods and spinneys in search
of flowers, plants, and butterflies ; not only does another
part delve into the earth for her secrets; but there are
who study with a noble zest the architecture and history
of all the ancient buildings within reach of a bicycle or
of an afternoon's journey by rail ; and others, again, make
photography a fine art. In the bowels of the earth is a
dark room, where washing and fixing goes on continually.
Papers are read, lectures are delivered, lantern-slides are
made and exhibited to an admiring world : in short, there
is hardly a thing which this ubiquitous Society attempts
not, nor attempting, performs. A just proportion is
observed in the numerous expeditions ; the drier the
study, the more luxurious is the tea, and everybody comes
home radiant. Each year the Society publishes a Report,
which gives an account of all its doings during the twelve
months. There is a Vivarium belonging to the School,
which contains both plants and animals ; most famous of
which is the old Cockatoo. The Society has also its
Museum, with the inevitable Egyptian mummy, and a
good library of natural history books.
But the school life is not all reading, writing, and
conference, nor all natural history expeditions. No
account of a public school would be complete without
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 321
the games ; and although it is no purpose of mine to write
a full history of them (which would in itself require a
book), a sketch will be attempted in order to complete
the picture.
First comes football, because that is in all parts of
the English-speaking world associated with the name of
Rugby. 1 We have already seen the beginnings of foot-
ball at Rugby, and how the distinctive feature of the
Rugby game seems to have originated in the chance im-
pulse of one boy. By degrees we have seen the practice
of running with the ball become tolerated, and at last
come into general use. In 1846 it was still not legal to
pick up the ball from the ground, but it was legal to run
in with the ball if it had been caught from the foot or on
the bounce. When precisely the present rule for picking
up the ball was first introduced is not known. A run in is
regarded as a natural thing in the forties, 2 but in 1853 it
was distinctly stated that to pick up a rolling ball was
illegal. This rule, however, was constantly broken, so
that the old Rugbeians expressed their annoyance at it. 3
But the change came notwithstanding. Games played
between a limited number of picked players, fifteen or
twenty on a side, are said to have been first played about
1840. 4 For a long time the only games played at Rugby
were school games ; but on Saturday, November 16, 1867, 6
1 See the pamphlet, Origin of Rugby Football, quoted before ; and
Marshall's Football : the Rugby Union Game (Cassell, 1892).
" Big Side Levte, Records, 1849.
3 Big Side Leree, Dec. 8, 1857.
4 Origin, p. 18. D Origin, p. 35.
X *
RUGBY SCHOOL
was played the first foreign match, between the School and
a scratch team, twenty on each side. During the third
quarter of this century most of the games were still school
games, and many fanciful methods were taken to bring the
players into all sorts of combinations. Besides the usual
Big Side games, we find Dissyllables v. School, Patriarchs
v. School, Anomalies v. School, A to K v. School, North
v. South, and so on. Of the numbers on each side in
these matches we have no hint; but in 1875 1 it was
resolved at a Big Side Levee "that the School Foot-
ball Team be fifteen instead of twenty. 17 Three or four
years later a Levee of Caps decided that house matches
should be played with fifteen a side, and one house match
was actually so played. But Big Side Levee reversed the
decision, and house matches continued to be played with
twenties until 1881. About a year after this the rule was
finally altered, and fifteens became the rule. Lastly, in
1881, the year after the Rugby Union was founded, Union
Rules were substituted for School Rules in the fifteen
game. 2 The ball itself was originally of no fixed shape
or size ; and it began to assume the familiar oblong
about 1851.
At present these rules are observed in all games
except three in the year, which keep up the old tradition.
These are the Sixth Match, when the Sixth present
and past play the remainder of the Caps and any old
Rugbeians who were not in the Sixth ; the Cock Houses,
where fifteens of the Cock House and the next house
1 Schoolhouse Fasti. 2 Schoolhouse Fasti.
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES
below play the rest of the Caps, old Rugbeians joining in
as before on each side; and the Old Rugbeian Match,
played by the School Caps against the old Rugbeians.
In these three games you may still see football played
with seventy or eighty on a side. These three matches,
together with all foreign matches, bear the time-honoured
title of Big Side.
The football, with the rest of the games, is now
managed by a Games Committee, 1 consisting of masters
and boys. There is room on the playing-grounds for
seventeen games to be played at once. The costume in
former years was white duck trousers. Flannels were
adopted in 1876, and knickerbockers in 1888, as the
regular uniform. 2 At present the costume is strictly regu-
lated as follows. The " distinctions " are : (1) flannels,
with the right to wear the house crest on the straw hat ;
(2) cap, with a house crest on the hat, football breeches,
and the house crest on the jersey ; (3) the Fifteen colours,
blue breeches, and school crest on a white jersey. Those
who have no distinction play for their houses as Belows
or Two Belows. Distinctions in football, as in other
games, are resigned at the beginning of each term, save
only the captain's. The captain then assigns such dis-
tinctions as are earned by play in some game. Even the
minor distinctions are given only by his authority, although
in the case of house caps he usually follows the recom-
mendation of the house captain.
1 The first mention of a Games Committee is in 1853 (Big Side
Levee Records). 2 Big Side Levee Records.
324 RUGBY SCHOOL
In the early days of the Rugby game the Richmond
Club l used to take a prominent place. When first formed,
this club contained a large number of old Rugbeians, and
in two or three years among the sixties, when the team
contained twelve or thirteen old Rugbeians, it sustained
no defeat. The game as then played must have presented
an odd spectacle, with spectators crowding over the touch-
line, and the wary half-back dodging in and out among
them to the discomfiture of his foes. C. S. Dakyns was
a well-known figure in these games, and another was the
energetic secretary of the Old Rugbeian Society, Morris
Davies. 2 Another name that won renown was that of
D. P. Turner, 3 who played in the scrummage. When
the papers began to take notice of the game, they were
horribly shocked at the hacking that went on, and a
crusade was begun against it. This is hardly to be
wondered at if the story be true that in a Cock House
Match at Rugby the forwards of the losing twenty were
so severely punished that their house master " actually sat
down on the grass and wept like a child." We should not
make too much of this incident, however, for the gentle-
man in question evidently had the gift of tears, and used
to weep over a Greek play in form. 4 But the public,
always so tender-hearted, was aroused to a bitter de-
nunciation of football and all its works. There was
nothing for it but to abolish hacking, and this was
accordingly done by the Rugby Union, at the instance,
1 Marshall, Football, p. 70. 2 Entered 1857.
3 Entered 1859. 4 Marshall, p. 77.
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 325
OLD QUADRANGLE:
CLOISTERS, STUDIES, OLD BIG SCHOOL, CHAPEL TOWER.
(Drawn by Miss H. M. James, from a photograph by Geo. A. Dean.}
it is said, of Charles Darwin the younger. In the School,
hacking over was not abolished till the third term of
1876; hacking on the ball was still allowed, and only
326 RUGBY SCHOOL
died out along with the twenty game. Notable players
behind the scrummage were W. H. Sykes l and H. T.
S. Yates. 2 Amongst the best forwards of the same period
are mentioned W. C. Sherrard, 3 the Instructor in Forti-
fications at Woolwich ; F. Stokes, 4 of Blackheath Club ;
and E. C. Holmes, 5 of Richmond. When the Rugby
Union was formed in 1871, three old Rugbeians A.
Rutter, E. C. Holmes, and L. J. Morton drew up
rules for it, which were accepted by the committee as
they stood. 6 These were based on the Rugby School
rules, but abolished hacking, modified and amplified the
rules for off-side, punting-out was done away with, and
the method of bringing out the ball for a try at goal
was made more simple. All through the early years of
the Union, Rugby men are found in prominent places,
as President, Secretary, or what not. Since that time
the proportion of Rugbeians has not been so great as
formerly. This fact is not, as it might be deemed, a
proof of inferiority : it merely shows that Rugby has
succeeded in her mission. North, south, and west have
been converted to the rules which originated from Rugby,
and the choice of men is now far larger than it was at
the beginning.
Of cricket there is less to say, because this came
from outside, instead of being developed from within.
Cricket at Rugby School is now organised as follows.
Any new boy under sixteen who shows promise is put
i Entered 1863. 2 Entered 1860. 3 Entered 1863.
4 Entered 1864. 5 Entered 1856. 6 Marshall, p. 81.
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 327
in the Young Guard, which has its own special "ends"
and professional. 1 Here the Young Guard practise until
they are promoted to the Intermediate Ends or to New
Big Side. In this place they get occasional coaching
from the other professionals or the masters, as they
are close to the nets of the Eleven and the Twenty-
two. Each house has also nets of its own, so that there
is ample opportunity for learning the game. By a wise
rule of the School, boys are allowed in the cricket season
to come into afternoon school dressed in flannels and
blazer. They are thus able to play at odd times with far
greater ease and comfort. Cricket distinctions are: (1)
tie; (2) the Twenty-two cap of dark blue, with ribbon
for the straw hat ; (3) School Eleven light-blue cap and
shirt, with ribbon a very pretty uniform. Distinctions
are allotted by the school captain, in the same way as
in football. The houses now draw for games, except
Belows, 2 which play on the League system. The first
event of the year is a two-days 1 match at Lord^s against
Marlborough, which takes place at the end of the summer
term. The costume for cricket, as for all games, used
to be white duck trousers, but the many played in their
ordinary clothes. The Eleven wore flannels as early as
1846 ; and in 1877 the Eleven, the Twenty-two, Belows,
and Two Belows were allowed to wear them.
It would be impossible, without taking up too much
1 The first record of a professional is the appointment of John
Lilly white as bowler, 1850 (Big Side Levee Records).
2 Those who are " below " the Caps. The Belows and Two Belows
answer to Second and Third Elevens in other schools.
328 RUGBY SCHOOL
space, to mention all the first-rate cricketers who have
come forth from Rugby during the last forty years. B. B.
Cooper, 1 whose fame as a batsman almost rivalled that
of Grace, was for long one of the Gentlemen of England.
P. Case, 2 whose name is traditionally associated at Rugby
with the goal called Case's Gallows, found leisure from his
literary studies to play three years in the Oxford Eleven.
E. Bowden Smith, 3 one of a family of athletes, played for
the Oxford Eleven and the Gentlemen. E. M. Kenney 4
and A. A. Bourne 5 earned fame as bowlers, each gaining
his blue, the one at Oxford, the other at Cambridge.
W. Yardley, 6 of Trinity College, Cambridge, is the only
man who has made a score of two centuries in the Univer-
sity Match. C. K. Francis 7 took ten wickets in one
innings at the Marlborough Match of 1867, and after-
wards played for Oxford. To come down to modern
times, it would be hard to find a better cricketer than
C. H. F. Leslie, 8 captain of the Oxford Eleven, and one of
the Gentlemen. We can do no more than mention the
name of Bradby, known of yore on the Oxford playing-
fields, and still at the old School; and of Wilson, dis-
tinguished in more than one generation of school and
university cricketers. But Rugby cricketers have carried
their torch to the uttermost parts of the earth. H. H.
Castens, 9 for instance, became captain of the South African
team, and for T. W. Wills 10 was reserved a lot still more
1 Entered 1859. 2 Entered 1858. 3 Entered 1867.
4 Entered 1854. 5 Entered 1865. 6 Entered 1863.
7 Entered 1865. 8 Entered 1875. 9 Entered 1878.
10 Entered 1851,
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 329
remarkable. A good wind wafted him to the antipodes,
where he so civilised the natives, that in 1868 he brought
home an eleven of jet-black aborigines to play in Eng-
land. Some of them rejoiced in the following euphonious
names : Mullagh, Peter, Tiger, Red-Cap, Bullocky, Two-
penny, Jim Crow, and Dick-a-Dick. Nor was it at all an
eleven pour rire ; they played uncommonly well, and
Mullagh at least is said (I know not with what truth) to
have been equal to playing for his county, if he had had
a county to play for.
In other branches of athletics mention ought to be
made of J. C. Gardner, 1 the well-known oarsman and
sculler ; and of M. J. Brooks, 2 who in the University
Sports cleared a high jump of 6 ft. 1J in. for Oxford.
Others have rowed in the University Eight ; as H.
Watney 3 and W. J. Pinckney, 4 both for Cambridge.
Rugby possesses an excellent Volunteer Corps, forming
F Company in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Royal War-
wickshire Regiment. I have already spoken of the first
Rugby Volunteers, who were enrolled when the descent
of Bonaparte was expected upon the shores of England.
With the destruction of the French fleets the fear of inva-
sion ceased, and the Volunteers with it ; and the present
corps was not founded until England was agitated a
second time by the unfriendly menaces of France. Its
beginning dates from 1860, when four companies of Rifles
were enrolled, with eight officers, all being boys in the
1 Entered 1879. 2 Entered 1869.
3 Entered 1858. 4 Entered 1860.
330 RUGBY SCHOOL
School. Their uniform is depicted in the first pages of
the Record Books. It is of a sober colour, trousers, tunic,
and belt, with a tall sloping cap of the familiar " rifle-
man " type. They no longer use wooden swords in tin
sheaths, but carry " musket " and bayonet. The organi-
sation was soon after changed to two companies with six
officers, and so it remained for some time. Regular drills
were instituted, at first every day, and there were fre-
quent marches out. In 1861, the first year of the Public
Schools Competitions at Wimbledon, the shooting team
won the Challenge Shield, and for many years (the year
1867 alone excepted) they were in the first three for that
event. The Shield was again won in 1894 ; and on various
occasions other prizes were carried off the Spencer Cup
twice, the Cadets 1 Trophy, and the Veterans 1 Trophy. In
1889, when the Spencer Cup was first won, Captain G.
Richardson, the winner, won also the Persian Gold Medal,
given yearly by one of the Ministers of the Shah. In 1868
masters first appear as officers, and it has been ever since
the rule that some of the officers at least should be
masters. A. P. Humphrey 1 won the Queen's Prize at
Wimbledon in 1871. The corps at present numbers
about 260 of all ranks ; as there are 574 in the School,
this means that nearly half the School are enrolled
in it. It includes a captain, two lieutenants, and
three cadet officers. About once in three weeks there
is a march out ; and field - days are often arranged
in conjunction with other schools, not to mention
1 Entered 1863.
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 331
the Public Schools Review at Aldershot. On these
occasions
Nodding their heads, before them goes
The merry minstrelsy,
in the shape of a powerful brass band. It should be
noted that the members from each boarding-house form
a section or sub-section, so that sections are complete
permanent units. Hence much responsibility in dealing
with the rank and file lies with the non-commissioned
officers. Promotions from private to lance-corporal are
made on the recommendation of the house sergeant.
The School has its own rifle range, with canvas targets
working on the newest principles, and telephonic com-
munication between the markers and the firing points.
There is continual practice, both at these and with the
Morris tube. Twice in the year competitions are held
among the various house sections, the successful squads
holding challenge shields or other trophies. These are
(1) in manual and firing exercise, motions of the rifle
on the march, and bayonet exercise ; (2) for the best
dressed squad ; (3) for general efficiency, including at-
tendance at drill, and a tactical exercise carried out by
squads of twelve, with a non-commissioned officer in
command.
We have seen that the first school fire-engine was
bought in 1780, and in 1822 l another was bought in
its place. At that time Rugby town had no fire-engine,
1 Order of July 9, 1822.
332 RUGBY SCHOOL
and there is little doubt that the school engine was not
only meant for use, but in the early part of this century
was actually used. Many small fires have occurred since
then, as we learn from passing allusions. Others, more
or less serious, have occurred 1 in 1860, when Smythies"
house suffered; in 1865, at Mr. Blake's; in 1885, at the
Schoolhouse : in 1886, when twelve studies were de-
stroyed at Mr. Whitelaw's; and at the Schoolhouse, in
1895. On these latter occasions outside help was ob-
tained when necessary ; but there has been a regular Fire
Brigade in the School since 1892, possessing an engine
and a fire-escape. So far the efforts of this new Brigade
have been confined to practice. Sleepers have been
suddenly shot down from their happy couches through
the fire-escape ; and a nightly visitor to the school build-
ings may sometimes be alarmed by seeing the members
climb in at the upper windows to pour imaginary water
upon a fictitious flame.
There are two School Missions. The earlier, founded
in memory of Henry Watson Fox, has already been
mentioned. The second takes the appropriate form of
boys 1 clubs in Notting Hill, London, and in Birming-
ham, The clubs are open to boys of twelve years and
upwards, and provide amusement or educational classes
for them in the evenings. Occasionally a party of these
boys is brought down to Rugby to visit the School,
and they are there entertained and amused by residents.
Of the athletic sports not much need be said. In
1 Schoolhouse Fasti.
334 RUGBY SCHOOL
1853 the Games being "considered a national interest,"
a Games Committee was appointed, which drew up
rules for athletic sports. 1 These had taken place pre-
viously, but there is no earlier record of them. The
events were : flat races of 200 yards, hurdle races of the
same length, a quarter-mile hurdle race, a mile and a
quarter-mile flat race, running wide jump, standing high
jump, vaulting, throwing the cricket ball, hand-fives,
place kick, and drop, swimming and diving. Expenses
were met by a subscription of the whole School. The
sports now take place yearly in the Lent term, and call
for no special remark.
Mention has often been made of the Cock House. 2
This is "a term of no great antiquity in the School.
In early times, that is to say from 1790 or thereabouts
(for we have no certain information about the matter
before that date), it was a coveted distinction to be
Cock of the House or Cock of the School. If any
boy was acknowledged by all to be the best man all
round, the title would be his. If there were more
than one candidate, we do not know how the question
was decided. Probably, however, the final appeal lay
before the Court of Club-Law; in other words, the
aspirants fought it out until one gave in. When
football began to be organised, the Schoolhouse would,
from its size, naturally be more than a match for any
other house ; hence arose the great contest of the School-
1 Big Side Levee Records.
2 See Origin of R. P., pp. 41-44.
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES
house against the School, called the Schoolhouse Match.
House matches were not played at that time, and when
there seemed " no great disparity " between the School-
house and the School, it would have been absurd for
one of the other houses to challenge the Schoolhouse.
Towards the end of the forties the scale began to turn.
In 1850, for the first time in history, the Schoolhouse
played against a single house, and they were beaten by
Cotton's (now Payne Smith's), which claimed the title
of Cock House. In 1851 Shairp's (now extinct) and
Anstey's played the School. 1 In 1852 Shairp's beat
the Schoolhouse, and for the three years following there
was a fierce struggle between the two houses for the
headship. Henceforward we find other houses winning
the first place, and it is clear that there must have been
some system of challenges, if not yet a general scheme
of house matches, such as was formulated in 1867. 2 The
Schoolhouse has been seventeen times Cock House since
1850, not counting draws ; but the other houses have
long been sufficiently large to make a good game out
of the event.
The Big Side runs still hold their place in Rugby,
and are run mostly after football is over in the Lent term.
In all of them the course is now fixed, and the records of
winner and time have been kept for the last sixty years or
so. These records are set down in the Big Side Books,
and these are held by the Holder of Big Side Bags, the two
bags in which the scent is carried. Since the foundation
1 Big bide Levee Records. a Big Side Levee Records.
336 RUGBY SCHOOL
of the Running Eight (which is quite modern) the Holder
has always been head of the Eight as a matter of course,
and keeps office so long as he is in the School. When he
leaves he hands on the Books and the Bags to a suc-
cessor. The captains of the Eleven and the Fifteen keep
similar books. Most of the runs combine a road-course
with a course across fields, and there is, besides the runs
proper, a good deal of " brook-jumping " ; but in neither
case is the strain on the rank and file anything like so
heavy as in the old days of fencing and leaping across
country.
The most famous of the Big Side runs is the Crick,
which (like football) has had its vates sacer. 1 The other
runs are: 2 Barby Hill (about 6J miles), Barby village (8J),
Bilton (nearly 5), Churchover (6J), Coton House (5J),
Harborough Magna (6J), Hillmorton, Lawford (5f),
Lilbourne and Catthorpe, Shawell (7 T \), Thurlaston (6|-),
Willoughby and Woolscote (about 8 miles). This, it will
be seen, covers a good deal of country ; and as there are
runs in all weathers, it is an excellent thing for the health.
The houses also organise Little Side runs on their own
account, for practice. In 1881 a Running Cup was pre-
sented to the School, to be won by the house which scored
the most points during the season. There was no limit to
the number of boys a house might send in, but each house
was obliged to send two for every run. A system of
1 Above, p. 271 ; and Recoil, of Rugby, p. 135.
2 For details as to course and records, see Rugby School Big Side
Runs (Rugby : Lawrence, 1893).
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 337
scoring was devised in 1882 at a meeting of House Bags,
by which the winner scored 60 + 1, and one off for every
ten seconds behind ; the hares (who carry bags filled with
paper for "scent") being allowed one minute. For the
Crick all these figures were doubled. In 1883 each house
was limited to eight representatives. But it was found
that the system tended to put too great a strain upon the
average boy, and so, after some further changes, the whole
system was abolished in 1892 by the Games Committee.
For a year or two the Running Cup went to the house
of the winner of the Crick. Of late years the School has
run against some foreign teams, as the Thames Hare and
Hounds Club, and Oxford University Hare and Hounds
Club. There is now a Running Eight, whose captain is ex
officio Holder of Big Side Bags. Houses have also since
1881 their Running Eights, which run against each other.
Rugby is fortunate in still keeping up this once popular
sport, which in many schools seems to be dying or dead.
We now come to the constitution of the School Common-
wealth. The Sixth Form (now no longer called praepostors)
are the great potentates of the School; and their place
in it ensures that power shall be in the hands of those who
are not only fitted by bodily strength for the mastery, but
are, on the whole, an "aristocracy selected by merit."
Occasionally one or another in some form below the Sixth
is given " Sixth power," if he has proved himself worthy
of it, or if there are not enough of the Sixth in any
house. It sometimes happens, of course, that one or two
are too weak in character for their position ; but the whole
Y
338 RUGBY SCHOOL
body loyally upholds the authority of all its members, and
on the whole the system works well. The Sixth are re-
sponsible to the Head-master for the use of their powers,
and an appeal lies to him, though it is very unlikely to
be used except in case of gross tyranny. Their disci-
plinary powers include the right of caning and setting
impositions. The caning is done in the houses, and the
Schoolhouse uses the Fifth Form Room. The Sixth are
expected to support law and order in the School by
example and precept. A breach of school rules by one of
them would be a serious offence, and would lead (if wilful
or gross) to loss of Sixth power for a time, or to removal
from the School. They read the lessons in chapel by
rotation, carry round the bags for the offertory, and
" walk," that is, keep order, at calling-over in Big School.
In the houses they are responsible for the general dis-
cipline in studies and dormitories. In case of need a
levee may be called, which may be a School Levee, a
Big Side Levee of the Upper School (the Sixth, the
Twenty, and the two Fifths), a Sixth Form Levee,
or a House Levee. The chief rules for conduct of Big
Side Levees are as follows : l (1) All members of the
Upper School must attend ; (2) the head of the School
is chairman ex officio ; (3) each member has one vote,
and the chairman a casting vote ; (4) no voting by proxy
is allowed; (5) the chairman may refuse to hold a levee
or to put a motion, but an appeal lies to the Sixth Form
Levee or to the Head -master; (6) notice of motions
1 Schoolhouse Fasti, 1885 ; earlier rules in Levte Records.
s
CO
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 339
must be previously given to the chairman ; (7) no excep-
tion to a standing rule can be passed without two-thirds
majority of those present; (8) a fine of sixpence is in-
flicted for absence without reasonable excuse ; (9) its
resolutions can veto those of the School Levee, or Foot-
ball Committee, or any committee appointed by itself.
In 1844 stringent rules were laid down by the Sixth
Form Levee, that all boys, the Sixth included, should
remain in the Close during a match. The gates were
kept by the six praepostors of the week preceding, or
their substitutes. The penal discretion allowed to the
Sixth Form was at first very great, and as many as
sixty cuts had been inflicted at a Sixth licking. The
number was limited to twelve by Goulburn in 1854,
and, in spite of several appeals, the restriction was con-
firmed by his successors. Besides punishments, they give
rewards on occasion. In 1845, for example, "the free-
dom of the Fifth [i.e. immunity from all fagging] was
presented to Berkeley, on account of his heroic conduct
in saving the life of Sandford mi., at Swifts." A similar
honour was done to Gregory in 1848, for saving the
life of Cramer. Other subjects which occupy the atten-
tion of this Levee are the School Magazines, whose editors
they appoint, and the Island. This, as we have seen,
was, of old, privileged ground, upon which none but the
Sixth had a right to go. The privilege appears to have
been extended to the Twenty and the Fifth, and all
these forms contributed what was necessary to keep it in
proper condition. The Upper Middle had also to pay
340 RUGBY SCHOOL
towards the Island and the Bath, 1 yet had no right to
enter; so in 1847 they sent in a petition for redress of
grievances. The Upper Middles were accordingly given
the option of paying or not as they chose, and each
member of the Sixth was authorised to admit to the Island
one extra person, being if possible a member of the Upper
Middle. The petition as regards the Bath was rejected.
