Burton on Trent
Grammar School
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Although
Burton Abbey was founded in 1004, the first mention of its school was not until 1390. The Grammar School's formal “foundation” in the 1520s is usually seen
as the wise and prescient local Abbot seeking political and financial stability for the
school, during a period in which the Abbeys of England were already under pressure:
Wolsey was closing what he decided to be decaying houses, using their riches
for his own and the King's needs. By
removing the school from the every-day activities and finances of the Abbey and by
creating a protectorate of local lay Trustees, the Abbot could, to some extent, protect it
from the coming upheavals. It is possible little changed in the real life and education of
the scholars as the School was “founded”.
Thus, William Beyne, 32nd Abbot, 1502-1531, provided funds
to Richard Sacheveral for land purchases, the rent of which would be used to found and
maintain a school and master. The endowment funding was put in place, through Sacheveral,
on 28th February 1529 and, presumably, the school was “founded” soon
afterwards.
The first recorded appointment of a
schoolmaster was, however, not until Richard Harman in September 1537. The
school and schoolmaster seem to have survived the Dissolution reasonably well:
an upheaval even greater than Abbot Beyne had foreseen. Explicit funding for a schoolmaster was
included in the creation of the new Collegiate Church, which succeeded the
Abbey.
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Friars' Walk
By the mid 1700s, there were both head master and under master. The
school was still supported, for the most part, by rents from the original endowment of
lands in Breaston (Derby) and Orton on the Hill (Leics). The school was
situated in the north-west corner of the churchyard. The school moved to new buildings in
Friars’ Walk in 1834.
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Bond Street
In the mid 1800s, the school was still very much a
“grammar” school with a strong emphasis on classics, and continued for the rest
of the century and into the C20th to ignore pleas for an education, which reflected the
economic and social needs of the town. The recognisable face to the school began to
develop with the Endowment Schools Act of 1869. Disparate strands of funding were gathered
together, and three Burton schools founded, with the Grammar School as an upper school for
boys. Moneys were made available for a new school, which would take 120 boys - effectively
doubling the size of the school. The new school was opened in Bond St. in 1875.
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Winshill
Burton “Free” Grammar School grew in numbers
and reached over 300 as the Second World War approached. But while the finances of the
School were secure, parental finance largely dictated who came to this improving
School. At the outbreak of War, 75% of pupils were straightforwardly those who could pay
the fees. Special Place Examinations provided 25% of places to boys from public elementary
schools. Within this latter group, a small number received full scholarships, the
remainder paid reduced fees. Rab Butler’s 1944 Education Act with the introduction of
free secondary education and the 11+, finally, gave the Grammar School its modern
egalitarian and meritocratic face. The School ceased to be “Free”, meaning
independent, in 1951 and moved from Bond St. to Winshill in 1957. It closed in 1975 after
six centuries, probably more, of service to not only to Burton, and England, but also to
countries across the world in which former students setteled.
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Adapted & Pictures from:
Radford G.E., 1973, A History of Burton upon Trent Grammar School, Printer:
Brittain & Sons, Church St, Ripley, Derby
Underhill C.H., 1941, History of Burton on Trent, Printer: Tresises, 186-7 Station
St., Burton on Trent.
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=12343 for the first
reference in 1390 to a school warden.
Other Burton Material: All with reference to the School
Molyneux W., 1869, Burton on Trent: Its History, Its Waters & Its Breweries,
Whitehurst, Burton on Trent.
Owen C.C., 1978, The Development of Industry in Burton on Trent, Phillimore &
Co. Chichester.
Owen C.C., 1994, Burton on Trent: The Illustrated History, Breedon Books, Derby.
Stewart D., 1977, County Borough: The History of Burton on Trent 1901-1974, Two
Vols., The Charter Trustees of Burton on Trent.
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