Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Carmarthen

A New Type of School.
The Tudor period saw the establishment of a new type of educational institution in Wales, the Grammar School. Though these schools were no longer controlled by the Church, a few owed their origin to some of the transferred endowments of monastic houses and collegiate churches. Among these was Christ College, Brecon (1542), founded with the endowments of the collegiate institution at Abergwili, together with some of those attached to the dissolved Priory of Brecon. Similarly Abergavenny Grammar School (1543) was endowed from the property of the local Priory.

Other Grammar Schools in Wales were founded by members of the aristocracy, distinguished clergymen or wealthy merchants. For instance, the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Carmarthen (1576) owed its origin to the petition of Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex, and influential local people to the Queen. Friar’s School, Bangor (1561) was established by Dr. Geoffrey Glyn, a native of Anglesey; Ruthin Grammar School (1595) by Dean Gabriel Goodman, of Westminster Abbey, who was born in the town; Presteigne Grammar School (1549) by John Beddows, a local clothier; and Cowbridge Grammar School (1608) by the Glamorgan scholar and patron of learning, Sir Edward Stradling.

Centres of Anglicising Influence.
The curriculum was based mainly upon classical studies, with some training in mathematics. At that time and for nearly three centuries later, a sound knowledge of Latin and Greek was regarded as a hall-mark of an educated man. Admission to Oxford, Cambridge and the Inns of Court depended upon a reasonable classical education which secured entrance later into the learned professions, e.g. the church, law; teaching; medicine; civil service; diplomatic and magisterial appointments, all of which have attracted so many able Welshmen since Tudor times.

In the English Grammar Schools while the mother-tongue was the general medium of instruction, the pupils were required to converse in Latin or Greek during school hours. In the Welsh Schools, English was also the medium of instruction but similar rules for acquiring proficiency in classics were laid down for senior scholars. Juniors were permitted to converse only in English. The use of Welsh was forbidden to all. In these circumstances the Grammar Schools of Wales became strong centres of anglicising influence, completely depriving their pupils of any training in the mother-tongue and of the study of its rich literature. On the other hand it should be stated that in these schools many sons of poor parents were taught side by side with those of the lesser gentry, local clergy, prosperous yeomen, burgesses and merchants.

Thomas Lloyd’s Foundation at Carmarthen.
Though a school of some kind had probably been attached to St. Peter’s Church, Carmarthen, the first Grammar School in the Borough, of which there is any record, was “The King’s School of Carmarthen of Thomas Lloyd’s Foundation." An annual endowment of £10 had been provided for this in 1536, but the school was not established until 1543 after a petition to Henry VIII from the Mayor and Aldermen, and an appeal to Thomas Cromwell. Its location was the dissolved Friary with some four and a half acres of gardens and closes attached, all granted to Lloyd at an annual rental of 3/-. The School, however, ceased to exist following the founder’s death during the short reign of Edward VI. Lloyd had left enough property to maintain a Headmaster and an assistant. But his executors betrayed their trust, and the property passed into private hands. Legal action was taken by the Carmarthen Corporation to restore the endowment to its proper use. But the suit was unsuccessful and the school was never revived.

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.
Associated as petitioners to the Queen with Walter Devereux, First Earl of Essex and a native of Carmarthen, were Richard Davies, Bishop of St. David’s, who collaborated with William Salesbury in translating the New Testament into Welsh, two Aldermen of the Borough, Griffith Rees and Walter Vaughan, and a prominent Burgess, Robert Toy, son of the Humfrey Toy of Carmarthen referred to in a previous chapter.

The petition for a school was granted by letters patent under the Great Seal in 1576. These set out that there should be a school in the Borough to be called “The Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth of the Foundation of Walter, Earl of Essex, and others.” According to the original charter the school was intended “for the instruction of boys and youths in grammar and other inferior books.” The staff was to consist of a Master and an assistant, with the Mayor of the Borough and nineteen others, Aldermen or Burgesses, as the governing body. With the advice and approval of the Bishop of St. David’s, the governors were empowered to make fit and proper regulations for conducting the school. Later the Mayor and Corporation became the governors.