It was also resolved, " that any fag found on the Island
without proper leave, if he shirk oft* to the satisfaction of
the praepostor, escape with impunity ; if not, he incur the
same punishment as is awarded to non-shirking out of
bounds."
In 1852 it was proposed to throw open the Island to
the fags, but the proposal was lost, " on the ground that
it was the only external mark of respect now paid to the
Sixth," shirking having been abolished. Even this solitary
honour was to cease, for the Island soon ceased to be an
Island. One other resolution of the Sixth Levee is inter-
esting, as it shows an increasing sense of responsibility
for good order in the School. In 1847 it was resolved,
" that every member of the Sixth do consider himself
bound in honour not to apply himself to school work
after the lights have been put out by order of the master
of the house."
This organisation has not only a recognised status, but
its traditional formalities. The proceedings of the School
Levees are carried on in an orderly fashion, and resemble
in most respects a properly conducted public meeting.
1 This was the old Bath, as to which see Index. Praepostors had keys.
CHAPEL INTERIOR, LOOKING EAST.
(Drawn by Miss H. M.James, from a photograph by Geo. A. Dean.)
342 RUGBY SCHOOL
They have their chairman, whose ruling is obeyed ; and
motions are proposed, seconded, and voted upon in due
form. The wording of them is quaint and dignified. The
Big Side Levee, for instance, which is concerned chiefly
with the school games, dates of matches, dates when foot-
ball or other games shall commence, usually words its
propositions in set phrases. " It was proposed that on
such a date football should be brought into the Close,""
or that " punt-about be introduced into the Close. 11 The
care with which these records are kept, and the interest
of many of the events recorded, will make them most
valuable to the future historian of Rugby School.
Below the Sixth are two forms, the Twenty and the
Fifth (two divisions), which are excused from fagging, but
not themselves allowed to have fags. These form a kind
of chrysalis stage between the Sixth Form and the fags.
The duties of fags are less irksome than once they were,
but (such as they are) strictly exacted. It raises a smile
to read what some eminent educationalists have written
of the fagging system, 1 as though it were a thing essen-
tially bad, and only to be tolerated because it cannot be
abolished. If it be essentially bad that the young should
serve before they can rule, then the whole system of
government in all organised countries, and in the army
and navy, and in commerce, is essentially bad. Experi-
ence shows that the fagging system, if properly limited, is
a good and useful institution, and an excellent training in
habits of smartness and obedience. Fags may still, as of
1 e.g. Fitch, Thomas and Mattheio Arnold, p. 80.
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 343
yore, be called on to run errands, and to make themselves
generally useful. Each fag is attached to some one of the
Sixth for study fagging only, and is not liable to any
other for this service. The house fags have to " fug out "
the "den" of their superior, to light his fire, to make
toast for him at tea, and so forth. Is any errand to be
done, the Sixth Form potentate has but to issue forth
from his den and shout " Fag ! " Immediately, like the
rats of Hamelin city, out rush all the fags of the first
term ; or if the word be twice shouted, all those of the
first two terms, and so forth. The last fag in gets the
job, so their speed may be imagined. It once happened
that an astute tradesman^ boy found this out, and when
he brought his parcels used to shout for a fag ; he thus
saved himself the trouble of waiting.
Many of the old customs described in these pages have
died out. There is no more shirking, and boys newly
promoted are no longer clodded, or cobbed, or chaired.
The most remarkable of those customs which still survive
is the "lamb-singing." As observed in the Schoolhouse
the rite is as follows. A fortnight after the beginning of
each term the new boys are conducted to one of the small
dormitories. The head of the house and the captain of
the Fifteen sit on a bed, as a bench of judges; the other
boys crowd inside the door or without. Then on another
bed each new boy is made to stand up in turn, a fag on
either side lighting his face with a " tolly " set in a tin
candlestick. The lamb must now sing a song. If it pass
muster, good; if not, the judges start "Rule Britannia, 1
344 RUGBY SCHOOL
which is taken up by all present, and the unsuccessful
songster formerly had to drink a concoction of tooth-
powder, salt, mustard, and other ingredients, mixed with
water ; this ordeal is now abolished.
On the last night of every term the Schoolhouse
observes a custom called "knuckling down." All those
who enjoy football distinctions change into football garb,
and the rest appear in ordinary clothes. The fags are
then divided into Big Fry and Little Fry, and proceed
to knuckle down all through the long "dorm" passage
to let the " distinctions " go leap-frog over them. First
there are Big Fry singles and Little Fry singles; then
doubles, the two boys putting their heads together ; then
the process is repeated in threes and fours, even as far
as sixes, the heads being kept always together.
At a quarter-past six in the morning (or in winter
at a quarter to seven o^clock) the sleepers are awakened
by a servant, and they are reminded that the day's
duties have begun. With greater or less speed all
huddle into their clothes, and, after swallowing a cup
of tea or coffee, hasten down to their form rooms.
Meanwhile the twelve minutes 1 bell has rung for three
minutes, and, after an equal pause, has rung again for
the same time, stopping three minutes before the hour
strikes. The forms are called over, and all proceed
into chapel, whose doors are shut on the stroke of seven.
At a quarter-past the short service is over, and an hour's
work follows in school. At 8.15 the work ceases, and the
boys return to their houses for breakfast at 8.30 ; in the
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 345
interval, strings of fags may be seen hurrying to Hobley^s
for u stodge," and returning with arms full of parcels for
their Sixth Form masters. You will observe that all keep
on the east side of the High Street ; or, if cross they
must, they cross to their destination at right angles, and
so back again. As they go back to the house, each
keeps on the side of the road where his own house
stands. However muddy the road, no one but a " swell "
is supposed to turn up his trousers at the bottom ;
though true it is that this rule is not always observed.
If a boy is in his first term, he must keep his hands
out of his pockets. If you see a boy with one hand
in, he will perhaps be in the second term ; after that
both may be put in the pockets. If three boys are
seen walking together, you may be sure that their
united experience of school amounts to twelve terms at
the least ; and so on in like proportion. As the throng
of boys goes past, the onlooker may amuse himself by
calculating the length of Rugby existence by these rules.
Breakfast over, " second lesson " begins, and here we
note a peculiarity in the arrangement of work at Rugby.
The whole school day is divided into five lessons, but
only the first (7.15-8.15, or in winter 7.45-8.30) and
the end of the fifth (5.30 or 6) are fixed. The other
lessons are arranged between certain limits to suit the
convenience of all concerned. The result is that at
almost any hour of the day some boys are in school
and some are out. The lesson in school varies from
forty-five minutes to an hour and a half. Lower forms
346 RUGBY SCHOOL
do their preparation in the first part of the time, and
then they at once come up and say the work ; others
prepare in their studies. The frequent intervals keep
everybody fresh, and the system works well. The visitor,
then, cannot follow a typical boy through the rest of
the day, because hours differ with each form. We should
not forget to mention the sacred institution of "Cuts."
If, by reason of indisposition or other hurnan infirmity,
a master is not in sight at a quarter of an hour after the
time fixed for a lesson, that lesson is supposed to be a
"cut," and the boys may depart whither they will. If
a cut should be given at first lesson, the boys usually visit
each other's houses, which at other times they never do.
At a quarter-past one (or in winter half-past) the morn-
ing's work, with its snatches of play, is over, and all
assemble for dinner. The afternoon is passed in the
same way, unless it be a half-holiday, when cricket or
football, fives or racquets, bicycle excursions, a march out,
or a natural history expedition is the order of the day.
Tea is taken at 5.30 or 6, and from 7.45 to 9.15 (or
7.30 to 9) there is preparation of work for the next
day. Prayers are next said, and by ten o'clock every
boy ought to be fast asleep.
Such is the uneventful routine of the School, varied
only by a debate, or a lecture, or a concert in New Big
School. If Lawrence Sheriffe could arise from his grave,
he might well be astonished at the complexity of the
machine which has been developed out of his modest
beginning, and the smoothness with which it works. The
SCHOOL LIFE IN MODERN TIMES 347
brains of many men have helped in the making of this ;
nor is it to be supposed that it will never change again.
One good order may corrupt the world ; and the School
is like Arthur's Round Table, " an image of the mighty
world," for which its citizens are training.
XVI
A LAST LOOK BACKWARD
As we look back over the past history of Rugby School,
three names stand out from the rest into eminence
Henry Holyoake, Thomas James, and Thomas Arnold.
These we may call, in a phrase which has become
common of late years, the Makers of Rugby. Other
men have taken their impress from Rugby, and have
carried on more or less successfully what they found
there; but these three were creative, and left a per-
manent mark on the School. Of the first it is tanta-
lising to know that we know so little. He was clearly
a strong man, a sound scholar, and a good organiser,
and it was probably but the poverty of the school en-
dowments which stood in the way of his raising Rugby
to the first rank. As it was, he did raise Rugby to a
position of high credit and repute, and received the
highest marks of respect from the Board of Trustees.
Thomas James has hitherto hardly had justice done
him. He came to Rugby at a crisis in its fortunes,
when the sudden increase in the value of the endow-
ments gave almost unlimited scope to an able man ; and
he showed himself fully equal to the occasion. He intro-
348
A LAST LOOK BACKWARD 349
cluced a new and carefully devised course of studies, in
no way behind the best scholarship of the day, and
in some respects an advance on that of other schools.
He drew up wise rules for the division of time and for
the internal government of the School, which in the
main are still observed. He showed himself capable of
dealing with boys in a spirit of firmness and justice,
yet not without a great deal more personal friendship
and kindliness than was usual in his time. A genera-
tion later, Thomas Arnold quickened this perfected
organism with a new life, and to a large extent realised
his "ideal of Christian education." His spirit fired a
band of fellow-workers and pupils, who in their turn
went forth into many other schools, carrying with them
what they had learnt at Rugby. It is not suggested
that the improvement in the tone of English public
schools was wholly due to Arnold. Other influences
were already working in the same direction ; but Arnold
was the first to put floating ideas into practice, and his
example both helped and encouraged those who came
after him. Here it is that Rugby comes into contact
with the educational life of England. The grain of
mustard-seed has grown into one of the greatest of
trees, which has scattered its seeds far and wide over
the face of the earth.
Yet it is only in a limited sense that even these men,
or any men, can be said to be makers of a school. There
are forces in the school independent of them, which they
would have been powerless to create as -to destroy. To
350 RUGBY SCHOOL
direct, to restrain, to urge onward these forces so much is
possible ; but no more. It is these forces which find vent
in the customs and institutions of a school, which give
it a character of its own, and make it appear almost as a
being endowed with the breath of life. The same charac-
teristics which English men show in life are seen here in
English boys ; but because they work from within out-
wards, the forms they take on them are not the same as
are seen elsewhere. Vigour of body and mind, a desire
to excel, a love of fair play and order, public spirit, show
themselves here as elsewhere, but run on lines of their
own. So long as these remain, the school lives ; more
actively, perhaps, at one time than another, and unable
ever to dispense with a guiding hand, but moving of its
own life, and not like a piece of clockwork. When these
depart, then comes death ; and a body of tame and spirit-
less boys, could such be found in England, not even
an Arnold could galvanise into a semblance of life. To
these internal forces the readers attention has been directed
in this book, so far as it was possible to trace them. In
the earlier portion of the history little is known of them,
and that chiefly by inference from the after careers of
Rugbeians. They were there, however, ready to show
themselves at a call, whenever the man came who knew
the magical word. When the barrier of poverty was re-
moved, it took but one generation for Rugby to grow
from a small and obscure school to be one of the chief
schools in England.
APPENDIX
AUTHORITIES FOR THE HISTORY OF RUGBY
SCHOOL AND OTHER DOCUMENTS CON-
NECTED THEREWITH
DOCUMENTS RELATING TO LAURENCE
SHERIFFE
1. The Will, Codicil, and Intent.
2. Extracts from the Records of the Worshipful Company of
Grocers, and of Lincoln's Inn.
3. Particulars of Grants [Brownsover, &c.].
I. THE WILL OF LAURENCE SHERIFFE.
[From the Official Copy at Somerset House, Sloane, fol. 27.]
" In the name of God Amen The tow and twentie Daie of Julie
Anno Dni one thousand ffy ve hundred Three score and Seaven I Laurence
Shiriff Citizen and grocer of London beinge sicke of Bodie but of good
and pgrfitt remembrance thanked bee god therefore do make and
ordeyne this my last Will and Testament in manner and forme follow-
ing That is to saye fyrst and principally I commende my soule into
the handes of Jhesus Christe my onlie saviour and Redemer by the
merytes of whose bytter deathe and precious blud sheddinge I have
sure hope and stedfastlie beleve to be savid and my bodye to the
yerthe wherof itt was fyrst formed the whiche I will shalbe decently
buried within the parishe churche of St Androwes in Rugbie but the
f uneralls to bee fyrst done in the Citie of London whereat I will have
a lerned man to preach the word of god and all other thinges mete to
be donne and after that my body to be caried decently to Rugby and
ther buried nere the bodies of my father and mother and that therbe
after a fayre stone layed vppon my grave with a title theron declaringe
the daie of my decease and so forth as my Executors and Overseers
shall thinke good Item I give and bequethe to the parishe churche of
St Androwes in the said Toune of Rugbie in the Countie of Warwicke
the sume of fyve poundes to be bestowed ther in and vppon tLe
makinge of certaine newe pewes or setes in the said Churche and that
353
354 APPENDIX I
vppon the Doeres or Endes of the same Pewes or seates the grocers
armes of London shalbe carvid with alsoe the letters of L and S
adioyninge there vnto Item I will that the Dale of my buriall in
Kugby aforesaid there be geven and Dystributed to the poore peopell
that shall repayre thether the Sume of tenne poundes that is to saie to
everye poore man and woman ffowre pence and to Everie poore Child
tow pence Item I will that after all my debtes bee payed and the
chardge of my funeralls borne that Elizabeth my welbelovid Wyfe
shall have for her resonabell parte accordinge to the custome of the
Citie of London one halfe of the Residewe of all and singuler my
goodes and Chattelles Whatsoever Item I gyve and beqvethe to be
bestowed as herafter insuethe in the said Toune and parish of Kugbie
aforesaid the Sunm of ffyve poundes whereof I will that three pounds
bee ymployed vppon the reparacions of the markett crosse there and
that ther be a vaine sett vppon the toppe therof wherin shalbe the
armes of the grocers of London and the said lettered of L S and the
other fortie shillings I will shalbe bestowed in the amendinge of Over
bridge and Rugbye bridge to either of them twentie shillings* all which
said severall Somes and Legacies I will shalbe paid unto my brother in
Lawe John Howkins and to tow other honeste men of good consciences
inhabitinge wi^in the said towne of Rugbye to be imployed and
bestowed as is before expressed presentlie vppon the recepte of the
said money or within tow monethes after at the furthest Item I
gyve and bequethe to Agnes Mabbe my Syster late the wyfe of
John Mabbe of Lecester widowe the Some of iij u vj 8 viijd and to her
tow sonnes my Cosenes to eyther of them fortie shillings to make
eche of them a Rynge whervppon there shalbe sett a picture of Deathe
in a windinge sheet to be delivered them withein one monethe after
my decease Item I gyve vnto Alice Howkins now my servante and
daughter of Brigitt Howkins my syster twentie Poundes and to Barbara
Howkins now my Servant Also and daughter of the said Brigitt How-
kins my syster of Rugbie aforesaid tenne Poundes to be payd to them
at their severall dayes of their marriages or within one monethe after
att the furthest Item I gyve unto Helen and Sara Howkins the tow
other daughters of my said syster Howkins to eyther of them three
poundes vj 8 viij d to bee payed to them within one monethe next after
my decease Item I gyve and bequethe towardes the relife of the poore
in Christa Hospitall in the Citie of London the Summ of Syxe poundes
xiij 8 iiij' 1 to be payed to them within one monethe att the furthest next
after my decease Item I gyve and bequethe towardes the relief of the
poore in the Hospitall of St Thomas Southeworke and St Bartholo-
mewes in Srnythefelde to eyther of them three pounds vj 8 viij d to be
APPENDIX I
lykewise paid vnto them within one monethe after my decease att the
furthest Item I give to the Maister Wardens and Companye of the
grocers of London the Sume of Thirten poundes syxe shillinges viij d of
whiche Some I will that syxe poundes xiij 8 iiij d be bestowed vppon
a recreation to the Company vppon the day of my buriall and that the
other syxe poundes xiij 8 iiij d may be imployed vppon decent hanginges
or else Pewter Vessells flfor the vse of the Howse wherevppon I will
that my marke shalbe sett or graven Item I gyve and bequethe vnto
the two Children of Margarett Hallam of Leicester the Wyfe of
Hallam to either of them tenne shillinges Item I gyve and
bequethe to Elizabethe Honnylove my Servaunte fortie shillings
Item I gyve and bequethe to Will m Stevenson my prentise fortie
shillinges and a blacke goune and to Raffe Gyttens my prentise a
blacke goune and to Mary my maide fortie shillinges and a blacke
goune and to Roger Deale my Servant a blacke goune and fortie
shillinges to amende his wages witheall Item wheras I the said
Laurence Shiriffe stand bounde to paye to the vse of Gabriell Argall
sonne of Master Thomas Argall the Sume of lawfull
money of England my will is that the said Somme of
be well and trulie payed accordinge to the forme and Effecte of the
said bounde And further I will gyve and bequethe to the said
Gabriell the Some of twentie poundes of Lawfull Englishe moneye to
be payed to him withein the space of next after my decease
Item I will that withein convenyent tyme after my decease there
shalbe paied and dely vered unto George Harrison of London Gentelman
and Barnard ffeilde of London grocer my deare frendes fiftie poundes
towardes the buildinge of a schole house and Almes bowse in Rugbye
aforesaid accordinge to the tenor of a certaine writinge bearinge date
the day of the date hereof conteyninge myne intente in that behalfe
And Wheras I the said Laurence Shiriffe by Indenture bearinge date
the daye of the date hereof have bargayned and sold to the said
George Harrison and Barnard ffeild all and singuler my landes tene-
ments and hereditaments in the Countie of Warwicke vppon suche
truste and to suche good purposes as by the wrightinge aforesaid
conteyninge myne intent towchinge the Scholehouse and Almeshouse
aforesaid doth appere Now for as muche as I do thinke that the said
Landes Tenements and Hereditaments so bargained and sould will not
be sufficient to the purposes aforesaid I will give and bequeth to the
said George Harrison and Barnard ffelde the somes of one hundrethe
poundes of Lawfull Englishe money to purchase therewith somwie other
Landes as shall at the least be of the clere yerelie value of fortie fyve
Shillinges of Lawfull Englishe money the same landes so to be pur-
356 APPENDIX I
chased to be vsed conveyed and assured to the purposes and intentes
expressed in the said writinge conteynenge myne intente aforesaid
Provided alwayes that yf the said Elizabeth my wyfe do within con-
venyente tyme after my decease release to the said George Harrison
and Barnard ffelde and theire heires or to the survivor of them and
his heires all her dowrie and title of Dower of and in the premises so
as is afforesaid barganed and sold and alsoe doe convey and assure or
cause to be conveyed and assured to the said George Harrison and
Barnard ffelde and their heires for ever to thentent aforesaid Lands
Tenements and hereditaments of the said clere yerely value of fortie
fyve shillinges that then the said Legacie of one hundrethe pounds
shalbe utterly voyed and of none effecte Anye thinge herein conteyned
to the contrayry therof in any wyse notwithstandinge Item I gyve
and bequethe to the said Elizabethe my wyfe my graye ambling nagge
my cheyne of gould weying xx ei ounces and my goulde Ringe withe
the picture of Deathe vppon it the whiche I hade at the deathe of my
Lovinge ffrend Master Argall And furthermore I do ordeyne and make
the said Elizabethe my wyffe the sole Executrixe of this my last will
and testament and doo make my Brother in Lawe John Howkins one
of the Overseers of the same and gyvinge to my said Brother for his
paynes to be takin herin the Somme of ffortie poundes ffor the whiche
he shall not onlie helpe and ayde my said wyfe as muche as in him
lyethe but also the said George Harrison and Barnard ffelde specially
concerninge the Buildinge of the Schole and other thinges by them to
be donne at Rugby Alsoe I doo ordeyne and make my said loving
ffriend Barnard ffeild of London grocer to be the other Overseere of
this my last will and Testament desiringe him and my said ffrende
Maister George Harrison that they will doo as muche as in them dothe
lye to se all the Contents comprised in the writynge before specified
concerninge the schole and other thinges at Rugby afforesaid to be
performed accordinge to my will and desire even as I have nowe and
alwayes have had my speciall trust in them The residewe of all and
singuler my debtes goodes and Chattels not otherwyse by this my last
will gyven nor bequethed I whollie gyve and bequethe to the said
Elizabethe my wyffe in Concideracion that she shall release all her
dower and title of dower as is afforesaid This is the last will and
Testament of me Laurence Shiriffe Citizen and grocer of London
towching and Concerning all mesuages Landes Tenements and heredita-
ments wherof I shall be seised of anye Estate of inheritance at the
time of my decease in possession revercton or remaynder ffyrst Whereas
I have barganed and solde to the said George Harrison and Barnard
ffelde all and singuler my Messages Landes tenements and heredita-
APPENDIX I 357
mentes in the .said Countie of Warwicke I doo by this my last will
and Testament will gyve and bequethe the same to the said George
Harrison and Barnard ffeilde and ther heires for ever to the vse of
them and ther heirs vppon such trust notwithstandinge as in the saide
writinge is declared Item I will that the said Elizabethe my wyffe
shall have for terme of her naturall lyffe all and singuler other my
Landes Tenements and hereditaments beiuge ffreholde sett and beinge
in the Countie of Middlesex or ells where within the Eealme of England
and after her decease I will and bequethe one full third part thereof
the whole being devided into thre paries vnto the said Brigett Howkins
my syster for terme of her lyffe and after her decease I will the
said third parte remayne to the said Ellen Sara Barbara and Ales
Daughteres of the said Brigett Howkins and to the heires of ther
bodies Lawfully Begotten and yf it fortune all and every of the said
Ellen Sara Barbara and Alles to dye without yssue of there and every
of ther Bodies Lawfully begotten Then I will the said third parte be
and remayne to the ryght heires of the said Brigett Howkins for ever
Item I will and bequethe to Anthonye Howkins Son of the said Brigett
and to the heires of his Bodie Lawfully begotten one other third parte
of the said Landcs Tenewentes and hereditamentes And ffor defalte of
suche issue I will the said third parte to remaywe to Thomas Howkins
brother of the said Anthony Howkins and to the heires of his bodie
Lawf ullie begotten And for defalt of suche yssue I will the said third
parte to remayne to the said Ellyn Sara Barbara and Ales his Sisters
and to the heires of their bodyes lawfully begotten and yf it fortune
all and everie the said Ellen Sara Barbara and Alice to dye without
yssue of ther and everie of ther bodies Lawfully begotten Then I will
the remaynder therof to the right heires of the said Brigett Howkins
ffor ever Item I will gyve and bequethe to the said Thomas Howkins
and to the heires of his bodie Lawfulye begotten the other third parte
of the said Landes tenements and hereditaments And for defalte of
suche issue I will the same third parte to be and remayne to the said
Anthonye and to the heires of his bodie Lawfully begotten And for
defalte of such yssue I will the same third parte remayne to the said
Ellyn Sara Barbara and Ales his systers and to the heires of ther bodies
Lawfully begotten And yf it fortune all and every the said Ellen
Sara Barbara and Alice to dye without yssue of ther and every of ther
bodyes Lawfully begotten Then I will the remaynder therof to the
ryght heires of the said Brigett Howkins ffor ever In witnes wherof
I the said Laurence Shiriffe have hervnto sett my hand and Scale The
daye and yere ffirst above written in the presence of those whose names
be vnder written Laurence Shiriffe Grocer (per me) Georgium Harrison
358 APPENDIX I
(per me) Anthony Gregory (per me) William Hewes (per me) Barnard
ffylde (per me) Robert Payne."
