THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL ·SCHOOL ;-;rR JOHX :ucCT.,l.RE, I,I,.D., l),)IL·s. Headmaster. 1891 1922 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL 1807 - 1923 BY NORMAN G. BRETT-JAMES, M.A., B.LiTT ., Lincoln College, Oxford. REIGATE WITH 80 ILLUSTRATIONS .. .. .. .. .. .. THOMAS MALCOMSON THE SURREY FINE ART PRESS DEDICATED TO MY COLLEAGUES, PAST AND PRESENT, AT MILL HILL, WHO HAVE DONE SO MUCH IN BUILDING UP THE SCHOOL. PREFACE THE History of Mill Hill was begun when the author was at school, and took eleven years to complete. When nearly ready for the pre&5 it was los~ by a proof reader, and it took some time to put it together again from a very imperfect copy. In the first edition the history of the School was traced from 1807 to the end of the first hundred years and many were the vicissitudes of fortune which it was the historian's lot to chronicle. Of those who contributed to the making of the • School in its earlier days, there are some out standing names-Pye Smith, Favell, Priestley, Piper, Smith, Scrutton, Weymouth, Murray. But besides these leaders there were many others who added their part to the building up of a great School and an attempt was made to characterise these men and their work. Old Boys of all periods sent their reminiscences, and from them it was po&5ib1e to compile a chronicle of the main happen ings and to sum up the most significant achieve ments. When the earlier edition was published Dr. McClure had only completed about half his time of Headmastership of Mill Hill. It was obviously impossible then to step back and judge of the success which he had achieved. The fifteen years ix X PREFACE since that time have seen the completion of his work and the World War. It has been a time full of momentous developments in the history of the world, and these have had their reaction on the School. It is now easier to see what has been achieved in the last 30 years, and the coming of a new Headmaster seems a fitting occasion for a new and more complete edition of the History. The author is here speaking of a period which he knows at first hand, and it has been his endeavour to do justice to all the movements which have characterised Mill Hill during the period and, as far as may be, to indicate the part played in the building up of the School by the many who have contributed to its success. It is true of this edition as it was of the former that the volume, written by one Old Boy and illustrated, in part, by another, represents besides, in all its stages of manufacture, the work of Old MilJhillians now connected with the publishing, paper, printing and binding trades. ONT PAGE PREFACE 1X INTRODUCTION l CHAP. I. THE FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL . 9 II. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLAGE 24 III. EARLY DAYS 34 IV. THE LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 51 V. THE CHAPLAIN'S DIARY 78 VI. THE INTERREGNUM 100 VII. MILL HILL UNDER PRIESTLEY 119 VIII. APPRECIATION OF PRIESTLEY 148 IX. MILL HILL UNDER PHILIP SMITH . 176 X. THE COLLAPSE OF THE OLD FOUNDATION 201 XI. THE KEW FOUNDATION 211 xi .. XU CONTE;NTS CHAP. XII. MILL HILL UNDER VINCE XIII. MILL HILL UNDER MCCLURE XIV. 1903-1908. XV. THE LIFE OF TO-DAY (1908) XVI. THE BUILDINGS (I908) XVII. THE OLD MILLHILLIANS XVIII. ATHLETICS 1903-I908 . XIX. LISTS OF MASTERS, ETC. XX. PETER COLLINSON XXI. SCHOOL SONGS XXII. I909-I923 . XXIII. SIR JOHN MCCLURE XXIV. THE OFFICERS TRAINING CORPS XXV. ATHLETICS FRO:M I909-1922 . XXVI. THE OLD BOYS CLuB . PAGE . 263 270 . 3o7 . 320 . 332 • 344 • 356 • 367 . 378 • 393 . 400 . 470 XXVII. APPENDIX TO LISTS OF MASTERS, ETC . 475 XXVIII. ADDITIONS TO THE EARLY HISTORY • 479 INDEX • ADDITIONAL INDEX . • . 501 .. c- :4 • ~. ., "'"' - ' \ . • ~ ~ -1 -( i~ k ~,s - t1i~~~ ?"(~:. 4,.. ~ --, ~ ~-----E~t ~ f-- -~- ~ ·' ~ . .i • -..:: - \: -- ¾ ~\~~- .-\.~~ ,.. ..a, ...;. .:.-- ,,,,,_~ .. i~- it ';:;,,- (; }~ ~"'~ ~ ~ .., ; 1/ln-' -~ ' ~ ~~···· i1 "- ~ I - :. ~ , :~ ~ - - ~;;;=:::-'• "' /~ .... .,,..,,,-- 1 \ ' ~ r:: ,r r"-:-,.....:.; ··A / · 0 ~ ( . - A pt~ r ,..,,__.?--<01. _.; , '?" ~ ~✓ ~{\;. ~r- 11c ~111!1'1111 ., •iJ-i' ~-- J-f~ 1L~ ~~ = ! . ,= ,; ~ -.v, ./-:' -. ,,, I "",,,~ .. ~ \ • I . '-<✓L'\-;(~r \ \ ~ ':J 9 ~ ~ . " 'l' >. . \ ,,...;:.. r .J- ~ .... ~ 't,- ~ , I / - ... ..:\ - < ' --. r\Z-<- \ - - ~ ,Y ,. - . ;-tt1 ~ ' ,, ~ ,ii l~ ..:!. _ ,,~~ ~ ~\ I ¼. \ ~\ \ .:;· -..;." " ~ .:.. ~ ,t ~,.. .. ----- 11 • ._,•',---- - • . , ~ 0 CJ\ M I< H ,..... -t M ci. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. \ FROM DRAWINGS BY F. J. S. PERCEVAL AND M. S. BRIGGS (O.M.), AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY MESSRS. GILLMAN OF OXFORD, MESSRS. STACKMAN BROUGH OF RICHMOND, AND ESTELLE (MILL HILL), C. R. DOBSON (o.M.) AND A. P. SAINT (o.M.) . SIR JOHN MCCLURE . PLAYGROUND . SAMUEL FAVELL OLD BOYS' GALLERY MILL HILL IN '' PUNCH '' . REV JOHX PYE SMITil, D.D., LL.D., F.R.S '' SKIPPERS '' . • " SCOTT'S " NOW THE GROVE , DR. CORRIE REV. G. S. EVANS, M.A. THE HIGH ROAD VIEW OF HARROW FROM THE TERRACE HARROW FROM MILL HILL . Frontispiece FACING PAGE . XlV I 5 12 PRINT FROM "CONGREGATIONAL MAGAZINE," 1825 ELEVATION AND PLAN 16 20 29 32 32 49 53 6o 88 89 96 OLD CHAPEL AND AN OLD PR.C\T AN OLD PRINT, ABOUT 1850 REV. MAURICE PHILLIPS THOMAS PRIESTLEY REV.. PHILIP SMITH, B.A. R. F. WEYMOUTH, D.LIT., M.A. SIR JOHN MCCLURE, LL.D., M.A. xiii 113 . 128 128 128 . 128 . 128· . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS nv FACING PAGE HAMMERS LANE . . . 145 BUST OF REV. JOHN PYE SMITH, • 176 . BUST OF SAMUEL FAVELL . 176 THOMAS SCRUTTON . • . 176 THOMAS PIPER . . 176 LORD \VINTERSTOKE . 176 BURTON BANK . . 193 COLLINSON HOUSE . . . 193 SWIMMING BATH . 224 NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM . 224 OLD RIDGEWAY . . 241 SIR JAMES MURRAY . . 241 vmw FROM THE HERBACEOUS BORDER . 256 CARPENTER'S SHOP . . . . . 273 '' SKIPPERS '' . . • . 273 PLAYGROUND . . . 273 E. W. HALLIFAX, M.A . 280 W. H. ANDREWS, M.A. . . . . 281 VIEW FROM KING'S HEAD . 288 THE CHAPEL . . 288 INTERIOR OF THE CHAPEL • . 292 SCRIPTORIUM, LIBRARY AND TUCKSHOP . . 301 NEW BUILDINGS • . . 305 GROUP OF MASTERS AND BOYS, 1907 . 320 SCHOOL HOUSE DINING HALL . . 325 T.HE GYMNASIUM . . . 325 THE MAIN CORRIDOR . . . 325 THE SCRIPTORIUM . . 325 THE LIBRARY . . 325 MAP OF MILL HILL • • . . • . 332 ENTRANCE HALL, NEW BUILDINGS . . . . 337 THE CHAPEL . . . 337 PLAN OF MILL HILL SCHOOL, 1905 . . . 340 HENRY SHAW • . . . . • . 344 REV. DURANT PHILIP . • • . 345 NEW BUILDINGS FROM HIGH-ROAD . . . 349 BIG SCHOOL . . 352 SANATORIUM, 1908 . . • . • • 352 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PORTICO FROM THE LAWN THE CEDAR IN 1908 THE LOGGIA THE TOP FIBLD RIDGEWAY HOUSE REV. WILLIAM RIDLEY REV. W. F. HURNDALL THE VILLAGE POND . BIG SCHOOL, INTERIOR CHEMICAL LABORATORY CLASS ROOM • TWO AIR PHOTOGRAPHS MAURICE L. JACK$, M.A. BELMONT MEMORIAL GATEWAY MEMORIAL LECTERN ROLL OF HONOUR " LAST POST " • GATE OF HONOUR • • • :MEMORIAL TO SIR JOHN MCCLURE SNAP-SHOOTL~G TROPHY • • xv FACING PAGE . 352 . 352 . 352 . 356 365 . 369 . 369 . 384 392 . 392 . 392 . 393 401 . 417 . 419 420 . 429 . 430 • . 432 • • 449 • • 464 SA:\leEL FA n ~LL, Co-Founder in 1807. The History of Mill Hill School INTRODUCTION THE nineteenth century, which has passed away so recently, would be remembered as an era of educa tional progress, even if it were famous for no other reason. It saw the foundation in 1808 of the Lan casterian Society, afterwards called the British and Foreign Schools Society, which aimed at making it possible for the children of the poor to receive an education without being brought under the direct influence of the Established Church. It witnessed the passing of the First Education Bill and its successors, which have given free instruction to every child in the country, whose parents care to take . advantage of the means, and have insisted that all children shall be educated in the rudiments. It has attended at the birth of many new public schools which have caught the spirit of the older foundations, and have created fresh ideals of their own. Most wonderful of all, it has been the century in which the schoolmaster has been emancipated from the _formalism and pedantry which hampered him at every turn, and has been transformed, from a dull ideal-less usher, into a man who is at once a teacher ! 2 THE HISTOI~Y OF MILL HILL SCHOOL and a leader of boys. It is now no longer necessary for a schoohnaster to be a parson, and it is only fair to say that the desire to have at least all headmasters orda~ned Ministers of the Gospel, was aln1ost as strong among Nonconformists as in the Church of England. In the nineteenth century, in fact, the \\1hole system of secondary education has been changed, largely through the influence of a few strong men, and the na1nes of Arnold and Thring are among the most honoured of the century. The changes which they introduced were not easy to appreciate at the time, but the essential feature of their ideals seems to have been a recognition that a public school was a small worl~ in which boys must learn to obey and command, to endure hardship and to overcome trials, as a preparation for the sterner conflict of the world outside. Without insisting too strongly on the connection between the foundation of Mill Hill and the events in English history which were contemporary with it, it may fairly be claimed that the growth of a spirit of liberty, which characterised the last few years of the eighteenth century and which culminated in the French Revolution, must have had some influence on the minds of its founders. It was a period when people were breaking away from chains of tyranny and formalism, and beginning to breathe a purer air in religious and scientific thought. No less noteworthy is the fact that a new wave of •philanthropy was spreading over Christendom, and over England in particular. Within a few years of the beginning of the nineteenth century four great . Missionary Societies were founded and the British and Foreign Bible Society was inaugurated. In the INTRODUCTION 3 very year of the school's foundation, a resolution was passed in Parliament which set free any slave who landed in England ; and although it was nearly thirty years before complete liberty was granted to the slaves in British Colonies, it is interesting to notice that the reformer who was most prominent in the battle for freedom, William Wilberforce, lived for some years at Mill Hill and took considerat?le interest in the school. Nonconformists had been growing in importance during the eighteenth century, and