Full Description
The Ancient Schools of Gloucester traces the history of education in the City of Gloucester from its origins in the cloister school of St Peter's Abbey about a thousand years ago. Starting in the early Middle Ages, the rivalries between the two Gloucester grammar schools maintained by St Oswald's and Llanthony priories are described. The contributions of the Benedictines, Augustinian canons and founders of the medieval chantries are assessed. The creation of new grammar schools in the reign of Henry VIII at the Crypt and King's is fully documented along with the development of these schools through the pivotal years of the Civil War and into the 18th century. There is a special focus on the career of Maurice Wheeler, Gloucester's most distinguished schoolmaster. As the country began to move towards mass education during the 18th century, the role of other initiatives, such as private schools for girls, Sunday Schools and Sir Thomas Rich's Bluecoat school for apprentice boys, is also covered. Whilst several histories have been published in the past of individual schools, this chronological and fully illustrated study is the first time an author has brought together the early histories of the ancient schools of the City into a single volume, which sets the Gloucester experience in its national context.
Contents
Introduction A Thousand Years of History; Chapter One Gloucester's First School: Our Anglo-Saxon Inheritance; Chapter Two The Cloister School in St Peter's Abbey: The Growth of Scholarship during the 12th and 13th Centuries; Chapter Three Our Two Grammar Schools of St Oswald's and Llanthony: Education at the Heart of Medieval Gloucester; Chapter Four The Almonry and Song Schools of St Peter's Abbey: Serving the Medieval Benedictine Community; Chapter Five The Chantry Schools of Gloucester: Our First 'Free' Schools; Chapter Six The New Grammar School at the Crypt: Joan Cooke's Legacy to the People of Gloucester; Chapter Seven The Tudor Schools at Gloucester Cathedral: Building on the Monastic Tradition; Chapter Eight Elementary or Petty Schools: The Growth of Basic Literacy and Reading Skills; Chapter Nine The Early 17th Century: Schools Dominated by Religious Controversy; Chapter Ten Civil War and Commonwealth: The City's Schools under Siege; Chapter Eleven The Late 17th Century: Normality Restored; Chapter Twelve Sir Thomas Rich's Hospital: The Arrival of the Bluecoat Boys; Chapter Thirteen Maurice Wheeler: Gloucester's Most Celebrated Schoolmaster; Chapter Fourteen Private Schools and Academies: The Proliferation of New Types of School; Chapter Fifteen The Crypt in the 18th Century: A School Confronting its Financial Constraints; Chapter Sixteen The 18th Century at King's: A School of Fluctuating Fortunes; Chapter Seventeen Charity Schools and Sunday Schools: Moves towards Mass Schooling; Epilogue The Dawn of the Modern Age; Select Bibliography; Photographs and Figures; Index of People, Places and Topics; About the Author;