" This Codicyll or writinge, dated in Rugby in the Countie of War-
wicke the last daye of August Anno a Thousand fyve hundreth threscore
and Seaven withe all thinges therin conteyned is to be added unto the
last will and Testament of me Laurence Shiriffe Citizen and grocer of
London wherebye also I doo revoke divers Legacies conteyned in the
said last will dated at London the xxij Day of Julye in the said yere
as followeth ffyrst whereas in the said last will and testament I the
said Laurence did gyve and bequethe to George Harrison of London
gentelman and vnto Barnard ffelde Grocer of London the some of one
hundrethe poundes to suche intent as by the same Will is declared
And also did give and bequethe vnto my Syster Bridgett Howkins of
Rugby after the decease of Elizabethe my wyffe one whole thirde parte
of all those my frehold landes and tenements* in the Countie of
Middlesex to her for terme of her lyffe onlie and after to her iiij
Daughters Ellen Sara Barbara and Ales as by the said will more at
large dothe appere the said severall Legacies of the said hundred
poundes and the said one whole third parte of the said landes I do by
thes presentes utterKe revoke and make frustrate and by thes presentes
I do will gyve and bequethe all the said one whole third parte of the
said landes and tenements vnto the said George and Barnard to the vse
of the said George and Barnard and to their heires Executory and
Assignes for ever vppon suche trust and confidence and to the intente
as I have donne my parsonage of Brounes over and my house in Rugbye
aforesaid and not other wyse in any wyse Item I gyve and bequethe
vnto the said Brigett my Syster a blacke goune and iij u vj 8 viij d in
money Item wheras alsoe I have in the former parte of my said Will
gyven and bequethed to John Howkins of Rugbie the some of fortie
poundes I do revoke therof xiij 11 vj 8 viij d and so his Legacie to be but
xxvj u xiij 8 iiij d and a blacke cote Item I gyve to the said George
Harrison and to his wyfe to eyther of them a ringe of fyne gould and
to mystres Gregori the wyffe of Anthony Gregori one ringe of fyne
gould Laurence Shireffe grocer By me Barnard ffeild By me John
Howkins By me Anthony Howkins By me Ralph Gyttens."
["Proved at London 23rd Octr. 1567 before Walter Haddon
Doctor of Laws by the Oaths of George Harrison and
Elizabeth Laurence the wife the Ex'ors."]
Copy Signed by Simon Rolleston, Registrar.
[Prerogative Court of Canterbury.]
APPENDIX I 359
THE INTENTE OF LAURENCE SHERRIFFE.
[From an ancient copy on vellum among the Trust Papers. Parts
in brackets have been restored from a paper copy, No. 2a.]
" To all Christian people to whom this present writinge shall Come
to bee scene hard or read Lawrence Sherriffe Citizen and Grocer of
London George Harrison of London Gent, and Bernard ffeild Citizen
and Grocer of London send Greeteinge in Our Lord God Everlastinge
Whereas the said Lawrence Sherriffe by Indenture beareinge date the
day of the date hereof for the Consideracion therein mencioned Hath
Bargained and Solde to the saide George and Bernard and their Heires
for ever All that his personage of Brownesover in the County of War-
wicke with all the rightes members and appurtenances of the same and
all and singuler other the Messuages Landes Tenements and heredita-
ments of the said Lawrence sett lyinge or beinge in Rugby in the said
County of Warrmcfc and in Brownesover aforesaid or in either of them
or elsewhere in the said Countye of Warwick as by the saide Indenture
more playnlye and att large it doth and may appeare The Confidence
Trust and Intent of the said Lawrence Sherriffe Neverthelesse is and
att the makeinge of the said Indenture was that the saide George and
Bernard and their heires should have vse and ymploy Convey and
assure the same to such vses and in such man[ner] and forme as is
hereafter declared and to none other vse intent and purpose That is
to say the said George and Bernard or the suruiuor of them or theire
heires or assignes should with Convenient speede after the decease of
the saide Lawrence with the profittes of the premises and with such
other sommes of Money as the said Lawrence should therefore giue or
appoynt by his Last will and Testament Cause to bee Builded neare
to the Messuage or Mansyon howse of the said Lawrence in Rugby
aforesaide a fayre and Convenyent Schoole-howse in such sort as to
theire discretions shalbee thought meete and Convenyent And should
alsoe provide or build neare to the said Schoolehowse foure meete and
distinct Lodgeings for foure poore men to bee and abyde in accordinge
to their good discretions And should alsoe well and sufficiently repayre
the saide Messuage or Mansyon Howse which thinges being effectually
done The will and the intent of the said Lawrence was and is that the
said George and Barnard or theire heires or assignes or some of them
should Cause an honest discreete and Learned man beinge a Master
of Artes to bee Reteyned to teach a free Grammar Schoole in the said
Schoolehouse And further that after that for ever there should bee
360 APPENDIX I
a free Grammar Schoole kept within the said Schoole house to serve
Chiefly for the Children of Kugby and Brownesover aforesaid and next
for such as bee of other places therevnto adjoyneing And that for
ever an honest discreete Learned man should be Chosen and appointed
to teach Grammar ffreely in the same Schoole and the same man (yf it
may conveniently bee) to bee euer a M r of Aries And further the will
and intent of the said Lawrence was and is the same Schoole shalbee
for ever Called the ffree Schoole of Laurence Sherriffe of London
Grocer And that the Schoolemaster thereof for the tyme beinge for
ever shalbee termed or Called the Schoolemaster of Lawrence Sherriffe
of London Grocer And that the Schoolemaster and his successors for
euer shal haue the said Mansyon howse with thappurtenances to dwell
in without any thinge to be paide therefore And further that the
Schoolmaster of the said Schoole for euer should haue yearely for his
Sallary or wages the Some of Twelve poundes and over this the will
and Intent of the said Lawrence was and is that for ever in the said
foure Lodgeinges foure poore men should freely haue theire Lodgeinges
and should alsoe each of them haue towardes theire Releife Seaven
[pence] by the week to bee weekely paid at Rugby aforesaid And that
of the said foure poore men [two] should euer bee such as had beene
Inhabitantes of Rugby aforesaid and [none other] and the other Twoe
such as had beene Inhabitantes of Brownesouer aforesaid and none
others And alsoe that the said foure poore men should bee for ever
called the Almesmen of Lawrence Sherriffe of London Grocer And
further the will and intent of the said Laurence was and is that the
Mansyon Howse Schoolehouse and other Lodgeinges should be suffi-
ciently Repayred and mayntayned for euer All which the premisses
the saide Lawrence Sherriffe willed and Intended to bee borne paide
and performed of the Rentes and profittes of the premisses soe as is
aforesaid bargained and solde And over this his will and desire was
and ys that John Howkins of Rngby aforesaid and Bridgett his wife
Sister of the said Laurence during theire lives should bee the ffarmers
of the said Parsonage and other the premisses in Brounesover aforesaid
for the yearely Rent of Sixteene poundes Thirteene shillinges foure
pence to bee by them therefore paide soe that the saide John and
Bridgett doe well and substantially dureing theire lives repayre the
Buildinges thereof and well and truely pay the saide Rent and that
after their decease before any other some such person as shalbee of the
body of the said John Howkins and Bridgett his wife lawfully begotten
or Issuinge and shall Inhabitt in Rugby or Brownsouer aforesaid should
bee ffarmer of the saide Personage for the said yearely Rent of Sixteene
poundes Thirteene shillings and fourepence yf such bee that will truelv
APPENDIX I 361
pay the saide Kent without delay and well and sufficiently repayre the
Buildinge of the premisses in Brownesouer aforesaid And whereas the
said Lawrence Sherriffe Intendeth by Gods Grace in his life tyme to
erect and Build the Buildinge and Schoolehouse aforesaid and to make
or procure some good and substantiall devyse whereby his good Intent
aforesaid may haue Contynuance for euer And the said Schoole there
to be established to Contynue for euer Yf it please God to graunt him
life to performe the same yet neuertheless the desyre confydence and
Trust of the said Laurence Sherriffe is that in default thereof the said
George Harrifson] and Barnard ffeild will of the Rentes Revenues and
somes of money afo[re]said in all respecter substantially truly and
effectually accomplish the sa[me] in such wayes as by the lawes of this
Realme may most assuredly bee devysed and Convey and assure the
Landes tenements Hereditaments and oth[er] the premisses to that only
Intent and purpose In Wittnes whereof the s[aid] Lawrence Sherriffe
George Harrison and Bernard ffeild haue there vnto sett theire scales
the xxij th day of July in the x th Yeare of the Raigne of our most excel-
lent Sovereign Ladye Queene Elizabeth Anno Domini 1567.
" The true Coppye of the Intent of Lawrence Sherriffe Con-
cerninge the Parsonage of Brownesouer which Intent
was Sealed Subscribed and delivered by Lawrence
Sherriffe George Harrison and Barnard ffeild as by the
same Intent appeareth Coppyed the 20th of December
1580 E. Harrison."
II. EXTRACTS FROM GROCERS' COMPANY'S
RECORDS.
LAWRENS SHRIFFB.
Freedom. Late Apprentice of William Walcott )
Received and sworn 2 day of February 1541 \ ' '
Lirery. Lawrens Sheriff elected on to the Livery
1554 paying f 20 /'
Court. Court meeting 1st August 1562.
At this Court Laurence Sheryff was sworne into the Assistance of
this Companie and placed accordinge to his Ancyentrie.
Warden. Court held 5 July 1566.
Mr. Lawrence Sheriff chosen second Warden.
362 APPENDIX I
The following entries appear in the Wardens' Account Book for
1567 :
Receyved of Mrs Elizabeth Sherif widow for so much her late
husband Mr Laurence Sherif deceased bequeathed to make a dynner
for the lyvrey of this Company the day of his buriall . 6 : 13 : 4
Paid to Henry Cloker and John Gardener Stewards for provyding
the dynner for the lyvrey of this Company the same day Mr Lawrence
Sherif was buried 6 : 13 : 4
BARNERDE FEYLDE.
Extract from Wardens' Account Book 22nd May 1S42 to 28th May
1543.
Bernard Ffdde.
Apprentice of Lawrens Shriffe R. and sworne the first day of
February ij 8 vj d
The list of admittances to Freemen from July 1550 to May 1551
are missing.
In the list of Freemen paying Bretherede money 25th May 1551 to
20 Juyne 1552
Extract. Barnerde Feylde pays ij 8 .
Extract.
At a Courte of Assistents holden the 9th daye of Maye 1567.
Also where there was 16 persons at the last courte apointed to
enter into the lyvrey and clothing of this Companie It ys now agreed
that there shalbe 17 taken yn and placed as followeyth :-
Bernard Felde placed 7th.
Wardens' Account Book 10th July 1581 to 9 July 1582. Bretherede
money.
Bar nerd Feeld ij 8 .
This is the last time his name appears. For Barnard Field see #lso
State Papers, Domestic, Elizabeth (vol. xliv. No. 63 ; cvii. No. 73 ;
cxx. No. 6).
THE RECORDS OF LINCOLN'S INN (VOL. III.).
The Black Books.
Page 348. Accounts of Ralph Scroope, Esquire, Treasurer, 6 and
7 Eliz. 1564/5. Receipts. 3. 6s. 8d. from Mr. Lawrence Sheriff
Tenant of a tenement within the gate called Newgate, and commonly
APPENDIX I 363
known as ' ' The King's Grocer's House " (lately left by the will of Roger
Cholmley, alias Cholmondeley Knight, late Chief Justice of the King's
Bench, to William Cordell Knight, Master of the Kolls in the Chancery
of England and others to the uses in the said will declared), being half
a year's rent due at Michaelmas last.
Page 358. Accounts of John Salren, Esquire, the Treasurer, 8 and
9 Elizabeth, 1566/7. Receipts. 6. 13s. 4d. from Elizabeth Sheriff,
widow, for the rent of the King's Grocer's House in Newgate. [From
the Meteor, Nov. 1897, p. 122.]
TABLES.
I
Lawrence Agnes = John Mabbe Bridget John Howkins.
Sheriffe. of _ |
Leicester. ~ | ,|||
Ellen.
Anthony, Thomas.
j | b. about 1532. Sara.
Son. Son. Barbara.
Alice.
Elias Tho
(eldest). (sec(
William. Alice. J<
nas
md).
>hn.
John, Wii:
6. 1579,
d. 1678.
Mary.
Barnard Field, d. probably 1583.
Elizabeth=John Dakyn
(not before 1583).
Barnard.
(1) John Vincent = Rose . . .=(2) Roger Wood.
d. 1602. I
Philadelphia. Anne, d.s.p.
(Young infants in 1602).
364 APPENDIX I
III. PARTICULARS FOR GRANTS.
4 ELIZ. [1501].
[Wrongly catalogued under She.]
Application of Lawrence Sheriffe and Thomas Rove, signed by
Thomas Reve, with a flourish between the two names which resembles
the " letters of L. and S."
[The actual grant is enrolled in Patent Rolls, 4 Eliz. Part I. : Law-
rence Shryve and Thomas Reve. I have not fully collated this, but
have satisfied myself that the places named are substantially the same.]
Application to purchase
Farm in Frythe (Staff.), late of the Monastery of Delacres.
Farms in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Shebridge, and Whitman (Staff.),
late of the Priory of Trentham.
Farm of the moiety of the Rectory of Willoughton (Lines.), late
of Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England.
Farm of the Rectory of Garnethorp (Lines.), late of Monastery of
Alvingham.
Farms in Garnethorp, late of Monastery of Nun-Ormesby and Priory
of Alvingham.
Farm in Assheby-Magna (Leic.), late of Priory of Catesby.
Farms in Letherhedd (Surr.), late of John Leighe.
Farm of lands called Hobbalds in the parishes of Moredon, Maldon,
and Marton (Surr.), late of Priory of the House of Christ of Bethlehem
in Shene (Surr.).
Farms in Acaster (York), late of the Priory of St. Andrew (York).
Rents in Fletchampsted (War.), late of Monastery of Stoneley (War.)
Farm in Sellinge (Kent), late of the Hospital of St. Mary, Dover.
Farm in Cassall (Notts), late of the Abbey of Dale, Derby.
Farm of tenements in Penllin (Flint.), late of Monastery of Basing-
work (Flint.)
Tenths in Brownesover (War.), late of the Monastery of De Pratis
(Leic.).
II
DOCUMENTS IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT
OF THE RECORD OFFICE
A. Chancery Proceedings, Elizabeth, Gg. 13, No. 7.
B. Chancery Petty Bag, Charitable Uses, Warwickshire.
Description. Reference.
1. Inquisition of 1602 (printed below), with Decree, Bundle 1, No. 28
[The Decree is in a bad condition, but there is an
incomplete copy at Rugby. See below.]
2. 1614 [Mr. Rolfe, Master] 6 1
3. Inquisition of 1653 , 21 ,, 20
[Very full. See a Brief of this under III. below.]
4. Depositions, 1654 ,, 6 4
5. Same 16
Exceptions, Answers, and Replications :
4. John Harrington's Answer, 1613 .... Part I. 154
5. William Howkins, Exceptions, 1652 . . . . , IX. 28
6. John Howkins, Exceptions, 1652 . . . . , IX. 29
7. Answers to John Howkins , IX. 34
8. Answers to William Howkins , IX. 35
9. Replications to Answers to William Howkins . . , IX. 41
10. Replications to Answers to John Howkins . . , IX. 42
Inrolments :
14. Inrolments, Part XIV., 19th July, 18 Car. [1642].
XIV., 26th Nov., 19 Car. [1643].
C. Chancery Bills and Answers :
1. James I., D, 13.15.
2. Charles I., R. 45.62 (see below).
A. CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
ELIZABETH, Gg. 13, No. 7.
To Sir Thos. Bromley, Kt., Lord Chancellor. Petition of 'Nicholas
Greenhill of Kookebie in the County of Warr., Scholemaster of the
free grammer schole there,' against John Emersion, 'whose syster one
Elizabeth fytzherbert widdowe your suppliante had married,' for 40.
[Damaged.]
365
366 APPENDIX II
B._ INQUISITION OF 1602.
CHANCERY PETTY^BAG, CHABITABLB USES, Bk. I. No. 28.
[Abbreviations of the text enclosed in square brackets. Restored
letters have a question mark appended. I have copied the important
parts of this document myself ; the remainder was done by a copyist.]
An Inquisition taken at Rugby [Sep. 30. 44 Eliz.] Before Zachary
Babington Doctor of Lawe Chancellor to the Bishoppe of the dyocesse
of Coventry and Lychfield, William ffieldinge, William Combes
Edward Stapleton Esquires Roger Barker and Danyell Nayler Maisters
of Arts and preachers of the word by vertewe of her Majesties commis-
sion under the great scale of England out of her highnes Court of
Chancery before the takeing of this Inquisition to them and others
directed for the due execution of [the Act for Charitable Uses, Oct. 27,
43 Eliz.] by the oathes of Willm. Dilkes of Clyfton gent. James Wil-
lington of Brownesouer gent. John Towers of Thurleston gent. George
Boddington of Harborough gent. Richard Baylyes of Hylmoreton
Henry Perkins of the same Richard Smyth of the same Edward
Bromych of the same Marmaduke ff[eilding ?] of Tof te Richard Youle
of Dunichurch John ffaux of Bylton John Nicholls of the same Robert
Chiles of Harborough Richard Rose of Clifford .... Clerke of Longe
Lawford John Pynchbacke of Clyfton and Henry Bennett of Thurleston
lawfull men of the com. aforesaid who say upon their oathes That
Lawrence Sheriffe late citizen and grocer of London deceased was in
his liefe tyme lawfullie seised in his demesne as of ffee of and in the
Rectory parsonage and church of Brownesouer appropryate in the
com. of Warwicke with all the rights members and appurtenances
thereof And of and in diuers lands tenements tythes and heredyta-
ments in Brownesouer aforesaid parcell of and belonging to the said
Rectory parsonage and Church of Brownesouer and of and in one
messuage w tl > the appurtenances in Rugby aforesaid w ch was the
mancion howse of the said Lawrence Sheriffe whiles he liued. And
he being thereof seized did by his deede Indented beareing date the
two and twentith daie of Julie in the Nynth yeare of the Raigne
of our said soveraigne Lady Queene Elizabeth and in her Majesties
said Court of Chancery within Sixe monthes next after the daie
of the date thereof acknowledged and enrolled and there of record
amongest the Rolles of the same Court remayneinge made betweene
him the said Lawrence Sheriffe on the one parte and George
Harrison of London aforesaid gent, and Bernard ffeild citizen and
APPENDIX II 367
grocer of London aforesaid both deceassed on the other part for
and in consideration of the sum of one hundred pounds of good
and lawfull money of England to him the said Lawrence Sheriffe
paid by the said George Harryson and Bernard ffeild did graunt bar-
gaine and sell unto the said George Harryson and Bernard ffeild and
to their heires for euer the said Rectory parsonage and Church of
Brownesouer w th all the Right Members and appurtenances thereof And
the said messuage lands tenements and heredytaments in Brownesouer
and Rugby aforesaid ... To the vse of them and of their heirs and
assigns for euer and under this proviesoe in the same deede indented
conteigned neuertheles That if the said Lawrence Sheriffe did att any
time duringe his naturall liefe pay to the said George Harryson and Ber-
nard ffield or to eyther of them or to the executors or administrators of
eyther of them or to any other person or persons To the vse of the said
George and Bernard or either of them the some of ffyve shillinges of
good and lawfull money of England for the Redemption of the pre-
misses and did testyfie or declare the said payment by wryteinge
subscribed w th the proper hand of the said Lawrence Sheriffe or
sealed with his scale That then the said bargaine and sale should be
voide and of none effect And that then and from thenceforth ytt should
be lawfull to the said Lawrence Sheriffe and his heires into the said
bargained premisses to Reenter and them to haue again As in his
former estate. And further the said jurors do say vpon their oathes
aforesaid That the said George and Bernard by force of the aforesaid
bargaine and sale in and by the said deede Indented and the said
Inrollment thereof And of the statute made in the Parlyment holden
at Westminster in the Com. of Midd. [Feb. 4, 27 Hen. VIII.] for trans-
f erringe of vses into possession were of the premisses lawfully seized
in their demesne as of ffee And that ther soe beinge thereof seized
after the sealinge and deliueringe and acknowledginge of the said
deed of bargaine and sale and the Inrollment thereof as ys aforesaid
The said Lawrence Sheriffe George Harryson and Bernard ffeild by
their deed under their hands and seales bearinge even date w th the
said deede of bargaine and sale recyteinge the said bargaine and sale
and the deede thereof made did declare. That the confidence trust
and Intent, etc. [Recites the Will and Intent.] And moreover the
jurors aforesaid doe saie vpon their oathes that the said Lawrence
was also in his liefe time lawfullie seized in his desmesne as of fee
amongst other thinges of and in one Close of meadow or pasture
grounde commonlie called or knowen by the name of the Cunduite
Close or Cunduite ffeild in the parish of St. Andrewes in Holburne in
the Com. of Midds. Whereof one third part was late in the tenure of
368 APPENDIX II
one Robert Carre deceassed for and vnder the yearlie Rent of eight
poundes and now or late in the tenure of one John Vincent or of his
assignes. And that hee soe beinge thereof seised did make his last
will and testament in writeinge bearinge date the said two and
twentieth daie of Julie And therebie amongst other thinges did will
that within, convenient time after his decease there should be paid
and delivered to the said George Harrison & Bernard ffeild ffiftie
poundes towardes the buildinge of a Schoole howse and Almes howse
in Rugbie aforesaid accordinge to the tenure of the writeinge bearinge
even date w th the said will conteigninge his intent in that behalfe as
ys aforesaid And therebie recyted etc. [Recites the Codicil.] And the
jurors aforesaid doe further saie vpon ther oathes that [before ?] the
buildinge or providinge of the said schoole howse or any lodginges for
the said poore or any of them the said Lawrence Sheriffe before the
three and twentith daie of October next ensewing the daye of y e date
of the Codicill aforesaid died of the said Close called the Couduite
Close seized of such estate as ys aforesaid. And that after his decease
the said George Harrisone and Bernard ffeild beinge by vertewe of the
demise aforesaid seized in their demesne as of ffee of and in the said
third parte of the said Close and of all other the premisses in Brown-
souer and Rugbie aforesaid seized as ys aforesaid In parte of the
performance of the intente aforesaid they the said George and Ber-
nard by their severall deedes Indented bearinge date the ffoure and
twentith daie of Januarie in the one and twentith yeare of the Raigne
of our said soueraigne Ladie Queene Elizabeth did demise unto Anthonie
Howkins eldest sonne of the said John Howkins and of the said
Bridgett his wiefe Sister of the said Lawrence Sheriffe and to John
Howkins deceassed, sonne of the said Anthonie both of them inhabit-
inge in Brownesouer aforesaid and the said Anthonie euer since and
yett inhabitinge in and upon the said parsonage howse there All
the said rectorie and parsonage of Brownesouer w th the appurten-
ances sett lieinge and beinge in Brownesouer aforesaid in the Com. of
Warwicke Together w th other landes tenementes edifices buildinges
and hereditamentes whatsoeuer to the said rectorie or parsonage
belonginge or in anie wise appurteigninge or reputed and taken as
parte parcell or member thereof for and duringe the terme of fiftie
yeares from the daie of the death of the said John Howkins ffather of
the said Anthonie and of the said Bridgett his wiefe and of the survivor
of them yf they the said Anthonie and John his sonne or either of
them should soe longe Hue (w ch John and Bridgett then held the same
by a lease of the same date to them made by the said Harrison and
flield for fortie yeares if they the said John or Bridgett should so long
APPENDIX II 369
Hue w ch leases were for by and vndcr the yearlie Rent of sixteene
poundes thirteene shillinges and ffoure pence of lawfull monie of
England to be paid at the ffoure vsuall ffeastes of the Annunciation
of the blessed Virgin Marie, the natiuitie of St John the baptist
St Michaell the Archangell and the birth of our lord God by equall
portions w ch by and under one Provisoe in the said demise conteigned
That yf yt should fortune the said yearlie Rent of Sixteene poundes
Thirteene shillinges and ffoure pence or anie parte or parcell thereof
to be behinde or vnpaide by the space of one moneth after anie of the
said seuerall ffeastes and daies att the w ch the same were limitted by
the said demise to be paid dureinge the tearme of fiftie yeares beinge
lawf ullie asked) or yf the reparations afterwardes in the said demise
and also in this inquisition mentioned to be made and done in and
upon the said Rcctorie or parsonage and other premisses in Browne-
souer aforesaid should not be made and done accordinge to the true
intent and meaninge of the said demise within the space of eight
monethes next after warneinge should be giuen unto the said Anthonie
Howkins and John his sonne or one of them or their assignes by the
said George Harrison and Bernard ffield or one of them their heires or
assignes for the doeinge and makeinge thereof That then ytt should and
might be lawfull to and for the said George Harrison and Bernard ffeild
their heires and assignees into the said Rectorie or parsonage and other
the premisses with the appurtenances in Brownesouer aforesaid whollie
to Reenter and the same to haue againe retaine and repossess as in their
former state And the said Anthonie Howkins and John his sonne
therefrom vtterlie to expell amoue and putt out anie thinge in the said
demises to the Contraie notwitfAstandinge And moreouer ytt is coue-
nanted concluded condescended and agreed by and betweene the said
parties to the said demise That the said Anthonie Howkins and John his
sonne their executors and assignes should from time to time as often as
neede should require duringe the said tearme The aforesaid Rectorie
and parsonage edifices buildinges and other premisses in Brownesouer
aforesaid with their appurtenances well and sufficiently repaire sus-
teigne and mainteigne and [vntil ?] the end of the said tearme should
leaue sufficientlie repaired and amended and also that all the lessees
of the premisses in Brownesouer aforesaid w ch from the time should
be should dwell and inhabite in Rugbie or Brownesouer aforesaid.
