Carvings in the Old School
Despite the injunction in the 1571 Orders of Governance of the school to keep a register of pupils no complete lists exist until 1838. There are, however, numerous instances of carved names throughout the older parts of the school, both inside and out. There are several hundred names and initials that have been photographed and transcribed, far too many to reproduce here. The School Archives has a file containing these images and their transcription. Some of the carvings have dates and others can be recognised by their success in later life.
Here is a selection of the more prominent.
The earliest carving with a date is Joseph Clarke in 1644.
Joseph was the Usher until 1662 and carved his name, probably, as a scholar in the upper floor of the Administration Block, then the Master’s House.
Samuel Coddington was another Usher (1697 to 1699) who carved his name as a scholar. He heads a group of five scholars dated 1690, John Thorold, Samuel Walker, John Chrichloe and John Hallam.
Carvings associated with a date pre-1838:
- 1660 Richard Tonine
- 1674 Richard Charles, F Wight
- 1683 Thomas Johnson, Henry Isham, W Johnson, Edmund Machin Benjamin Hudson, Edward Hudson, Theodore Wells, I Wills
- 1685 W Dove 1687 John Lenton, John Matthew, Thomas Turner
- 1693 William Ellis
- 1694 Richard Towne
- 1695 E Milles, Newcomb, Francis Tomlinson
- 1696 Jeremiah Aldin, Joseph Marsh, T Maskard, John Newcomb, Pooli Roberts, W Walcott
- 1698 Ralph Clarke, John Denton, John Hudson, John Miller
- 1699 Thomas Bourne, Edward Chrichloe, Ralph Clarke, John Denton, I Hallam, George Kellam Edward Short, Richard Threaves, John Watson
- 1700 Thomas Brown, Ralph Clarke, John Denton, W Johnson, John Newcome, W Nicknolls, Richard Threaves
- 1701 John Fair, William Fuller, W Nichols, Robert Rouse, William Walcott
- 1719 Whaley
- 1734 T Short junior
- 1736 J Green
- 1737 M Calcroft, E Secker
- 1761 William Wing 1763 E Briggs, W Easton 1770 R Holti
- 1773 John Palmer
- 1811 Richard Threaves
- 1820 M Liddell, Smith, R Wilson, V Wilson
Admission Registers exist after 1838 and the names of scholars are known after that date. There are very many more names on the walls both inside and outside the Old School. Most are undated.
Any who were scholars after 1838 can be identified from the Admission Registers. The rest must be presumed to be earlier scholars and can be identified only from their later success.
The Isaac Newton name is amongst these, as is Peregrine Cust.
