Even by the Eighteen-fifties, Grammar School education was very ‘classic’ with such subjects as Latin, Greek and Hebrew. The curriculum had simply not moved with the developments of the times. Many of the leading Industrialists and Employers in Burton such as Henry Allsopp and Abraham Bass, who would ultimately make generous contribution to the relocation of the school, expressed some concern that leaving scholars did not have the required skills.

In 1855, a new Headmaster was to be appointed and a partition was raised (Humble Petition) to be presented to the Trustees of the school.

The Headmaster ultimately appointed in 1855 was Rev. Henry Day where he remained for eighteen years until he retired in 1873, four years before the school moved to Bond Street.

Clearly, there are no copies of the petition but below is an image of the original hand-written one.

The full text of the petition was as follows:

The Humble Petition of the inhabitants of the parish of Burton upon Trent to the Trustees of the Burton upon Trent Free Grammar School

Sheweth

That your petitioners with great deference beg leave to address you on the subject of the appointment of Headmaster to the Free Grammar School; for although they feel satisfied every means within your power will be used to ensure the judicious selection of a gentleman well qualified to effect the high and important objects which you have in view; they respectfully request that you will give your candid considerations to their suggestions upon what appear to them to be important points on the education of boys at this school.

1) It will be obvious to you that the numerous and important changes in society have taken place since the establishment of this ancient school, which demand a corresponding alteration in the plan of education at the present time; an alternation which would in their opinion be in full accordance with the benevolent intention of the founder.

2) You are well aware that at the period when this school was established, not only were the scriptures and religious services written in Latin, but that it was also the medium of all legal proceedings and constituted the chief literature of the time: it was therefore essential that Latin should form a more prominent part of education than is requisite for the present day.

3) Your petitioners therefore, pray that the Headmaster may be directed to devote a fair proportion of his time to the general branches of education, as well as to the classics, in order that the boys may be educated in such manner as to fit them for trades and professions.

4) Your petitioners further pray that you will not permit this appointment to be connected with that of Minster of any Church or Chapel, and that the whole Master’s time shall be devoted to the benefits of the school.

5) Your petitioners beg that if, in your opinion, an efficient Master can be obtained at the present stipend, in such case, he shall be exclusively employed in the instruction of free scholars.  But on the contrary, if you shall think it necessary to allow the Master to take pupils, that you will limit the number and adopt such means as are best calculated to prevent any preference being given to such private pupils as may operate to the detriment of the free scholars, and consequently to nullify the intentions of the founder.

Your petitioners therefore pray you to listen to their suggestions and that as far as in your opinion they are practicable, you will carry them into effect.

This Ellis & Son advert appeared in numerous school Cygnet magazines as suppliers for the Burton Grammar School uniform as well as sports wear which included, in my case anyway, a white sports shirt together with one in the nominated house colour (Wellington – Maroon, Drake – Blue, Clive – Green, Nelson – Black).

The advert is restored but not in any way improved, remaining as true to the original advert as possible. It appeared in the Cygnet for many years but reduced in quality slightly each year before it was finally revised.

The advert reminds of the grandier of a Burton building which is now very much taken for granted. Ellis & Son Menswear enjoyed some prominence in Burton for over 100 years. It is slightly amusing that in 1954, four digits was though more than adequate to accommodate any likely future demand for telephone numbers.

It is nice that the building survives to this day and is still one of the Town’s most elegant buildings. It is a shame that the equally impressive buildings across the road had to give way to what is now the entrance to the modern day shopping precinct.

These two pictures show the shop in the heyday years of both the Bond Street and Winshill Grammar Schools when the summer months would have done very brisk business kitting out pupils for the start of a new year.

Back Row: K. Neal, W. Cross, E. Sudale, E. Shelton, J. Clarke, A. Stanesby
Front Row: D. Aitken, W. Chesher, P. Davies, C. Stephens (Headboy), S. Felgate, W. Neville

Back Row: D. Johnston, K. Shooter, J. Halliday, L. Rees, N. Carfoot, P. Thompson, R. Sidwell
Front Row: T. Telford, R. Fletcher, K. Neal (Headboy), W. Cross, G. Woodcock

Opportunities for education were limited in the eighteenth century. Many children were employed six days a week in such establishments as local cotton mills leaving Sunday the only day on which they could receive basic education as provided by a number of Sunday schools. The Grammar school existing at the time in Friars Walk, taught the ‘classics’ such as Latin, Greek and English. Any other form of schooling was private.