And that the same lessees should not alienate or sett ouer anie parte
of their interestes of and in the premisses or anie parte thereof aboue
one or two yeares att the most w ch yf they should not obserue or doe
the contrarie that then and from thenceforth their estates and inter-
estes of and in the premisses should cease and be vtterlie voide for
370 APPENDIX II
euer Anie thinge in the said demise to the contrarie notw th standinge
As by the deeds of demise thereof made by the said George and
Bernard shewed forth in evidence vpon the takeinge of this Inquisicon
may more att large appeare. And the said jurors doe further saye vppon
their oathes aforesaid that after the decease of the said Lawrence
Sheriffe neyther the said George Harrisone nor Bernard ffeilde nor anie
other for them did builde anie lodginges for the said ffonre Almes men
but did place in some parte of the Mancion howse in Kugbie aforesaid
wherein the said Lawrence Sheriffe did inhabite ffoure poore men
whereof two were of Kugbie aforesaid and the other two of Brownes-
ouer aforesaid. And afterwardes about seaven yeares after the death
of the said Lawrence Sheriffe the buildinge of a schoole howse on
the back side of the said Mansion Howse was finished w th the Rent of
the parsonage aforesaid vpon parte of the grounde w ch belonge to the
same howse and that Seventeene poundes of the said rent ouer and
aboue soe much as builded the schoole howse was deliuered vnto the
said Bernard ffeild but neither the said seaventeene poundes nor the
said fiftie poundes were ymploied accordinge to the intent aforesaid
to the knowledge of the juror aforesaid. And about that time the said
Bernard ffeilde surviveinge the said George Harrison nominated and
appointed one Edward Roleston a M r of Aites to be Schoolemaster att
Rugbie aforesaid and to teach in the said Schoole howse accordinge to
the intent of the said Lawrence Sheriffe and allowed to him for his
dwellinge in Rugbie all the said Mansion howse but that parte w h was
assigned and allotted for the lodgings of the said ffoure poore men.
And whereas the dores of the said lodgeings for the said poore men
did then open inwards to the Mansion howse they were then turned
and made to open outwardes on the East side of the said Mansion
Howse and Chimneys and partitions were also builded and made in the
said poore mens lodginges soe as euerie of them haue a chimney and
two Roomes thone over thother w ch lodgeinges for the said poore
men hath ben soe vsed quetlie by them w th out interruption by the said
Edward Rolleston whilst he was schoolmaster and dwellinge in the
Mansion Howse aforesaid and also whilest Richard Scale was Schoole-
master att Rugbie aforesaid and dwelt in the said Mansion Howse who
was placed there by the appointment of the said Bernard ffeilde next
after the said Edward Rolleston. And afterwards the said Richard
Seale beinge remoued by the said Bernard ffeilde about the ffeast of
[Michaelmas, 1581, 23 Eliz.J did nominate and appointe one Nicholas
Greenhill to be schoolemaster at Rugbie aforesaid of the schoole afore-
said and placed him in the Mansion Howse to dwell therein as others
had done before And the said Bernard ffield further appointed that
APPENDIX II 371
after three yeares tryall of the said Nicholas Greenhill in that place
that hee the said Nicholas should be and continewe there duringe his
liefe yf there should be noe just cause given by the said Nicholas
Greenhill to the contrarie. And was contented and appointed to be
allowed vnto the said Nicholas Greenehill for his salarie ffoure poundes
by the yeare to be yearlie paid him out of the said third parte of the
said Close called Conduite Close ouer and aboue the said some of
Twelve poundes payable for his sallarie out of the parsonage of
Brownesouer aforesaid the rent of which said third parte of the said
close called Conduit ffeilde was then by reservation vpon a demise
thereof made by the said Bernard ffeild to one Kobert Carre by Inden-
ture bearinge date [April 20, 23 Eliz.] for eight and ffortie yeares from
the Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Marie then next insewinge was
eight poundes by the yeare whereof the said ffoure poundes by the
Yeare was paid to the said Nicholas Greenehill since he was schoole -
master as is aforesaid vntill about three yeares and a halfe last past and
foure and thirtie shillinges and eight pence yearlie to the said ffoure
poore men to make them full payment of the said Seaven pence apeice
a weeke appointed vnto them as ys aforesaid vntill ffiue yeares last
past ended att MichaeZmas last past and the residue of the said eight
poundes by the yeare to witt ffive and ffortie shillinges and ffourpence
hath not ben yearlie paid or allowed towards the repaire of the said
schoole howse mansion howse or Almes howse or anie other the intents
aforesaid which said schoolehowse the said jurors saye ys nowe in good
repaire but the said ffoure lodgeinges for the said poore men the said
jurors saye doe wante repaire in the walls thereof. And furthermore
the jurors aforesaid saie vpon their oathes aforesaid That the said John
Howkins the ffather and Bridgett his wiefe afterwardes att Brownes-
ouer aforesaid died after whose decease the said Anthonie Howkins the
said John his sonne beinge then deade by vertewe of the said demise
to them soe made entred into the said Rectorie and parsonage and was
and yett ys thereof possessed for all the Residue of the said tearme of
ffiftie yeares yett to come yf hee the said Anthonie shall soe long liue
And that the saide some of sixteene poundes thirteene shillinges and
ffour pence hath ben ever since the erectinge of the said Schoole howse
trulie paid accordinge to the intent aforesaid. That is to say Twelve
poundes thereof yearlie, vnto such as haue ben Schoolemasters in the
Schoole of Rugbie aforesaid and ffoure poundes sixe shillinges eight
pence more of the said Rent yearlie by ffive pence a weeke vnto such
as have ben the ffoure poore Almes men aforesaid and the sixe shil-
linges eight pence residewe hath ben also paid to the said schoole-
master towardes the repaire of the aforesaid dwellinge bowses of the
372 APPENDIX II
said Schoolemasters the schoole howse and Almes bowses. And the
said jurors doe also saye vpon their oathes aforesaid That euer since
the decease of the said Lawrence Sheriffe the said parsonage of
Brownesouer hath ben mainteyned susteigned and kept in good and
sufficient repaire But the jurors aforesaid say vpon their oathes That
since the decease of the said Lawrence Sheriffe and since the demise
aforesaid made to the said Anthonie and John Howkins the said
George Harrisone dyed And that the said Bernard ffeild him ouerlived
by force whereof the said parsonage and premisses in Brownesouer and
Rugbie aforesaid and the said third parte of the said close aforesaid
beinge accrewed vnto the said Bernard ffeild and hee helde himselfe in
them by Right of Survivor and was thereof seized in his demesne as
of ffee to such trust as ys aforesaid And soe beinge thereof seized died
of such estate thereof seized By and after whose decease the same
descended vnto Elizabeth ffeild daughter and sole heire of the said
Bernard By force whereof she was thereof seized in her demesne as
of fee to such trust as ys aforesaid And soe beinge thereof seised
tooke to husband one John Dakyn By force whereof the said John and
Elizabeth were thereof seized as in the right of the said Elizabeth in
their demesne as of ffee to such trust as ys aforesaid. And they soe
being thereof seized the said Elizabeth died of such estate of the pre-
misses seised By force whereof the premisses discended and came
to Bernard Dakyn sonne and heire of the said Elizabeth By force
whereof hee was thereof seized in his demesne as of fee to such trust
as ys aforesaid. And the jurors aforesaid saye vpon their oathes that
the said Bernard Dakyn hath by his deede Indented bearinge date the
ffoure and twentith daie of November in the two and ffortith yeare of
the Raigne of o r soveraigne Ladie Queene Elizabeth made betweene
him the said Bernard Dakyn on the one parte And John Vincent of
Kentyshe Towne in the said Com. of Middlesex gent, on the other
parte And in her Majesties Court of Chancerie of Record within sixe
monethes next after the said daie of the date thereof for and in con-
sideration of the some of sixe score poundes of lawf ull monie of England
to him the said Bernard Dakin in hand paid by the said John Vincent
bargained and solde vnto the said John Vincent and his heirs and
assignes for euer And that the said John Vincent before and att the
time of his bargaine and agreement for the purchase of the said third
parte of the said Close of the said Bernard had notice and knowledge
of the trust aforesaid concerninge the same and ys sithens deceassed
haveinge yssewe Philadelphia and Anne his two sole daughters and
heires. And further the jurors say that albeit that longe before the
sale made to the said John Vincent that the aforesaid Bernard ffeild e
APPENDIX II 373
by his said deede bearinge date the Twentith daie of April in the three
and twentith yeare of our said soveraigne Ladie Queene Elizabeth did
demise the said third parte of the said close aforesaid vnto one Robert
Carre for the tearme of eight and ffortie yeares from the Annunciacon
of the blessed Virgin Marie then next ensewinge for the yearlie Rent
of eight poundes Yett nevertheless the said third parte of the said
Close is yearlie worth Twentie poundes by the yeare att the least. In
wytnes whereof as well wee the said Zachary Babington William
ffeildinge William Combes Edward Stapleton Roger Barker and Danyell
Nayler as also the said jurors have herevnto putt our hands and scales
the daie and yeare first aboue written.
C. CHANCERY BILLS AND ANSWERS.
CHARLES I., R. 45. 62 [Nov. 1632].
Summary. Anthony Howkins, Rector of the Impropriatc Parsonage
of Brownsover, aged 100 years or thereabouts. Elizabeth, by letters
patent dated Mar. 7, 5 Eliz. [1562/3] for 2243. lid. 3d., granted to
Lawrence Sheriffe and Thomas Reve, amongst other things, " all her
tithes of corn, grain, and hay yearly growing, renewing, and increasing
within the fields and hamlets of Br. aforesaid," "and also one messuage
and one yard land with the appurtenances in Brownsover lately
belonging to the monastery of Leicester."
This the two grantees held together until the decease of Reve,
when L. S. " was seised of it alone." [The Trust to Field and Harrison
recited.]
"About whicA tyme the said Lawrence Sherriffe purchased divers
messuages in Rugby aforesaid and with great costes and expence* of
money pulled downe the same houses being ruynous And new builded
a faire Dwelling Howse for the Schoolemaster of the said Schoole for
the time being and a large howse for a Schoole there, and foure meete
and convenient Almes houses for the said foure Almesmen." Sheriffe
died ; this good intent was carried out, and John and Bridgett Howkins
held Brownsover, with the stated rent-charge duly paid, and their son
after them, until about 1612, when Edward Boughton wanted to
enclose the common fields, surveyed the glebe lands, &c., plaintiff being
then near eighty years old. He wished to wait until his son should come
from London, but B. persuaded him it was needless [detailed account
of the transaction, with names], and gave his wife 5 and many good
words for him to sign a document. [The rest as described in text.]
374 APPENDIX II
D. PETITION OF 1581 [WRONGLY CATALOGUED AS OF 1580],
RECORD OFFICE: STATE PAPERS, DOMESTIC.
ELIZ., vol. 146, No. 65.
" Articles objected before the Lordes and the reste of Her Ma/cties
moste honorable Privy Counsell againste Edwarde Boughton, of Caw-
ston, in the Countie of Waxrwick, Esquire.
" 1. Imprimis : He is a boulsterer and maynetainer of evell menn
and of evell causes in the cuntrie wheare he dwellethe namelie of
Nicholas Greenhell, and others.
" 2. Item : He is a favorer of notorious papistes, and he is ioyned
in league with them, and namelie with one Barnarde Ffielde.
"3. Item: He is a packer of Juryes, to the pervertinge of Justice
and equitie ; namelie, aboute the billes of Indictmente against the
Bishop of Coventry and Lichefidd, and his officers.
"4. He is a greate practizer of Indictmentes againste his poore
neighboures, and presumethe to put in and oute of the billes of indict-
mente whome he will him selfe to serve his owne turne, contrarie to
the lawe and order.
" 5. Item : He is an oppressor of his owne neighboures, and by
tyranny and power makethe them to stoupe vnto him in all purposes,
and if theie will not, troublethe them to theire vndoinges, as of late by
indictinge at Warrw'cfc, and fetchinge vpp to the Starr Chamber, or
otherwise vexinge and molestinge and hundred weomen and childrenn,
or theare aboute, in the parishe of Rugby, withoute anie iuste cause at
all, but of meere malice, for that he dothe not favour him in placinge
a notorious [here is set down a foul word] to be scoolemaster theare.
* ' 9. Item : He him selfe, with divers others in his companie, riot-
ouslye and contrary to iustice, hathe made a forcible entrie into the scoole
of Rugby, in the Countie of Waxrwick, and from thence hathe removed
with stronge hande and displaced one Richarde Seele, being quietlie
possessed of the same for the space of eighteene monethes before.
"15. Item: He hath made suche a sturr of late in the countrie
where he dwellethe, amongste his poore neighboures by vexinge them
at sessions, assises, and in the starr chamber, that if the Bishop had
not appeased theire rage, and diswaded them to the contrarie, theare
had come up multitudes of his oppression and crueltie.
"16. Item: He is ann obstinate Puritan; dispisethe the order of
the booke established by acte of parliamente, settethe up and main-
tainethe newe service, newe fastes, and suche other like singuler
divises, or favoreth the same, to the greate disturbance of that parte
of the diocese wheare he dwellethe, and the quiet gouermente of the
clergie theare."
Ill
DOCUMENTS PRESERVED AT RUGBY
A, Trustees' Books of Accounts and Orders, from 1667.
B. Rugby School Register, from 1675.
C. Trust Papers, of which the following are chief :
Without number
(a) Certificated Copy, on vellum, of Lawrence Sheriffe's Will, Codicil,
and Intent, written in 1580. [The originals seem to have
perished. Howkins is stated in T.P., No. 68, to have destroyed
some documents ; perhaps these were among them.]
(6) Original Will of Anthony Howkins.
(c) Certified Copy of John Allen's appointment.
(d) Brief, stating case for the Inquisition of 1653. [There are several
copies of this document, one of which was printed in Bloxam's
Rugby, pp. 26-28, but so incorrectly that it is here given
again.]
(e) Abstract of Decrees relating to the School.
Numbered
1. Copy of Indenture : Purchase of Conduit Close (24 acres) for 320,
by L. S. and Elizabeth his wife, from John Streete of Holborn,
Nov. 18, 2 Eliz.
2. Copy of L. S.'s Will, on paper, attested by Simon Rolleston (from
Somerset House, Sloane, fol. 27).
2a. Copy of L. S.'s Intent, on paper, "true copy," but not signed.
Note at foot "This originall is likely to be kept in some
chest."
19, &c. Rugby School Case [many copies, varying in particulars].
51a. Appointment of Peter Whitehead.
72. Mrs. Pearce's Petition.
79. Decree of 1602 (incomplete).
80, &c. Exceptions, Answers, &c. (1653).
85, 86, 87, lOOrt, &c. Depositions (1653).
138, with 93, 94, 95. Briefs.
Vouchers, Bills, Receipts, &c.
List of Old Deeds relating to the School, from 1750 onwards.
375
376 APPENDIX III
A. EXTRACTS FROM THE TRUSTEES' BOOKS OF
ORDERS AND ACCOUNTS, 1667-1850.
May 3, 1670.
Itt is ordered that Knightley Harrison Master of Arts be admitted
Schoolemaster Provided the said Mr Harrison give security by him-
selfe and other responsible persons in 500" for surrendring the said
Schoole at three moneths warneing by the major parte of the ffeoffees
and to observe such orders as the said ffeoffees or the major part of
them shall make from time to time.
Nov. 4, 1673.
Ordered that the orders subscribed by the ffeoffees be set up in the
Schoole to be observed by all parties concerned.
Aug. 4, 1674.
Ordered that 9 s 1* ob. apiece be deducted out of each Almesmans
pay for his quarter's salary being forfeited by each of the Almsmen
for their neglect in observing the order of resorting to the Schoole to
heare prayers.
March 2, 1674/5.
The last meeteing adjourned till this day and Robert Ashbridge
Mr of Arts admitted Schoolemaster to enter upon the imployment
from Munday after Easter weeke and in the meane time Mr Harrison
to remove himselfe and his family (yf it may be conveniently) or as
soone after as possibly may be.
20 May 1676.
Paid to Mr Ashbridge by the hands of Mr Bromwich in pte of the
moneys in banke towards the building of the chambers over the Schoole
by the appoyntmenf of the ffeoffees 08 00 00
Nov. 7, 1676.
Whereas the second of May last there was thirtene pounds seaven
shillings in banke whereof eight pounds is already paid to Mr Ash-
bridge It is ordered that fowre pounds more be paid to him for the
further reimbursing him the charge of the chambers newly erected
over the Schoole, which is this day paid by Mr Bromwich accord-
ingly 04 00 00
2 Aug. 1681.
Memorandum That M r Leonard Jeacocke Mr of Arts is by the consent
of the ffeoffees admitted Schoolemaster in the stead of Mr Ashbridge
whensoever Mr Ashbridge shall leave the place.
APPENDIX III 377
Feb. 7. 1687/8.
Wee whose names are hereunto subscribed ffeoffees of the ffree
Schoole and Almeshouses of Rugby in the County of Warwick Doe
hereby elect nominate & appoint Mr Henry Holyoake Master of Arts
to be Schoolemaster of Rugby ffree Schoole aforesaid in the place of
Mr Leonard Jeacocke late Schoolemaster deceased.
Leigh. J. Bridgeman. Basil ffeilding. Tho: Clerke.
Tim: St Nicholas. Oliver Cave. ff. Burdon.
May 1, 1694.
Whereas there remaines in Banke untill and at this day the sumwe
of Fourty five pounds Six shillings and noe more It is ordered that thirty
two shillings eight pence be paid and is now paid accordingly to Mr
Edmd. Bromwich for charges of serving and copying the Injuncion
about Conduit feild upon the Brickmakers and that there be paid and
is now paid to Richard Pindar thirty one pounds fifteene shillings to
George Cotton the Mason Eight pounds four shillings to W m Sherman
the Glazier two pounds Eight shillings and for boord one pound to
W m Strong Eight pounds tenne shillings which worke was all im-
ployed about makeing new chambers over the Schoole soe that there
is paid more then in banke eight pounds three shillings eight pence
Which Mr Bromwich haveing laid downe It is ordered the same is to
be paid him out of the ensueing rents.
7 Aug. 1705.
Mr Holyoake the Schoolemaster haveing this day applyed to vs to
give our consent that he may take the Presentation to the Rectory of
Bilton now vacant and hold the same with the Schoole of Rugby
contrary to an order made for the better Governement of the Schoole
And promising to kepe a Curate who shall take care of his schollars
when he officiates there in Person In consideracion whereof [is alsoe ?]
That Bilton is very nere to Rugby And as a Testimony of our Par-
ticuler Esteme for Mr Holyoake and of our approveing his Labours
whereby he hath deserved very well of vs in Recovering the Creditt &
reputation of the Schoole which Circumstances may [probably ?] never
recur in another Schoolemaster and therefore the Schoole not being
like to suffer by the President Wee doe by virtue of the Power Reserved
to us to alter the orders att this time dispense with the aforesaid order
and allow Mr Holyoake's takeing the presentation to the said Rectory
aiid his holding the same with the Schoole.
378 APPENDIX III
6 May 1707.
George Webb haveing been absent two mornings & ffive eveneings
from prayers this last Quarter is ffined ffour pence halfpenny according
to the Orders And is admonished to observe the orders better and
lodge in his lodgeing for the ffuture on paine of Expulsion.
3 Aug. 1712.
Mr Holioake, the Schoole master, representing to the ffeoffees at
this their Quarterly meeting that Mr Blake (who married his Sister)
Late Incumbent of the parish church of Harborow near this place had
in his Lifetime been at Great Expenses in repairing and rebuilding the
Chancell and Parsonage house there and had sustained great Losses
by the failing of a Tenant that rented his Tithes, and that S r W m Bough-
ton patron of that Church in Compassion and Charity to Mr Blakes
Widdow and Child, And in Confidence of his affection and kindness to
them had presented him to the said Church now vacant & he humbly
prayed the Consent of the ffeoffees for his takeing vpon him that Cure.
Whereupon the ffeoffees considering the order of this Schoole against
the Schoolemaster takeing vpon him any Cure of souls, or other Im-
ploymentf that may hinder his due attending and diligently executing
his duty in the School, and the particular circumstances of this Case,
and being assured by the Schoolmaster that he Intends noe advantage
to himself e, and that he will constantly keep a Curate to supply the said
Cure They conceive the Intention of this order, which was to prevent
a neglect of the Schoole will not be disappointed by their giveing such
Consent And therefore by virtue of the power reserved to them to
Expound and alter the orders of this School, They doe allow the School-
master to proceed and take Institution and Induction to the Church of
Harborow, If he can obtain the same. And this they have directed to
be entred that noe 111 Use may be hereafter made of this precedent,
and of their Indulgence in this Charitable Case. (9 signatures.)
2 Aug. 1726.
To Widow Watts her Bill for Bricks 01 14
To Thos: Harrall his Bill for building a Mudd Wall etc . 06 15 6
To W Baxter his Bill for picking Lathe etc. . . . 00 06 00
To W m Ladbrooke his Bill for mending the Pump in the
Garden etc 00 05 00
To W m Sherman his Bill for Glass etc 00 03 2
To Bradley Carpenter his Bill 01 08 4
APPENDIX III 379
To Thomas Harroll his Bill for repairs at the Schoole and \
Schoole House & building the Brick Wall where the V 28 1 4
Swan Stood and Carrying of the Bricks . . . )
To Walker Smith his Bill 00 2 2
[i.e., they spent on building and repairs, 38, 15s. 6d.]
4 May 1731.
Joseph Hodgkinson for attending the School since the death of
Mr Holyoake 05
3 Aug. 1731.
Joseph Hodgkinson for attending the School . . . 10
Wee whose names are hereunto subscribed ffeoffees of the ffree
School of Eugby in the County of Warwick doe hereby elect nominate
and appointe John Plomer Master of Arts to be Schoolmaster of Rugby
ffree School aforesaid in the place of Mr Henry Holyoake deceased
Provided the said Mr Plomer give Security by himselfe and other
responsable persons in 500" before the next quarters meeting of the
ffeoffees for surrendering the said School at three moneths warning
given to him by the the [sic] Major part of the ffeoffees and to observe
such orders as the said ffeoffees or the Major part of them shall make
from time to time and in Consideration that he was educated at the said
School and for Severall years been Usher there and behaved himself
so well We therefore dispense with the Order mentioned in the School
Orders for takeing vpon him the Cure of souls and that he may be at
liberty to take and hold one Ecclesiasticall benefice and no more he
keeping a Curate constantly to officiate there to prevent his neglect
of the School.
We order that a Catalogue be made of the Study of books which
M r Holyoake the late School Master gave by his will for the benefitt
of Rugby School and that M r Towers and M r Plomer examine the same
and that they Choose a fitt place for a Library to Sett up the same in
and that they Call in all books that were lent out by Mr Holyoake.
We whose names are hereunto subscribed Trustees for the said
Free Grammar School do elect nominate & appoint Thomas Crossfield
Master of Arts to be Schoolmaster of the said School in the room of
the above named John Plomer.
It is this day resolved that the surplus money (which for some
years past hath been divided quarterly between the Master and Alms-
men) be for the future reserved in the hands of the Steward as formerly
it hath been & that it be applyed as the Trustees from time to time
APPENDIX III
shall think proper for the repairs & improvement of the premises
belonging to the School.
May 4, 1742.
I John Plomer Schoolmaster of the Free Grammar School of Law-
rence Sherriff in Rugby in the County of Warwick do hereby surrender
& resign the said School into the hands of the Trustees for the said
School To which the said Trustees have consented & have accepted
the same accordingly. [Signed] John Plomer.
[Autograph.]
