Truro Cathedral School | |
---|---|
Location | |
, , TR1 England | |
Information | |
Type | Independent Day and boarding |
Religious affiliation(s) | Church of England |
Established | 1549 |
Closed | 1982 |
Last chairman of governors | George Boscawen, 9th Viscount Falmouth |
Last headmaster | J. C. Wolters |
Gender | Boys |
Age | 7to 18 |
Enrolment | 321 (1968) |
Houses | Trewinnard Court (for boarders) |
Former pupils | Old Truronians |
Truro Cathedral School was a Church of England school for boys in Truro, Cornwall. An ancient school refounded in 1549 as the Truro Grammar School, after the establishment of Truro Cathedral in the last quarter of the 19th century it was responsible for educating the cathedral's choristers and became known as the Cathedral School.
The school closed in July 1982 and the education of choristers was transferred to Polwhele House Preparatory School.
An ancient foundation, the school existed before the Reformation as the chantry school of St Mary's Church, Truro. In 1549, following Edward VI's Dissolution of Colleges Act 1547 which suppressed all chantries, the school was refounded and took on a new identity as Truro Grammar School. [1] However, as reported by Nicholas Carlisle in his survey of 1818, "The Grammar School at Truro owes its origin and endowment to some benevolent person, whose name is now not known." [2] The best evidence of the refounding of the school is an entry in the Journal of the House of Commons dated 21 May 1689, which refers to the grammar school being founded by a deed, since lost, of the third year of King Edward VI. [3]
In 1767, the Rev. St John Eliot, a former Rector of Truro, founded two Exhibitions tenable only at Exeter College, Oxford, worth £30 a year each, with preference to be given to boys from the school. [4] [5] In 1818 Carlisle reported that over the previous ten years the number of scholars had been about fifty [2] and that
The School is a venerable Structure, 42 feet in length by 28 feet in breadth, and 18 1/2 feet in height to the ceiling, with pillars and pilasters of the Corinthian order. Adjoining, is a Library, filled with excellent editions of the Classics and other valuable Works, which are under the sole control of the Master... The Eton Latin and Greek Grammars are at present in use; and the system of Education is similar to that of ETON COLLEGE. [2]
In the early 19th century an "anniversary school meeting" took place on every second Thursday in September, being a gathering of the school's former pupils. [6] Cyrus Redding, in his An Illustrated Itinerary of the County of Cornwall (1842) called Truro Grammar School "the most celebrated school in the county". [5]
With the creation of the Diocese of Truro in 1876 from the Cornish part of the old Diocese of Exeter, [7] the 16th-century parish church of St Mary's was designated as a cathedral. The church was then partly demolished and partly incorporated into the new neo-Gothic Truro Cathedral, built on the same site. [8] The pupils of the old grammar school had worshipped at St Mary's and became responsible for providing the new cathedral's choristers. It thus began to be known as the "Cathedral School". [9]
In 1906 the school was established as Truro Cathedral School by the Dean and Chapter as a Church of England public school. [10] By the early 20th century the school was a private school and had a boarding house called Trewinnard Court. The buildings were designed by the cathedral architect F. L. Pearson and built in the precincts of the cathedral. In 1925 the headmaster resided at Trewinnard Court. At that time choristers paid no tuition fees and there were two Bray scholarships open to choristers worth £30 p.a. The Hawkins scholarship worth £80 p.a. was open to former pupils studying at a university and tenable for three years. [10] By the 1920s the cathedral school's reputation had significantly increased. [11]
During the Second World War, the school took the junior boys evacuated from St Paul's, London, some of whom joined the Truro Cathedral choir. [12]
In 1949, the school was occupying Copeland Court, Kenwyn, formerly the bishop's palace known as 'Lis Escop'. [13] [14] Until 1960, the school had a large building in the Cathedral Close. [15] In 1968 the school's age range was from seven to eighteen. There were 212-day boys and 109 boarders. Of these, twenty-two were cathedral choristers. [16]
In 1974 the school was teaching Cornish wrestling as part of its physical education programme and was the only school in Cornwall to do so. [17] In 1979 it was reported to provide "continuous education for boys from 7–18 either as boarders or as day boys". [18]
The Times reported on 19 April 1982 that Viscount Falmouth, the chairman of the school's governing body, had written to parents to break the news that the school would close at the end of that year's Summer term. The stated reason was "deteriorating finances", and Lord Falmouth said in his letter that the decision had been taken "with very great reluctance, after exploring all possible alternatives and after considering professional advice". John Wolters, the headmaster, wrote separately to parents to say that the school would help to find places for its boys in other schools. The other members of staff responded by issuing a statement on 18 April to say they were hoping the school could continue, "if necessary on a reconstituted basis". [19]
Reasons which have since been suggested for the closure include a lack of modern facilities, the economic downturn of the early 1980s, and the changing priorities of leaders of the Church of England, which owned the school buildings. George Eustice, an old boy of the school, has said he suspects the Church may have wished to close the school to raise funds for repairing the roof of Truro Cathedral. [20]
A limited liability company called Truro Cathedral School Ltd was incorporated on 21 November 1960 and is still in existence. [21] The school's task of providing the cathedral's choristers has been transferred to the neighbouring Polwhele House Preparatory School, and the number of choristers is now eighteen. [22]
The former school building in the Cathedral Close is now called "Old Cathedral School" and is currently an office building; it was used as such by the Cornwall Council unitary authority until the council gave it up. The building is still owned by the cathedral. [15] The Cornwall Record Office holds the school's archives, including "lists of masters, pupils and benefactors" dating between 1612 and 1876 and the governors' cash books from 1882 to 1984. [23]
Those educated at the school are known as "Old Truronians" and include (in chronological order):
Until the nineteenth century, the school usually had only one professional schoolmaster, called "the master". Once it needed more staff the title became "headmaster".