Very little is known about the history of the Grammar School during the early years of its existence. But some interesting details concerning it during the 17th century are given in letters written in 1673-4 by the Rev. Nicholas Roberts who was Headmaster at that time. This correspondence, discovered in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, by Mr. Benjamin Howell, MA, the present Headmaster, was with Christopher Wase of Oxford University in respect of a questionnaire sent by him to the Grammar Schools of the period. Roberts’ letters now form part of the Wase Collection at the Bodleian.

Information from Letters of Nicholas Roberts. See also Benjamin Howell's appendix
We learn from Roberts that the school premises at that time were in Priory Street on the site now occupied by the Infirmary, and had been “built at public charge about the beginning of the late rebellion” (i.e. 1642). This probably means that the new building was provided from funds raised by local subscriptions. He adds: “This School had a large library before the late Civil Wars, but not one book left, until of late I have procured of several gentlemen a considerable number of books in order to refurnish it, and a small sum of money.”

Roberts also refers to the endowment made shortly before the outbreak of hostilities to provide the salary of the Headmaster. This was one of £20 per annum to be paid from the revenue of the Rectory of St. Ishmael’s, together with the gift of a Headmaster’s house and an acre of land attached. The benefactor was Dr. Morgan Owen, of Myddfai (1585-1645) one of the earliest pupils and Headmasters of the School. He became chaplain of New College, Oxford, chaplain to Bishop William Laud of St David’s (later Archbishop of Canterbury), and for a short time Bishop of Llandaff.

One of Roberts’ letters gives a list of ten Headmasters who had preceded him since the above endowment, though he states that “many eminent persons taught here long before.” As it was customary for the Headmaster to be a clergyman, these men usually left to take up more lucrative Church or other appointments. One of the ten became Dean of Kilkenny, another was made a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, and Chaplain to the President of the Council of Wales, and a third was appointed Vicar and later Archdeacon of Carmarthen. The last-mentioned, Archdeacon William Jones, further endowed the school in 1676 by the gift of premises in the Borough.

The same letter mentions three “eminent personages who taught school in this county,” Jeremy Taylor (who had found refuge at Golden Grove during the Civil Wars); William Nicholson, Vicar of Llandeilo, and William Thomas, Vicar of the “Percy” living of Laugharne with Llansadyrnin. The last two were ejected from their livings by the Puritans. Jeremy Taylor joined Nicholson in conducting a private school at Newton, Llandeilo, and William Thomas opened a similar school at Laugharne. All three became Bishops after the Restoration.

Roberts himself was a considerable scholar. After retiring to the Rectory of Llanddewi Felffre (Pembs.) he took a keen interest in Welsh antiquities and corresponded a good deal with one of the greatest antiquaries, scholars and naturalists of the time, Edward Lluyd, Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, whose massive “Archaelogia Britannica” laid the foundations for the comparative study of the Celtic language. Roberts’ letters to Lluyd are also preserved in the Bodleian Library.

Some Early Pupils.
Though no definite evidence is available, it appears possible that among the earliest pupils of the School were Lewis Bayly. Bishop of Bangor (d.1631) author of the notable devotional work “The Practice of Piety“; Vicar Prichard of Llandovery (1579-1644) and Thomas Howell (1588-1646), Bishop of Bristol, a brother of James Howell, author of “Familiar Epistles” who was appointed Historiographer Royal by Charles II. Both were sons of Thomas Howell, a Rector of Cynwyl and Abernant (Carms.)

When Morgan Owen was headmaster, another future bishop, William Thomas, entered the School. His grandfather had been Recorder of the Borough. Thomas (1613-1689) was appointed a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, and later, Vicar of Laugharne. After the Restoration he became Precentor of St. David’s, Dean of Worcester, Bishop of St. David’s, and finally, Bishop of Worcester. In his St. David’s diocese he frequently preached in Welsh, and supported the efforts of the Nonconformists Thomas Gouge and Stephen Hughes to provide Wales with Bibles and devotional books in the mother tongue.

It appears probable that Stephen Hughes (1622-1688), an apostle of Nonconformity in Wales, was also an old pupil of the School, for he was born in Carmarthen, and held the Carmarthenshire living of Merthyr and afterwards that of Meidrym as a Puritan minister during the Cromwellian period. His father and brother were Mayors of the Borough in 1650 and 1659 respectively. Another “probable” old scholar, John Vaughan (1663-1722) of Derllys Court, Carmarthen, became the leading figure in the social, religious and educational life of the County during the early 18th century.