30 Sep. 1751.
I William Knail Clerk Schoolmaster of the ffree Grammar School
of Lawrence Sherriff in Rugby in the County of Warwick do hereby
surrender and resign the said School into the hands of the Trustees for
the said School to which the said Trustees have consented and have
accepted the same accordingly, William Knail.
In pursuance of an Adjournment made by us the sixth day of
August last for the electing a Schoolmaster in the room of Mr. William
Knail who has this day resigned We do elect nominate & appoint the
Rev<i Joseph Richmond Master of Arts to be Schoolmaster in the room
of the said Mr. Knail.
Aug. 5, 1755.
[Resignation of Joseph Richmond, with autograph.]
It is ordered that it be referred to S r Tho 8 Cave Bar* to revise the
orders for the better regulating the School and to examin the books
& to make a Catalogue thereof.
We do also nominate and appoint the Rev d Stanley Burrough Clerk
Master of Arts to be Schoolmaster of the ffree Grammar School in
Rugby in the room of the late Mr. Richmond.
Aug. 5, 1766.
The Incumbent of the parish Church of Rugby having consented to
a Gallery being erected in the Chancel of the said Church for the use
of the School pursuant to the plan produced It is ordered that applica-
tion be made to the Patron of the said Church for his consent thereto
And that on the Patron's testifying his consent the said Gallery be
accordingly erected at the expense of the Trust for Rugby School And
that the expense of new pewing the seats in the body of the said Church
which shall be allotted to the Charity Estate be paid by the said Trust
And that twenty one shillings a year be paid to the Incumbent for the
time being (as agreed) for the space taken up by the said Gallery.
APPENDIX III 381
Aug. 4, 17G7.
Paid Kich (l Over a Carpenter's Bill repairing the Roof of
Eugby Chancel that the Gallery might be erected . 577
Paid M r John Wagstaff erecting the Gallery according to
his estimate 49 17
May 3, 1768.
Paid d for turning two Arches over Graves in Rugby
Church for supporting the Columns of the School
Gallery ... 10 3
Paid James Wright a Mason's Bill for the School Chimney
& Carriage 15
4 Aug. 1778.
[Stanley Burrough's resignation, signed. ]
We the Major part of the Trustees of the said School do elect
nominate and appoint the Reverend Thomas James Clerk Master of
Arts to be Schoolmaster of the said School in the room of the said
Stanley Burrough And We do order that so soon as the Trust Estate
will answer it there be paid to the said Thomas James the annual sum
of Fifty pounds over and above the annual sum of sixty three pounds
six shillings and eight pence heretofore paid to the Master of the said
School and that he shall enjoy the School Closes rent free from this
time And that the rent thereof from Lady Day be given up to the
two Masters. And we do also elect nominate and appoint the Reverend
James Chartres an Usher in the said School And we do direct that
there be paid to him out of the said Trust Estate the annual sum of
Eighty pounds.
June 27, 1794.
The Reverend Doctor James having by Letter signified his intention
of Resigning the place of Head Master of Rugby School on the 29th of
September next ensuing the Trustees do accept the same, tho' with the
greatest regret; and they should think themselves wanting in their
duty if they did not take this opportunity of expressing their satisfac-
tion in the Conduct of Dr. James, to whose abilities & attention they
acknowledge the present flourishing state of the School to be owing.
A Letter from Dr. James containing the most important informa-
tion relative to the management of the School, as well as the most
undoubted proof of the strict attention he has given to all even the
most minute affairs under his Charge, having been laid before the
Trustees ; They are of opinion that this valuable Collection should be
382 APPENDIX III
deposited among the Records of this Charity, for the inspection and
instruction of all future Trustees.
Aug. 1, 1797.
The Trustees at the same time thought it right to declare to the
Assistants that They have always considered the Appointment and the
dismissal of any of the Assistants as virtually residing in the Head
Master, whom they hold to be immediately responsible to Them for
the General good Government of the School ; and they are decidedly
of Opinion that it ought so to continue.
Sep. 10, 1827.
[Wooll resigns.]
Rugby Charity founded by Lawrence Sheriff.
At a special meeting of the Trustees of the said Charity held by
adjournment this 10 th day of December 1827 for the purpose of electing
a Head Master they do appoint the Rev' 1 Thomas Arnold A.M. to be
Schoolmaster of the said School from July next in the room of the
Rev d D r Wooll who has resigned.
June 15, 1842.
The Head-mastership having become vacant by the death of
D r Arnold, the Trustees desire to express their sense of the great loss
which the School has sustained in the death of a Master who has
raised it's character to the highest pitch. Ordered that the School
Chapel be hung with black on the day of D r Arnold's funeral.
July 8, 1842.
[A. C. Tait elected.]
C. (d) BREVIATE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS RESPECTING THE
ENDOWMENT OF THE RUGBY SCHOOL CHARITY.
For the Respondent.
Ed : Bromwich
William Howkins \ in the place of
and > Exceptants. Ed : Harrison,
John Howkins ) prosecutor,
deceased.
Respondent.
5 Aprill 1653 Inquisition That by Inquisition, at Rugby, it ap-
peared : That Lawrence Sheriffe deceased being seized in ffee of the
APPENDIX III 383
Rectory of Brownsover, and a Messuage cum pertmentibus at Rugby
Com. Warr. and of a close of pasture ground called Conduit Close in
Grayes Inne ffeilds Com. Middx. containeing about 24 Acres
Dat. 22 July. 9 Eliz. By deed enrolled conveyed the said Rectory,
and all other his Lands Com. Warr. to Geo. Harrison and Bernard ffield
and their heirs who by another Deed (same date) declared the Trust
and Intent thereof to the uses hereafter, vizt.,
That they and their heires should speedily after Lawrences death
(with the profitts and such other moneys as Lawrence should by his
will give for that purpose) Build near Lawrences Mansion house in
Rugby a School house And an Almeshouse for 4 poor Men and should
repaire the Mansion house which being done, the Will and Intent of
Lawrence was
That the said Trustees and their heirs should cause a discreet Learned
man (being a Master of Arts) to be School Master there And the same
after that to be a ffree Schoole for Ever, and to Serve Cheifly for the
Children of Rugby and Brownsover and next for such as be of other
places thereto adjoyneing And the School Master (if Conveniently it
might) be for ever a Master of Arts And
That the School Master and his Successors should have the Mansion
house to Live in Gratis, and his sallary to be 12 U per Ann. and the 4
Almesmen to have each 7d. per week besides their Lodgeings whereof
2 to be of Rugby and the other of Brownsover
And the said Mansion house Schoole and Almeshouses, should be
Repaired for ever out of the profitts of the said bargained premisses
And That John and Bridgett Howkins (Lawrences sister) should be
Tennants to the said Rectory dureing their Lives, at 16 U 13 s 4 d per Ann.
they keeping the premisses in repair And after their decease before
any other some person being of their Issue and that should Inhabite
in Rugby or Brownsover should be ffarmers of the said Rectory at the
same rent and repairing the premisses ut supra And
That Lawrence, by a Codicill (20 Oct. 9 Eliz :) annexed to his will,
bequeathed to the said Trustees and their heirs the 3d part of All his
Lands in Middx upon the same Trust he had done the same Rectory and
not otherwise and shortly after dyed And the said Trustees entered
and became seized of the 3d part of Conduit Close in Trust ut supra,
to them and their heirs. And
That the said 3 d part of Conduit Close descended to and become
vested in Bernard Dakin who by Deed (Dat. 24 Nov. 42 l Eliz :) Con-
veyed the same to John Vincent and his heires But Vincent before such
I MS. "22."
384 APPENDIX III
Conveyance had full and apparent notice of the said Trust yet never-
theless by vertue of the said Deed entered and tooke the proffitts to his
owne use till the l Bt of Sept. 44 Eliz : when he dyed leaveing Rose his
wife (to whom by will he devised the said 3 d part) and Philadelphia
and Anne his Daughters and heirs And
That Rose entered and took the proffitts And the Reversion de-
scended to the Daughters and Anne dyed without Issue The Moyety
descended to Philadelphia her sister and heir
And it farther Appeared by the said Inquisition and otherwise
That by a decree in the Inquisition mentioned, for as much as
Bernard Dakin Conveyed the said 3d part to Vincent And that Vincent
had full notice of the Disposition thereof to Charitable uses The said
3d part by that Decree was vested in S r ffrancis Leigh &c. and their
heires in trust to the uses appointed by the ffounder And
That shortly after the Decree one Henry Clerke (4 May 13 Jac :)
had a lease of the 3d part from the Trustees at 10 U per Annum rent and
afterwards assigned his Interest to Rose Wood, who offering to Attorn
Tennant to the Trustees and Release all farther Claime thereto other
then what she had by the Lease It was by her and the School Master
of Rugbys Consent Ordered by this Court That Rose should enjoy the
Lease only and Convey her other Estate to the Trustees
And afterwards (17 June 7 Car.), by Agreement between Rose and
the Succeeding School Master It was by Consent Ordered by this Court
That Rose should hold out Clerk's Lease she paying 5 U per Annum
Increase of Rent to the use of the School Master and Almesmen But
it appeared not that there was ever any Conveyance made to the
Trustees of the Lands in Brownsover or 3 d part of Conduit Close.
That the said Trustees (1 May 8 Car. 1st) demised the said 3d part
to one Pitts for 31 years at 20 n per Annum rent to Comence after
Clerks Lease But no ffyne was given And
That John Howkins by vertue of Mean Assignement hath for 11
years past and still doth receive the profitts of Conduit Close under
Clerks Lease and hath not dureing that tyme paid any part of the 5 U
increase of rent But for about 4 or 5 years together deducted seve-
rall sumes out of the said 10 U per Annum reserved on Clerks Lease for
pretended damage sustained by Breast works at London drawn thro' the
said Close and for Taxes out of the said Rent
That the Lease of Clerk is almost Expired and Pitts Lease for 31
years is Assigned over to one Blunt who holds the said 3 d part under
John Howkins and payes him 25 U per Annum Rent and hath soe done
for 11 years past
That Anthony Howkins being possessed of the Rectory of Browns-
APPENDIX III 385
over about the time of the Inclosure there by Deed of ffeoffment (about
41 years since. Dat. 7 Dec. 10 Jac.) Conveyed to Edward Broughton
Esq. deceased and his heires All the Glebe Lands (save 4 peices of
meadow) belonging to the Rectory And all Tythes within the Lord-
shipp of Brownsover at the rent of 28" 17 s 6<i per Annum And Edward
Boughton in consideration thereof by Deed of ffeoffment Conveyed to
Anthony and his heires All those Lands Meadow and pasture Esteemed
to be one yard land as then Measured Containeing about 32 Acres and
an halfe And Anthony accordingly entered and enjoyed the same and
received 28 U 17 s 6 (l dureing his Life And after his decease Elias How-
kins entered and enjoyed the same for 13 years ending about 4 years
since yet neither they nor Elias Ever had any Lease or Grant thereof
from the 12 Trustees But have claimed the Inheritance And that
there was onely the Rent of 16 : 13 : 4d. : to Issue thereout.
That Jane and Wm. Howkins upon Williams Marriage have made a
Joynture to his wife of part of the Lands in Brownsover and Executed
the Deed by Livery and Seizin and Wm : ever since hath been in pos-
session by vertue of that Deed and Received the profitts which for
above 30 years have been worth 56 U per Annum And are of far Greater
value than before the Inclosure the Rectory being before not worth
above 32 U 17 a 6 a per Annum And since the Rents and Lands granted in
Lieu thereof are worth 56 U per Annum.
That Raphael Pierce being before Elected by the surviveing ffeoffees
was Confirmed to be School Master of Rugby and taught there till his
death (about May 1651) But Elias Jane and William Howkins paid
not the 12u per Annum Sallary But detained II 11 17 s 5 a thereof for Taxes
and quarters whereby he was much dampnified, and Wm : Howkins
hath not paid him, his Relict nor the Succeeding School Master 3 U for
a quarter's Sallary due at Midsumer 1651
That there is due and in Arrears to Mr. Whitehead the present
School Master, and to the Almes Men out of Conduit Close 26 U 5 s
That Elias Howkins refused to pay Butler an Almesman put in by
the Trustees his wages And did violently and of his own Accord dis-
place him and kept his Lodgeing for 3 years and then put in another
of his owne Chooseing
That the Almes Mens Sallary for these 20 years have not been paid
according to the flounder's Intent But Elias Jane and Wm : have paid
them more or less as they pleased
That the Mansion house Schoole and Almeshouses are so ruined
thai, (notwithstanding 4 U 7 B 6 d disbursed thereabout by the prosecutor
a year agoe) they will take at least 63 U 10 s to be put in Repair
That for as much as the said Trustees save S r Tho : Leigh are dead
386 APPENDIX III
and by reason thereof much neglect in performeing the Trust, to the
prejudice of the Charitable use
Decree dated 16 May 1653.
Therefore it is Decreed that the Inheritance of the 3 d part of Conduit
close and the Parsonage house lands and premisses in Brownsover be
henceforth vested in Basil ffeilding Thomas Boughton Tho : Temple
St John Cave Esqre. and others and their heirs To the uses and Trusts
by the ffounder appointed and by the Inquisition annexed found and
when any 3 Trustees dye the Survivors to Elect 3 more in their
Stead And that John 'Howkins (who enjoyed Conduit Close) shall by
Michaelmas next pay the present ffeoffees 73 U 15" in respect of the
Arrears of the 5 U per Annum rent thereof and the same to be laid out
by the ffeoffees as hereafter Expressed And ffor as much as Elias Jane
and Win : Howkins have enjoyed Brownsover as in their owne Eight
and have lately made a Joynture to Wms : Wife p?-out Inquisition ut
Supra whereby the Charitable Gift if not timely prevented will be
destroyed Decreed
That the said Wm and Mary his wife be forthwith outed of the
possession thereof and that all Deeds and Conveyances thereof
made by Jane Wm or Elias Howkins be void And that Jane who
was Administratrix to Elias (if she have Assetts) shall by Michaelmas
next pay 51 1 11 6 s 8 d for profitts received by Elias in his Lifetyme And
she and Wm. by Michaelmas next pay the said ffeoffees 157 11 6 s 8 d in
respect of the profitts of Brownsover by them received since Elias's
death more then they or Elias have disbursed towards the Chari-
table use
And the Trustees to Meet and visit the Schoole and Almeshouses
4 tymes a year That is to say the 1st Tuesday in ffeb: the 1st Tuesday
in May the 1st Tuesday in Augwst and the 1st Tuesday in November and
after they have received the said severall sumes they are to pay 59 U 17s 5d
to Joan Relict of Pierce in Lieu of Arrears due to him during his tyme
of being Schoole Master and to Mr. Whitehead (now School Master) and
Almesmen 26 U 5s in Lieu of Arrears and to the Respondent for and
towards his Charges and for his owne pains in Sueing out the Comission
and obtaineing this Decree 110" and the Remainder to goe in Repairs
of the Mansion house Schoole and Almeshouses which is to be done
with all speed and repay what hath been allready laid out in repairs
and the remainder (if any) to be distributed according to the Trustees
discretion.
And the Trustees in one of their Meetings the first year to Establish
such Orders concerning the ffreedom of the School according to the
APPENDIX III 387
ffounders intent, and behavior of the School Master Schollars and
Almesmen as shall be ever constantly kept unless they or the Major
part shall find Cause to add or alter any thing
And the ffeoffees upon any vacancy of School Master or Almesmen
to Nominate and Admit new ones observeing the Sounder's Rules if
possible or otherwise according to their best understanding and the
ffeoffees to let the Lands receive Rents and pay Sallaries.
That the Trustees are to doe nothing in discharge of their Trust
privately but at their publick Meetings by all or the Major part of 12
. And the lands not to be lett for any Terme Exceeding 7 years and
no future Lease till within a year of expirafa'on of the former nor under
the greatest rent that can be gott and good Security to be given and
the Rents paid quarterly
And some of the Issue of John Howkins and Bridgett his wife
liveing in Rugby or Brownsover (if any such be) that will give good
Security shall be accepted Tennants before any other at such rents as
the ffeoffees shall think fitt And the ffeoffees to pay the School Master
3 U and Almesmen 7s 7d quarterly and out of the Remainder to defray
repairs and the overplus (necessary Charges of Meeting deducted which
is not to Exceed 20s per Annwm) to be divided proportionably among
the School Master and Almesmen and dureing any vacancy the propor-
tion of his pay to be added to the Remainder of the Rents to be
divided
And if the Trustees find the Multitude of Schollars to be too Great
for one Mans teaching they are either themselves to find or Enjoyne
the School Master to provide an Usher and allow him such Sallary out
of the overplus of Rents which would otherwise come to the Master as
they think fitt
And the Trustees to provide a Chest with 4 Locks and keys and the
Same not to be opened but at their meetings and all Records Deter-
minations amongst themselves Counterparts of Leases &c. to be kept
therein
And if there be no poor Men in Brownsover fit to be Almsmen then
the Almeshouses to be filled with those of Rugby But if there be in
both then Rugby and Brownsover Joyntly to fill up the Almeshouses
according to the will of the ffounder.
20 Sept. 1653. Wm Howkins John Howkins and one Jane Howkins
in the Decree mentioned did Exhibite diverse Exceptions to the said
Decree To which the Responded answered But that Case was never fully
heard in any part untill the 19 July 1660 when the Lord Chancellor
upon hearing the case as to the Warwickshire Lands wherein Wm
Howkins was Concerned directed a case to be made and stated And If
388 APPENDIX III
the partyes differed Then S' Justinian Lewen one of the Masters of
Chancery was to settle the same But as touching the exceptions of
John Howkins and as to the Middx Lands over Ruled the Exceptions
and Confirmed the Comissioners Decree And Decreed the said John
Howkins to pay the Rents and profitts of the said Lands from Michael-
mas next after the Decree for so long tyme as he enjoyed the same and
to pay Costs All vfhich were to be Certified by the said S r Justinian Lewen
The Master states the Case only upon the Deeds whereby the Charity
was first founded which are set forth in the Inquisition and leaves out
all proofes of Misimploymcni : And thereupon makes 2 questions
1st. Whether the Exceptant ought to pay 16 : 13 : 4 Originall rent
only or according to the Improved value.
2nd. Whether the Exceptant is bound to the Repair of all the pre-
misses in Rugby and Brownsover or of the Buildings of the premisses in
Brownsover only
To which Case the Exceptant took Exceptions for that the Master
had not taken any notice of 2 Decrees formerly made the first 44 Eliz:
and the other Jacobi whereupon the Respondent petitioned to have the
proofes heard.
26 Nov 1667 The said Case upon the Exceptions and proofes
standing in the paper to be heard by the Right Honble: S r Orlando
Bridgeman Kn and Bar Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England his
LordsMpp declared that the Comissioners Decree which had vested the
Rectory Mansion house and premisses in Rugby and Brownsover in the
Trustees And alsoe enjoyned the Exceptant to the Repair of the whole
to be Just for that the said Exceptant was not to have the premisses in
Rugby and Brownsover as an Inheritance or as a ffarmer in succession
and soe to perpetuity But as a ffarmer and Tennant onely and that he
ought to repare the whole.
And disallowed the Exceptions and Confirmed the Decree of the said
Comissioners yet nevertheless recomends it to the Trustees and ffeoffees
to lett the said premisses at a reasonable rate to the Exceptant or some
of his kindred Inhabiteing in Brownsover from tyme to tyme before
any other.
And that Sergt Newdigate and 2 Knights of the Shire should
nominate such ffeoffees as they should think fitt to supply the places
of those that were dead And referred it to the said Sr Justinian
Lewen to tax Moderate Costs against the Exceptant William Howkins
And for as much as John Howkins had taken Exceptions to the
Masters Report as to the Costs thereby taxed against him referred it
back to the said Master either to add or diminish as he shall see Cause
And what Costs are taxed to be paid to the ffeoffees or whome they
APPENDIX III 389
shall appoint To the end that so much as was Expended by the
former prosecutor Edward Harrison deceased may be paid to his
Executor or Administrator and what Costs are due to the now prose-
cutor Edmond Bromwich may be paid to him.
Examined by us Kich Broc hurst
Henry Turner
(c) CERTIFIED COPIES OF APPOINTMENT
Vera copiaJo. NEWLAND, 25 Oct. 1661.
These are to certify all whom it may concern That I Thomas Lord
Leigh Baron of Stoneleigh the surviving ffeoffee for the ffree Schoole
of Rugby having received a Certificate from the Inhabitants of Rugby
and Brounsover of the ability & learning of Mr John Allen w th their
desires that I would nominate & appoint him to be Schoole master
of the ffree Schoole of Rugby, I doe therefore hereby nominate and
appoint the said Mr John Allen to be Schoolemaster of the ffree
Schoole of Rugby In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand
the thirteenth day of October in the twelfth yeare of the Reigne of our
sovereign Lord King Charles & in the yeare of our Lord 1660.
(51. a) To all Christian People to whom these presents shall come I
Thomas Lord Leigh Baron of Stoneley the alone surviving ffeoffee to
& for the vse of the ffree Grammar Schoole & Almeshouses in Rugby
in the County of Warwick of the ffoundatfion of Mr Lawrence Sheriffe
Cittizen & Grocer of London send greeting in our Lord God ever-
lasting Know yee that I the said ffeoffee according to the trust
residing in me, and so farre as the Lawes doe pmnitt for pietyes sake
have named appointed & confirmed my welbeloved in Christ Peter
Whitehead Schoolmaster of the said ffree schoole which was lately voyd
first by the desertion & after by the death of Mr Raphaell Peirce
the last Incumbent there To informe teach & instruct Children &
others resorting vnto the said ffree schoole togeather with all &
every the rights members and appurtenances thereof to him the said
Peter Whitehead in as large & ample manner & forme as any
Schoolmaster there hath had held & enjoyed or ought to have had
held & enjoyed the same, hee behaving himself e laudably in that
respect In witnes whereof I have herevnto set ray hand & scale the
ffowerth day of December in the yeare of our Lord God One thousand
six hundred fifty one
T. LEIGH.
A true copy of the Originall
Examined the 20th day of ffebruary
1665 by ED. PALMER
390 APPENDIX III
THE FIRST LIBRARY.
May y e 4th 1731 John ffrancis.
for 8 foot of board to nail up y e Study window . .010
for work and nails 003
Sep*. 29 for 3 parts of a day removing y e books and putting
up Shelves 010
for a lock for y e Study door 020
Nov. 1 st for 1 days work putting up Shelves for y* Books . 111
for 18 foot of board for y e Shelves 2 7
for nails . . 4
[sic] 087
(6) SUMMARY OF WILL OF ANTHONY HOWKINS.
Sep. 8. 1628. ' This will conteyning two sheets was settled & pub-
lished as his last will the eighth day of September 1628 before us :
Henry Carter, John Wells, John Howkins, I. H., John Harding.'
Signed and Sealed by Anthony Howkins.
Summary. A. H. late of Brownsover, recites Edward Boughton's
method (partly by threatening, partly by protestations of good intent)
of obtaining A. H.'s signature to a blank paper, by which B. who was
enclosing the manor of Br. took the tithes on payment of yearly rent
of 28. 17. 6., though well worth 50. at least ; and took the glebe in
exchange for a piece of land much less, without any allowance of
Common for Sheep, Bullocks, Colts, and Horses. Enjoins on his son
John to rectify it. Legacies to his sons Thomas and William ; if his son
Elias dies without heirs males, and if the daughters of Elias, Alice, Sara,
and Mary, are not married, each of them are to have 10 a year up to
the age of 20 or until marriage. These legacies paid, all his lands in
Brownsover, Newbold, and Rugby &c. , go to his eldest son Elias, and to
his heirs males by primogeniture ; in default of heirs males, to the
second son Thomas, to John the eldest son of Thomas, and his heirs in
like manner ; the Conduit Close is left to A.'s son John, according to a
deed of feofment made to him upon good and valuable considerations, for
that he redeemed the same from John Harborne and paid other sums of
money for him, and had paid the yearly rent of 10 up to the present
time. Personal property left to Elias (cows, horses, carts, & movables).
To the almsmen of Brownsover 1 s a year. All else to his son Thomas,
who is made sole executor.
APPENDIX III 391
JOHN HOWKIN8 (Reeve, foL 126).
Proved Nov. 6. 1678. Of South Mima, Middlesex. Leaves landed
property in Hadley, Brownsover, Middlesex, and the Strand. Describes
the founding of five almshouses by him founded in South Mims.
Dying injunction to bis Cousin William Howkins to take counsel's
opinion about his rights in Brownsover parsonage.
DRAFT OF MRS. PEARCE'S PETITION.
(Trust papers, No. 72.)
[Abbreviations or restorations in square brackets.]