An Old Truronians Association brings together former pupils of the school and continues to hold an annual dinner. [20]
The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It is one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom featuring three spires.
Oswestry School is an ancient public school, located in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. It was founded in 1407 as a 'free' school, being independent of the church. This gives it the distinction of being the second-oldest 'free' school in the country, between Winchester College and Eton College (1440).
Truro School is a coeducational private boarding and day school located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, England. It is the largest coeducational independent school in Cornwall with over 1050 pupils from pre-prep to sixth form. It is a member school of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
Founded by King Henry VIII in 1541, The King's School is a state-funded Church of England Cathedral Chorister School located in Peterborough, England. It is the Chorister School for Peterborough Cathedral. Former pupils are known as Old Petriburgians.
Hutton Grammar School is a voluntary aided ie state-funded Church of England comprehensive day school for boys, with a co-educational Sixth Form. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) south west of Preston, Lancashire, in Hutton, England. It provides education for boys from the age of 11 to 16, and in the Sixth Form for both boys and girls. The school no longer offers boarding. The school is ranked 5th in the league tables in the North-West and 2nd place for AS-A2 results. It was also the Lancashire Rugby School of the Year, for two years running, for 2007 and 2008. Hutton has also achieved Specialist Schools Status accreditation in Mathematics and Computing.
Brewood Grammar School was a boys' school in the village of Brewood in South Staffordshire, England.
Richard Polwhele was a Cornish clergyman, poet and historian of Cornwall and Devon.
The Cathedral Grammar School is an independent, Anglican preparatory day school in Christchurch, New Zealand. The school is situated on a site covering two blocks in mid-Christchurch next to the Avon River and adjacent to Hagley Park, which it uses for its playing fields. It is in close proximity to Christ's College, the Canterbury Museum, the Christchurch Art Gallery and the Christchurch CBD.
Founded in 1675, Buxton College was a boys' Public School and, from 1923, a grammar school in Buxton, Derbyshire whose site has been expanded since 1990 to be used as the fully co-educational comprehensive Buxton Community School.
Christ Church Cathedral School is an independent preparatory school for boys in Oxford, England. It is one of three choral foundation schools in the city and educates choristers of Christ Church Cathedral, and the Chapels of Worcester College and Pembroke College. It is a member of the IAPS and the Choir Schools Association.
Dr Thomas Rowley was a successful headmaster of Bridgnorth Grammar School between 1821 and 1850. He was a member of the Canterbury Association, was Dean-designate for the yet to be built ChristChurch Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand, but he never emigrated.
Osborne William Tancock was an English clergyman, headmaster, and author. At Oxford he was President of the Oxford Union Society.
Marlborough Royal Free Grammar School, previously known as Marlborough Grammar School and King Edward's School, Marlborough, was a grammar school in the town of Marlborough, in Wiltshire, England, founded in 1550.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.
Reigate St Mary's Preparatory and Choir School is a mixed private prep and choir school in Reigate, Surrey, England.
Polwhele House School is a day and boarding preparatory school at Polwhele House, near Truro, Cornwall.
Exeter Cathedral School (ECS) is a 3–13 mixed, Church of England, private day and boarding choir and preparatory school in Exeter, Devon, England. It has been closely associated with Exeter Cathedral since it was first recorded as existing in the 12th century.
Yeovil Grammar School was a grammar school in Yeovil, Somerset, which was founded or refounded about 1860 and closed in 1906 when its only headmaster, Henry Monk, retired.