Farnham Grammar School is now called Farnham College which is located in

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tri ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, southern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

History

The grammar school was created at some time before 1585 (the date of a donation being made by a Richard Searle "to the maintenance of the school in Farnham").History of Farnham College
- Farnham College website The first evidence that the school was built is a record in 1585 of a yeoman in

donating 20

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

s 'to the maintenance of the school of Farnham'. It is, though, possible that this ancient school dated back as far as 1351 when a

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area i ...

was created at

Farnham Castle Farnham Castle is a 12th-century castle in Farnham, Surrey, England. It was formerly the residence of the Bishops of Winchester. History Built in 1138 by Henri de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, grandson of William the Conqueror, Farnham castle ...

, but there is no documentary evidence of this. The school benefited over the years from bequests by different people as well as the generosity of

Bishops of Winchester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

who occupied

over the centuries.

New building

The school was housed in West Street,

until 1906. It moved then because in the previous year, the town centre assets were sold in order to purchase and build a new school in fields to the south of the town.

Dissolution

In 1973, under Government education reforms, the school merged with Farnham Girls' Grammar School (now South Farnham School) to form Farnham College.

Notable alumni

* Patrick Blower (born 1959), Chief Political Cartoonist at The Daily Telegraph * Jack Coutu (1924–2017), printmaker and sculptor * Maj-Gen Alexander Elmslie CB CBE, Colonel Commandant of the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) from 1964-5, and the

Royal Corps of Transport The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider Defence community. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and ...

from 1964–69 *

Cyril Garbett Cyril Forster Garbett (6 February 1875 – 31 December 1955) was an Anglican bishop and author. He was successively the Bishop of Southwark, the Bishop of Winchester and the Archbishop of York from 1942 to 1955. Early life Garbett was born in ...

(briefly), successively the

Anglican Bishop of Southwark The Bishop of Southwark ( ) is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark in the Province of Canterbury.

and

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except ...

, later

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers ...

from 1942–55 *

Jack Gwillim Jack William Frederick Gwillim (15 December 1909 – 2 July 2001) was an English character actor. Career Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, he joined the Royal Navy at 17 and served for over twenty years, becoming one of the youngest men ever to ...

, actor *

Jeremy Hardy Jeremy James Hardy (17 July 19611 February 2019) was an English comedian. Born and raised in Hampshire, Hardy studied at the University of Southampton and began his stand-up career in the 1980s, going on to win the Perrier Comedy Award at the Ed ...

, comedian *

Hugh Johns Hugh Richard Lewis Johns (6 September 1922 – 27 June 2007) was an English football commentator, best known for his appearances for ITV. During his career, he covered 1,000 matches including four FIFA World Cup finals. Early life and career ...

, ITV football commentator * Charles Judd CBE, Director General of the

United Nations Association UK United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

from 1945–64 * James Kendall, Professor Chemistry at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

from 1928–59, and President of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

from 1949–54 *

David Lea, Baron Lea of Crondall David Edward Lea, Baron Lea of Crondall OBE (born 2 November 1937) is a British former trade unionist and Labour politician. Early life Lea was educated at Farnham Grammar School and Christ's College, Cambridge, where he studied economics. ...

OBE, trade union official *

Lt-Gen Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Sir Harold Redman CB CBE,

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

from 1955-8 * Prof Charles Rees CBE, Hofmann Professor of Organic Chemistry at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

from 1978–83, and President of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Inst ...

from 1992–94 * Sir

Eric Rideal Sir Eric Keightley Rideal, (11 April 1890 – 25 September 1974)Rideal, Sir Eric Keight ...

MBE (briefly), chemist, Professor of Colloid Science at the University of Cambridge from 1930–46 *

George Sturt George Sturt (18 June 1863–4 February 1927), who also wrote under the pseudonym George Bourne, was an English writer on rural crafts and affairs. He was born and grew up in Farnham, Surrey, the son of Ellen née Smith (1829–1890) and Fra ...

, author *

Jeffrey Tate Sir Jeffrey Philip Tate (28 April 19432 June 2017) was an English conductor of classical music. Tate was born with spina bifida and had an associated spinal curvature. After studying medicine at the University of Cambridge and beginning a me ...

CBE (attended 1954–61), conductor *

Bill Wallis William Wallis (20 November 1936 – 6 September 2013) was a British character actor and comedian who appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre. Biography Wallis was born in Guildford in Surrey, the only son of A ...

(attended 1948–55), actor and satirist (head boy in his final year) * David Watkin, Professor of History of Architecture from 2001-8 at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

* Squadron Leader Sydney Wiltshire, awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

References

External links

Old Farnhamians' Association

Farnham College
{{authority control Farnham Defunct grammar schools in England Educational institutions established in the 1580s 1580s establishments in England Defunct schools in Surrey 1973 disestablishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1973 Buildings and structures in Farnham