In 1728, Allsopp’s charity school was founded by Richard Allsopp, a Burton mercer, who bequeathed £10 a year for the instruction of 30 poor boys from Burton. Some were also clothed by other charities, such as the Francis Astle foundation, which donated a princely £5 a year for the purpose upon the death of his wife.

Education for girls was generally considered unnecessary. A girl did however, first enter the school in 1785 and a second in 1787. At this time, there were around 23 boys. The number of girls gradually grew. In 1834, the school was moved to New Street.

At a time when the ‘National Society for Promoting Religious Education’ was busy establishing National Schools in England and Wales. It too had recognised the need to provide basic education for the poor with the three R’s (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic) being taught in conjunction with religious education.

The first National School in Burton was attached to Christ Church in New Street, opened in 1844 providing for 120 boys, 120 girls, and 100 infants. The largest school in the town by far! ( Pictured ). A few years later it was sharing its premises with Allsopp’s Charity School and was extended. (Christ Church received much damage including a cracked spire as a result of the Fauld explosion in 1944 and had to be demolished).

The Education Act of 1870 led to the formation of The School Board in Burton in 1873. As part of a major redevelopment and re-organisation, which included much new building of schools, Burton Grammar School finally made its long overdue move from Friars Walk to a newly built school in Bond Street in 1877. Ironically, Saint Modwen’s church acquired the vacated school for use as a Sunday school teaching the scriptures. Within the next few years, new schools were also built in Victoria Street, Wetmore Road, Grange Street, Uxbridge Street, Wellington Street and Broadway Street.

In this time of much educational change, in 1884, the boys from Allsopp’s Foundation Charity School were amalgamated into the new Bond Street Grammar School, presenting an unprecedented number of non-fee paying boys the opportunity of a Grammar School education.

First Girls school in Burton also formed by the amalgamation of Allsopp’s Charity School

The girls from Allsopp’s Charity School formed Allsopp’s Girls’ School, for girls aged between 7 and 17, in new premises in Waterloo Street. This was effectively, the start of the Girl’s High School with Miss Kate Rutty being appointed as Headmistress.

Girls High School established almost 30 years before WInshill Grammar School for boys

The Girls’ High School was to eventually find an impressive new home in Winshill in 1928, an influencing factor in the selection of site of the Burton Grammar School almost thirty years later. This meant that for an almost 30 year period, Girls in Burton-on-Trent enjoyed much better education facilities than boys.

The Education Act of 1870 made schooling compulsory for all children from the age of five to age thirteen. It was sometimes known as Forster’s Education Act since it was drafted by William Edward Forster, a British industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman and MP for Bradford.

The reason for the Act was the recognised need for Britain to remain competitive in the world by being at the forefront of manufacture and improvement and that education was fundamental to this cause.

The country was divided into 2500 school districts, of which Burton Upon Trent County Borough was one. The School Board was elected by ratepayers.

Concerns were raised at the numbers attending private and dame schools, which were often held to be of a poor standard. It was estimated that in 1870, there were about 450 pupils at such schools in Burton, with as many as 165 apparently attending dame schools near Fleet Street, a working-class area, in 1873. The perceived failings of the existing schools, along with a need for around 2,300 more places in the Burton area, led to popular pressure for the formation of a school board under the 1870 Education Act.

Despite the opposition of leading Anglicans, the government ordered the creation of a board for a united school district comprising Burton upon Trent, Branston, Horninglow, Stapenhill, Stretton, and Winshill, and the board was finally established in 1873. This included the formation of the Grammar School Board. The School Board, 1873 allowed the town commissioners, predecessor of the local education authority, control of local education.

The roles of the School Board were:

• To raise fund by the introduction of education rates collectable from ratepayers
• To build and run new schools where required to make suitable provison
• To subsidise church schools where appropriate
• To provide free education for the poorest children but make their own by-laws to control fees.
• Where necessary, create by-laws to ensure compulsory education from 5-13
• To make sure that religious education did not extend beyond simple bible reading

A resolute building program was commenced and Giles and Brookhouse of Derby were appointed ‘Architects to the Board’, and by 1880 there were 15 board schools with a total of 5,084 places.

As part of this program, in 1877, Burton Grammar School would finally made its long overdue move from Friars Walk to a newly built school in Bond Street. Ironically, Saint Modwen’s church acquired the vacated school for use as a Sunday school teaching the scriptures. Within the next few years, new schools were also built in Victoria Street, Wetmore Road, Grange Street, Uxbridge Street, Wellington Street and Broadway Street.

By 1887, when Reginald Churchill of Burton became the board’s architect, there were 9,010 pupils attending the board’s schools. As the numbers attending board schools increased, so attendance at voluntary schools declined, a trend which continued after 1891 when all board schools (except higher-grade schools) were made free under the Elementary Education Act, 1891.