Two former pupils who attended during the late 17th century attained fame in surprisingly different directions. One was Richard Nash (Beau Nash: 1674-1761), the gay dandy and arbiter of fashion who developed Bath into a centre of elegant society. The other was the Rev. Griffith Jones (1683-1761), of Pen-boyr and Llanddowror, eloquent religious revivalist and famous educational pioneer. Another pupil became a notable Welsh scholar, writer and translator, the Rev. Moses Williams, F.R.S. (1685-1742). He served for a time as an assistant to Edward Lluyd at the Ashmolean Museum, and later on the staff of the Bodleian Library. Williams edited the new impressions of the Welsh Bible and Prayer Book issued by the S.P.C.K. in 1718 and 1727. He collected many rare books and copied numerous old manuscripts relating to the history of long established Welsh families.

Notable 18th Century Pupils.
During the 18th century, the Grammar School enjoyed one of its most flourishing periods, and gained a wide reputation more especially under the headship of the Rev. W. H. Barker who held his post from 1760 to 1790. Between 1779 and 1790 the poet Dafydd Ionawr (David Richards, 1751-1827) was an assistant master under W. H. Barker. Richards was a literary disciple of Ieuan Brydydd Hir (Rev. Evan Evans 1731-1788) who became the most learned Welsh scholar of his period. Both, in turn, had been taught by Edward Richard at Ystradmeurig School where Dafydd Ionawr is said to have “excelled in mathematics and classics.” Among the early pupils of the century were the Rev. John Evans (1702-1782) of Meidrym, absentee Vicar of Eglwys Gymyn; a fierce anti-Methodist and bitter opponent of Griffith Jones, Llanddowror. Evans edited the 1769 reprint of the Welsh Bible, and was a foundation member of the Hon. Society of Cymmodorion.

Edward Richard (1714-1777), was the scholar, poet and schoolmaster who established Ystradmeurig and laid the foundations of its fame; and the Rev. Peter Williams (1723-1796) of Llandyfaelog was one of the outstanding leaders of the Methodist revival and author of the immensely popular first annotated edition of the Welsh Bible and a Biblical Concordance. Another old pupil, David Jones (1736-1810) of Llanllwni, Vicar of LIan-gan (Glam.) also became a notable figure in the Methodist movement. His eloquent preaching attracted hundreds of Glamorgan Methodists to his church services, especially to Communion.

Peter Williams’ two gifted literary sons, the Rev. Eliezer Williams (1754-1820) and the Rev. Peter Bailey Williams (1763-1836) also attended the School. Both became clergymen. Eliezer Williams served as a naval chaplain, and as a tutor to the family of the Earl of Galloway, before becoming Vicar of Cynwyl Gaeo and, later, of Lampeter. While at Lampeter he conducted a very successful academy which prepared young students for Holy Orders. This institution was the forerunner of St. David’s College. He also wrote a number of books and essays on various topics including the early history of Wales. Peter Bailey Williams, Rector of Llan-rug and Llanberis, took a very active part in the public life of Caernarvonshire for many years, and served as a justice of the peace for over a quarter of a century. He befriended and encouraged local poets and writers, and was a diligent collector and copyist of old manuscripts. Among his work were translations into Welsh of two of the most important books written by the saintly 17th century Puritan divine, Richard Baxter.

Two other old pupils of this period attained distinction in law and medicine respectively. The lawyer was King’s Sergeant John Williams (1757-1810) born at Job’s Well, Carmarthen. He was elected a Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, at the age of 23, and was called to the Bar four years later. Though his success was remarkable, persistent ill-health deprived him of a judgeship. Nevertheless he was regarded as one of the most eminent lawyers of his time. Lord Eldon wrote of him, “No man in the profession stands higher in my regard than Williams.” As an expert in the history of law, Williams assisted in editing two impressions of a standard legal text-book, Sir William Blackstone’s “Commentaries on the Laws of England “ and also of Sir William Saunders’ “Reports of Cases” with his own valuable additional notes. Three of his descendants achieved the legal honours denied to him. One of his Sons became a High Court Judge and a Privy Councillor. A grandson was appointed a judge in the Queen’s Bench and also in the Court of Appeal, and a great grandson became Recorder of Carmarthen and Recorder of Swansea.