great material prosperity had been enjoyed by them, particularly in the Metropolis. They had largely increased in _numbers, owing to the influence of the preaching of Wesley and Whitefield, and in the fifteen years immediately preceding the school's foundation, nearly ten thousand Meeting Houses were registered by Nonconformist bodies. The founders of the school must have needed big hearts to nerve them to so bold an · undertaking. England was in the throes of the Napoleonic War, times were bad and money scarce, and the price of provisions had ~ncreased fivefold in the preceding thirty years, but they had great ideals of what education should be, and determined to found their school on the best possible lines. Eton and Harrow were taken as models, and if the New Grammar School did not compete with these ancient seafs of learning, it was not from want of energy on the part of the founders. Many of them also were instrumental in founding the British and Foreign Schools Society, and they may well have hoped that with the two foundations it might have been possible to provide a complete system of Primary and Secondary Education for the benefit of those who, 4 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL by their religious beliefs, felt themselves debarred, or were actually excluded, from enjoying the advan tages of the education system of the Church of England. Whether they actually intended the two kinds of schools to be definite parts of a wide-em bracing scheme or not, the name of the Borough Road College was often on the lips of the Mill Hill Committee, and comparisons between the two were frequently drawn, sometimes to. the chagrin of those in authority at Mill Hill. . It has sometimes been suggested that Mill Hill was not a public school until the New Foundation in 1869, and Mr. Gladstone, when he distributed the prizes ten years later, said that no school could really claim the title until the roll numbered over two hundred. The exact definition of a public school is hard to find, but in all probability that given by Mr. A. F. Leach in his Hi"story of Wi"nchester College is as accurate as possible. " It is," he says, " an endowed Grammar School, which is wholly or almost wholly a Boarding School for the wealthier classes." At the beginning of the nineteenth century there were not more than three or four in the strictest sense : Eton, Winchester, Westminster, and possibly Harrow. The Public Schools Acts of 1869 and 1871 recognised seven or nine, while at the present time their name is legion, and the official recognition of a school's claims is an invitation to the headmaster to attend the Headmasters' Conference. If the definition given by Mr. Leach be accepted as somewhere near the tr:uth, though it excludes all the London day-schools, Mill Hill can claim to have been a public school from the very start. There is no doubt that the education afforded there was about as good as that .. THP, • ., C.\.I,I,BR Y · . D THE O T,D B OYS , D"'I :\ TSR',-., ST:-\I,LS_ -~~ _ .. 1 1 J . S. P ercc,·:tl. IIl, A ·' • F ,., dra wino bv I -...r....i,. , r on1 .... '-' - [p . .s INTRODUCTION 5 given by Eton, because the sixth forms of both schools were examined hy the same independent examiners in the early years, and pronounced to be pretty much on an equality. If Mill Hill's claims can be justified, to her founders is due the credit for taking the first step in the education movement of the nineteenth century. Founded as long ago as 1807, Mill Hill can give thirty-three years to Cheltenham, and thirty-six to Marlborough, usually considered to be the pioneers of the new public schools. Mill Hill has never been a local school to any extent, and has always drawn boys from all parts of England and Wales. It may be urged that the somewhat unfortunate title of Protestant Dissenters' Grammar School militates against the claims of Mill Hill, and that no school with so narrow a foundation could have been a public school in reality. It is true that Mill Hill was founded in the main by those who were excluded from the Church of England by their conscientious convictions, but there was no bitter sectarianism in their minds. Without labouring the point that the other public schools were practically Church of England seminaries to the exclusion of Dissenters, it may be mentioned that, in spite of the name, Mill Hill was in no sense tied down as its title would seem to suggest. This statement can readily be proved by the fact that of the boys educated there during the first twenty-five years, a considerable number were members of the Church of England, of whom one became a Bishop, one a Dean, and two Canons.• The founders especially disclaimed a * Dr. Jacobson, Bishop of Chester; Dr. Innes, Dean of St. Paul's, Ontario ; Canon Gandell and Canon Birks. . 6 THE HISTORY OF ~fILL HILL SCHOOL narrow and exclusive spirit, and in an early pros pectus they strongly urged that any attempt at proselytising would be in direct opposition to the . catholic basis on which Mill Hill had been founded, • and that they wished the school's constituency to include, as indeed it did, mem hers of the Church of England _as well as Dissenters. The history of Mill Hill is not~ more or less in teresting than that of other schools of a similar antiquity. It is, however, in some respects unique, and stands apart from other schools in one or two particulars. Although claiming a broad basis, it has been, in an especial sense, a public school for Free Churchmen, and until recent years it was almost the only one not definitely pledged to the dogmas of the Church of Eng]and. Much of the strength of the Church has come from the public schools, and it is only recently that Nonconformists have recognised that when they cut themselves off from the Church they lost all the advantages of public school education which were at hand. Mill Hill was the first and, for half a century, the only recognition that Noncon formists realised the value of the public ~chool system. There were, all through the eighteenth century, well-conducted academies where the education was probably as good as at any of the public schools. The foundation of Mill Hill was an attempt to combine a good many of these academies together and establish one substantial school. Progress in travelling had ' made London more of a focus for Nonconformists than before, and the rapid advance in commerce vvhich caused Napoleon to style England" a nation of shopkeepers" had brought them into prominence as a class. INTRODlJCTION 7 For a school which is barely a century old, Mill Hill has passed through enough vicissitudes to have killed several less sturdy societies. On three occa sions at least there was danger of the school's collapse. The last of .these crises occurred only eighteen years ago. Under its present headmaster, however, the school has made such remarkable growth that there does not seem the slightest reason for doubting that in the very near future ~ill Hill is destined to take a higher position among the public schools of the country. The achievements and prospects of the school were well summed up the other day in a speech delivered by the present headmaster. " Our hopes for the future must needs he founded on the expen'ence of the past. The fact that there has been in the last few years a steady and continuous growth in the numbers · shows that the school supplies a distinct want. The same period has witnessed a growth in the efficiency of the school and in the development of that espr# de corps which every great sch<;>ol invariably and inevit ably inspires. It has been made clear that boys and masters trained under widely different conditions and belonging to different churches, can and do live in mutual helpfulness and respect, united by the strongest of ties, a common loyalty and a common faith. In a few years at most the secondary schools of the kingdom will be of two types: those supported \Vholly or in part from the public funds, and those which rely entirely on their own endowments and fees. There cannot be the least doubt as to which class Mill Hill must belong, for to accept state aid would be to destroy her very raison d'etre. For Mill Hill is in truth a great religious foundation-great 8 THE HISTORY OF MILL .HILL SCHOOL not in the magnitude of endowment nor in the number gathered within her walls, but great in the work she is called upon to do, and in the principles of which she is the living embodiment. "To support such an institution is not merely an act of loyalty to a beloved alma mater, but an act of loyalty to cherished convictions-an act of faith in a great principle. The school begins its second century of existence under happy auspices. Never has its equipment been so good; never have its numbers been so great ; never has the school spirit been so strong; never has the faith in the future been so firm ; never has the ideal which Mill Hill imper fectly realises been so clear in the minds and hearts of her sons. we· claim that in the past the school has stood for unity and comprehensiveness. In the future it must be our aim that Mill Hill continue not as an undenominational (for she exists not for negations, but for the assertion of a positive truth) but rather as an inter-denominational school, second to none in equipment, character, and teaching. Boys educated under the influence of such ideals, learning sympathy from differences, unity of spirit through diversities of training, must needs grow into large hearted, generous, tolerant yet earnest Christian manhood, and form no unworthy part o_f the true aristocracy of character which constitutes the real wealth of every nation." CHAPTER I THE FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL IN the early part of the last century a number of influential London merchants were moved by a desire to establish a Grammar School for the sons of Pro testant Dissenters. They were influenced in the main by the fact that the public schools and uni versities were practically closed to ~hem, since, as they said, " No degree can be taken before the candidate has subscribed articles for which Protestant Dissenters can trace no sanction in the Scriptures. This is not all. Were the terms of admission as liberal in the English as they are in the Scotch Universities, and were our public schools ever so numerous, and, in a literary point of view, all equally respectable, many conscientious parents in the Es tablishment as well as among Dissenters might reason ably be deterred from sending their sons thither." The Dissenters of the later part of the eighteenth century were a class among whom