Saffron Walden Free Grammar School (or Saffron Walden Grammar School) was a school in the

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

town of

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...

, which for over four hundred years educated the boys of the town and surrounding villages in a manner designed to be after the model of

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

. It was notable for its longevity and for some of its illustrious alumni.

History

The earliest schools in Walden dated from 1423 under the control of the neighbouring monastery.Player, John ''Sketches of Saffron Walden, and its Vicinity''. Youngman, 1845 The Grammar School was founded by Dame Joan Bradbury in 1522. Lady Joan was the wife of London's

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

Thomas Bradbury (d.1510); her brother, John Leche, was the Rector of Saffron Walden. The grammar school by its constitution was for the benefit of the town and three villages in its vicinity. Joan and her brother, along with the local abbot and monastery, arranged its endowment with local guilds. They erected a school house and school room and Dame Joan "granted a rent charge for the support of a priest and to teach the children grammar after the order and use of

and

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

." In some histories, the school is deemed the successor of the 1423 establishment and thus has been described as having been refounded by

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

. The school bore the Tudor royal arms

Buildings

The original building, designed for 60 pupils, flanked the churchyard wall. It was replaced in 1655 by new premises in Castle Street. After over two hundred years in these buildings, which in part still stand today, the school moved to new buildings in 1881 in Ashdon Road which remained the home of the school until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During World War II the 8th Air Force's 65th fighter wing (which was assigned the additional duty of Air Sea Rescue) had its fighter control center in the building because of its proximity to Debden airfield.

Former masters

*William Dawson, later knighted, was the first master. *Rev John Collins MA (of

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

and

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

) was master in 1845

Notable former pupils

Gabriel Harvey Gabriel Harvey (1545 – 11 February 1631) was an English writer. Harvey was a notable scholar, whose reputation suffered from his quarrel with Thomas Nashe. Henry Morley, writing in the ''Fortnightly Review'' (March 1869), has argued that Harve ...

(c. 1545–1630) - writer whose conduct at the school was satirized by

Thomas Nashe Thomas Nashe (also Nash; baptised 30 November 1567 – c. 1601) was an English Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel '' The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including '' Pierce P ...

in ''

Have with You to Saffron-Walden "Have with You to Saffron-Walden, or, Gabriell Harveys Hunt Is Up" is the title of a pamphlet written by Thomas Nashe and published in London in late 1596 by John Danter. The work is Nashe's final shot in his four-year literary feud with Dr. G ...

'' (1596). * Edward Mellish (1880–1962) - recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* Henry Marking (11 March 1920 – 16 May 2002) - former

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

headRoger Cowe, ''Sir Henry Marking Obituary - The Guardian'', Thursday 23 May 2002
/ref>

Notes

References