The physician was David Daniel Davis (1777-1841) of Llandyfaelog. After his appointment as senior medical officer to Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, London, Davis was selected to attend the Duchess of Kent at the birth of the future Queen Victoria in 1819. Later he became a Professor at University College Hospital, London.

Another old pupil, the Rev. W. T. Rees (1772-1855), Vicar of Casgob (Rads.), was prominent among a number of clergymen who were zealous in promoting provincial Welsh societies and local Eisteddfodau. He edited “The Book of Llandaff" and “The Lives of the Cambro-British Saints,” published by his nephew William Rees of Ton, Llandovery, whose press there became one of the most notable in Wales.

Youth Boarded and Educated.
An interesting glimpse of the School in the last quarter of the 18th century is given in a public notice of 1783. This was reproduced in “The Maridunian “ (the School magazine) in 1889.

CARMARTHEN.
YOUTH BOARDED AND EDUCATED
By the Rev. W. H. BARKER, A.M.

A Course of Lectures on Natural and Revealed Religion is read annually to the Divinity Class.

Hereford: Printed by C. Pugh 1783.

The distinction between ordinary boarders and "parlour" boarders is intriguing! Presumably the latter lived with the Headmaster’s family and got rather better meals and accommodation than the others. Dancing and drawing, no doubt were regarded as social acquisitions. Curiously enough these cost more than English, the Classics, Writing and Arithmetic put together, probably because they were taught by visiting teachers. Lectures in "Experimental Philosophy" and on "Natural and Revealed Religion" would appear to be particularly heavy going for secondary school pupils. But the explanation is simple. At that time the Grammar School was among the schools licensed in the diocese of St. David’s for the training of candidates for Holy Orders. Others were Lampeter, Brecon, Ystradmeurig and Cardigan. Pupils who hoped to be ordained were required to have spent seven years at one of these schools. The Church Union Society formed by Bishop Thomas Burgess of St. David’s after his appointment to the diocese in 1803 provided financial support for such scholars at the age of fourteen. But following the opening of St. David’s College, Lampeter, in 1827, pupils who had completed four years at one of these schools had to spend at least two of the other three years at the new College. From 1829 onwards all candidates for ordination who had received their early training in these licensed schools had to follow a full three years’ course at Lampeter, or to have graduated at one of the Universities.

Impact of St. David’s College on the School.
During the first two decades of the 19th century the School continued to flourish. With a view to augmenting the salary of the Headmaster, the Carmarthen Corporation in 1818 requested the Mayor “to communicate to the Bishop of St. David’s the anxious wish of this Corporation that his Lordship be pleased to keep in abeyance one of the English livings in his gift, in order to confer it upon a person whom his Lordship should deem competent to fill the station of the Grammar School Master.” It was felt that this additional inducement would attract a first-class candidate. Nothing came as a result of this appeal. In the same year, while the locality of Bishop Burgess’ proposed theological college was under discussion the Mayor and Corporation of Carmarthen offered “to contribute most liberally to the establishment by consolidation if thought expedient, the Free Grammar School with the College, and by subscribing permanently towards its revenue.” Bishop Burgess, however, decided in favour of Lampeter. Thus Carmarthen which would have become a cathedral city if the efforts of Bishop William Barlow and, later, of Bishop William Thomas to remove the See there from St. David’s had been successful, also lost the new foundation of St. David’s College. Compensation came in 1848 when the first teachers’ training college in Wales (Trinity College) was founded within the Borough boundary.

The years following the opening of St. David’s College in 1827 brought a serious decline in the number of pupils attending the Grammar School, owing to the removal of senior scholars who aimed at ordination. In 1824 there were 64 pupils enrolled, but during the next ten years the numbers fell to 25.