literary excellence was rarely found. The want of a classical taste and scientific attainments was seriously felt, and this was all the more unsatisfactory as the primitive Dissenters from the Ecclesiastical Establishment of the sixteenth century were not less eminent for learning than for piety. Of the two thousand ministers who in 9 10 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL the reign of the second Charles so nobly resigned emoluments and dignities for conscience' sake, the gre~t majority had enjoyed a µni versity education. Few of them were destitute of literary accomplish ments, while some possessed them to an extent which will immortalise both their names and their usefulness. " Besides a numerous class who rank with Owen, Tuckney, Arrowsmith, and Bates, there may be pointed out, as Nonconformists occupying the first place in classical erudition, Gataker, who opened the path which was afterwards trodden by Bentley and the illustrious Greek scholars of the eighteenth century; Harman, who held the Greek professorship at Oxford with much honour to himself and the University; Gale, the author of the well-known and consummately learned Court of the Gentiles; and Poole, the compiler of the admirable synopsis of Scripture Critics." At the beginning of the nineteenth century Dissenters had been excluded from the Universities for fully a hundred and forty years. When the Act of Uniformity had produced its full effect, the descendants of these illustrious men, and some even of the ejected ministers themselves, were obliged to set up their own ac·ademies as a substitute for the Universities, and private schools to supply the· place ~f the public and ancient foundations~ Of these private schools one of the most interest ing, to Millhillians at least, is the school of Richard Swift, who was Vicar of Edg"vare until 1662. He was the son of Augustin Swift, an attorney, and was. born in Norwich in 1616. It is worthy of notice that he was one of the few ejected ministers who were not mem hers of the Universities. Owing to the early death of his father, he had not much , THE FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL II academic learning, but he attained to considerable skill in the languages. When he first entered on the ministry he was chaplain to Sir Brocket Spencer, and he preached for some time in Hertfordshire before he came to Edgware, whence he was ejected for Nonconformity. He removed after this to Mill Hill, where before he took boarders he was in great straits; as he also was afterwards when they all left him on account of the small-pox being in his house. But he was of a cheerful spirit and always expressed a firm trust in the providence of God. He used to say," Why should God take care, and I also? " Soon after this, the wife of a con- siderable London merchant sent him two of her sons to educate, and stirred up others to help him, till he had a competent number of pupils. He was a man of great charity, and was useful to many poor families in the parish. He put out several children to trade~, and it was thought that he did as much good as most gentlemen of fortune in that neigh bourhood. He was more than once imprisoned in N ewgate for keeping conventicles in his house, the last time being in the height of the plague. He was a pious man, and daily employed himself in studying the Scriptures, yet he was led away with Fifth Monarchy notions and others that were very peculiar. He died in the parish of Hendon in 1701, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. This, with few alterations, is Calamy's account of Richard Swift, and we may suppose that, being the description of an ejected minister near London, it is free from any serious error. In any case his connection with Mill Hill is undoubted. Though we possess no detailed account of Swift's 12 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL school, yet we may gather from the general de scription which we have of Nonconformist schools at that time some particulars which may be taken as ref erring, at least in part, to the seminary at Mill Hill. The education which Puritans gave to their children was not merely " a liberal education of the Old Grammar School type-founded upon a severe course in the reading of classical authors, in theme writing and endless imitation of Cicero and Terence but an education which in the end brought a man to an eager desire for theological truth and a willingness to take untold pains in its investigation, together with a spirit of charity which could bless and wish. godspeed to those who differed from him in opinion." Samuel Cradock, C~arles Morton, and Samuel Palmer, then well known in Nonconformist circles, all wrote defences of the method of education adopted by Dissenters, and from them we learn the moderation which was shown by these teachers. The curriculum included Greek and Latin, logic, metaphysics, natural and moral philosophy, rhetoric, theology, ·and Biblical criticism. We may suppose that for the younger boys Swift used The Shorter Catechi"sm, explained by Thoinas Lye, and his New SpelHng Book, which were both published about .the time when Swift commenced his school, and were largely in vogue among Nonconformists. A writer of the present day, speaking about these schools, says : "The history of them would be the finest record of education, outside of the ancient Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, to be found in England. It is not improbable that in the eighteenth century their academies afforded an educa tion even superior to the contemporary Universities- • • p. IZ] .... ' ._ ' ,~-- ~ ' '- \.. ' .- I / ,, I ./ I I . .. ' . - ........ "'""" ' ff1/ \. l-- 1\.~vc ,~- . \' \ \ f By~ i,td pami.,~iu,1 c>/ llzt /nopridors of" Pum 11." ::\III,L HILL 'CIIOOT, I X " Pl");CII." Ou> Bov (re-dsiting Schoo)):" W ell , Jeck , there hrl\ c l>u.n a lot of change'$ in the old place ~ince my time." ~CIIOOL P ORTER : " Y L>s:5ir , the H cadma:;ter b ch.rnged. the A s~btant :\!asters b changnl, the Chapel b chan~<: i,- ch~ z,~cd, l>ut 1.>k-.-; you, tl.c l cy,, b just the same cs c,·cr." THE FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL 13 superior, if not in book-learning, at any rate in the culture of the finer virtues of life." For many years this admirable system of education was handed down from one generation to another, but as the remembrance of Puritan ancestry became less distinct, and persecution began to die away, the dissenting seminaries and academies were carried on with less vigour than before. " Though Non conformist business men were in many cases as well educated as those who belonged to the Established Church, few of them had sufficient expectations of opulent leisure to enable them to read with a view to the professions of Law or Medicine, or to the enjoyment of a life of ease. This especially affected the ministry. In the Established Church young men were destined from their boyhood for the office of clergyman, and their whole education was directed to that end. The history of Nonconformity affords very few instances of a boy's education being con ducted with so explicit a purpose in view. In the majority of cases young men, often the sons of uneducated parents, entered ministerial training colleges from the ages of eighteen to twenty-two, having to begin rudimentary Latin and Greek, so that it ':Vas hardly ever possible for them to gain that accuracy and extensive knowledge in classical learning which can only be the result of long years of careful training and of devotion to study. For the last forty years of the eighteenth century the majority of Nonconformist schools were in a very parlous condition. The qualifications of ctachers were too often in inverse proportion to the magnifi cence of their professions, and the means adopted to teach classics were on a level with the capacity 14 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL of the teache~s. Easy and rapid acquisition was desired, and to th is end translations, interpretations, and parsing indices were resorted to, and served to save the teacher trouble, hide his deficiencies, and pander to the sloth of his pupils. Thus hardly any real education was given, and but little classical learning was acquired. Most of the time spent on Latin and Greek was simply thrown away, for it was difficult for • the most industrious to make much progress under so absurd a system." It was for these reasons that a number of London merchants belonging to Nonconformist bodies deter mined to establish a school " for affording -the best means for a sound,. learned, and pious education." Several preliminary meetings of a private character were held, and the idea was well considered before being announced in public. In 1806, a point of time mid-way between the deaths of William Pitt the younger and Charles James Fox, England was at war with France, engaged in a death-struggle with the great Napoleon. On June 18, a day destined nine years later to become world-renowned through the battle of Waterloo, a general gathering was called of "gentlemen anxious to promote sound learning among Dissenters." Few ,vould have chosen such a time as suitable for starting a public school for a class of people held in but little esteem by the general community; but l\1ill Hill, founded as it thus was in days of deadly strife, was destined to pass through deep waters of adversity, and · receive ere long her baptism of fire. :-;1e meeting of Dissenters was held at the New London Tavern, Cheapside, with Mr Samuel Favell in the chair. A resolution was adopted that a day-school should be established 1n some • THE FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL 15 healthy part of the Metropolis. • A subscription list was opened, and there and then nearly £400 was raised. Mr. Favell, Mr. Waymouth, and at a subse quent meeting, Mr. E. Maitland, each subscribed £50, Mr. W. Savill £25, and Mr. J. Fox £20; t\venty-one gentlemen eac~ gave ten guineas, and seventeen one guinea. Other donations were received subsequently, varying in amount from one to ten guineas. A Com mittee was appointed consisting of six ministers and twenty-one laymen : the Revs. John Atkinson, John Clayton, Junr., John Humphries, Joseph Hughes, John Savill, John Pye Smith, and Messrs. W. Alers, William Barnard, Joseph Benwell, Joseph Bunnell, Isaac Buxton, M.D., John Buxton, James Collins, Samuel Favell, John Fenn, Joseph Fox, James Gurney, J. Gutteridge, E. Maitland, J. Page, W. Sabine, W. Savill, Stanard, B. Tomkins, H. Waymouth, Whitwell, J. Wilson. The business of the Committee was to make all necessary arrangements for the government of the institution, and obtain the services of suitable masters. The terms were fixed at four guineas a quarter for the first three classes ( afterwards reduced to three guineas), and two guineas for the three lower. Not more than a hundred pupils were to be received in the first instance. On August 12 Dr. Buxton presented the following list of books as suitable for use in the school, and his suggestions were adopted without modification. Classes I., I I., and I I /.