Big School

This building is the oldest part of Boston Grammar School, constructed between 1567 and 1568. It comprised the entire school for nearly three centuries before additions were made. Older alumni will know it as the Big School, though it has served as the school library since 1961.^[1] It was awarded Grade II listed status in 1949.^[2]

16th Century

Following the founding of the school by Letters patent in 1555, a building in Wormgate was used as the schoolhouse until the corporation provided new premises. On 19 May 1567 it was decided that "ther shall be a new Scholehouse erected in the Hallgarth" and once the decision was made no time was wasted. The building was completed within a year.

In the following April it was reported that just over £195 "one hundryth fower schore fyftene pounds and eleven pence of lawful money of England" had been expended "in and abowte the buyldynge of the new Schoole House, aswell in woodd tymber stone as all so ye workmanshippe..." The final payment, of four pounds for "2000 thatche tile" was "delivered to John Dixon for his Scholehouse" the next October. They built better than they knew. The school remained largely unaltered, and not extended, until 1850.

An inscription in Latin over the north door reads: "Anno 1567, Reginae Elizabethae nono Maior et Burgenses Bostoniae uno et eodem concensu puerorum institutionis gratia in piis litteris hanc aedificverunt Scholam, Gulielmo Ganocke, Stapli mercatore, et tunc maiore existente." That can be translated as: "In 1567, in the ninth year of Queen Elizabeth, the Mayor and Burgesses of Boston unanimously agreed to build this school for the instruction of boys in sound learning, William Gannock, merchant of the staple, being Mayor at that time."^[3]

An engraving of 1821, showing the school before further extensions were made

The Latin inscription over the north door - dated 1567

The Grammar School, 1567 according to the programme for the Pageant of Boston, 1951

18th Century

A fireplace was installed in a central position halfway along the east side of the building during the 1730s. This is thought to have been bricked up in the late 1930s.

19th Century

Building extensions

In 1850 a lobby / entrance porch was added at the north end of the Big School (the end closer to what is now Rowley Road).

Engraving showing the 1850 entrance porch on the left hand side, at the north end of Big School.

Six years later, in 1856, a classroom was added at the south end. This second extension was erected by Charity Trustees at a cost of about £160. An inscription over the entrance door states: "This wing erected A.D. MDCCCLVI"

In 1866 another classroom was added, this time to the northern entrance porch.

Photograph of Big School and the three Victorian extensions. On the left hand side is the 1850 entrance porch (in the foreground) along with the 1866 classroom (rising above it in the background). Big School is in the centre. On the right hand side is the 1856 classroom.

North windows

In 1862, stained glass figures were installed in the north window, following a subscription started by past and present pupils. Messrs Ward and Hughes, of Frith Street, Soho Square, London were commissioned to carry out the work. In the centre is a representation of Elizabeth I, the reigning monarch at the time the Big School was completed in 1568. She is flanked on her right by Lord Burghley and William Shakespeare, and on her left by Francis Bacon and Francis Drake.

The north stained glass panels installed in 1862. From left to right: Burghley, Shakespeare, Elizabeth I, Bacon, Drake.

East windows

During the 19th Century, stained glass coats of arms (escutcheons) were added to the east windows. These reflected prominent Bostonians who had been, or were at the time, connected to the school.

Individual referenced	Latin motto	Approximate translation
"Thomas Collis, Trustee, Mayor 1839"	Mens conscia recti	A mind conscious of rectitude
"John Holliday Thomas, Trustee 1835"
"Thomas Wise, Chairman of Trustees 1862"	Sapere aude	Dare to be wise / dare to know
"John Hobson, Trustee 1835"
"Thomas Smalley Cooke, Trustee 1858"	Virtus ardua petit	Excellence seeks out challenges / adversity
"John Oldrid, Trustee 1858"	Fama semper vivit	Reputation lives forever
"Fred Cooke, Trustee, Mayor 1855, 1854, 1856"	Semper idem	Always the same
"Joseph Wren, Trustee, Mayor 1857, 1858"	Veritate et industria	Truth and industry
"John Caruthers Little, Trustee, Mayor 1859"	Fidelis ad urnam	Faithful until death
"Stephen Lewin, Trustee, Mayor 1860, 1861"	Ha persa la fide, ha perso l’honore	Faith lost, honour is lost
"Fred Lyon Hopkins, Trustee 1858"
"Thomas Garfit, Trustee 1858"	Semper idem	Always the same
No name
No name	Confide recte agens	Trust in fair dealing
No name