The School Boards were eventually abolished by the Education Act of 1902, which replaced them with Local Education Authorities.

In 2007, largely due to the efforts of Keith Large, there was a concerted effort to get together a reunion of the 1967 Burton Grammar School intake.

This enjoyed great success with almost 100 ex-pupils, some travelling considerable distance, enjoying a number of nostalgic events culminating in an evening at The Elms public house, run by ex-pupil of that year, Adrian Leese.

To commemorate the occasion, two special beers were commissioned, ‘Deus Nobiscum’ and ‘Victor Ale’, the latter being named after ex-games master Victor Roebuck who attended as guest of honour.

Following on from this success, Keith has decided to put together an even more ambitious reunion, this time expanding it to ALL ex-pupils, scheduled for February 21st 2009 at Burton Town Hall. It is expected to be the largest ever reunion gathering, with several hundred already pledged to attend, many from overseas.

The project has the full support and co-operation of the ‘official’ Old Boys Association but will have a very different flavour to the OBA annual dinner which, whilst an important date in the calendar for many Old Boys, is a little out-moded for some younger ex-pupils.

In contrast to the official OBA annual dinner, the event will be very informal with a strong emphasis on allowing attendees to circulate, beer in hand, to catch up with old times. If the event proves to be a success, it is hoped that the two can provide some cross-pollination with attendees from both ages supporting both events. It yet remains to be seen how overall Old Boy activity can be administered with the advent of the Internet, for example, giving rise to very different styles of management.

At the end of the day, any activity has the Burton Grammar School at heart and serves to keep the memory of it and its history alive. I think it is fairly safe to predict that the evening will be rounded off with an enthusiastic recital of Deus Nobiscum.

For details of this event, contact Keith Large at Reunion@BurtonGrammar.co.uk or call 07971 972704

Also feel free to register here and use the provided discussion Forum.

By 1953, Herbert Pitchford had well established himself in his third year as Headmaster.

Click here to view large image

Conditions at the school remained tight with over 500 pupils occupying a school which was designed to accommodate just 300.

Tickets for the Grand Reunion at Burton Town Hall on Saturday, 21st February are now on sale. The event will start from 6:00pm and the ticket cost is £8.

Below is a list of those that have reserved tickets. In many cases, partners are also attending but only ex-pupils and staff members are listed.

This list will be updated as new names get added.  

To reserve your ticket(s), contact Keith Large at Reunion@BurtonGrammar.co.uk or call 07971 972704

The Friars Walk School had been opened in 1834 for the princely sum of £600. Within a few decades, this was proving to be inadequate and as early as 1861, there was much discussion about the future of the school and the building of a larger one.

Aside from the capacity, one of the principal problems with the old school as some saw it was that there was no adjoining master’s house as was common at the time. This however, became its undoing since there was much opposition to the new development due to the cynicism that it was little more than a ploy to gain a substantial residence by the then headmaster, Reverend Henry Day. The Marquess of Anglesey was anyway approached to allow a piece of ground within Burton on which to erect a school and master’s house. The first proposed site was across the river on the island of Anglesey (which has great historical significance), this was however, rejected because the site had poor access with a simple footbridge, and was prone to flooding.

Mr Abraham Bass, who had gained much wealth from the Town’s brewing industrial growth, pledged £500, his partners offered to match the sum and Mr Henry Allsopp offered an additional £300. There were also lesser offers totalling just over £100, giving the school building fund an initial £1400; a not insignificant sum at the time.

Arguments continued for much time until in 1869, the ‘Endowed Schools Act’ came into being which dictated that among many schools to be founded was an ‘upper school for boys’. There were to be twelve Governors, including a Chairman to manage a single trust fund, including any charitable foundations. The Governors finally had control of a combined trust of just over £3000 and work on a new school to accommodate 120 pupils, double the current capacity, and a residence for the headmaster was to start as soon as a suitable site could be secured.

By 1873, the plans were complete for the erection of a school and headmaster’s house on the Bond Street site. This coincided with Rev. Day retiring as headmaster to be replaced by Charles Tripp who was to oversee the transfer to the new school. Two of the things he was responsible for at the time of the move were the introduction of a school cap to encourage pride, and the design of a brand new school badge to be adopted by the school as its emblem.

It would however, be 1877, after the foundation of the School Board in Burton following the Education Act of 1870,  before the new Bond Street School was finally built and opened as part of a larger school development programme. It managed to include the contoversial grand Headmaster’s house which still caused some disquiet in some quarters.