To THE RIGHT Hos"* THE COMMISSIONERS FOB THE CUSTODY
OP THE GREAT 8SALB OF ESGLASD.
Humbly complaining showeth unto your Honors your dayly Orators
Jone Pearce the Relict ft Administratrix of the Goods ft Chattells
Rights ft Creditts of Raphael Pearce deceased, late Schoole Master
of the ffree Schoole of Laurence Sheriff e of London Grocer situate ft
being in Rugby in the County of Warriridb, or the late Schoole M r of
Laurence Sheriffe of London Grocer, Henry Dixon Thomas Joyner
George Butler ft Nicholas Wright the ffoure present Almesmen of the
said Laurence Sheriffe of London Grocer in Rugby aforesaid, Thomas
Harper Mercer Edward Harrison Gent W Tfflman Gent Richard
Elborowe Poulterer W- Holden Mercer Edward How Baker ft John
Ayres yeoman, Inhabitants of the said Town of Rugby in the said
County of Wamrtci, That the aforesaid Laurence Sheriffe late of
London Grocer deceased was in his life time lawfully seised in his
demesne as of ff ee of A in the Rectory or Parsonage of Brownsover in
the said County of Wamcici with all the Rights members ft appurten-
ances of the same, And of ft in certaine Messuages lands tenement* ft
hereditament with th'appurfenafue* scituate lying ft being in Rugby
aforesaid in the said County of Warrwtefc. [After reciting the Inden-
ture between L. S. and Field and Harrison, and the Will, Codicfl, and
Intent of Laurence Sheriffe, the deaths of Harrison and Field, the in-
heritance of the property by Elizabeth Field, her marriage with John
Dakyn, and Barnard Dakyn's inheriting of it, the indenture between
him and John Vincent:] By vertue whereof the said John Vincent
was thereof seised in his demesne as of ffee, And being thereof so
seised he the said John Vincent did make his last Will ft Testament
in Writing bearing Date the Three ft Twentieth day of July in the
392 APPENDIX III
ffoure & forteith yeare of the Raigne of the said late Queene Elizabeth
over England &c. & by his said last Will (amongst other things) did
giue & bequeathe all his Lands & Tenements unto Rose Vincent his
then Wife for & during the terme of her naturall life, as by his said
last Will may more at large appeare, & shortly after departed this life
hauing issue Philadelphia & Anne his two Daughters & Coheirs being
then infants of young & tender age, By reason whereof the said Rose
Vincent was seised of the said Third part of the said Close called
Conduite Close with th'appurtenances in her demesne as of ffrank-
tenement, the Reuersion thereof to the said Philadelphia and Anne
Vincent & their heires & assignes. And after the said Rose Vincent
the Relict of the said John Vincent tooke to husband one Roger
Wood gent, who also not many yeares after departed this life. And
also the said Anne Vincent dyed without issue, By reason whereof
her moitie of the said Reuersion in ffee of the said Third part of the
said Close called Conduite Close descended & came to the said
Philadelphia Vincent as Sister & heire of the said Anne Vincent, &
then the said Philadelphia Vincent was seised of the whole Reuersion
in ffee of the said Third part, of the said Close called Conduite Close
expectant upon the death of the said Rose Wood her mother. And
yowr Orators further shew unto yowr LordsAipps That shortly after
the making of a certaine Statute at the Parliament begun & holden
at Westminster [Oct. 27, 43 Eliz.] now commonly called the Statute
for Charitable Vses, There issued out of this Honourable Court a
Commission under the Great Scale of England upon & by vertue of
the said Statute, bearing Date [Mar. 11, 44 Eliz.] unto Zachary
Babington Doctor of Law & then Chancellor to the then Bishopp of
the Diocesse of Coventrie & Litchfield, William, ffeilding, William
Combes, Edward Stapleton Esquires, Roger Barber & Daniell Nayler
Masters of Art & Preachers of the Word & others directed. Before
whom by vertue of the said Commission there was taken at Rugby
aforesaid in the said County of Warrwicfc [Sep. 30, 44 Eliz.] an Inquisi-
tion by & upon the Oathes of William Dilkes of Clifton gent. James
Willington of Brownesover gent ; John Towers of Thurlaston gent &
others, good lawfull men of the said County of Warrwck, In which
said Inquisition there was found (amongst other things) the aforesaid
Gift & Bequest of the said Third part of the said Close called Conduite
Close with th'appurtenances made by said Laurence Sheriffe unto the
said George Harrison & Barnard ffeild & their heires, To the Vses,
Trust & Confidence before mentioned & expressed, And also the afore-
said Bargaine & Sale of the said Third part of the said Close called
Conduite Close with th'appurtenances made by the aforesaid Barnard
APPENDIX III 393
Dakyn by the said Deed indented & inrolled bearing Date the aforesaid
[Nov. 24, 42 Eliz.] unto the aforesaid John Vincent & his heires &
assignes for ever. And also that the said John Vincent before & at
the time of his said bargaine & agreement for the purpose thereof had
notice & knowledge of the Trust & Confidence aforesaid, concerning
the same, & was then deceased leauing issue the aforesaid Philadel-
phia & Anne his two Daughters & heires. And further it was found
that albeit that long before the said Sale made to the said John
Vincent, the aforesaid Barnard ffeild by his Deed bearing Date [Apr.
20, 23 Eliz.] did demise the said Third part of the said Close unto
one Robert Carre for the Terme of Eight & ffortye yeares from the
Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary then next ensuing for the
yearely Rent of Eight pounds, yet neuertheles the said Third part of
the said Close was then worth Twentye Pounds by the yeare at the
least. Whereupon, & by vertue of the said Commission & Inquisition, it
was Ordered & Decreed the said [Sep. 30, 44 Eliz. by the said Commis-
sion] (amongst other things) That the heires of the said John Vincent
should not at any time thereafter haue challenge or claime any estate
right title or interest of in or to the said Third part of the said Close ;
And that the estate & inheritance thereof so purchased by the said
John Vincent as aforesaid should from thenceforth be & be vested &
settled in Sir Henry Goodyeare of Polesworth in the said County of
Warwick Knight, John Harrington Sonne & heire apparant of Sir John
Harrington of Combe in the said County of Warwick Knight John
Leigh Esquire Sonne & heire apparant of Sir Thomas Leigh of
Stoneley in the said County of Warned; Knight ffrancis Leigh Esquire
Sonne & heire apparant of Sir William Leigh of Newnham Regis in the
said County of Wanmefc Knight Basill ffeildinge Esquire Sonne &
heire apparent of William ffeildinge Esquire of Newneham in the said
County of Warrwick Richard Boughton of Lawford Esquire William
Dixwell of Coton in the said County of W&rrwick Esquire John Shuk-
burgh of Shukburgh alias Shukborugh in the said County of WarrwicA:
Esquire Thomas Wright of Hoppisford in the said County of Warr-
wick Esquire Michael ffeildinge of Barnacle in said County of Warrwic&
gent Richard Neale of Rugby aforesaid Gent & James Willington of
Brownesover aforesaid Gent & in their heires & assignes to the intent
the same & the Rents revenues issues and proffitts thereof might be
imployed according to the intent of the said Laurence Sheriffe in the
said Inquisition appearinge & as in that their Order was thereafter set
downe, that is to say, That there should be yearely from thence forth
for ever paid thereof unto the Schoole Master of the said Schoole in
Rugby for the time being the Summ of ffoure pounds by the yeare at
394 APPENDIX III
the ffeast of the Annunciation & of St. Michaell the Archangel by euen
persons, & so much more thereof unto the said ffoure poore Almesmen
as would fully satisfy & pay them weekely according to the intent of
the said Laurence Sheriffe the full Summ. of Seauen pence a weeke
with the ffiue pence a weeke which they did then weekely receive of
the rent of Sixteene pounds Thirteene Shillings and ffoure pence out of
the said Parsonage of Brownesover, & the residue of the rents revenues
issues & proffitts of the said Third part of the said Close called Con-
duite Close they did order should be paid to the ffeoffees or the more
part of them for the time being respectively to be imployed by them
in the providing of convenient Lodgings or Houses for the said Almes-
men according to the intent of the said Laurence Sheriffe appearing in
the said Inquisition until such provision should be made, & afterwards
that the same should be imployed in the further Augmentation of the
Salarie of the Schoole Master & of the further maintenance & allowance
of the said ffoure poore Almesmen for ever & the repaireing of the
dwelling house Schoolehouse & Almeshouses according to the intent
of the said Laurence Sheriffe at & by the discretion of the more part
of the said Twelve Persons. And moreover Ordered for the better
securitie of the due payment of the said yearely Rent of Sixteene
pounds Thirteene and ffoure pence out of the said Parsonage of Browne-
sover for ever thereafter That in as much as the said Barnard Dakyn
had as well by Sale of the said Third part, as by sundry offers to sell
the said Parsonage broken the Trust aforesaid, therefore neither he
nor his heires should at any time thereafter haue claime or challenge
any estate right title or interest of in or to the aforesaid Parsonage of
Brownesover or any part thereof, or of in or to the aforesaid Messuage
Schoolehouse or any of the Lands Tenements or Hereditaments in
Brownesover & Rugby aforesaid limited in Trust by the said Laurence
Sheriffe as appeared by the Inquisition But that the estate of ffreehold
& the Inheritance thereof which descended unto the said Barnard
Dakyn from the said Elizabeth his Mother or unto the said Elizabeth
from the said Barnard ffeild her ffather should be & be vested setled
deemed & adjudged in the aforesaid Twelue Persons & their heires &
assignes only to & for such intents & purposes as the same were meant
& intended to be conveyed & assured by the said Laurence Sheriffe
appearing in the said Inquisifo'on And whensoever at any time three of
the said Twelue Persons should be dead they ordered that from time
to time w^hin Six Moneths after the Death of any three of the said
Twelue Persons that the said premises in Rugby & Brownsover afore-
said should be conveyed to the use of the Survivours of them and of
three other persons to be nominated by the said Survivours or the most
APPENDIX III 395
part of them & to the use of the Survivours & of the said three other
persons to the intent & trust meant by the said Laurence Sheriffe &
appearing in the said Inquisition. And further ordered that the said
Barnard Dakyn or such other as then had in custody the aforesaid
Deed of Declaration of the Intent of the said Laurence Sheriffe men-
tioned in the said Inquisition or any other Deeds Evidences concerning
only the said premises in Rugby & Brownesover aforesaid should within
Six moneths after notice of that their Order & after request therefore
made deliver the same unto such persons as should so require the same
by the appointment of the said Twelue Persons or the more part of
them to be safely kept in some Chest to be kept & placed in some such
convenient place in Rugby aforesaid as the said Twelue Persons or the
more part of them for the time being in their discretion should think
fit. And also Ordered that Mr. Nicholas Greenehill the then Schoole
Master of the said Schoole should be & continue Schoolemaster of the
said Schoole for & during his life to teach Schollars & dwell in the said
House in Rugby aforesaid & receive such Salarie as he ought to haue
& doe by the intent of the said Laurence Sheriffe & of that their Order,
And that the persons which then were Almesmen should also so con-
tinue during their liues if the said Twelue persons or the more part of
them in their discretion should finde noe cause to the contrarye. And
lastly they Ordered by the assent of the said Schoolemaster, That the
said ffoure poore Almesmen should dwell in the Houses & lodgings as
then they did till such time as other houses & lodgings should be
builded or provided for them according to that their Order, & after
that then the Schoolemaster for the time being to have the same House
wholly, & untill new & convenient provision of houses should be made for
the said ffoure Almesmen according to the intent of the said Laurence
Sheriffe the same ffoure Almesmen not to be put out of the said houses
then used as Almeshouses in no wise. And that the said Twelue persons
or the most part of them for the time being should haue at all times
thereafter the nomination placeing & displacing upon cause given of
the Schoole Master & also the placeing & displaceing of the said ffoure
poore Almesmen according to the minde of the said Laurence Sheriffe.
And that the said Schoole Master & Almesmen should as his will
was continue their names to be called The Schoole Master & Almesmen
of the said Laurence Sheriffe howsoever or by what meanes soever
provision should be made for the habitations of or for the said Almes-
men other where then, then they were, or for the augmentation of the
Salarie of the said Schoolemaster or the allowance of the said Almes-
men of any further maintenance over & above the aforesaid Seauen
pence a weeke, As by the said Commission, Inquisition, & the said
396 APPENDIX III
Order & Decree remaining of Record in this honourable Court may
more at large appeare. And your Orators further shew, That shortly
after the said Suite by the death of the said Mr Nicholas Greene-
hill the then Schoole Master of the said Schoole, who presented the
same, lay for a long time neglected, that is to say, untill about [10 Jac.]
About which time one Mr Augustine Rolfe the then present Schoole -
Master of the said Schoole sued forth of this Court A Writt de execu-
tione Ordinis against the said Barnard Dakyn, Rose Wood, Philadelphia
Vincent & Anne Vincent bearing date [Feb. 17, 10 Jac.] to put the
aforesaid Order & Decree made by the said Doctor Babington &
others in execution. Whereupon the said Rose Wood & Philadelphia
Vincent (the said Anne Vincent being then dead) put in their Exceptions
to the said Order & Decree Vpon consideration whereof & hearing of
Councell as well for maintenance of the said Decree as of the said
Exceptions [May 11, 12 Jac.] before Thomas Lord Ellesmere then
Lord Chancellor of England, fforasmuch as it then appeared that the
said Rose Wood & the said Philadelphia Vincent her Daughter heire of
the said John Vincent were parties interested in the said Third part of
the said Close called Conduite Close, that is to say, the said Rose for
her life, & the said Philadelphia her Daughter for the Reuersion in ffee,
And yet neither the said Rose Wood nor her said Daughter by her
Guardian being then an Infant, nor either of them were called or had
notice giuen to them of the said Inquisition whereupon the said Decree
was grounded nor had their lawfull challenges to the Jurors at the
taking of the said Inquisition, It was therefore the same day Ordered
declared & adjudged by his said LordsAipp That the said Inquisition
& Decree so taken were for the said causes erronious & voide in Law
as to & concerning the said Lands. And yet newertheles his said Lord-
shipp intending to maintaine the Charitable Vse in the said Order &
Decree mentioned so farr as by justice the same ought to be main-
tained, did further Order that a new Commission should be awarded to
the then Right reverend ffather in God John Lord Bishopp of London,
within whose diocesse the said Lands did lye, & to Thomas Edwards
Doctor of Law, then Chancellor to the said Bishopp & to Sir Henry
Mountague Knight then his said Majesties Serjeant at Law, Sir Henry
Yelverton Knight then his said Majestie's Solicitor General], Nicholas
ffuller, & Henry ffinch Esquire, authorizing them or any fiue foure or
three of them to enquire of the said Charitable Vse according to the
Statute aforesaid, As by the said Order (amongst other things therein
contained) may more at large appeare. Whereupon there issued out of
this honourable Court another Commission under the greal Seale of
England upon & by vertue of the said Statute for Charitable Vses
APPENDIX III 397
bearing Date at Westminster [July 4, 12 Jac. to the persons aforesaid]
directed. Before fiue of whom, that is to say, the said John Lord
Bishopp of London Sir Henry Mountague Henry flinch Sir Henry
Yelverton & Thomas Edwards by vertue of the said Commission (they
hauing called before them the said Rose Wood & Philadelphia Vin-
cent) there was taken at Hixhall in the said County of Middlesex [Aug.
9, 12 Jac.] an Inquisition by & upon the Oathes of good & lawfull men
of the same Countie. In wfo'ch the said Inquisito'on there was also
found (amongst other things) the aforesaid Gift and Bequest of the
said Third part of the said Close called Conduite Close with th'appur-
tcnances made by the said Laurence Sheriffe unto the said George
Harrison and Barnard ffield & their heires to the aforesaid Vses Trust
& Confidence, And also the aforesaid Bargain & Sale of the said Third
part of the said Close called Conduite Close with th'appurtenances made
by the said Barnard Dakyn by the aforesaid deed indented & inrolled
[Nov. 4, 42 Eliz.] unto the said John Vincent & his hetres & assignes
for ever. And also that the said John Vincent before & at the time of
his said Bargaine & Agreement for the purchase thereof had notice &
knowledge of the Trust and Confidence aforesaid concerning the same.
And further it was found, That at the time when the said John Vincent
did purchase the same of the said Barnard Dakyn, it was of the cleare
yearely value of Twenty pounds, & that at the time of the take ing of
the said last mentioned Inquisition it was of the cleare yearely value
of Twenty & Six pounds of lawfull money of England. Whereupon,
& by vertue of the said Commission & Inquisi^'on It was Ordered &
Decreed by the said Commissioners [Oct. 3, 12 Jac.] That neither the
said Barnard Dakyn nor his heires nor the said Philadelphia Vincent
the Daughter & one of the Coheires of the said John Vincent deceased
& Sister & heire to the said Anne Vincent deceased one other of the
Daughters and Coheires of the said John Vincent nor the wife or wines
of the said Barnard Dakyn & John Vincent or either of them for & in
respect of any Joynture to the said such wife or wiues by their said
husbands respectiuely made after marriage should be at any time there-
after enabled to haue occupye enjoy claime & demand any estate right
title or interest of in or to the said Third part of the said Close, But
that they & euery of them & all person & persons claiming by from or
under them or any of them should be of all right title interest claime
and demand of in & to the said Third part of the said Close utterly
forbarred & excluded for ever. And to the intent that the issues &
proffitts of the said Third part of the said Close might be for ever there-
after imployed to & for the aforesaid Charitable Vses & purposes, They
did therefore Order adjudge & decree that the immediate estate of
398 APPENDIX III
ffreehold & Inheritance of & in the said Third part of the said Close
should be thereby vested setled & taken & adjudged to be vested &
setled in Sir Henry Goodyeare of Polesworth in the said County of
Wsarwiek Knight Thomas Leigh of Stonely in the said County of
Warrwick Esquire, Sir ffrancis Leigh of Kings Newnham in the said
County Knight, Basill ffeilding Esquire William Dixwell of Coton
Esquire John Shukburgh of Shukburgh Esquire Roger ffeilding of
Barnacle Esquire Richard Neale of Rugby Esquire Sir Clement Throck-
morton of Hasels Knight Sir Thomas Lucy Knight & Sir Richard
Varney Knight & in their heires And that the said Twelue persons &
their heires should stand & be seised in ffee simple of & in the said
Third part of the said Close to the Vses & Trust so by the said
Laurence Sheriff e appointed & in the said Inquisition found, And that
they & their heires out of the issues & proffitts of the said Third part
of the said Close from thenceforth to be had perceiued taken & raised
should pay & satisfye to the Schoole Master of the said ffree Schoole of
Rugby aforesaid for the time being the yearely Sumwt of Twelue
pounds Ten Shillings & Eight pence at the ffeast of All Saints, &
Philipp & Jacob the Apostles, by equall portions And to euery the said
ffoure poore Allmesmen for the time being each of them ffoure pence
current money every weeke in respect that the said Third part of the
said Close was improued in yearely proffitt & value to a greater yearely
value then it was to be letten at the time of the said devise of the said
Laurence Sheriffe so made of the said Third part of the said Close as
aforesaid. And they did further Order 1 & decree That the executors or
administrators of the goods & chat tells of the said late deceased John
Vincent, hauing assets in Law or equitie in their hands, should within
Six Moneths next after demand made by the said Twelue Persons
before in that their Order & decree named or any of them or any
authorized from them or their heires paye & satisfye to the said
Twelue persons so formerly named or to some of them or their heires
or assignes the Summ of Thirty & ffiue Pounds & Ten Shillings
of Currant English money in respect of the issues & proffitts of
the said premises so found to haue been taken by him to the said
John Vincent by colour of his said purpose from the said [Nov. 24
42 Eliz. to Sep. 1, 44 Eliz.] (being the time of his decease) which said
premises were by the said Inquisition found to haue beene of the
yearely value of Twenty pounds during the said John Vincents such
taking the said proffitts thereof. And they did further Order &
Decree That the said Rose Wood the Relict of the said John Vincent
1 But see the Order made 4 Maij, 13 Jac. Kegi*. Note in original.
APPENDIX III 399
should for such time as happened from the said ffirst Day of September
whereon the said John Vincent dyed to the time of her intermarriage
with the said Eoger Wood in the said Inquisition named, & the
executors or administrators of the goods & chattells of the said Roger
Wood, hauing assetts in Law or equitie, for such time as happened
from his intermarriage with the said Kose to the time of his decease,
& the said Rose for such time as happened from the said Roger Woods
decease to the ffeast of the Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary
then last past, should seve?-ally & respectiuely pay & satisfye unto the
said Twelue persons or some of them or to their heires or assignes in
lieu & recom pence of the issues & proffitts of the said Third part of the
said Close found to have beene by the said Rose & Roger for & during
the said seuerall times respectiuely receiued & taken, such sum?>i &
summs of money after the rate & proportion of Twenty pounds for one
whole yeare for the yearely value of the said premises as should be by
Commission or other Order or direction of the right honourable the
Lord Chancellor of Englcnd for the time being (to be made in that
behalfe) rated assessed & taxed upon the said person & persons for
& during their said seuerall perception & taking of the said proffitts ;
And that such Summ & Summs so rated assessed & set downe in cer-
taintie should be by the said Rose for the time aforesaid of her taking
of the said proffitts both before her such marriage with the said Roger
Wood as since his decease & by the said executors or administrators
during the said Roger Woods life after his marriage with the said
Rose, satisfied & paid to the said Twelue Persons or some of them their
heires or assignes within Six moneths after demand made thereof,
Provided that if any issues or proffitts of the premises had beene taken
or had by the said time or times by or on the behalfe of the said
Schoole & poore by vertue of any Order or Writ de execu^ione Ordinis by
his said LorcMipp theretofore granted, Then so much pro rata should
be decouped & defalked out of the said Summ so to be rated assessed
& taxed. And touching the issues & proffitts of the said premises
from the said ffeast of the Annunciation to the day of the making of
the said Order & Decree, The said Commissions did leave the said
Schoole & poore to take the benefitt of his l,ordshipps further Order
therein ffor performance whereof the said Rose had lately entered into
Securitie in the said Court. And the said Commissioners did further
order That out of the said Summ & Sum?n,s of money so to be paid &
satisfied for the meane proffitts of the premises to the said Twelue
persons their heires or assignes, that they their heires and assignes
should thereout satisfye & pay to the then present SchooleMaster
M r Augustine Rolfe the Summ of Twenty & Two pounds Thirteene
400 APPENDIX III
Shillings & ffoure pence by him expended & laid out in the prosecution
of the said Commission & Suite about the said Decree, & that the
residue of the meane proffitts in arreare & unpaid should be & remaine
to the said Schoole Master for his Salarie & Wages in Arreare as afore-
said. And that the Schoole Master for the time being should thereafter
be at the Costs & Charges of reparations of the said Schoolehouse &
Dwellings & Lodgings for the said Schoole Master & Almesmen accord-
ing to the good discretions of the ffeoffees. And they did also Order
& Decree That whensoever any Three of the said Twelue persons should
decease, that then the Survivours or the greater part of them should
within Six moneths ensuing, & notice thereof to them giuen by the
Schoole Master for the time being, not only nominate & choose Three
other persons to make up the said number of Twelue, but should
convey to the use of themselves & of the said three other persons &
their heires the said Third part of the said Close to the intent & Trust
meant by the said Laurence Sheriffe & appearing in the said Inquisition.
And lastly that within convenient time there should be partition made
of the said Conduite Close, & that the said Third part then decreed
should be parted & set out from the said Two other parts, to the end
the same might be knowne to be the said Schoole & Almeshouse Land
for euer thereafter. As by the said last mentioned Commission &
Inquisition & the said Order & Decree thereupon may more at large
appeare. And your Orators further shew unto your Honours, That
shortly after the making of the said last recited Decree, Albeit the
said Third part of the said Close called Conduite Close was found by
the said last mentioned Inquisition to be then worth Six & Twenty
pounds by the yeare to be letten, as may appeare by the said Inquisi-
tion, yet notwithstanding did one Henry Clerke then of Whitechappell
in the said County of Middlesex gent (who had sollicited the said suite)
procure the aforesaid Twelue persons named in the said last recited
Order & decree, by their Indenture of Lease bearing Date the
Twentieth day of December in the said Twelueth yeare of the Raigne
of his said late Ma/estie King James over England &c. to demise unto
him the said Henry Clerke his executors administrators & assignes the
said Third part of the said Close called Conduite Close for the Terme
of ffortie yeares to commence from the ifeast day of S* Thomas th'
apostle next ensuing the date thereof, vnder the yearely Rent of Ten
pounds only & noe more, payable at the ffeast of th' annunciation of
the blessed Virgin Mary, the Natiuitie of St. John Baptist, St. Michael
th' archangel & St. Thomas th' apostle by euen portions. Which said
Estate & Terme for yeares of & in the said Third part of the said
Close called Conduite Close the said Henry Clerke by his Indenture
APPENDIX III 401
of Assignment bearing date [May 3, 13 Jac.] did grant. & assigne
over unto the aforesaid Rose Wood her executors administrators &
assignes for & during all the residue of the Terme of ffortie yeares then
to come & unexpired, as by the said Indentures may more at large
appeare. And your Orators further shew, That afterwards the said
M r Augustine Rolfe Schoole Master of the said Schoole departed this
life & one of M r Wilgent Greene succeeded him in the same place.