-Eton Latin Grammar ; Maia's Exercises ; Dr. Valpy's Delectus ; Selectae t. Veteri Testamento; Eton Selection from Latin Poets; Caesaris Commentarii; Selectae e Profanis Scriptoribus; West minster Greek Grammar; Lyttelton and Ainsworth's Dictionary ; the Assembly's Catechism. 16 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL Class /V.-Greek Grammar; Vergil and Nepos. Latin Verses (non-sense and sense) and Themes; Greek Testament; Xenophon's Cyropaedia; 1-Iunting ford's Exercises ; Schrevelii Lexicon. Class V.-Vergil, Horace and Cicero's Orations ; Greek Testament ; Homer's Iliad ; Dalzell's Col lectanea Graeca Majora ; Verse and Themes; Simpson's Euclid; Sanderson's Algebra; H untingf ord's Greek Grammar. Class V/.-Mounteney's Demosthenes; Hunting ford's Greek Composition; Livy; General Review of Latin and Greek Orations, Poets, and Historians ; Ainsworth's Greek Grammar ; Buxtorf s Lexicon ; Hebrew Bible. At the same meeting the following resolution was passed : " No translation of any Greek or Latin author, nor any editions of the classics furnished with inter pretations or parsing indices, or any similar assist ances, shall ever be permitted in the school." Plain texts were evidently all that were to be allowed. Whether the intentions of the founders have always been carried out in this respect is more than doubtful. Before the end of 18o6 the Committee had made . progress with their work, and had selected the Rev. John Atkinson, one of their own number, to fill the responsible position of first Principal, Chaplain, and Headmaster. Mr. Atkinson had been a Tutor at the Homerton College for Ministers, and was at first unwilling to accept the new appointment. A deputa tion consisting of Rev. John Pye Smith and Mr. Whitwell was appointed to visit him, and endeavour to induce him to accede to the request of the Com mittee. He replied that " in the present situation of the affairs of the society, and until some further p. 16] RE\· . J OIIX PYF S.HITII, D.D .. f,T,.D .. F.R..S. C )-!•\)under, 1 07. THE FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL r7 progress should be made in arranging and carrying the plan into execution, it was impossible to give the proposal serious consideration." Eventually, however, he entertained the offer made him, and when the plans were more matured accepted the appointment. The Committee had next to endeavour to fix on suitable premises. Several meetings were held, and innumerable inquiries made. Houses in Lime Street, Bishopsgate Street, Tower Street, Salisbury Square, and Billiter Lane were successively examined, but only to be pronounced for various reasons unsuitable. In the end, several circumstances induced the Com mittee to abandon the idea of starting a day-school; and so, having called a general meeting, they recom mended an alteration of the plan. They represented that an enormous rent would have to be paid, "there would be dangers, both physical and moral, awaiting youth while passing through the streets of a large, crowded, and corrupt city, and the best impressions of the class-room would often be effaced by external objects." Furthermore, if the school were established in the country, boys would be preserved from " the ill-judged invitations of friends." For these seemingly adequate reasons the school was made a boarding and not a day-school, and it was decided that it should be at a distance of at least ten miles from London. Premises at Winchmore Hill, East Barnet, and Mill Hill were inspected, and the Committee finally en- • gaged " a very commodious house at Mill Hill, Hendon ; a situation peculiarly pleasant and salu brious, where they hoped many of the rising genera tion w·ould imbibe the elements of sound literature and the principles of Evangelical religion, and thus 2 . 18 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL become a credit to the institution, the joy of their parents, and blessings in every relation of social life." . The premises were purchased from Mr. Richard Salisbury and were called Ridgeway House. The . earliest school deeds date from 1702, and the building was much older. There is a tablet in Hendon Church to a William Nichol of Ridgeway House, who died in 1644, so that the building must have dated back to the time of Charles I. It is mentioned in 1702, and reference to it is made in one or two letters. The property belonged soon after that time to Jeremiah Har man, an influential Quaker and a grandson of Captain Edward Harman, of Abingdon, .one of Cromwell's Iron sides. This gentleman writes a letter to his ·mother, dated Mill Hill, 1720, and in his diary there is an entry • of April 24, 1729: "I have sold to Michael Russell my house at Mill Hill, for £7 50." Five years before this, the famous botanist Peter Collinson, also a Quaker, had married Mary, the youngest daughter of Michael • • Russell, and when her father died in 1747, Collinson inherited through his wife " the freehold estate of more than £100 a year." For some time he was engaged in removing his famous botanical garden from Peckham to Mill Hill-a task which occupied two years. This garden he kept on until his death in 1768, at the age of seventy-five, and was succeeded by his son Michael, who, in turn, was followed by Richard Salisbury, to whom he sold the property. The house having been acquired by the Committee, most of the plants were removed from the grounds and the place was prepared for the reception of boys. Further regulations were made, and sugges tions offered, with regard to the management of the THE FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL 19 school, and high ideals were formed of the education to be given to the pupils. The Committee did not ,, presume "to estimate the comparative effects of existing seminaries; neither did they undervalue the day-schools of St. Paul's and the Merchant Taylors : but they did not consider tha~ the classical or literary attainments of these schools were equal to the at tainments of Harrow or Eton." Very prominent among the members of the Committee was Rev. John Pye Smith, resident Tutor of Homerton College, who attended most of the meetings and took an important share in the drawing up of the rules for the guidance of the headmaster and the government of the school. The school, in fact, owes its foundation in no small degree to him. With him the idea . is understood to have originated of " an institution intended to secure a first-rate classical and mathematical education, together with the most diligent attention to the moral and religious training of the pupils." To none was the school indebted for a warmer interest or for more untiring services of almost every kind than to the Homerton tutor. His readiness to aid in every case of emergency when difficulties occurred in the management, when new masters were required, or when, in later years, a chaplain was appointed, and, above all, his attendance at the quarterly ex aminations, claim for him the deep gratitude of all Millhillians. Before the actual purchase of the buildings at Mill Hill several meetings were held. On April 29, 1807, "a respectable and numerous meeting " took place at the New London Tavern, • at which the following interesting report of the Committee was read from the chair, and ordered to be published. 20 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL . It stated the result of long-continued and laborious• enquiries and deliberations. • " ·During the progress of their la hours your Com mittee has met with many discouragements; but at the . same time they have had the satisfaction to find an unqualified and concurrent testimony in favour of the general principles of the society, together with a loud call from parents and tutors of Evangelical principles for a sound elementary education of our youth, connected with the best moral habits and religious instruction. It is true that. this object, great as it is, may not so immediately address • the feelings as the cry of the widow and orphan, the sick and the destitute, but let it be remembered that a cultivated mind with religious principle affords among the rising generation the best security for every species of benevolence that the human mind can exhibit. When they reflect how much every building is dependent upon its foundation, how frivolous are ornamental capitals without a pro portional base, how much has been done by their ancestors for academic institutions, they are aston ished that so little has been accomplished among Dissenters for preparatqry education. It may be said that, without an institution such as is now contemplated, the page of Nonconformity is adorned with many men of learning as well as piety. But it must be admitted that the illustrious leaders of our Dissent, the Cartwrights, Owens, and Howes, were educated in the bosom of the establishment. The ample store of learning possessed by two thousand godly ministers, most of whom were graduates of Oxford or Cambridge, and many of them tutors in the best families in the kingdom, must have well i I c' .1 -..... a, ,.,, ,..... ,...... 0 N , THE FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL 21 furnished their youth with the rudiments of know ledge, and prepared them to shine in the middle age of our history with the lustre which is now reflected from a Watts or a Doddridge. Let it be remembered that we live in a period distant from these sources, and when the descendants of these great men have forsaken us, having loved the world. " If the Committee could for a moment suppose that these attempts, or similar ones, should be un availing, they do not hesitate to say that the prospects for posterity are gloomy indeed. They trust that at a time when most other-classes of their fellow-citizens are exerting themselves to heal the wounds of society and extend the benefits of civili sation and true religion, their Dissenting bret4ren will not be wanting . in this good work, which through a divine blessing may promote the temporal and eternal interests of their children's children to the remotest generation." Several resolutions were drawn up, including some general suggestions for the foundation of the school, relating to the desirability of such an institution being established at a distance of ten miles from London, and the choice and purchase of buildings suitable for the school. Further rules relate to the meetings of Governors, "that there shall be an annual meeting of the Governors on the first Wednesday in April, at which a Committee, secretary, and treasurer shall be chosen." The most interesting resolution of all was that relating to religious instruction : " That the modes of religious • instruction consist of . (i) private and affectionate admonition and encouragement, (ii) the stated repeti tion of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, (iii) ap- 22 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL propriate addresses from ministers, and (iv) a course of English reading carefully adapted to present an interesting ·view of the doctrines, the practical in fluence, and the history of true Christianity. "N.B.