20th Century

Memorial plaques

During the first half of the 20th Century, the Old Bostonian Association (OBA) erected a number of brass memorial plaques as a tribute to prominent teachers who had passed away. They remain there to this day.

Date of unveiling	Teacher commemorated	Inscription text
31 July 1902	John Francis Bazlinton	Latin inscription: "In memoriam Johannis Francisci Bazlinton hvivsce scholae per lv annos ab an MDCCCXLIII vsqve ad an MDCCCXCVIII svbdoctoris qvi natvs id dec MDCCCXIX obiit A.D. XI kal mart MDCCCXCVIII sodalitivm alvmnorvm mense apr eivsdem qvo institvtvm est anni p c"
31 July 1902	George Edwin Pattenden	Latin inscription: "Georgi Edvini Pattenden S T B LL D, AED, cathedr lincolon praebendari hvivsce scholae ab an MDCCL ad an MDCCCLXXXVII informatoris qvi natvs A.D. III non nov MDCCCXXIII obiit AD XVI kal Dec MDCCCXCVII vt posteri sint memores sodalitivm alvmnorvm mense apr eivsdem qvo institvtvm est anni p c"
1914	Albert Harold Cawood	"To Albert Harold Cawood, traveller and mountaineer, foreign language master in this school from 1881 to 1905, the friend of all the boys, and to an older generation the best of companions and story tellers, this tablet is erected by the Old Bostonian Club. 1914."
1914	William White	"William White of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, was a master in this school from 1879 until his death in 1912, first as second master and then for 25 years as headmaster. He devoted to the service of the school all the energies of a strenuous life. The Old Bostonian Club place this tablet as a token of their gratitude. 1914. 'tenacem propositi virum'" The Latin quote 'tenacem propositi virum' originates from an ode by the poet Horace, and means: 'a man firm in purpose'.
6 October 1950	Arthur Hill	"To the memory of Arthur Hill B.A., Oxon, classical master from 1887 to 1929. This tablet is erected by the Old Bostonian Association, in warm affection for the man and with high esteem for his long and loyal service to the school."

Quater-centenary window

1955 marked the 400th anniversary of the granting of the school charter. To help commemorate this quater-centenary, it was decided to insert ten stained glass panels into the large bay window on the west side of the Big School. These panels illustrate various aspects of the school’s history, symbolically linking the school of 1555 to that of 1955. Installed in 1956, they were designed by Alfred L. Wilkinson, Secretary of the British Society of Master Glass Painters. An illustrated description was produced, with explanations for each picture.

Lower tier panels

Panel 1: A typical schoolboy of 1555 holding a birch and a slate inscribed with Queen Mary I's motto "Veritas temporis filia" ("Truth, the daughter of time"). The Old School-House in Wormgate is upon the cartouche.
Panel 2: The Beast Mart held in the Mart Yard, now the school playground, with a windmill of the period, and the tower of the Church of St Botolph, which appears also in Panel 4 to emphasise continuity.
Panel 3: Queen Mary I holding the Charter, with King Philip in the background.
Panel 4: The annual proclamation of the Beast Mart, with aircraft to contrast with the windmill of Panel 2, and the tower of St Botolph as before. Central image depicts the Mayor, town clerk and headmaster.
Panel 5: A modern (as of 1955) schoolboy; the School Motto in the cartouche. Note the cap, blazer piping, 'BGS' monogram crest and grey trousers.