Vpon whose complaint in this Honourable Court on the behalfe of
himselfe & the 4 Almesmen there That the aforesaid Twelue persons
last before named had demised the said Third part of the said Close to
the said Henry Clerke at x u per annwm for fortie yeares who after-
ward assigned the said Lease to the said Rose Wood contrary to the
said last mentioned decree, the said Third part being of a greater
yearly value, as by the said decree appeared, & that neither the said
Philadelphia Vincent in the said decree named & since deceased nor
her heires had made any Conveyance of the said Third part of the said
Close to the said ffeoffees & their heires, neither was the same sett
forth or divided from the other two parts according to the said decree.
There was afterwards, to wit, [June 27, 7 Jac.] (upon some private
agreement betweene the said M r Wilgent Greene the then Schoole-
master of the said Schoole & the said Rose Wood, as your Orators
verily belieue) an Order drawne up in this Court by & with the consent
of both parties, That the heires of the said John Vincent & of the said
Philadelphia Vincent & all persons claiming under him or her or any
of them should with the free consent of the said Rose Wood upon
request to the said heires or any of them made at the charge of the
said Schoole Master & ffeoffees sufficiently assure & convey the said
Third part of the said Close to the said surviuing ffeoffees, & to ffrancis
Ashley of Hillmorton in the County of Warrmcfc Esquire, Thomas
Boughton of Bilton in the said County of Warrwicfc Esquire, Thomas
Cave of Stamford in the County of Northampton Esquire, William
Burneby of Rugby aforesaid Esqtu're, & John Newdegate of Arbury in
the said County of WarnvicJc Esqiure then newly nominated, to theire
uses & to their heires for ever as in the said Decree is specifyed And
that then the said Third part at the charges of the said Schoole Master
should be parted & set forth according to the intent of the said
Decree, And lastly that the said Rose Wood should be from thenceforth
permitted quietly to enjoy the same during the residue of the said
Terme then to come without any further suite or trouble, She the said
Rose Wood her executors & assignes rendring allowing & paying unto
the said ffeoffees to the use of the SchooleMaster & Almesmen the
yearely rent or increase of ffiue pounds over & above the said yearely
2 c
402 APPENDIX III
Rent of Ten pounds by the said Lease reserued, as by the said Order
may more at large appeare. Which said Order, nor any other Order,
drawne up with the consent of the then Schoole Master neither the
aforesaid Lease of the Third part of the said Close called Conduite
Close made at first to the said Henry Clerke & after by him assigned
over to the said Rose Wood, nor any other such like Lease thereof
made for so long a Terme, & at such an undervalue, either with or
without the consent of the present Schoole Master, ought not to be, as
your Orators humble conceive, in any wise prejudiciall to any succeed-
ing Schoole Master & Almesmen, but that euery Schoole Master for the
time being, & the ffoure Almesmen for the time being, ought to haue
the whole benefitt issues & proffits of the said Third part of the said
Close, or the greatest Rent that would be giuen for the same. But
now so it is may it please your iiordshipps That noe Conveyance or
Assureance in the Law hath yet beene made by the right heires of the
said Barnard Dakyn to the said Twelue Persons nominated in the said
first recited Decree & their heires of the said Parsonage of Brownesover
& of the said Messuages lands & tenements in Rugby & Browuesover
aforesaid or any part thereof, Neither hath any Conveyance or Assur-
ance in the Law beene yet made of the said Third part of the said
Close called Conduite Close or any part thereof by the right heires
of the said John Vincent unto the said Twelue Persons nominated in
the said last recited decree to be ffeoffees thereof, & their heires, nor
yet to the said Survivours of the said Twelue Persons & the said other
Persons added to their number in & by the said last recited Order made
in this honourable Court, & their heires, nor to any of them, Neither
hath the said Third part of the said Close beene set forth & divided by
metes & bounds from the other Two parts of the said Close. But (as
your Orators are informed) for want of such a Conveyance & Assure-
ance, notwithstanding the said former Decree made by the aforesaid
Commissioners respectiuely that the said premises should be vested &
settled in the said Persons nominated to be ffeoffees, & their heires, the
said respectiue Estates did still remaine & continue where they were be-
fore. [" Here derive the descent."] And your Orators further shew, That
though noe such Conveyance of assurance hath been made as aforesaid,
yet as the said Twelue Persons nominated in & by the said last recited
decree to be ffeoffees of the said Third part of the said Close called Con-
duite Close, upon misinf ormatfion as your Orators suppose of the true value
thereof did make the aforesaid Lease for ffortie yeares reseruing only
Ten pounds per annwm, when by the said last Inquisition it was found
to be worth Six & Twenty pounds per annum, Soe the said Survivours
of the said Twelue Persons mentioned in the said last recited Order of
APPENDIX III 403
this Court & the said other Persons therin & thereby added unto them
or the greater part of them, did shortly after the making of the said
Order upon the like misinformation, as your Orators suppose, by their
Indenture bearing Date [May 1, 8 Car.] demise the said Third part
of the said Close called Conduite Close to one John Pytt then of the
parish of Clerkenwell in the said County of Middlesex gent his exe-
cutors administrators & assignes for the terme of One & Thirtie yeares,
To commence from the expiration or other determination of the said
Lease for ffortie yeares, Keseruing only Twenty pounds per annum pay-
able at the ffeast of St. Michaell th'archangell & the Annunciation of the
blessed Virgin Mary by euen & equall portions, as by the said Lease if
your Orators had the same to produce might more at large appeare.
When as in truth the said Third part of the said Close was then worth
as much more by the yeare that is to say, worth ffortie pounds by the
yeare or thereabouts, & still continueth of the same value, & then might
& now may be letten for so much. And moreover so it is may it please
your Honowrs That the said M r Wilgent Greene departing this life, the
aforesaid M r Raphael Pearce [17 Car., month not stated] was elected
Schoole Master of the said Schoole, who for his singular Learning &
Industrye was exceeding fitt for the said Place, & deserued much more
than his share of the said Rent of Sixteene pounds Thirteene Shillings
& ffoure pence & of the said Third part of the said Close called Con-
duite Close did amount to j but his great merrit & paines taking
notwithstanding one Howkins of Brownsover aforesaid Widow
that hath beene for many yeares together by her Selfe or her under-
tenants possessed of the said Parsonage of Brownesover did euer since
the beginning of these unhappy Warres to the time of his death denye
to pay unto him the said Raphael & the said ffoure Almesmen the said
yearely Rent of Sixteene pounds Thirteene Shillings & ffoure pence,
She the said Howkins deducting a great part thereof for Taxes,
Whereas the said Parsonage being much improved in yearely value
over & aboue what it was the said Laurence Sheriffe did grant the
same to & for the said Charitable Vses as aforesaid, . . . The Schoole-
Master & Almesmen, as your Orators humbly concieue, ought to haue
had, & for the time to come ought to haue either the said Rent of
Sixteene pounds Thirteene Shillings & ffoure pence free from all
manner of Taxes whatsoever, & the said Taxes to be borne by the
ffarmers & Tenants thereof out of the residue of the yearely value
thereof over & above the said Rent of Sixteene pounds Thirteene
Shillings & ffoure pence, or els the Schoole Master & Almesmen to haue
had & hereafter to have yearely the whole benefitt issues & proffitts
of the said Parsonage, And likewise one John Howkins of [Minos ?] in
404 APPENDIX III
the County of [Middlesex?] gent & William Blunt of in the
Countie of [Middlesex ?] gent that euer since the said Kaphael Pearce
was elected Schoole Master of the said Schoole, by themselues or their
undertenants haue beene possessed of the said Third pa?-t of the said
Close called the Conduite Close claiming the same under & by colour
of the said Lease for ffortie yeares so made as aforesaid, haue not only
from the said time denyed to satisfye & pay unto the said Kaphael
Pearce & the said Almesmen such yearely Summe of money as the said
Third part of the said Close was truly worth, as of right & according
to the intent of the said Laurence Sheriffe they ought to haue done,
but also haue refused to satisfye & pay unto the said Eaphael Pearce
& the said Almesmen the said yearely Sunm of ffifteene pounds
mentioned in the said last recited Order of this Court, upon pretence
that part of the Workes of the Citie of London in the time of the
Warre was made upon part of the said Close, whereas the said Close
conteineth Ten acres or thereabouts, & not the quantitie of one acre
thereof was spoyled by the said Workes. By reason of which said
unjust dealings of the said John Howkins and William Blunt, & of
the said Howkins Widow, with the said Raphael Pearce &
the said Almesmen, the said Messuage Lodgings & Schoolehouse in
Rugby aforesaid are for want of timely reparations become exceeding
ruinous, & the said Raphael Pearce for want of the payment of what
was due unto him as aforesaid, became in extreme want & exceeding
poore, hauing nothing many times wherewith to provide Bread for
himselfe his wife & children, vrhich caused a wonderfull weaknesse in
his body, wAich said weakenesse, for want of sufficient dyet, growing
more & more upon him, it brought him at last to his much lamented
death. Which happened in [1651, month not stated] To the great
losse of your Orators & other Inhabitants of Rugby & Brownesover
aforesaid & the Townes thereunto adjoyning, whose Children (that are
to haue the priviledge of the said Schoole) might otherwise to this day
& for a long time haue there beene taught by so able honest & pain-
full a Schoole Master. He the said Raphael Pearce leauing behinde
him your Oratrix [Joan] Pearce his Relict & x Children, but nothing
wherewith to maintain them, saue the hope of recougring his said
Arrearages, ffor which purpose your said Oratrix [Joan] Pearce (he
the said Raphael dying intestate) hath sued forth ~Letteres of Adminis-
tration of his goods & chattells rights & creditts. In tender con-
sideration whereof, & for that your Orators haue noe remedie in the
premisses but in this honowrable Court before your Lo?-eMipps, And to
i "Set downe the number of bis children."
APPENDIX III 405
the end that the said John Howkins & William Blunt & either of them
may be compelled to set forth upon their corporall Oathes how long they
or either of them haue been Tenants or Occupyers or possessors or haue
taken the issues & proffitts of the said Third part of the said Close called
Conduite Close, & what Estate they or either of them claime in the same,
& what is the true yearely value thereof, & what Summs of money they
or either of them haue paid or caused to be paid to the said M r Raphael
Pearce & the said Almesmen since the time that he the said M' Pearce
became Schoole Master of the said Schoole, & when the said Summs
were paid, And that the said John Howkins & WUliam Blunt or such
of them that hath had the rents issues or proffits of the said Third part
of the said Close may be compelled to pay unto your Oratrix [Joan]
Pearce all that is behinde for all the issues & proffitts of the said Third
part of the said Close according to the true value thereof, from the
time that her said Husband became Schoole Master of the said Schoole
till the day of his Death, it being the only maintainance which is left
her for her selfe & Children, And to pay for all the issues & proffits
thereof, according to the true value thereof from the Death of the said
M r Pearce for & towards the reparation of the said Messuage Lodgings
& Schoolehouse in Rugby aforesaid, & for the benefitt of the succeeding
Schoole Master & the said Almesmen, And to the end that the said
John Pytt may be compelled to set forth upon his corporall Oath what
Estate or ffuture interest he claimeth of in or to the said Third part of
the said Close, & that the said pretended Lease for ffortye yeares
thereof made at the first to the said Henry Clerke, & the said other
pretended Lease for One & Thirty yeares thereof afterwards made to
the said John Pytt to commence after the ending of the first Lease, at
such undervalues, may both of them be made voide by this honourable
Court, & that the said Third part of the said Close may be set out by
metes & bounds, & be for euer hereafter sett & lett by such persons as
shall be made ffeoffees thereof, for the greatest Rent that can be gotten
for the same, & for noe longer Terme then Seauen yeares or thereabouts
to commence at the making thereof, & that noe new Lease may be
thereof made till within one yeare next before the expirato'on of the old
Lease, & that euery Lease thereof may Covenant to put the said Third
part of the said Close to noe other use then meadow or pasture, & not
to digg therein for gravell or for making of Brick or Tyle, or
to use the same any otherwise then as aforesaid, And to the end that
the said Howkins may be compelled to set forth upon her
corporall Oath what Estate she claimeth in the said Messuage Parson-
age lands & Tenements in Brownesover aforesaid, & how long she hath
beene Tenant Occupyer or possesser or hath by her selfe or others
406 APPENDIX III
taken the issues & proffitts thereof, & what is the true yearely value
thereof, & what Summs of money she hath paid or caused to be paid
unto the said M r Eaphael Pearce & the said Almesmen since the time
that he the said M r Pearce became Schoole Master of the said Schoole,
& when the said Summs were paid, & how much of the said yearely
Summ or rent of Sixteene pounds Thirteene Shillings & ffoure pence she
hath since the beginning of the Warre deducted for the Taxes or
for any other cause or colour whatsoever, & that the said
Howkins may be compelled to pay unto your said Oratrix [Joan]
Pearce all that is in arreare of the said yearely Summ without any
abatement for Taxes or any other thing whatsoever, the said Parsonage
being so much improued in the yearely value thereof, over & aboue
what it was when the said Laurence Sheriffe did grant the same as
aforesaid, & to the intent that the said heire of the said
Barnard Dakyn may be compelled to convey & assure the said Parsonage
of Brownesover & the said Messuages lands & tenements in Eugby &
Brownesover aforesaid to the said Twelue Persons hereafter named &
their heires [blank left for names] & that the said
heire of the said John Vincent may be compelled to convey & assure
the said Third part of the said Close called Conduite Close to the
said Twelue Persons last before mentioned & their heires & both Assur-
ances to be for the Charitable uses intents & purposes aforesaid, &
that upon the death of any three of them, the Survivours may be
Ordered to convey the premises to the use of themselues & of Three
others to be nominated by the said Survivours or the more part of
them, & of their heires & assignes. And to the end that the said
John Howkins, William Blunt, Howkins, John Pytt,
heire of the said Barnard Dakyn, & heire of the said John
Vincent may true & perfect answeres make to all & singular the said
premises, May it please your Lordshipps, the premises considered, to
grant unto your said Orators the Writ & Writts of Subpena of this
Court to be directed unto the said [persons already named] thereby
commanding them & euery of them at a certaine day & under certaine
paine therein to be comprised to be & personally to appear before your
Lordshipps in this Court then & there to answere to the premises, & to
stand to & abide such order & direction therein as to your Lordshipps
shall be thought to stand with right, equitie, & good conscience. And
your said Orators shall dayly pray &c.
INDEX
ABOEIGINAL Eleven, 329
' Absence ' called, 136
Act of 1748, 108 ; of 1777, 122 ;
of 1868, 301
Acting at Rugby, 189, 210-212,
289
Adams, F. 0., 242
Aganippe, 248
Allen, John, appointed ninth Mas-
ter, 78 ; his salary, 82 ; death,
84
Almshouses, the Founder's desire
to build, 16 ; built, 50, 53 ; ad-
joining second Schoolhouse,
109 ; additional, 126
Almsmen, original allowances, 24 ;
how chose.:, 27 ; live in the
Schoolhouse, 27 ; their lodgings,
32, 34; forcibly ejected, and
others put in by the Howkins
family, 62 ; attend prayers in
school, 80 ; fined for breach of
this order, 80 ; appear on Speech
Day, 81, 99; allowances in
eighteenth century, 95 ; under
new constitution, 126
Anniversary meeting of old Rug-
beians, 207
Annus mirabilis, 285
Apperley, Charles, 148, 151, 172.
See Nimrod
Appointments : John Allen and
Peter Whitehead, 389
Arithmetic master, 130
Arnold, M., 241
Arnold, Thomas, twenty-second
Master, fourth Head-master, 220;
his task, 223 ; his reforms, 224,
230, 236 ; his wisdom and tact,
223, 226, 228 ; his strength, 229 ;
his motto, 230 ; becomes chap-
lain, 231 ; preaching, 231 ; sys-
tem of work, 232 ; fees under,
235 ; relations with boys, 226 ;
with masters, 236 ; generosity,
237 ; limits number of boys,
237 ; principle of purging, 221,
237 ; death, 245
Arnold, W. D., 241, 289
Arnold-Foster, H. 0., 310
Arnold Library, 277
Arrah, hero of, 282
Art Museum, 306, 318. See
Museum
Ashbridge, Robert, appointed
eleventh Master, 85 ; begins
the Register, 85 ; builds a
storey over the School, 86 ;
resigns, 87
Ash-planting, 169
BAGOT, R., 173
Balaclava charge, 282
Barn Close, 198
Barn School, 133
Barnes, 0., 283
407
408
INDEX
Bassevi, Palladio, 281
Bath finished, 119
Bath, Head-master's, 135
Bathing, 119 ; shed erected by
river, 135 ; Sleath's Hole, 136 ;
Swifts, 248 ; Aganippe, 248
Belows, 327
Benn's bequest, 307
Benson, E. W., 300
Berkeley, J. M., 209
' Big Fry and Little Fry,' 344
Big Old School, 163
Big School, 131 ; decorated with
oak boughs, 142 ; Hake will's,
202. See also School
Big Side Bags, 335
Big Side Books, 270, 335
Big Side runs, 335
Big Sides, modern, 323
Birch, William, 153, 168
Birch's boarding-house, 180, 188
Black Tiger,nickname of Ingles, 177
Bletsoe, Thomas, educated by
Greene, and sent to Cam-
bridge, 59
Bloxam, M. H., 213, 217, 285
Bloxam, Eichard Rouse, 118, 153
Bloxam's boarding-house, 180
Boarders, 54, 60, 86, 90 ; whether
lodged in masters' houses, 94 ;
charges under Burrough, 118 ;
dames' houses, 153 ; charges
under James, 155 ; under Ingles,
179 ; under Wooll, 194 ; under
Arnold, 235 ; food, 259, 293
Bonfire on the Fifth, 250
Bookseller, none in Rugby in 1746,
113
Booth, A. H., 283
Booth, C., 287
(1) Boughton, Edward, 36; ejects
Seale, 37 ; reasons for his inter-
ference, 38
! (2) Boughton, Edward, encloses
common land of Brownsover,
54 ; intimidates Anthony How-
kins and gets possession of
glebe and tithes, 55
j Boughton, Sir William, puts in an
almsman, 62 ; tried to put in a
master, 74
i Bourne, A. A., 328
I Bowden-Smith, E., 328
I Bowden-Smith, Rev. P., 308
Bowen, Lord, 286
Boxing, 214
Bradby, E. H., 241, 258, 290
Bradley, Dean, 241
Brassey, Lord, 286
Bray, William, 112, 113
Breaking up, 157, 260
Breviate of 1653, 382
Bridget, sister of Lawrence Sher-
iffe, 2, 17 ; farmer of Browns-
over, 24 ; holds premises accord-
ing to the special limitations,
26 ; death, 38
Bright, J. F., 280, 290
Brooks, M. J., 329
Brownsover parsonage, legend
that Sheriffe was born there, 1 ;
purchase of, 11 ; how disposed
of in will, 24 ; leased to Anthony
and John Howkins, 26; Founder's
intent regarding, 46 ; tithes and
glebe alienated, 54; repara-
tion demanded, 56 ; taken from
William Howkins, 71 ; William
Howkins's heirs to have it at a
fair rent, 72 ; value in 1670, 84
note; in 1714, 95
Buchanan, D., 283
Bucknill's boarding-house, 180,
189
'Buffets,' 216
Bullock, W. H., 287
INDEX
409
Bullying, 161, 188
Burges, S. W., 210
Burrough, Stanley, eighteenth
Master, 115 ; character, 128 ;
resignation, 128
Butcher, Thomas, 130
Butler, A. G., 290, 300
Butler, Samuel, 149, 171, 192
Butler's leap, 281
Byrne, J. R., 289
CADETS' Trophy, 330
Caldecott's, 306
Calling-over, 203
Carey, H., 172
Carey, O., 242
Carre, Robert, a friend of Harri-
son's, 40 note, 41 note ; takes
lease of Conduit Close, 40
Carte, Thomas, 90
Case, T., 328
' Case's Gallows,' 328
Castens, H. H., 328
Cave, Ambrose, 86
Cave, Edward, 91
Cave, Sir Thomas, gets a Bill
through Parliament for em-
powering Trustees to raise
money for new schools, 108, 113
Challenge Shield, Wimbledon, 330
Chamberlain, Austen, 310
Chapel, contract for, 204 ; descrip-
tion, 205 ; roof, 234, 284 ; win-
dows, 234, 284 ; transepts added,
278, 284; alterations in, 284;
altar-piece, 285 ; memorable ser-
vices in, 245, 300 ; enlarged, 304;
new windows, 304 ; latest en-
largement, 308
Chapel clerk, 134
Chaplain, 134, 206
Chartres, James, 130
Choir, 206
Christmas presents, instituted by
James, 154; abolished by Ingles,
178
Churchyard, boys play in, 110
Claughton, T. L., 209
Clerk appointed, 79, 126
Clerke, Edward, chosen to be
sixth Master by householders
of Rugby, 63 ; confirmed by
Chancery, 63 ; a Rugby man,
perhaps educated at the School,
64 ; his after career, 64 note
Clerke, Henry, takes lease of
Conduit Close, 56
Clifton, A. B., 168
'Clodding,' 216
Close, the, plan of, in 1750, 197 ;
made into a playground, 198 ;
added to, 278, 285
Clough, A.H., 240,270
Clowes, G. G., 282
< Co,' 203
Coaching, 191
Cock House, 334
Cock of the School, 214
Cock, the, 249
Cocktail Club, 273
Combing-house, 163
Commission, Public Schools, 301
Commission, First, 44; Second,
51, 52 ; Third, 71 ; case finally
settled, 72. See also Inquisition
Conduit Close, purchase of, 10;
how jlef t by Founder's will, 19 ;
original value, 23; Founder's
intent as to, 46 ; and lease to
Robert Carre, 40; value in 1602,
40, 50; inherited by Elizabeth
Field, 40; by Barnard Dakyn,
40 ; conveyed to John Vin-
cent, 40, 44; sale annulled,
49; redeemed from John Har-
borne, 57 note; treated by
410
INDEX
Anthony Howkins as his own,
56, 57 note; occupied by John
Howkins, and left to him by
Anthony, 57 note; leased to
Henry Clerke, 56 ; rented at
15, 58 ; damaged in the Civil
Wars, 67; leased and sublet
by John Howkins, 70 ; rents
in 1670, 84 note ; building lease
to Barbon, 88 ; partition, 88 ;
lease to Milman, 95 ; rents in
1808, 196
Conington, Prof., 240
Constitution of School remodelled,
121, 301
Cooper, B. B., 328
Corporal punishment, 228
Costume, football, 323 ; cricket,
327
Cotton, W., 185, 187
Cox, Sir G., 280
Crealock, Major-Gen., 282
Crick run, 271
Cricket first mentioned at Kugby,
170; further, 262, 283, 287;
present organisation. 326 ;
Young Guard, 326 ; first pro-
fessional, 327; 'distinctions,'
327 ; ' belows,' 327 ; costume,
327 ; exported to the Cape, 328 ;
to Australasia, 329
Cross, Lord, 242
Crossfield, Mrs., matron to Mr.