-All pupils are to be taught the Assembly's Catechism ; but the children of tbos.e who desire it shall repeat the answer to the 95th question with the following answer : • "Q. To whom is baptism to be administered? "A. Baptism is to be administered to those who profess their faith in Christ and obedience to Him." • Much time seem~ to have been occupied in discussing the adoption of the Assembly's Catechism, and in considering "the best mode of accommodating the 95th question to the children belonging to the Paedo Baptist a~d Antipaedo-Baptist denominations." At first it was proposed to omit question 95 altogether, · but a resolution of the Committee recommended the continuance of union between the Independents and Baptists in promoting the objects of the institution, and the difficulty was solved in the way given above. Three important resolutions were : That the principal literary pursuit of the pupils shall be the Latin and Greek languages, to be taught in the most accurate method of initiation, and the most strict and efficient plan of securing solid proficiency. That in the mathematical depart~ent shall be taught arithmetic, algebra, and the most useful parts of geometry and of plane trigonometry. That the pupils shall also be carefully taught in English grammar and composition, in . the attain ment of a good utterance in reading and speaking, and in the art of vvriting a good hand. • T·HE FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL 23 It _now appeared to the Committee that a sermon· should be preached before the school was opened, in order to make the institution more widely known · and explain to the public the object of its foundation. Accordingly Mr. Gaffie's Meeting House in Broad Street was obtained for that purpose, and a sermon was preached there by the Rev. John Bogue, D.D., of Gosport, from Proverbs xiv. 1, " Every wise woman buildeth her house : but the foolish · plucketh it down with her hands," on January 14, 1808. On the 25th of the same month the school was opened under the headmastership of Rev. John Atkinson, assisted by Mr. John Kershaw. About twenty pupils w~re admitted·, and on the following day the opening service was held. The stable attached to the school premises had been fitted up as a chapel, and a gallery had been put in to accommodate the boys. It was opened for public worship by Rev. John Hughes, an eminent London divine, with a sermon from the text " Let the beauty of the Lord be upon us ; and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us, yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it." 1 CHAPTER II THE DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLAGE THE aspect of the village at the time of the foundation of the school must have been very different from what it is at the present day. It is true that time has been gentle with Mill Hill, and the jerry builder has been, until recently, a thing unknown to the simple rural hamlet. We have no means of dis covering what reasons led the Committee to choose Mill Hill as the spot in which to found their school. It is, however, a fairly plausible conjecture that the connection which Mill Hill had maintained with Dissenters of various kinds from 1662, when Richard Swift settled there, until 18o6 may have suggested to the Committee that the religious atmosphere of the village would be suited to a Nonconformist grammar school. It was in Swift's time that religious worship was first established in the village. The actual origin is rather shrouded · in obscurity, but we know that in 1678 a meeting house was built by the Society of Friends on a piece of ~and leased at £5 pe~ annum. This house is what is now known as Rose Bank, and it has been altered by having a floor put in half-way up the walls of the building. It is therefore the first building in the village dedicated to religious worship, being a hundred 24 THE DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLAGE 25 and fifty years older than the church of St. Paul. In 1693 alterations were made to secure its being more commodious, implying an increased church. In 1709 a proposal came to headquarters that the meetings for worship at Mill Hill and Hendon should be held fortnightly instead of weekly, and earnest appeals were sent for more frequent visits from recognised ministers. In 1715 Mr. Jordan Husband man bequeathed £10 for the repairs of the meeting house, and the repairs of the other building and burial ground at Guttershedge, about one mile south of Mill .Hill. He also left £10 for the enter tainment of Friends coming to visit the meeting. By 1740 nothing remained in the hands of the Society but the burial ground, both meeting houses having passed out of their power. From about 1720 to 1729 Jeremiah Harman, of Ironside stock, and himself a member of the Society of Friends, lived at Ridgeway House. In 1728 the religious life of the village received an impetus by the establishment of a congregation with the remains of the older body of worshippers. It seems to have been a union of Friends and Evangelical seceders from the Established Church, for we learn that Lady Anne Erskine, who resided for some time in the village at "Jeannette," was interested in the work. She was the friend of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, and was well known in Nonconformist circles. From 1729 to 1747, as has already been said, Ridgeway House was the residence of another member of the Friends Society, Michael Russell, the father-in-law of Peter Collinson, who on Russell's death succeeded to the property and handed it on in tu~ tot. his son. fhus it came about that when the school was founded 26 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL there was a dissenting church in existence in the village. We learn from old records that Swift was imprisoned for holding conventicles in his house, and from what we know of his character, incarceration in N ewgate was not likely to change his habit. We may therefore conclude that with but few lapses there has been public worship conducted in Mill Hill according to the methods of Protestant Dis senters ever since the Act of Uniformity of 1662. The Mill Hill of 1800 was probably little altered from the Mill Hill of several centuries before, and though change has been but slow since that time~ there are still several important alterations which have tended to destroy some of the links with the past. The usual approach to Mill Hill was across Hampstead Heath. Starting" from the Holborn Bars the coach drove to St. Pancras Church, thence by way of" Lord Southampton's Arms" to "Mother's Red Cap." The road then led up Haverstock Hill to "Jack Straw's Castle" at the corner of the heath ; then across the heath to the " Bull Inn " at North End, past the " Swan " at Goulder's Green, across the River Brent by Brent Bridge, through Hendon by the "Bell Inn" to Parson Street, and then up Bittacy Hill to the village of Mill Hill, a distance of nine miles one furlong. An alternative way, saving about half a mile, started from St. Giles" Pound. . The coaches ran either from the " Blue Boar,'' H olborn Bars, or from the " Elder Wine House," Broad Street, St. Giles, at eleven in the morning and four in the afternoon in summer, and at three o'clock in the winter, and at ten on Sundays all the year round. There were no cottages at the · top of Bittacy Hill, but from there up to the "Adam THE DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLAGE 27 and Eve" there is hardly any change. The ".Adam and Eve" itself was almost the same in the old days as it was until quite recently, except that in . front of the inn there was a large flourishing tree, since become a bare but venerable stump encased in iron bands. On the sign-board, which now bears only the name of the hostelry, there was formerly r a rude painting of the Temptation by the Serpent of our first parents, the reptile being seen entwined round a tree and accosting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Tradition connects the inn with Dick Turpin, but what reason there is for saying that a part of Black Bess is buried at the foot of the old tree is impossible to state. At the beginning of the century there were no outbuildings, villa, lodge, or plantation on the other side of the triangle to the west of Burton Bank, neither was the Boarding House in existence until long afterwards. Wentworth House is entirely new, though there was a house in the grounds at the time of the foundation of the school occupied by a Mr. Kerr. On the same side of the road, in the next field, there was " an old wooden building of considerable size with latticed projecting windows, presenting altogether a very ancient appearance. This house was the oldest in the village or surrounding • neighbourhood, having been built in the reign of Edward Iy.; after having been a country mansion, it was at the beginning of the century let out in tenements, several families occupying its magnificently painted and carved rooms." No signs of the house or its foundati_ons now remain, everything having been utterly destroyed. The next building of any size is the red-brick buildine: on the ri~ht hand which has within recent 28 THE HISTORY OF M·ILL HILL SCHOOL years been purchased by the Roman Catholics. This is a commodious and substantial family house, with a good many additions to its original area. It was occupied about the end of the seventeenth century, when Richard Swift was living in the village and Jeremiah Harman was at Ridgeway House, by one of the favourites of Charles II.'s Court. Tradition is undecided as to whether it was the Duchess of Portsmouth or Eleanor Gwynne, Charles' favourite mistress. In any case the contrast between the Quaker Harman, the ejected Puritan divine Swift, and the licentious beauty of the Merry Monarch's corrupt court must have been very great. The house seems to have been built specially for the royal favourite, and it possessed until recently many antique points of interest, among them being a room which preserves its original magnificence, with paintings on the walls, carved heads of the later Stuart kings on the ceiling, handsome chairs, and other works of art said to date back to the period in question. Later on it was the residence of the Perreaus, who were contemporaries at Mill Hill o{ Peter Collinson and formed another striking con trast. They were noted forgers and were hanged for their sins in 1776, their fate being so intimately connected with that of the notorious Doctor Dodd inasmuch as when in the following year the latter was condemned to death for a similar crime, and George III., moved by the eloquence of Dr. Johnson, was inclined to pardon him, he was told, " If your Majesty pardons Dr. Dodd you will have murdered the Perreaus." Mrs. Porter, who was in the last century so popular with lovers of the drama, also resided at Mill Hill for many years. In 1808 Little- - ' -~=== -- . -.