Sheffield Grammar School

53°22′34″N 1°29′42″W / 53.376°N 1.495°W / 53.376; -1.495 Sheffield Grammar School began in 1604 as "The Free Grammar School of James King of England within the Town of Sheffield in the County of York" in buildings in the Townhead area of Sheffield, resulting from the benefaction of John Smith of Crowland.[1] In the Gazetteer and General Directory of Sheffield and Twenty Miles Round, by William White, published in 1852,[2] the author refers to the "FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL", noting that it "is a commodious and handsome stone building in Charlotte Street, erected by subscription in 1825, in lieu of the ancient school which stood near the top of Townhead Street. It was founded by letters patent of James I in 1604, and the Vicar and Church Burgesses are the trustees and governors".

It led a nomadic existence on various sites before taking over the Sheffield Collegiate School on Collegiate Crescent in 1884. James A. Figorski describes the premises at St. George's Square, which the school occupied in 1868, as follows[3] "It was a stone building which I think was in keeping with St. George's Church. From St. George's Square you entered through a stone archway and there to the left was the small caretaker's house, and then the pathway went round to the porch, into which the main door opened to the large main room of the school. The floor was stone flagged and was very cold in winter. A stove stood in the centre of the room, cracked and worn. We had no gas, and water was turned on into an old stone trough at play-hours outside the school".

Cover of the SRGS magazine, April 1899

The school, at its Collegiate Crescent site, was renamed Sheffield Royal Grammar School (SRGS) in 1885. SRGS's motto was "Verbum tuum lucerna pedibus meis" – "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet".

In 1905 Sheffield City Council acquired both Wesley College and SRGS and they were merged on the site of the former to form King Edward VII School (KES), named after the reigning monarch.

Headmasters of Sheffield Grammar School

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1604–1606 John Smith 1648–1651 Peter Lanfitt, B.A. 1759–1776 John Smith, M.A.
1606–1608 Henry Saxton, M.A. 1651–1658 William Whitaker, M.A. (1776 Acting Edward Goodwin).
1608–1615 John Hancock, M.A. 1658–1663 Francis Potts, M.A. 1776–1809 Charles Chadwick, B.A.
1615–1619 George Young, B.A. 1664–1696 Thomas Balguy, M.A. 1809 Joseph Richardson, M.A.
1619–1622 Andrew Wade, M.A. 1696–1698 Charles Daubuz, M.A. 1810–1818 Joseph Wilson, B.A.
(1622 Acting George Wade). 1698–1703 Marmaduke Drake, M.A. 1818–1830 William White, M.A.
1623–1625 Godfrey Mason. 1703–1709 George Lee, B.A. 1830–1863 Percival Bowen, M.A.
1625–1644 Thomas Rawson, B.A. 1709–1720 William Humpton, M.A. 1863–1884 Joseph E. Jackson, M.A. Ph.D. D.CL.
1645–1648 William Young, B.A. 1720–1734 Christopher Robinson, M.A. 1884–1899 Edward Senior, M.A.
1648 Roger Steare, B.A. 1734–1748 John Cliff, B.A. 1899–1905 Arthur B. Haslam, M.A.
    1748–1759 Thomas Marshall, B.A.    

Notable old boys of Sheffield Grammar School

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Notable staff of Sheffield Grammar School

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References

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  • Cornwell, John (2005). King Ted's (1st ed.). King Edward VII School, Sheffield. ISBN 0-9526484-1-5. (This book reviews the period from 1604 to 1905, although its bulk is concerned with 1905–2005.)
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