Knail, 105 ; has rooms in second
Schoolhouse, 109
Crossfield, Thomas, appointed
fifteenth Master, 103 ; record,
103 ; character and reputation,
104 ; death, 105
DAKYN, Barnard, inherits Conduit
Close, 40 ; conveys it to John
Vincent, 44, 47 ; refuses to pay
Schoolmaster, 44; files bill in
Chancery against Greenhill, 51 ;
writ de executions against, 52
Dakyns, C. S., 288, 324
Dames' houses, 153, 156, 164, 180,
195 ; abolished by Arnold, 236
Dancing, 136
Davey, Sir H., 281
Davies, Morris, 324
Dawson, J., 287
Debating Society, 246, 289, 313
Declamations, 140
Derby, Lord, 242
Dining School, 163
* Distinctions ' in football, 323 ; in
cricket, 327
Divine service on Sunday, School
first united for, 116 : held in
School, 134
Dodgson, C. L., 279
Douglas, Archibald Stewart, 116
Drawing, 137
Drawing School, 307
Dress, 158, 213
Drinking, 273
Durnford, Thomas, 93
Dyke Acland, A. H., 310
Dymoke, John, 118
EDEN, Sir A., 281
Ellis, Prof. K., 286
Ellis, W. W., influence on the
game of football, 218
< Ends,' 326
Epidemic in School, 98
Eranos, 316
Evans, Charles, 300
Eve, H. W., 286 '
Examination before the Trustees,
142
Examiners first employed, 178
Expenses at Kugby under Holy-
oake, 95
INDEX
411
FAGGING, 161, 169, 189, 252, 293,
301, 342 ; fags paid, 162
Fencing, 137
Field, Barnard, a Trustee, 20 ; ap-
prenticed to the Founder, 22 ;
mercantile dealings, 22, 23;
embroiled with Sultan of Bar-
bar y, 22, and Philip of Spain, 23 ;
the active Trustee, 28 ; associ-
ated with Edward Boughton,
37 ; a Papist, 37 ; his probable
honesty, 39, 40, 45 ; death, 41
Field, Edward, 209
Fifth of November, 250
Fighting at Rugby, 167
Fire-engine, 127, 331
Fires in studies, 163 ; in schools,
163 ; in houses, 332
Fishing. 159, 250
Football first mentioned, 190 ; in
Wooll's time, 217 ; origin of
'Rugby' game, 218; in Ar-
nold's time, 262 ; rules codified,
288 ; standing on goal bar, 288 ;
off-side, 288; in verse, 292;
navvies, 292; teams of fifteen
first played, 321 ; first foreign
match, 321; fifteen fixed as
number of team, 322; 'dis-
tinction,' 323 ; Union, 326
Foreign match, first football, 321
Forms, School divided into, 137
Foundationers, 24, 125, 131
Fox, H. W., 243
Francis, C. K., 328
'Freedom of the Fifth,' 339
Freemasons 1 Tavern, Old Rug-
beians meet at, 207
French masters, 134
GALLERY in church allotted to
the School, 116
Gallery, Oxford, 142
Games Committee, 323
Garden bought, 96, 200
Garden Close, 198
Gardner, J. C., 329
Gascoigne's boarding-house, 182
Gawler, Col., 283
Genealogical tables, 363
Gentleman usher, 314
'George,' old Rugbeian dinner at,
207
Glyn, H. C., 243
Glyn, R. R., 282
Godley, Sir A., 308
Goschen, G. J., 280
Goulburn, Edward Meyrick,
twenty-fourth Master, sixth
Head-master, 283, 293
Goulburn's field, 285
Governing Body first appointed,
304
Greek verses, first done at
Rugby, 138 ; Dr. James's prize,
176
Green, Prof. T. H., 285
Greene, Wilgent, fifth Master,
appointed, 58, 59; perhaps by
people of Rugby, 61 ; makes
private agreement with Rose
Wood, 58; sends boys to the
Universities, 59; a successful
Master, 60 ; death, 61
Greenhill, third Master, also called
Hill, 13 note; associated with
Edward Boughton, 36; ap-
pointed by Field, 38 ; probation
of three years, 39 ; salary, 39 ;
distinguished from a namesake,
41 ; his will, 42 ; educates John
Howkins, 42 ; well to do, 43 ;
builds additions to school-house,
43 ; repairs premises, 43 ; adds
wainscot, &c., 43 ; his wife, 43 ;
suit in Chancery, 44 ; confirmed
412
INDEX
in his post by Chancery, 49 ;
death and will, 44
Grocers' Records, extracts from,
361
' Guttle,' 216
Gymnasium, 305
HACKING, 265 ; abolished, 324
Hakewill, architect of third
School, 196 ; builds chapel,
205 ; library, 207
Half-holidays, 136
Halford, Eichard, educated by
Greene, and sent to Cambridge,
59
Hall, 259
Hall, W. H.,210
Halliday, F. J., 209
Hall -licking, 257
Hanmer, H., plucky deed of, 187
Harrison, George, a Trustee, 20 ;
birth and residence, 21 ; pro-
perty, 21 ; family, 21 ; influence
in the Trust, 28 ; death, 41 ;
identity, 28, note.
Harrison, Knightley, birth and
parentage, 59, 85 ; educated at
Rugby School, 59 ; enters at
Sidney Sussex, Cambridge, 59 ;
appointed tenth master, 84 ; |
bond of resignation, 84; resigns,
85
Hart, H. G., 311
Hatherton, Lord, 209
Hay, Sir J. C. D., 243
Hayman, Henry, twenty-sixth I
Master, eighth Head Master, !
304 ; resigns, 305
Head Master, first provided for in
1777,123. See Master
Hills, R S., 287
Hinton, C. H., 311
Hiorn, architect, surveys premises,
106
Hodgeson, S. H., 285
Hodgkinson, Joseph, 94 ; interi ex,
101
Hodson, 242
Holbeche, E., 187
Holidays, 157
Holmes, E. C., 326
Holt, Charles, 91
Holyoake, Henry, appointed thir-
teenth Master, 88 ; parentage
and career, 88, 89 ; holds sun-
dry livings with the school, 89;
increase of school under, 90 ;
held in high respect, 91, 92 ;
keeps a cousin at school, 93 ;
numbers of boys under, 93 ; his
cousin keeps house for him, 94 ;
property and will, 95 ; Speech
Day, 96 ; exercises on Speech
Day, 97 ; epidemic in school,
98 ; bequeaths library to school,
99 ; disappearance of library,
100 ; death of Holyoake, 101
Holyoake, Judith, 94
Homes, Philip, 152
Horsman, E., 209
Hort, Professor, 240
House competitions, 191
House end, 68
House-fagging, 254
Houses, 180
House supper, 158
Howkins, Anthony, birth, 2, 14;
takes lease of Brownsover from
trustees, 26 ; perhaps mover in
the petition against Scale, 38 ;
will, 42; sues out first com-
mission, 44 ; alienates glebe
and tithes of Brownsover, 55 ;
said to have enjoyed Browns-
over without lease, 56
INDEX
413
Howkins, Elias, enjoys Browns-
over without taking a lease, 56 ;
keeps a book of receipts, and
pays the Master himself, 57 ;
educated under Greene, 57 note
Howkins, John (1), husband of
Bridget, 17; death, 38. See
also Bridget
Howkins, John (2) (son of An-
thony), takes joint lease with
- Anthony of Brownsover pro-
perty, 26 ; death, 26
Howkins, John (3) (son of An-
thony), armiger, 9 ; educated
at Kugby School, 42 ; barrister,
42 ; gets possession of Conduit
Close property, 70 ; sub-lets it,
70 ; heart of the opposition to
charity, 71; applies for third
commission, 71 ; one of his
family accused of burning docu-
ments, 71 ; death and will, 73
Howkins, John (4), barrister, 26
Howkins, widow, keeps back part
of Master's salary, 66
Howkins, William (son of Elias),
enjoys Brownsover without
taking a lease, 56, 70; mar-
riage, 70 ; Brownsover property
taken from him, 71 ; arrears to
be paid, 71 ; put in prison and
released, 82
Hudson, Sir J., 209
Hughes, T., 233, 240
Humphrey, A. P., 330
INFELIX, 283
Influence of Rugby on education,
300, 349
Ingles, Henry, twentieth Master,
second Head Master, 177 ; seve-
rity, 177 ; description, 178 ;
ab ishes Christmas presents,
introduces examiners, 178 ; rules
for studies, 180 ; reduces the
School House, 180 ; numbers
under, 181 ; character, 181 ;
death, 181
Innes, George, 152
Inquisition of 1602, Appendix, p.
366 ; possible error in, 28 ; its
proceedings, 48 ; finding and
decree, 48
Intent of Lawrence Sheriffe,
359
Interregnum, 68, 74, 83, 101
Irby, E., 187
Isham, George, passes from Rugby
to Cambridge, 53
Island, 184, 198, 254, 339, 340
Island fagging, 255
JAMES, G., 187
James, Herbert Armitage, twenty-
ninth Master, eleventh Head
Master, 308
James, J., 172
James, Thomas, nineteenth Master
and first Head Master, 129;
qualifications, 129, 130 ; ap-
points and pays ushers, 130;
salary, 131 ; profits, 154 ; gene-
rosity, 134 ; regulations for daily
life and work, 136, 137 ; fond
of mathematics, 139 ; discipline.
146, 147 ; did not spare the rod,
148 ; his jests, 167 ; retires, 173 ;
epitaph, 175
Jayne, F. J., 311
Jeacocks, Leonard, appointed
twelfth Master, 87 ; school falls
off under, 88 ; death, 88
Jex-Blake, T. W., 282 ;' twenty-
seventh Master, ninth Head
414
INDEX
Master, 305 ; gift of swimming
bath, 305, 306 ; changes under,
305
KELLY, H. F., 288
Kempson, W. J., 283
Kenney, E. M., 328
Kincardine, Earl of, 104
Kitchener, F. E., 286, 300
Knail, William, appointed six-
teenth Master, 105 ; description
by old pupil, 112 ; resignation,
114
'Knuckling down,' 344
LABORATORY built, 298
Lamb-singing, 343
Landor, W. S., 138, 152; his
scholarship and ready wit, 165-
166; grievance and removal, 167;
athletic feats, 168
Laurentian, the, 316
Law, A. P., 283
Lea, W., 270
Leaflet, the, 316
Leaping, 255
Lee- Warner, W., 308
Legge, E., 173
Leigh, family of, connected with
the School, 49
Leigh, Thomas, Lord, petition of
Pearce to, 65 ; appoints White-
head, 75; 'last surviving
feoffee,' 75
Leighton, F. K., 209
Leslie, C. H. F., 328
Lessons, five, in the day's work,
instituted by Thomas James,
136, 138, 139
L'Estrange, trick played on, 164
Leve"e, Sixth Form, 246
Levies, School, Big Side, Sixth,
House, 292, 338
Lewis Carroll, 280
Librarian first appointed, 195
Library Bill, 390
Library left by Holyoake, 99 ;
room set apart for, 102; weeded
and added to, 104; under
James, 144 ; librarian, 195 ;
built, 233 ; Arnold Library,
277 ; Temple Library, 306
Lillywhite, John, first cricket
professional, 327
Lincoln's Inn Records, 362
Locking up, 137
Locock, Sir C., 209
Lushington, S., 172
Lye, Henry, 130
Lyttelton, W. H., 165
MACKIE, Jem, 263
Macready, W. C., 188, 210-212
Maling's boarding-house, 180
Mansel, John, 113
Mansel, E., 173
Mansfield, W., 310
Mansion-house. See Schoolhouse
Marlborough match, 327
Mason, Richard, goes from the
School to St. John's Coll., Cam-
bridge, 66
Master of School, original qualifi-
cations and emoluments, 24 ;
first appointed, 28 ; second and
succeeding Masters, 35, 51 ;
salary of Greenhill, 39, 49; of
Rolfe, 52 ; Master chosen by
Rugby householders, 61 ; re-
ceives rents of property, 79 ;
entertains Trustees at quar-
terly meetings, 79 ; salary of
Allen, 82; gives a bond for
resignation if required, 84 ;
salary of Harrison, 85 ; income
INDEX
415
of Jeacocks, 88 ; of Holyoake,
95 ; of James, 131 ; present
day, 302
Mathematics, 139
Maul in goal, 246
Mayor, Prof., 241
Merit money, 141
Meteor, 316
Middle week, 293
'Minister,' the, in Debating
Society, 315
Missions, School, 307, 332
Mitford, Lieut. -Col., 287
Moor, Christopher, 130
Moor's boarding-house, 180
More, A. G., 281
Museum, 277, 306, 318
Music, 318
NAPIER, Prof., 311
Natural History Museum and
Library, 320
Natural History Society, 320
' Navvies,' 274
New Big School, 306
New Close, 285
New Quadrangle, 299
New Rugby Magazine, 316
Nile, battle of, Rugbeian present
at, 173
Nimrod, 142, 164, 168, 170, 185.
See Apperley, C.
No-caps, 253, 264, 299
Notes for tradesmen, established
by James, 141
Numbers at School under Holy-
oake, 90, 120 ; Knail, 112 ; Bur-
rough, 119
Nursery, sick, 135
OAKELEY, Sir H., 281
Oakeley, R. B., 280
Open scholarships instituted, 298
Ordeals, 216
Organ, 134, 206
Organist, F. Marshall, 206
Osborne, Lord S. G., 209
Over-School, 111, 189
PALMER, Roundell, 209
Paradise, 111, 189
Parkhurst, John, 104, 172
Parry, Long, 191
Particulars for Grants, 364
Paul, William, 91
Pearce, Raphael, seventh Master,
65 ; vicar of Itchington, 64 ;
character, petition to Trustees,
65 ; poverty, 66, 67 ; sends a
pupil to Cambridge, 66 ; ceased
to teach before his death, 68;
accused of breaking up beams
and benches for firewood, 68 ;
death, 67, 68, 74 ; interregnum,
74
Pendred, 250
Pension scheme for masters
195
Percival, John, assistant to Dr.
Temple, 300 ; twenty - eighth
Master, tenth Head-master, 306
Perkins, Henry, 86
Petition of Anthony Howkins,
373
Petition of N. Greenhill, 365
Petition of Joan Pearce, 391
Petition of 1581, 374
Petition of inhabitants of Rugby
in favour of Edward Clerke as
Master, 61
Pettiver, James, 86
Pettiver, William, Latin verses by,
97
Phayre, Sir R, 310
416
INDEX
Phillipps, Sir T., 209
Phillpotts, J. S., 300
Pig and Whistle, 248
Pinckney, W. J., 329
Pinley, John, usher under Holy-
oake, 93
'Play' (half-holiday) for copies,
136, 159, 178
Playground first mentioned, 110
Playhouse in Kugby about 1720,
97
Plomer, John, educated at the
School, 101 ; usher under Holy-
oake, 93, 102 ; fourteenth Master,
101 ; takes living of Bilton, 101 ;
sets apart room for library, 102 ;
not successful as Master, 102 ;
resigns, 103
Plus, Billy, 184
Pocket-money, 141
Pond Close, 198
Pontines, 285
Poole, R. B., 286
Port, J., 170
Posers or examiners first employed,
178
Potts, A. W., 300
Powell's house, 164
Powell, York, 311
Praepostors, privileges and duties,
146 ; called over in church, 146 ;
bullying tastes, 189, 257, 301
Preparation, 137
Preparatory school, 180
Pretty, E., drawing-master, makes
sketches of Old School, 109
Price, Bonamy, 275
Prizes first established, 194
Proby, G. L., 173
Punishment paper, 141
QUEEN Dowager visits the School,
238
RATTEAY, D., 210
Rebellion, Great, 182
Rebellions under James, 150 ;
under Ingles, 182 ; later, 294,
295
Rebuilding of School under con-
sideration, 105, 133, 182
Register, School, begun, 85
Reve, Thomas, 11, 12
Rhoades, H. T., 304
Richmond, Joseph, seventeenth
Master, 115; makes no entries
in Register, 115; resignation,
115
Roasting, 169
Robertson, J., 300
Robinson, D., 188
Rolfe, Augustine, fourth Master,
51 ; perhaps elected by people
of Rugby, 61 ; gets a writ de
executione against Dakyn, 52;
sends boys to Cambridge, 53 ;
death, 58
Rolston, Edward, first Master, 34
Rugby and English education, 300,
349*
Rugby in the sixteenth century,
28, 30 ; in seventeenth, 29
Rugby Magazine, 247
Rugby Miscellany, 290
Rugby Trust, how originally insti-
tuted, 20 ; income in 1780, 121.
See Trustees
Rugby Union Rules drawn up by
old Rugbeians, 326
Run, Prize Poem, 213
Running Eight, 336
Runs, 159, 255, 270
Rutter, E., 287
SALARY. See Master
Sally Harrowell, 278, 298
INDEX
417
Sanatorium, 135, 278
Sandford, E. G., 287 ; a ' jolly
good fellow,' 305
Saumarez, P., 200
Scheme of work under James, 137
Scholarships and exhibitions, 302
School end, 68
School, Founder's desire to build,
16 ; his directions concerning,
24 ; time and cost of building,
"27; description of original
building, 32 ; in ruin, 68 ; orders
drawn up by Trustees and
placed there, 80 ; repairs of,
85, 87, 96, 105; storey built
over, 86, 94 ; thatched or tiled,
87 ; pulled down, 111 ; second
School built, copied from the
old, 110 ; removal to, 111 ; at
Speeches, 99, 131, 142 ; scheme
for rebuilding, 182 ; carried out,
195 ; description, 201
Schools, additional, 119, 131
School House built by the Founder,
14 ; carried rights of two cottage
commons, 15 ; extent of grounds,
19 ; plan of grounds, 107 ; de-
scription of original building,
32 ; almsmen lodge therein, 32,
34; additions built by Green-
hill, 43; burnt down, 43; in
ruin, 68 ; repairs of, 85, 87, 96,
105 ; survey of premises by
Hiorn, 106 ; report, 106 ; pur
chase of house on Market-place
proposed, 106 ; new house
bought, 108; removed to new
house, 112; old house pulled
down, 112 ; scheme for rebuild-
ing again, 182 ; carried out, 195
description, 200; new studies
278
School-life under James, 158 ; in
Arnold's time, 257; later, 291,
312
School work, 345
Sclater, Edward, educated by
Greene, and goes to Cambridge,
59
Scale, Richard, second Master, 35 ;
ejected, 37
Selous, F. C., 310, 320
Sergeant at Arms (Debating
Society), 290
Sheriffe, Lawrence, birth and
parentage, 1, 13 ; probably born
at Rugby, 2 ; age, 2 ; education,
2 ; apprenticed to William
Walcott, 3 ; grocer by appoint-
ment to Princess Elizabeth, 4,
5 ; defence of Elizabeth against
her opponents, 4 ; at court, 6 ;
on the livery of the Grocers'
Company, 7 ; grant of arms, 9 ;
house in Newgate St., 10 ; buys
Conduit Close, 10 ; his wife, 10,
12; New Year's gifts to and
from Queen Elizabeth, 10;
speculates in land, 11 ; buys
messuages in Rugby, and builds
mansion-house, 14 ; sworn into
Assistance of Grocers' Company,
15; second Warden, 15; his
household, 15; illness, 15;
makes will and intent, 15 ; last
visit to Rugby, 16 ; adds codicil
to will, 16 ; death and burial,
17, 18
Sherrard, W. C., 326
Shirking, 170, 340 ; abolished,
293
Shirley, H., 210
Sibyl, the, 316
Sick Nursery, 163. See Sanatorium
Sick rooms in each boarding-house,
278
418
INDEX
Sidgwick, A., 285
Sidgwick, Prof. H., 286
Singing in Hall, 252
Singlestick, 152
Singleton, John, called the ejected
Head Master of Rugby, 82, 83
Sixth Form, character, duties,
privileges, 337
Sixth match, 266
Sldpwith, Thomas, 104
Sleath, John, 117, 152
Sleath, William, 117, 130, 151
Smoking-out, 260
Somerville, Lord, 187
Sorrel, H. A., 243
Speech day under Holyoake, 96 ;
held at the August meeting of
Trustees, 96 ; compositions re-
cited at, 97, 98, 99 ; floor strewn
with rushes, 99 ; under Bur-
rough, 119; under James, 142;
big school decorated with oak
boughs, 142 ; time changed to
June, 144
Spencer Cup, 330
Sports, 159, 334
Spread Eagle, old Rugbeians meet
at, 207
Stanley, A. P., 233, 240; monu-
ment, 306
Stanley's boarding-house, 180
' Stodge,' 345
Stokes, F. , 326
Story, Elizabeth, 95
Street-lighting in Rugby, 248
Studies, 131, 137, 185, 155; de-
scription in James's time, 162 ;
rent, 162 ; in dames' houses, I
163, 164; how heated, 163; j
Ingles tries to give each boy a j
separate one, 180; under Arnold,
259
Study-licking, 257
'Swan' bought for the school,
96
Swifts, 248
Swimming, 250
Sykes, P. M., 310
Sykes, W. H., 326
TAIT, Archibald Campbell,twenty-
third Master, fifth Head-master,
275; home life, 277; resigns,
277
Tait's field, 285
Tawney, C. H., 286
Tea, a luxury, 163
Temple, Frederic, twenty - fifth
Master, seventh Head-master,
297 ; Science, Open Scholar-
ships, 298; abolishes standing
in goal, 299 ; resigns, 300
Temple, Sir R., 242
Temple reading-room, 306
Tercentenary, 299
Thompson, Sir E. M., 286
Thornton, S. f 244
Thos, 194
Three trees, 198
Throttling at football, 264
' Tolly,' 343
Tompkinson, E., 170
' Tosh,' 305, 306
Trafalgar, Rugbeian present at,
173
Tree moved, 298
Treen, 'Mother' or 'Queen,'
214
Trevor, R., 210
Trustees, how originally consti-
tuted, 20 ; duties, 28 ; in early
years little fault to be found,
26 ; appoint first almsmen, 27 ;
place them in the Schoolhouse,
27 ; build a school, 27 ; appoint
INDEX
419
first Master, 28 ; first Board of
Twelve appointed in 1602, 48 ;
second Board, 52 ; laxity of, 52,
56, 57, 61, 62, 79 ; appointed by
Chancery in 1632, 61 ; in 1653,
71 ; property vested in them,
regulations for meetings, 71, 72 ;
attend Speeches, 96 ; die off
down to one survivor, 78 ; dis-
sensions among, 78 ; turn over
a new leaf, 79 ; appoint clerk
and begin account, and order
books, 79 ; make orders for
School, 80 ; take a bond from
Master for resignation if re-
quired, 84 ; neglect their meet-
ings for some years, 103 ; save
money for improvements, 106 ;
present duties, 301
Trustees' Hooks, Kugby, extracts
from, 376
Turf-cart fagging, 256
Turner, D. P., 324
T. V. W., the, 316
Tyrwhitt-Drake, 310
UNIVERSITY drag, 248
Upper Boys' Room, 163
Ushers, 74, 93, 101, 102, 115 ; first
appointed by Trustees, 130;
salary of, 130 ; additional, 133 ;
under James, 151, 153 ; salary,
153, increased, 179 ; pension
scheme for, 195
VAUGHAN, C. J., 240, 275
Vaughan, H. H., 209
Vaughan, Sir Henry, 117
Vaughan, Peter, 153
Veteran's trophy, 330
Vickars, E. R. F., 283
Victoria Cross, 282, 287
Vincent, John, buys share of
Conduit Close, 48 ; death, 48
Vincent, Rose. See Wood, Rose
Vivarium, 320
Volunteer Corps, 186, 329 ; organi-
sation, 331 ; rifle range, 331
WACE, Prof., 286
Waddington, W. H., 242
Wake, D., the hero of Arrah, 282
Walhouse, E. J., 209
Walker, F. W., 281
Walker, Sir George, 117
Walker, J., 244
Warburton, W. P., 289, 291
Waterloo, Rugbeians at, 168, 187
Watney, H., 329
Webb, Bishop, 286
Wheler, Edward, Speech Day
composition of, 97
Wheler, F., 210
Whitehead, Peter, eighth Master,
75 ; whether a Master of Arts,
75 ; a Proctor of Civil Law, 75 ;
a painful schoolmaster, 77 ;
why appointed, 76 ; resigns, 77
Will of Anthony Howkins, 390
Will of John Howkins, 391
Will of Lawrence Sheriffe, 353
Wills, T. W., 328
Wilmot, Sir H. S., 282
Wilmot, Sir John, draws up scheme
for new Constitution, 121
Wilson, J. M., 300
4 Winchester Knots,' 216
Winter, J. P., 282
Wise, H., 170
Wolff, Sir H. D., 281
Wood, Rose, formerly wife of John
Vincent, 48 ; marries Roger
Wood, 48; refuses to pay her
420
INDEX
rent, 51 ; condemned to pay
costs and arrears, 52 ; tenant
under Henry Clerke, 56 ; pays
her arrears, 57 ; private agree-
ment with Greene, 58 ; death, 70
Wooll, John, twenty-first Master,
third Head-master, 192; cha-
racter, 192, 193, 212, 215 ; num-
bers in school, 194 ; establishes
prizes, 194 ; resigns, 207 ; Uni-
versity honours of his pupils,
208
Work under James, 139
Wratislaw's boarding-house, 180
Writing-master, 130
Wynch, C. G., 283
YARDLEY, W., 328
Yates, H. T. S., 326
265
THE END
Printed by BALLANTYNB, HANSON
Edinburgh &> London
Co.