-.-- - (.- =-::::::... = =-==:. ➔ ; ;: ., ~- ._-.1.~-E ~ ,ii = C\ 00 ... .... .... ....; (:, - C ... ;:., C. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLAGE 29 berries, as Nell Gwynne's house was called, was occupied by a Mr. Lockwood, who kept a boarding school there, while later on it was one of the residences of the Earl of Aberdeen, when the Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone was sometimes a visitor. On the other side of the road, where now stands " The Priory," there was a house with a clock in front of it, from which circumstance it was called the Clock House. At this time it was occupied by a certain Mr. George Green. Later on it was furnished with quasi-ecclesiastical additions, and thus won its present name. "Jeannette's" was, in the old days, as has been said already, the residence of Lady Anne Erskine, friend of the Countess of Huntingdon~ The ground between this house and the school was entirely different in appearance from what it is to-day~ The pond was there, but where the nursery is on • the far side there was a green which stretched right down to where the Wesleyan Chapel now is situated,, so that there was an uninterrupted view from " Skipper's " to a good way down Myles Down Hill. This green was adorned on two sides by tall, hand some trees, some of which have disappeared. In place of the little shop and cottages next to the " Angel and Crown " there was a long range of low wooden stables (of which the present buildings no doubt formed part) and an old coach-house, where the horses used to await the arrival of coaches going north or on their last stage into London, and where a start was made on the daily journey to Holborn Bars. On the opposite side of the road was a timber yard, instead of the present cot~ages. "Skipper's,,. and the baker's shop opposite are but little changed I • 30 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL in outward appearance. When the former was con~ verted into a dwelling-house is not known. The baker's shop did not at the time possess the castel lated front it now enjoys, which was added by a German who subsequently occupied it. A few years later it was held by Messrs. Thqrowgood & Wood, who converted it into a preparatory school, and eventually into a very serious rival to Mill Hill. The long room, which used to be called the Temper ance Hall, and is now used as a bakehouse, was the schoolroom, and some of the oak panelling still remains. The " King's Head '' formerly presented a far more rural appearance than it does to-day. A row of limes stood in front, and beyond on the other .side, swinging in a frame aloft, was the sign-board, while hard by was a drinking-trough and a small pond. On Whit-Tuesday the village fair used to take place about this open area. Duck-hunting in the pond, badger-baiting, racing, wrestling, fencing, fighting, drinking in abundance, bobbing for rolls and treacle on a line, and climbing the greasy p0le, were among the amusements indulged in on that day. The pond which is here mentioned does not appear to have been the same as that opposite to the "Angel and Crown." It was between the baker's shop and "' Skipper's," and was known to a later generation as Lob's Pond, being used as a receptacle for all kinds of rubbish. A little farther on was a long, low wooden house with its end to the road. It stood on the edge of the Headmaster's garden. In this house lived Peacock, a school official whose duty it was to clean the boots and wash the clothes of boys and masters. Later on Mr. Priestley occupied the house, but as a rule Headmasters, previous to THE DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLAGE 3I this time, lived on Hammer's Hill until the new building was in full s,ving. The house was very tumbledown, and disappeared altogether at a later date. Just beyond this stood the school-house, as it then existed, differing very slightly from the Ridge way House of Harman and Collinson. The site of the present school was not then occupied with buildings, but was allotted, as we learn from Henry Shaw, to boys who were deserving of such privileges, in parcels of one square pole apiece. In the wall which separates the Headmaster's garden from the road there were two gateways, with the door-posts surmounted with balls of stone. The first is now blocked up, while the second is used as an entrance to the garden. Between those two stood the old school, a long and narrow building two storeys high, running parallel with Peacock's, with its end on the road and its face to the cedar-tree, which was not so extensive then as now. The house was entered from a carriage-drive which swept round from the farther gate. At the edge of the house remote from the road were built two large class-rooms of wood, running at right angles with the main building, and giving it the shape [P. Six months after the opening of the school "two airy and commodious bedchambers," as they are described in· the records, were built over the class-rooms. On the south side of the building lay the playground, and on the north and west, coming up to the road, was a well-paved courtyard. Near the -second gate stood the stables and coach house, afterwards converted into the first school chapel. At the extremity of the school garden attached to the farm was the site of a large farm house, which has long since disappeared. In the 32 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL grounds themselves there were two ponds-the Doctor's Pond, which just adjoined the edge of the grounds, and a small pond near the beech-tree, where Collinson had kept turtles and big frogs. Much of the land opposite the school, as far as Belmont, the seat of Sir Charles Flower, Bart., some time Lord Mayor of London, was an extensive gravel pit. The Grove and the buildings near to it date from about 166o, the church being of much later date. The principal bed of the gravel-pit is now the village pond. Just on the side of the pond is_ an old barn, which seems to have existed from time immemorial, while behind it is an old red-brick house formerly used as an inn. The "Hammer's Inn" is of ancient date, and one or two of the houses at that end of the village are old. The grocer's shop opposite Belmont was built before the school. The small area of village on the hill sloping down towards Highwood Hill is but little changed. The old inn and the tumbledown cottages beside it, and the village smithy in which Balam worked until he was nearly one hundred years of age, are relics of the past. On Highwood Hill is Highwood House, famous as the residence of Lord William Russell, judicially murdered for supposed complicity in the Rye House Plot, and of Sir Stamford Raffles, one of the founders of Borneo. There is a medicinal spring at Highwood to which Londoners used to resort. Another interest ing resident on Highwood Hill was William Wilber force, the prime mover in the Anti-Slavery agitation. He lived for some years at Hendon Park, and while there built the Church of St. Paul. Another resident in Mill Hill was the famous John Wilkes, who spent the last few years of his life there in retir$ent. , _; ...: :,; ,.,; tf cri f.- - ,t-.. .... ;. .... - ... ~ ·i;. .,. - V • • V ...-- ,, u !:! - ~~ -;00 ~ ... :J ... - ::., ..... • THE DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLAGE 33 The general history of Mill Hill for many centuries between Domesday and the foundation of the school seems to have been happy, for there are but few facts to relate concerning it. Some almshouses were erected in 1676 by Thomas Nicoll, of Copt Hall, in the parish, and the buildings still remain ; but apart from incidents like this there is nothing to tell about the village. Its most important occupants seem to have been people _ of doubtful character or people of strict Puritan principles. Surely Mill Hill School may claim at least a spiritual connection with Swift, Harman, Collinson, Russell, and Wilberforce, who have lived in the cool, sequestered village from time to time. CHAPTER III EARLY DAYS THE scheol was thus opened on January 25, with eighteen boys, while another was admitted on the following day. Several rules relating to admission had been drawn up by the Committee : I. Every boy must be introduced through a member of Committee. II. Board, lodging, and education are provided at £45 per annum .. III. The sons of ministers who are members of the society are admitted for £ 30 a year. IV. Washing, French, and drawing are in each case charged as extras. V. It is intended to admit a certain num her of boys (peculiarly recommended), either gratuitously, or on terµis exceedingly reduced. Two are admitted at £15 a year already, and when the encumbrances which still press on the institution are removed, an additional number will be taken under the society's patro'nage. With the conclusion of the opening services the regular wo;rk of the institution began. We learn from the school records that the boys rose at six o'clock in summer, and an hour later in winter. Half an hour was allowed for ablutions and toilet, and then :4 EARLY DAYS 35 the bell summoned to school, and work went on • till eight o'clock. Prayers came next, followed by breakfast, and then about three-quarters of an hour were given to recreation. From 9.30 to 12.30 work continued. Then followed a short break before