Five "St. Peter’s Boys"
During the first half of the 19th century the school continued to produce men who won distinction in later life. Among these were five “St. Peter’s Boys,” a description proudly claimed by men born in the Borough. The earliest was David Charles (1803-1880), son of the eminent South Wales Methodist leader and hymn-writer of the same name, and nephew of Thomas Charles who founded the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Connexion 1811. David Charles the second, took a prominent part in the religious work of his denomination as an administrator, editor, preacher and hymn-writer. Thomas Brigstocke (1809-1881) became one of the best-known portrait painters of his period. William Spurrell (1813-1889) founded a famous printing and publishing house at Carmarthen. He owned and edited "Yr Haul" and "Y Cyfaill Eglwysig," two Church periodicals; and published many books including Welsh dictionaries, a Welsh grammar and his own history of Carmarthen and its neighbourhood. For many years he was one of the most prominent, active and respected citizens of the Borough. Henry Brinley Richards (1819-1885), the distinguished Welsh musician and composer became Director of the Royal Academy of Music. The fifth was Sir Lewis Morris (1833-1907), a popular Victorian poet and a close friend of Tennyson. He took a leading part in the movement for providing University education in Wales.

Sir Thomas Powell’s Charity School.
In 1857, under a Court of Chancery Scheme, Sir Thomas Powell’s School was amalgamated with the Grammar School. The former had come into existence round about 1730 as a result of a bequest made by Sir Thomas Powell (1864-1720) of Broadway, Laugharne, and Coldbrook, Monmouth. He left the rentals of three houses in the Borough for the purpose of paying a Master to instruct poor boys “in arithmetic, the art of navigation and other matters.” The Corporation was entrusted with the selection of the “Foundation Boys" whose numbers varied from about 15 to 20. In addition the Headmaster was allowed to admit as many fee-paying pupils as he could accommodate.

Powell had been attorney-general of the Carmarthen circuit. He was created a baronet in 1698, and served as M.P. for Monmouthshire from 1705-8, and for Carmarthenshire from 1710-15. His father Sir John Powell (1633-1696) of Pentre Meurig, Llanwrda, had been a pupil of Jeremy Taylor at Newton, Llandeilo. After a distinguished legal career he was appointed a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and, a little later, a Judge of the King’s Bench. He was among the judges who acquitted the seven bishops of seditious libel in the famous case of 1688. This acquittal proved to be one of the final manifestations of popular opinion which led to the downfall and flight of James II. According to the Charity Commissioners’ Report, 1834, the Rev. David Peter (1765-1837) a notable minister of Lammas Street Congregational Chapel and later Principal of the Presbyterian College was appointed Headmaster of Sir Thomas Powell’s School in 1792. He appears to have held these three posts until 1835. At this time the School was housed in the Lammas Street Chapel premises, but in 1846 when the “Inquiry into the State of Education in Wales“ was being conducted it was located in “a detached building on the slope under the Parade,” premises which were then in very poor condition. A new building was nearly ready for occupation on the old Priory Field.

The Schools Amalgamated.
The Grammar School was still on the present Infirmary site but with better premises erected at the end of the 18th century. It had accommodation for 100 pupils and possessed a library of some 500 books. The curriculum “comprised Latin and Greek, mathematics, and ancient and modern history.” At the amalgamation of the two schools in 1857 the Queen Elizabeth scholars were removed to the Powell premises known locally as the “Old Grammar School“ and “The Endowed Schools.” Five pupils who attended the joint schools became well-known. Walter Jenkin Evans (1856-1927) classical scholar, eminent teacher and denominational historian, served for many years as Principal of the Presbyterian College, Carmarthen, and brought the College into close relationship with the University of Wales. For three years he was dean of divinity in the University. George Eyre Evans (1857-1939), Unitarian minister, antiquary and historian, served as an officer of the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments in Wales for 18 years, as secretary of the Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society for 33 years, and as Deputy Scout Commissioner for Wales for several years after he had reached the age of 70. Supported by his enthusiastic colleague, Ernest Vale Collier, he was mainly responsible for the foundation of the Carmarthenshire County Museum and for collecting many of its treasures.

Another pupil of the same period was Walter Spurrell (1858-1934). He carried on the high standards of printing and publishing established by his father, William Spurrell; and took a prominent part in the affairs of the Borough and the County. During his lifetime he was elected Mayor of Carmarthen on three occasions; and was one of the founders of the Antiquarian Society.

Two very able brother pupils of Scottish birth whose parents came to reside in Carmarthen attained distinction respectively in politics and medicine. They were Sir Donald Maclean (1864-1932) and Sir Ewen John Maclean (1865-1953). The former, an ardent Liberal, served at various periods as MP for Bath, Peebles and North Cornwall. He became a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, a Privy Councillor, and for a short period before his sudden death while in office, President of the Board of Education (1931-2) with a seat in the Cabinet.

