Monument Type(s):

• SCHOOL (Built, 16th century to 17th century - 1595 AD to 1630 AD)

Summary

The building, which now houses Shrewsbury Library, was originally constructed as Shrewsbury School. Founded in the 16th century as a new "Free" School, by Edward VI, the original school may have been in Rigg's Hall (next door). The present day building was constructed in two phases; 1595 and 1630, and further renovation work was carried out in the 19th century. One of the school's most famous pupils was Charles Darwin who attended from 1817 to 1825. In 1882 the school moved to new premises in Kingsland and a public library and museum was opened. The building was renovated in the 1980s.The building is constructed of course and squared rubble and has a main entrance range and tower. The entrance block dates to 1630 and is three storeys high with a five bay window range. The archway is decorated with the coat of arms of Charles I and there are two statues, representing Philomath and Polymath. The range to the left is earlier and dates to 1595. Nearby are other associated buildings including Riggs Hall and the old headmaster's house.The most famous pupil of Shrewsbury School (also known as Dr Samuel Butler's School) was Charles Darwin who boarded there from the age of eight until sixteen. He wrote about his time at the school in his autobiography and the school still has a number of his possessions including letters, an atlas and some medals. There is a statue of Charles Darwin outside the library building. Protected by Grade I Listing.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events: None recorded

Description

See SMR Card for additional references <0>

Library, formerly Shrewsbury Grammar School. 2 phases, one dated 1595, the other dated 1630. Coursed and squared rubble, with roof not visible behind parapet. PLAN: main entrance range, with tower at angle, and gabled cross range beyond to right.
EXTERIOR: entrance block of 1630, 3 storeys, 5-window range with central shallow segmental archway with fluted Corinthian columns on high bases. 2 male figures stand on the columns, with inscriptions in Greek beneath and between them, and the date. Four 2-light chamfered mullioned windows each side to ground floor, 4-light mullioned and transomed windows over, and on top storey, 2- and 3-light mullioned windows, one cut by carved Royal Arms with lion and unicorn. String courses are Greek motifs, each different. Parapet which sweeps up into fleur-de-lys finials. Decorated window in gable end, lighting principal room within. Massive sundials etched onto stonework on each façade. Tower to the right, 6 unequal stages, with blocked door to ground floor, then mullioned windows of 2 and 3 lights, one to each stage, lighting stair within. Clock in upper stage. Embattled parapet with pinnacles. Earlier gabled range to left dated 1595. Principal room at first-floor level, with wide Decorated-style window. Smaller mullioned and transomed window to lower storey, and date stone with inscription recording David Lloyd and Thomas Lewis. Chamfered segmentally-arched doorway and narrow window in the lowest stage.
INTERIOR: cambered trusses. In the earlier block, the main hall has been extensively modified, and the ceiling, with moulded tie beams and traceried decoration, is a C19 alteration <2>

This monument covers the two separate components of the stone frontage ranges of the schools site: the west wing, begun in 1595 (PRN 62106) and the south wing and clock tower (PRN 62107), facing School Gardens, the former begun in 1627. <10>

The tower and the west wing, which housed the chapel on the ground floor and the library and dormitories above, were begun in 1595 under the headship of John Meighen for whom Rigg's Hall was extended. The S wing followed, being completed in 1620. The parapet of this unit is very similar to that on Hancock's Market Hall and may be the work of his son. <11>

Additional references identified by the NRHE. <12>

In an account of Shrewsbury in the time of Queen Elizabeth, Morris gives a concise account of Shrewsbury School. The three orders of Mendicant Friars, he says, had disappeared. The Benedictine Abbey and the collegiate bodies of St.Chad and St.Mary had been dissolved. The new "Free" Schools, founded by Edward VI, and endowed with a considerable portion of the estates of the two collegiate churches, had commenced in a timber-framed building occupying the site of the eastern part of the present structure, on the left of the archway. This was taken down and rebuilt in 1630. The tower, chapel and former library above were added in 1595, but the chapel was not consecrated until 1617. The upper part of the building was restored and the roof reconstructed early in the 19th century. The fittings of the chapel were removed when the school was transferred to new premises at Kingsland in 1882. <12a>

Drinkwater gives a transcript of the Consecration Deed of November 1, 1617. Previously, says Fletcher, scholars had attended service at St. Mary's; and since the school removed to Kingsland and the old buildings were used as Free Library and Museum, the old chapel had been converted into a Newspaper and Reading Room. For an historical account of the school, 1552-1952, see Oldham. <12b>

The school was founded in 1552 and the building dates to the 1590s and 1630. Pevsner suggests that before 1590 the school may have been held at Rigg's Hall [SJ 41 SE 60] and may date back to before the Reformation. The school buildings are stately in appearance on a par with Eton and Winchester. The earlier building lies at right angles to the later frontage. It is two storeys with a basement and tower and is made of ashlar. The building has a mixture of two and three-light mullioned and transomed windows. There are some 19th century alterations including the parapet and a Gothic end window. It contained the school's chapel (consecrated 1617) on the first floor and the library on the second. A second building was built in 1627-30 at right angles to the earlier one. It also has a mixture of mullioned and transomed windows. The entrance way is an elliptical arch with fluted Corinthian columns with the figures of two scholars on top of them (Philomathon and Polymathon) along with a Greek inscription. The floors are separated by geometrical patterned friezes. This later building contained the school's form-rooms. See also Country Life, Correspondence Feb.20, 1953. <12c>

The modern Shrewsbury Library was the site of Shrewsbury School from 1550 to 1882 and then it became the borough's public library and museum. In 1976 the buildings were deemed unsafe and were closed for extensive renovation, which earned a Civic Trust Award in 1984. The oldest part of the building dates back to around 1450 and it was altered various times around the beginning of the 17th century and during the 19th century. Famous pupils at the School included Sir Philip Sydney, Charles Darwin and Samuel Butler. The coat of arms of Charles I and two statues, representing Philomath and Polymath, decorate the area over the archway of the library. There is an inscription in Greek, from Isocrates, which reads "If you are a lover of learning, you will become learned". There are also sundials which show "Shrewsbury time" which is about 10 minutes after Greenwich time. <12d>

Charles Darwin's first school was the Unitarian Church school in Shrewsbury however when his mother died when he was eight he was sent to Dr. Samuel Butler's school (Shrewsbury School) where he attended as a border until he was sixteen. The building was grand and on a par with the top schools in the country at the time such as Eton and Winchester. Darwin wrote about his time at the school in his autobiography and the school has a number of documents and objects owned by Charles Darwin. These include his old school atlas, some letters, a first edition of The Origin of Species and some medals. <12e>

Founded in 1552, the present buildings were built in the 1590s and 1630s. The grammar school was at the time one of the best schools in the country and in the 1870s it was decided to move location to Kingsland. The school building became the public library and was renovated in the 1980s. <12f>

Sources

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