dinner at one. The afternoon was mostly occupied by three hours' work, and very little time seems to have been allowed for any games. Tea came soon after 5.30, and then more work-preparation for the next day-filled up the time until the hour for re tiring to rest, which was eight in winter and nine in summer. There was nothing in the way of a monitorial system, and there was no room for any, seeing that the school only reached thirty by the end of March 1808. Rapid progress, however, was made in the next few months, and by December, when the school had been founded exactly a year, there were sixty boys on the list. The holidays were not so numerous then as now. ~very Wednesday and Saturday afternoon was free; but quiet walks or playground games occupied the place now claimed by football and cricket. Bounds were strict, and little freedom was allowed to the boys. The year was divided into _two sessions, from January to June, and from July to December, with a month's vacation at Christmas and a month at Midsummer. No fireworks were allowed, and the Committee requested the parents not to ask for extra holidays for the boys, as . these could not be granted. The friends of the pupils were also requested not to visit them on the Lord's Day, except in cases of serious illness, or other urgent necessity. The Committee took upon themselves all matters of internal management, with the exception of the most elementary details. _It is not surprising, 36 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL therefore, that they found difficulty in keeping up with their work as the number of boys increased. Accordingly, they divided themselves into five sub committees, styled respectively the Printing, House, School, and Visiting Committees, and one " for the purpose of enruiring into the character and ability of persons proposed for the office of assistant-master." That they had very definite ideas of what a master's qualifications should be is evident from a pamphlet which they published a few years later. The Com mittees were arranged as fallows : Ap,1,0£ntments Committee : Messrs. Clayton, Hugh es, Sabine, and Dr. Buxton. Printing Committee: Messrs. Clayton, Fox, Hughes, and Humphries. House Committee : Messrs. Bunnell, Dawson, Page, Sabine, Watson, and Dr. Buxton. School Committee: Messrs. Clayton, Hughes, Hum phries, J. Savill, Winter, and Drs. Buxton and Smith. Visit£ng Committee: Rev. J. Humphries, Messrs. Gutteridge and Rutt, and Dr. Smith. The last-named Committee was appointed to v1s1t the school once a month, or more often if necessary, to enquire into everything concerning the well-being and prosperity of the institution. Through this Committee the Headmaster had to make any com munication he might have for the General Committee, and recommend things he might regard as de sirable. Thus the Headmaster had not access to the General Committee, nor the right of appointing his own assistants. He was supervised in almost every detail of the school life, and, as we learn from a subsequent minute, the list of books which EARLY DAYS 37 had been decided on nearly a year before was now altered without consultation with him. The following list of elementary works was now adopted: the Eton Latin and Greek Grammars, Lyne's Latin Primer, Exempla Minora and Majora, Professor Dalzell's Analecta Minora and Majora, Huntingford's Greek Exercises. The Committee, however, made a slight concession to the Headmaster, and graciously allowed him to add such books as he might think desirable. On September 6, 1808, one month after the forma tion of the sub-committees, Mr. Robert Dawson, as head of the Visiting Committee to which he had been recently added, pr~ented a report expressing the satisfaction he felt at the general aspect of the school, and particularly in the diligent attention of the pupils to their studies, and the spirit of emulation which prevailed amongst them. Dr. Smith and the Rev. John Humphries (afterwards Headmaster) also stated, a short time later, that their inspection of the school had filled them with great pleasure at • the proficiency of the pupils in the various classes. Dr. Smith, afterwards known as Dr. Pye Smith, here began his quarterly examinations, which he kept up to within a short time of his death in 1851. He conducted them "with an assiduity and a persever ance which must have put to the test even his indomitable energy. The whole of one day and parts of two others were consumed by this labour of love, and, as the distance between Homerton and Mill Hill amounted to ten miles, it was at times with great personal toil, and perhaps with some risk in the ear lier years, that the journey to and fro was accomplished. Yet, as by the constancy of his attend- 38 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL ance he could secure accurate knowledge of the 1 diligence and progress of the pupils from quarter to quarter, no ordinary impediment was allowed to keep him away." It may now be well to run over a few incidents during the mastership of Rev. John Atkinson to give an idea of the life and progress of the school. The buildings and land were rented at first for £100 a year, but afterwards bought for £2,200. £800 was spent on repairs and furnishing, so that the total amounted to £3,000. In addition to this, two small cottages adjoining Ridgeway House were rented for £20. A barn was made into a playing room, and the stable had been fitted up as a chapel, at a cost of £250. There were a small paved playground, and a field which was rented to the Headmaster for £15 a year. The cottages were repaired, so as to ~e of use as letting property, while the playground was improved, and in the first vacation a dormitory was built over the long room used as a schoolroom. The whole of the outside of the house was white washed, and the palings were carefully painted. There were two assistant masters, Mr. John· Wood, who succeeded Mr. Kershaw, and a Mr. Meek, who only stayed six months. In addition to these, there were two visiting masters : Mr. George Shepherd, a well-known illustrator of topographical books, who came to teach drawing, and M. Chirol, who gave instruction in French. There were, however, constant changes in the staff, and, during the three years that Mr. Atkinson was Principal, six or seven changes were made. The French master proved incompetent, and was succeeded in turn by M. Marinier, M. Bil grain, and M. Charles Tanen:~. EARLY Di\YS 39 . In Dr. Smith's report at the end of 1808, he speaks of the necessity of a library for the use of the boys, and of some scientific instruments with which to instruct them. Two globes were presented to the school about this time, and Mr. Peter Bunnell gave two biographical charts, a gift which he supple mented, some years later, with an orrery. Mr. Black formed the nucleus of a library by presenting some half-dozen books dealing with the history of the Dissenters. The year 1809 began with the Annual Meeting of the friends of the school, to whom a sermon was preached, in Mr. Gaffee's Meeting House in New Broad Street, by Rev. Howard Hinton of Oxford. The numbers were now sixty, and by the end of. the year they went up still further. An arrangement was made by which the Headmaster paid £5 a year for the use of the chapel, and took for his own use the collections made by the villagers who attended his services. Already the school had become too big for the buildings, and enlargements were talked of. The Principal had no study, and so an attempt was made to fit one up for him in the chaise-house. In consequ~nce of the school's prosperity it was decided to place two boys on the foundation, charging their parents exceptionally small fees. Mr. Inderwick, the writing master, having died, a Mr. Lowe was appointed to fill the vacancy. At this time Mr. Atkinson was looking after the domestic, as well as the scholastic arrangements, himself boarding the boys at a fixed rate. It was decided that, in future, some other arrangements must be made, so as to allow the Principal more liberty, and Mr. Atkinson was acquiescent in those which were suggested. A little 40 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL later, however, some insubordination in the school necessitated a visit from the Committee, and disturb ances also arose between the boys and the resident French master. This led to the resignation of the Principal in the summer of 1810, but he remained in office till the end of the year. The Committee accepted his decision with much regret, and set about getting another headmaster. They had recommended _ to them by Dr. Williams, the Head of the Rotherham College for Ministers, a Rev. Maurice Phillips, who had been a classical tutor there for so1ne years past. He accepted the position, and, before he entered on his work, means were taken to separate the domestic and teaching departments. A house in the village was rented from Dr. Trinder for the Headmaster to occupy, while Mr. John Wood was to reside in the school with the other masters, and a housekeeper, and manage all the matters not strictly scholastic. Mr. Atkinson had done his work well, and, con- . sidering that he had long hesitated before accepting the position, he had no reason to be ashamed of his record. Several of his pupils afterwards attained to eminence in various walks of life, the most noteworthy being Sir Thomas Noon Talf ourd, Justice of the Common Pleas, one of the old Serjeants at Law, and Dr. Richard Winter Hamilton, a well-known minister in the north of England. While at Mill Hill these two boys conceived the idea of publishing a school magazine, but the project seems to have fallen through. Talfourd it was who gained a prize for an essay on " The Advantages of a Good Education," which is a remarkable production for a boy of only fourteen. Of Dr. Hamilton, the Rev. Thomas Binney, of the Weigh House, afterwards remarked "that he EARLY DAYS 41 had great pleasure in referring to him as the author of an excellen_t work on Missions, a man for whom he had a very deep personal regard, and one whose scholarship would do honour to any institution." The numbers when Mr. Atkinson retired were seventy-seven, a good achievement in three years, at a time of such general mercantile depression all over England and the Continent. The Committee, at the close of his administration, published a pamphlet, in which they announced some of their ideas and aims. They did not intend, they said, to exclude from the school boys who were not Dissenters, nor would any attempts be made to proselytise those admitted belonging to other denominations ; for that would be contrary to their principles as Nonconformists, and . to the catholic basis on which the school had been founded. The main object of the school was to send forth men of decided Christian character, and it would be their aim to send out those specially quali fied to be teachers of the young and ministers of the gospel. The growth of infidelity, and the opening up of the mission fields by the recent establishment of the London and Baptist Missionary Societies, gave great opportunities for men with sound intellectual and religious training, such as might be expected to be obtained at Mill Hill. The Committee pleaded for endowments " which the munificence of the next age might increase, so that the school might become the pattern after which other institutions might be founded both in Britain, and in every other country indulged, as Britain is, with the benefits of literature and the blessings of Christianity." Rev. Maurice Phillips succeeded to the position of Headmaster in January 1811. He was born in Car- 42 THE HISTORY OF !