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RfiADIKG D IRECTO RY— 1 9 1 4 .

SCHOOLS.
R E A D IN G SCH OO L.
Recent research has proved that the school existed in 1120 & before the
foundation of the Monastery, but mention o f it rarely occurs in old
chronicles till its reconstruction in 1485,in -which year JohnThorne, A bbot
o f Reading, having suppressed the H ospital o f St. John, was directed by
H enry V I I . to assign its revenues to some charitable institution, in p u r­
suance o f w hich command he transferred them to this school, one o f his
officers, W illiam Dene, giving 200 marks in aid o f its refoundation.
Queen Elizabeth granted the school by charter in 1560 a valuable endow­
ment & in the reign o f Charles I. Archbishop Laud, a native o f Read­
ing, left ,£20 a year to the head master and established a “ visitation ’’
o f the school, which is still maintained. The great hall o f the sup­
pressed hospital was for many years used as a schoolroom , until in
1790 Dr. Richard V alpy, w ho long held the head mastership, erected a
new one at his ow n cost. The foundation stone o f the present buildings,
w hich cost ,£80,000, occupying a p lot o f ground in Redlands, 13 acres
in extent, & situated about a mile south-east o f the town, was laid by
H is late M ajesty K in g Edw ard V II. then Prince o f Wales, on July
1st, 1870, & they were form ally opened b y the late L ord H atherley,
then L ord Chancellor, Sept. 11th, 1871; they com prise a large
central hall, fourteen class-rooms & three boarding houses, holding
about 75 boarders, w ith separate rooms for each boy, a school chapel to
hold 300 boys, a larger house for the head master, with 50 single d or­
m itories, & a ju nior school for 60 beys in the school grounds, also three
chemical & physical laboratories, an armoury, a gymnasium, art rooms,
large sw im m ing baths, engineering workshops, carpenter’s shop & a
large detached sanatorium ; adjoining is a cricket ground w ith pavilion.
There is a classical side fo r those boys who are preparing directly for
the universities ; & a modern side, adapted more especially to the study
o f science, mathematics & modern languages. The school is inspected
by the Board o f Education and b y the O xford and Cam bridge Schools
Exam ination B o a r d ; its School Certificate is accepted by the Arm y
Council in lieu o f the A rm y Q ualifying Exam ination, and it is recog­
nised by the College o f Physicians and the College o f Surgeons as a
place o f instruction. A m ong other School organisations there is a
flourishing cadet corps of the Officers’ Training Corps. The school
year is divided into three terms & three vacations.
The annual
value o f the scholarships tenable at the School at present amount
to about ¿ 7 0 0 . Julius Palm er m . a . fellow o f Magdalen College, O xford,
a head master here, was burnt at the stake at Newbury fo r heresy in 1556 ;
& among the eminent persons educated here m ay be named Sir Thomas
W h ite k t.L o r d M ayor, & founder o f St. John’s College, O xford, d. 1566;
W illiam Laud, A rchbishop o f Canterbury, beheaded 10th Jan. 1645;
Sir Constantine Phipps kt. L ord Chancellor o f Ireland, d. 1723 ; Henry,
1st V iscount Sidm outh, prime m inister in 1801, d. 15th Feb. 1844;
John Blagrave, the mathematician, d. 9th Aug. 1611 ; James M errick,
translator o f the Psalms, d. 5th Jan. 1769 ; Rev. Charles Coates, author
o f a H istory o f Reading, pub. 1802-9; Thom as Turner, dean o f Canter­
bury, d. 8 th Oct. 1672 ; W illiam Shipley, dean o f St. Asaph ; Francis
Annesley, first master o f D ow ning College, founded 22nd Sept. 1800 ;
R ob ert Vansittart, professor o f civil law at O xford, d. 1789 ; Sir
Thomas Noon Talfourd kt. d . c . l . ju dge o f Common Pleas, & author, d.
1858 ; D r. Jeune, Bishop o f Peterborough, d. 1 8 6 8; John Jackson d . d .
bishoo o f London. & John Lem pridre d . d . author o f the Classical