Hull Grammar School

Hull Grammar School was a secondary school in Hull, England, founded around 1330 and endowed in 1486 by Dr. John Alcock. In 1988, with the loss of its sixth form, it was renamed the William Gee School for Boys. In 2001 the latter merged with the girls-only Amy Johnson High School as Endeavour High School, before closing permanently in 2015.

History

Hull Grammar School was founded around 1330 and was endowed by Dr. John Alcock (Bishop of Rochester, Worcester, and Ely, and afterwards Lord Chancellor of England; founder of Jesus College, Cambridge) in 1479.^[1] The School flourished till its revenues were seized under the Chantries Act of 1547. The people of Hull objected and eventually re-established the school. In 1586 the school was declared, by inquisition, the property of the Crown. In the following year Queen Elizabeth I gave the school house, the garden, and other tenements, "formerly given to superstitious uses," to Luke Thurcross, the then mayor, and others. He, in 1604, being the only survivor of those who had obtained this grant, gave his interest in the school and gardens to four trustees for the use of the mayor and burgesses for ever. The appointment of masters was now in the hands of the Corporation, and by the charter of James I, the right of presentation was secured to them. An exhibition of £40 to Cambridge University was given to the School by Thomas Bury in 1627, and augmented by Thomas Ferries in 1630. Another scholarship of £60 a year at Clare College, Cambridge, founded by Alexander Metcalf. Amongst the eminent men who were masters of this school were the Rev. Andrew Marvell, M.A., the father of the patriot; the Rev. John Clarke, the translator of Suetonius and Sallust; and the Rev. Joseph Milner, author of the 'History of the Church.' In 1892 the endowments produce about £80 a year, for which the master taught the Classics free, but the scholars paid for other subjects, under Town Council regulations.

The Education Act of 1944 made the LEA fully responsible for the school. This became just one part of the government's tripartite 'secondary education for all'. In 1969 the school became comprehensive.^[2] The local government reorganisation of 1974 saw education transferred from Hull City Council to the newly created Humberside County Council.

In 1988 the Grammar School lost its sixth form and was renamed the William Gee School for Boys, which merged with the nearby Amy Johnson School for girls in 2001 to form the Endeavor High School. The merged school was subsequently placed in special measures, and finally closed in the summer of 2015.^[3]

The name Hull Grammar was acquired and in 1989 a new and completely unconnected private school opened under that name, which was merged with Hull High School in 2005 to form the Hull Collegiate School.

Location

In 1486 a home for the school was built in the Market Square of Kingston upon Hull, on South Church Side opposite Holy Trinity Church. This fine old brick pile now houses the interactive 'Hands-on History' Museum. Around 1578, the building having fallen into rot, Alderman William Gee (who was thrice Mayor of Hull) opened a subscription for the purpose of repairing it. This resulted in the erection of a new school, in which Alderman Gee was joined by the Corporation of Hull, who added a second story, which was used as an exchange and assembly room. Alderman Gee not only contributed £80 and 20,000 bricks, but also left two houses in the 'Butchery' (now Queen Street) for the benefit of the school. From the date upon three stones let into the wall, the work appears to have been completed in 1583. The cost of rebuilding was £600. The building was purchased in 1875 by the vicar of Holy Trinity Church, who had it restored and converted into a mission room and choir school. From 1875 to 1891 the Hull Grammar school was carried on in temporary premises, but, in the latter year, a new and commodious school was erected in Leicester Street, which was officially opened by the Mayor of Hull (E. Robson, J.P.) on 27 January 1892. The new school was built in the Collegiate Gothic style, having an elevation of red bricks with stone dressings. It has a large entrance hall, one large room, 50 feet by 22 feet, two class-rooms, 20 feet by 22 feet; with the former headmaster's room, large cloakrooms and lavatories, on the ground floor. The porter's room was located to command a view of the classroom doors and superintend entry and exit of pupils. The upper floor is reached by a stone staircase. Here were classrooms of a smaller size, an assistant master's room, and a room for general purposes. In the large room was a gallery for visitors at public events, and, this room could, when necessary, be divided into two.

In the 20th century, the School moved onto Bishop Alcock Road in the Bricknell Avenue area of Hull. It remained there until 1988 when following reorganisation of the City of Hull's education system the school was renamed William Gee School for Boys.

Notable former pupils

• Prof John Aitken, Professor of Anatomy at UCL from 1965–80 (1924–31)
• Sir Linton Andrews, Editor of the Yorkshire Post from 1939–60, Director of the Yorkshire Post Group from 1950–68 (1897–1904)
• Sir Colin Barker, Chairman of BTG from 1983–93 (1938–45)
• Richard Bean, playwright, (1967 - 1974)
• Dr. Bromby, Bishop of Tasmania
• Charles Cooper, Editor of The Scotsman from 1876–1906 (1841–8)
• William Gavin, proprietor of Vanity Fair from 1899–1908, also introduced the 1919 Bill in New York to legalise boxing (known as the Walker Law and later adopted by the other 44 states) and founded the National Boxing Association of America
• Air Marshal Sir Donald Percy Hall KCB, CBE, AFC, former Station Commander of RAF Akrotiri, Deputy Chairman GEC-Marconi from 1990–5 (1942–9)
• Professor Roger Kitching AM, Professor of Ecology, Griffith University, Brisbane (1945– )(HGS 1956–1963)
• Sir John Leng, MP for Dundee, newspaper owner of the Dundee Advertiser from 1951, Liberal MP for Dundee from 1899–1906, established the People's Friend (1839–46)
• Sir Cyril Lucas, marine biologist (1920–7)
• Andrew Marvell (1621–78): English metaphysical poet and patriot (his father, the Rev. Andrew Marvell M.A., was a master at the School)
• William Mason (1724–1797), the poet
• Sir Philip Mawer (1958–65)
• Dr. Isaac Milner (1750–1820) mathematician, inventor, President of Queens' College, Cambridge, Dean of Carlisle
• Rt Rev Ronald Milner, Bishop of Burnley from 1988–93 (1938–45)
• Mike Noble, Labour MP for Rossendale from October 1974 – 1979 (1946–53)
• Brian Smith OBE, High Commissioner to Botswana 1989–91, and to Trinidad and Tobago from 1991–4 (1946–53)
• Sir Eric Smith FRS CBE, marine biologist and Professor of Zoology at Queen Mary University from 1950–65 (1920–7)
• Alderman Symons, M.R.I.A., Sheriff of Hull in 1890-1, local historian
• Prof John Thompson, Professor of Non-Linear Dynamics at UCL from 1991–2002 (1948–55)
• Maj.-General Thomas Perronet Thompson (1783–1869): Governor-General of Sierra Leone, British Parliamentarian, and radical reformer
• Dr. Thomas Watson, Bishop of St David's (1637–1717)
• William Wilberforce (1759–1833): British politician and philanthropist, leading opponent of slave trade
• Harry Wiles, UK Ambassador to Nicaragua from 2000–2 (1955–62)
• Archdeacon Francis Wrangham M.A. (1769–1842), clergyman
• Ch/Supt Richard Clive Beacock of the Nottinghamshire Constabulary (1946–1953)

John Firth, notable philanthropist (1968-1974)

References

External links

• A history of the School at:
• The museum of Ancient Egyptian and Victorian English life now housed in the old School buildings: