Sheffield Grammar School

:"This article is about Sheffield (Royal) Grammar School (1604-1905) in Sheffield, England."

Sheffield Grammar School began in 1604 as 'The Free Grammar School of James King of England within the Town of Sheffield in the County of York' in buildings in the Townhead area of Sheffield, resulting from the benefaction of John Smith of Crowland [ [http://oldedwardians.org.uk/nlc/utconcinamus/schoolRules36.html KING EDWARD VII SCHOOL, SHEFFIELD - Prospectus, 1936 ] ] . In the "Gazetteer and General Directory of Sheffield and Twenty Miles Round", by William White, published in 1852 [ [http://oldedwardians.org.uk/nlc/mags/54Spring.html KES MAGAZINE SPRING 1954 ] ] , the author refers to the "FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL", noting that it "is a commodious and handsome stone building in Charlotte Street, erected by subscription in 1825, in lieu of the ancient school which stood near the top of Townhead Street. It was founded by letters patent of James I in 1604, and the Vicar and Church Burgesses are the trustees and governors".

It led a nomadic existence on various sites before taking over the Sheffield Collegiate School on Collegiate Crescent in 1884. James A. Figorski describes the premises at St. George's Square, which the school occupied in 1868, as follows [ [http://nlc.oldedwardians.org.uk/mags/48July.html King Edward VII School Sheffield - KES MAGAZINE, JULY, 1948 ] ] "It was a stone building which I think was in keeping with St. George's Church. From St. George's Square you entered through a stone archway and there to the left was the small caretaker's house, and then the pathway went round to the porch, into which the main door opened to the large main room of the school. The floor was stone flagged and was very cold in winter. A stove stood in the centre of the room, cracked and worn. We had no gas, and water was turned on into an old stone trough at play-hours outside the school".

The school, at its Collegiate Crescent site, was renamed Sheffield Royal Grammar School (SRGS) in 1885.

In 1905 Sheffield City Council acquired both Wesley College and SRGS and they were merged on the site of the former to form King Edward VII School (KES), named after the reigning monarch.

Headmasters of Sheffield Grammar School

Notable alumni of Sheffield Grammar School

*John Balguy (1686-1748) - divine and philosopher (NB Thomas Balguy was Head 1664-1696).
*Charles Sargeant Jagger MC (1885-1934) - war memorials sculptor
*John Roebuck (1718-1794) - inventor

References

* Cornwell, John (2005). "King Ted's" (1st ed.). King Edward VII School, Sheffield. ISBN 0-9526484-1-5. (This book reviews the period from 1604 to 1905, although its bulk is concerned with 1905-2005.)

External links

* [http://www.kes.sheffield.sch.uk/ King Edward VII School and Language College]
* [http://oldedwardians.org.uk/ Old Edwardians] - site for alumni association + archive material
* [http://www.sheffield-collegiate-cc.org.uk/content/view/12/46/1/1/ Sheffield Collegiate School] - Sheffield Collegiate School history on Sheffield Collegiate Cricket Club's site