Sir Ewen John Maclean who lived throughout his professional life in Cardiff, attained wide repute as a gynaecologist and surgeon, and served in a number of official posts, including a Professorship at the Welsh National School of Medicine. He was President of the British Medical Association in 1928-9: and a Vice-President for many years. The two brothers bequeathed a legacy of £300 to the School for the purpose of founding an annual prize.

Removal to Richmond Terrace Site.
The fusion of the two Schools met with no immediate success in the direction of increasing the number of pupils, and there were several changes of Headmasters during the following two decades, four in a period of ten years. Efforts were made to attract entrants by widening the curriculum to include practical training in agricultural chemistry, and commercial and nautical subjects. Carmarthen still had a flourishing sea-trade with Bristol.

In 1884 the School was moved to its present site off Richmond Terrace. The ground was known as the "Prisoners’ Field," having been left in trust for the succour of people imprisoned for debt in Carmarthen Jail. It was bestowed for school purposes by the Charity Commissioners. The old building had by now become too dilapidated for further use.

Since 1884 a steady expansion has taken place in numbers, the curriculum, premises and general activities. From about 50 pupils in 1890 the number enrolled has now grown to 510, with a Sixth Form of over 100. Among the early scholars in the new premises was Dr. E. W. Tristram, F.S.A. (1882-1952), Professor at the Royal College of Art, London, an expert on the preservation of medieval paintings and monuments, and an exhibitor of his own work at the Royal Academy.

For a short period at the close of the 19th century rowing was included in the School’s athletic activities. As one of the first schools in Wales to take up the Rugby game (others, a little earlier, were Llandovery, Christ College, Brecon, and Swansea Grammar School), its contributions to Welsh International, University, Town Club and Welsh Secondary Schools’ teams have been notable and numerous. The last survivor of the Welsh side which played the Maoris in 1890, Percy Lloyd, of Ammanford, was an old pupil. He died in 1959 at the age of 88. Two other school team players of a later date distinguished themselves as jockeys and race-horse trainers. They were the brothers Owen and Jack Anthony, of Kidwelly. The latter won the Grand National. A former school half-back and Harlequin player, the late Squadron Leader J. T. Ira Jones, D.S.O., M.C., D.F.C., M.M., of St. Clears, became an almost legendary figure as an air-ace of the first World War. The School has also established an excellent tradition in athletics.

Close Links with the Borough.
A close connection has always existed between the School and the Borough. Until the 19th century the Mayor and Corporation governed the School and appointed the Headmaster. Frequently, the Mayor is an old pupil. The annual Founder’s Day Service at St. Peter’s Church is normally attended by the Mayor and members of the Corporation, and it is customary for the address to be given by an old Maridunian in Holy Orders. Another annual service held at St. Peter’s is the Christmas Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. The Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, despite varying changes of fortune, has now existed in the borough for nearly four hundred years: and as has been amply shown, many of its scholars have made significant contributions to the life of Wales and England. Carmarthen and the County can well be proud of the School’s illustrious past, and of its vigorous, many-sided present-day activities. Old pupils of the 20th century have continued to attain posts of responsibility at home and abroad, in the Church and the Nonconformist ministry, the Universities, the civil service, medicine, law, commerce and industry.

Among eminent Churchmen in recent years have been a former Archbishop of Wales (Dr. D. L. Prosser of St. David’s), and a former Bishop of Bangor (Dr. T. C. Jones). The present Bishop of St. Asaph (Dr. D. D. Bartlett) is an old scholar. Among University Professors are Emrys G. Bowen and P. M. Jones. A civil servant who attained fame as an amateur student of astronomy was the late Dr. H. Percy Wilkins (1898-1960). Both the Russians and the Americans had copies of his remarkably detailed map of the moon, 25 feet in diameter and the work of 14 years’ observation. His charts proved of great value to Russian scientists in correlating their Lunik photographs. Dr. Wilkins was several times President of the International Lunar Society.

It is fitting at the close of this chapter to pay tribute to two former Headmasters, Mr. E. S. Allen, M.A., and Mr. Tudor Williams, O.B.E., MA., both of whom contributed so materially to the School’s development during the past 40 years.

See also:

• Benjamin Howell's appendix