Upper tier panels

Panel 1: The arms of the Borough of Boston, the recipient of the Charter. The shield, without the supporters, is used as the school crest.
Panel 2: A ship of the period, with the emblems of the scythe, hook and spade in the cartouche.
Panel 3: Illustrating the trading associations of Boston, especially in wool and particularly with the Hanseatic League; the shields of the Merchants of the Staple, the Merchant Adventurers or Hambrough Merchants, and the Flanders or Brabant Merchants; five small shields of the main towns of the Hanseatic League, i.e. Bremen, Brunswck, Cologne, Danzig, Lubeck.
Panel 4: Inshore fishing smacks; a dock crane and a pneumatic drill in the cartouche
Panel 5: The arms of Holland County Council, which in 1955 was associated with the government of the school.

Models

In panel 4 of the lower tier, the depictions of Mayor, town clerk and headmaster were modelled on the contemporary holders of those offices: W A Midgley, C L Hoffrock Griffiths and William John Ricketts.

To help produce panel 5 of the lower tier, a small number of pupils were asked to be models. The following part of a letter from Chris Gilding (BGS 1950-1957) was reproduced in the February 1997 issue of The Old Bostonian:

"...because of an interest in the stained glass window in the bay window half way down the hall where the headmaster stood every morning.
I was one of three or four boys who were used as 'models' by the designer for the boy in school uniform depicted in the window. This was in the mid-50s and was for an anniversary of the school...
Cliff Naylor was one of the others. I don't recall recognising any particular likeness in the finished product."

John Peter Flynn always believed that the subject for the schoolboy was Thomas D Gledhill, the elder son of Latin master John Gledhill. Perhaps he was one of the boys mentioned by Chris Gilding.

Conversion to school library

Big School was used intensively for classroom teaching until the Quadrangle was completed in 1926. From then on, it was used for holding assemblies and as a gymnasium. The idea of using the building as the school library was first formally proposed in the 1950s, and was put into effect in 1961, when the Big School was renovated and converted into its current function as the school library at a cost of about £2,000.

It is worth noting that a library existed long before 1961, and over the years it was maintained in a couple of different rooms. One early location is thought to be the upstairs room located at the south-east corner of the Quadrangle. During the 1940s and 1950s, the library was located in a ground floor room of Number One South End.

House windows

In 1968, to mark the 400th anniversary of the Big School being built, four more stained glass panels were installed along its west side. These depict the men after whom the school Houses are named: Robert of Muston, William Gannock, John Laughton and Thomas Parry.

Muston
Gannock
Laughton
Parry

1996 refurbishment

In 1996 the library underwent an extensive refurbishment, including provision of new furniture and installation of a small IT suite. The reopening was carried out by Jim Howes, and a plaque was installed with the following wording:

"This refurbished library was opened 10th December 1996 by J.R. Howes FRICS, MIH, chairman of both the Foundation and the school governors".

21st Century

OBA Museum

In 2002 the Old Bostonian Association opened a museum in the room at the north end of the library, displaying exhibits from the school's history.

Flood damage

On 5 December 2013 the library suffered flood damage and was closed for several months, re-opening in June 2014 following repairs.

Other exterior photographs and drawings

Drawing in "Our Old Country Towns" by Alfred Rimmer, published in 1881.
Print showing the Big School
The Big School, date unknown
Postcard of Big School and pupils playing sport in the Mart Yard. Late 19th / early 20th Century.
Photograph from the late 19th or early 20th Century
1905 Postcard
1998 photograph
1998 photograph

Interior photographs and drawings

Photograph of interior, pre-1926. Note the fireplace and use of the building as a classroom.
Drawing of interior and pupils, pre-1926
Early 20th Century
Postcard photograph, circa 1937
Postcard photograph, circa 1937

References

↑ Bagley, Geo S (1985) "Floreat Bostona" - Published by The Old Bostonian Association - ISBN 0951043102
↑ Historic England - Boston Grammar School
↑ Hubert Turpin (1955, 1966) "Boston Grammar School - A Short History" - Published by Guardian Press, Boston

Big School

Contents

16th Century

18th Century