Farnham Grammar School is now called

Farnham College Farnham College is a coeducational sixth form college in Farnham in the English county of Surrey. It has a single campus in a residential area just to the south of Farnham town centre, and is now a foundation college. The majority of its land i ...

which is located in

Farnham Farnham 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 tributary of the ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, southern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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
-

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 currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

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 set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a b ...

was created at

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

, 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 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'' the offic ...

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

Notable alumni

* Patrick Blower (born 1959), Chief Political Cartoonist at The Daily Telegraph *

Jack Coutu Raymond John "Jack" Coutu ARE ARCA (13 September 1924 – 17 May 2017) was an English printmaker, sculptor, etcher, engraver, carver, watercolourist and teacher. He was influenced by Oriental art. Jack Coutu was born Raymond John Coutu at ...

(1924–2017), printmaker and sculptor * Maj-Gen Alexander Elmslie CB CBE,

Colonel Commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

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 forces. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and tr ...

from 1964–69 *

Cyril Garbett Cyril Forster Garbett (6 February 1875 – 31 December 1955) was an Anglican bishop and author. He was successively Bishop of Southwark (1919–32), Bishop of Winchester (1932–42) and Archbishop of York (1942–55). Early life Garbett was ...

(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'' the offic ...

, 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 the ...

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. During his time in the Navy, he became ...

, actor *

Jeremy Hardy Jeremy James Hardy (17 July 1961 – 1 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 Edinburgh Comedy Awards, ...

, 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 (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

from 1928–59, and President of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 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 establis ...

from 1949–54 * David Lea, Baron Lea of Crondall OBE, trade union official * Lt-Gen Sir

Harold Redman Lieutenant General Sir Harold Redman, (25 August 1899 – 1986) was a senior British Army officer and Governor of Gibraltar. Military career Redman was commissioned into the Royal Artillery 28 February 1917. He served in the First World War i ...

CB CBE,

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

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

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

from 1978–83, and President of the

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

from 1992–94 * Sir

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

MBE (briefly), chemist, Professor of Colloid Science at the University of Cambridge from 1930–46 * George Sturt, 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 an English actor who appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre. Early life Wallis was born in Guildford in Surrey, the only son of Albert Wallis, a trai ...

(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 The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

* 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