\!ILL HILL SCHOOL marthenshire in 1767, and was educated by a Mr. Morgan. From there he went to O~westry to be under Dr. Williams, and when that gentleman became head of Rotherham College, he asked Phillips to become classical tutor. He was also minister at Attercliffe, where his predecessor at Mill Hill, Mr. Atkinson, had been. During this time a project was set on foot for starting a Dissenting Grammar School at York, and Phillips would probably have become its Headmaster, but that the offer from Mill Hill prevented the carrying out of this plan. It is not without interest to note that, on leaving Rotherham to take up his ne~ position, he was presented by his old students with a handsome silver cup. His work at Mill Hill was distinctly satisfactory, although towards the end the discipline became lax. He intro duced several improvements into the school, amongst others being a specially printed edition of Henry's Catechism more suited for schoolboys than the Assembly's Catechism. A contemporary of his writes, "Under his superintendence the school flourished much." The Committee refer to him as a man of well-known erudition and piety, and he occupied the position for practically eight years,. retiring, at length, through continued ill-health, in December 1818. The earliest effort at a Speech Day was made in 1811, when all the boys who were leaving the school were invited to dine together on June 18, and after this interesting function, the prizes were distributed by Dr. Pye Smith. At the beginning of the new year there was a dinner, and also a meeting of the subscribers, at the New London Tavern, at which a very interesting EARLY DAYS 43 report was read containing extracts from the Head master's letters. From these we learn that the state of the school was very satisfactory, there being seventy-three boys, which was a considerable in crease since the Headmaster's arrival, as the numbers had dropped when Mr. Atkinson retired. The boys were nearly all members of various religious meetings which took place at the boys' initiative on Sunday afternoons. Any boy who belonged to one of these, and behaved himself badly during the week, was reprimanded by his friends and sometimes excluded for a time. About this time it came to the knowledge of the Committee that a school had been established in Manchester on the model of Mill Hill, and that an effort was also being made to start a similar one in Hampshire. A painful incident occurred about this time, which should be recorded here. A lad named Jackson was attacked by some bigger _boys, belonging to a school in the village kept by a Rev. Mr. Jeffries, a stone striking him in the face and endangering his eyesight. The Committee took up the quarrel warmly, and demanded the expulsion of the culprit and the reprimanding of his companions in the presence of the Grammar School masters. Eventually they agreed not to press the matter, on condition that the boy's medical and legal expenses were paid. This was done. About this time Miss Warr was appointed house keeper, and for some years she occupied the position to the satisfaction of all conc~rned. The year 1813 saw some important changes. 'fhe dinner which took place in January was a marked success, and the finances of the school were said to be in a 44 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL flourishing condition. Accordingly some money was spent on improvements. A vestry was erected for the chapel, and a new schoolroom, with dormitories over it, was built at a cost of nearly £1000. Fresh desks were purchased for the use of the boys, and the playing-shed was enlarged. The discipline in the school was highly unsatisfactory, and during the year four men successively filled the post of writing master. In view of continued disturbances in the writing master's room, the Committee held an investigation, and drew up rules which they hoped would prevent such occurrences in the future. These, however, did not have the desired effect ; for, the next year, the same difficulties presented them selves. A deputation went down to the school to talk to the boys on the evils of insubordination, and it was actually suggested that some such notice as the fallowing should be placed on the notice-board in the schoolroom: " If any of the scholars at Mill Hill shall refuse to obey their tutor, the Principal is empowered to suspend them from the exercises of the school, and, without due submission, to send them home to their friends. By order of the Committee.'' Eventually it was decided that the rules of the institution should be thoroughly revised, and copies sent down to the school, so that each official might know his, or her, exact duties. The Principal being just then in a poor state of health, £25 was voted to him to help him in the expense of keeping a horse, and the staff was strengthened by Joseph Mather being added to it. He was one of the senior EARLY DAYS 45 boys, and was now made a pupil teacher. At the close of the year (1814), Miss Warr, the matron, died, and was succeeded by Miss Lee. The new year opened, as often before, with a successful dinner and meeting at the London Tavern in Cheapside. More changes took place on the staff, and Mr. Joseph Newland was appointed the writing master. For many years this gentleman appears to have discharged his duties to the complete satis faction of the Committee, and ultimately died at Mill Hill. His tenure of office is still commemorated by a tablet formerly in the "big school," now removed to the New Chapel. Public Day that year was rather more interesting than those which had gone before. In addition to the prize-giving there was an address, and several orations were delivered by the boys. At the beginning of the next term a boy . ran away; but he was caught, brought back, and duly and, we may believe painfully, punished. 1816 is chiefly remarkable as the year in which Mr. Thorowgood's Preparatory School was established in the castellated house opposite to Rose Bank. The school soon became numerous, and was almost immediately taken under the patronage and recom mendation of the Committee. They repented of their generosity before many years had passed. As usual the staff underwent changes, and in three years {1816 to 1818) eight new masters came to the school. The Headmaster, in one of his reports, comments on the lack of books in the library, and it was agreed that some well-known religious works should be added. The London Missionary Society also promised to send the whole of Dr. Morison's great Chinese Dictionary, and did send the first part of it. • 46 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL In order to increase the_ boys' knowledge, two series of lectures were given in consecutive years by a Mr. Stackhouse on " The Antiquities of England" and "Astronomy." At the close of 1817 we have the first record of a boy being expelled. The next year saw the advent of a minister's son named James Challis, who was put on the foundation. He afterwards becam.e Senior Wrangler at Cam bridge, and one of the discoverers of Neptune. Anoth.er interesting new-comer that year was a master named Thomas Priestley, of Pontefract, who entered with excellent testi~onials. Speech Day was held each year with the utmost regularity, and numerous friends attended to watch the distribution of prizes and listen to the orations. About this time some slight disturbances took place among the masters. Mr. Wood, the domestic superintendent, seems to have ruled matters with a somewhat high hand. For instance, he for bade the masters to walk on the terrace without his permission, and the Committee upheld him in the matter. In fact, though the numbers had increased, the wheels of the establishment were not moving smoothly, and several radical changes had to be tried, and numerous experiments made, before a satisfactory state of things ensurd. It may be interesting to insert here the general plan of the Institution, which was published shortly afte.r Mr. Phillips had become Headmaster: I. The plan of this Institution- is to combine on an extensive scale the advantages of a religious educa tion, with solid and correct erudition, and general knowledge. II. The course of tuition comprehends the Greek, EARLY DAYS 47 Latin, English, and French languages; Arithmetic, . Geography, Mathematics, History, and Drawing. 111 1'hough the establishment of strict discipline is felt to be indispensable, it is secured as much as possible by gentle means, acting upon the principle of emulation, and the sense of honour and shame. IV. The acting Patrons of the Institution, having no interest to serve but that of the community, pledge themselves to procure, from time to time, such masters as appear best qualified by their character and attain ments for the posts they are respectively to fill. V. There are five resident masters, including the Principal, among whom the labours of tuition and inspection are distributed in the way conceived to be most efficient and useful. Besides these, the drawing master attends at stated times. VI.. Each resident master has it in charge to watch over the morals of the boys, as with parental solicitude, and to take every opportunity of inculcating sound principles and good dispositions. VII. Quarterly examinations of the pupils are atten- · ti vely conducted by members of the Committee, or by literary gentlemen appointed by them. At the alternative examinations prizes are distributed as rewards· and incentives to diligence. VIII. The Principal bestows particular and affec tionate attention to the religious instruction of the boys, according to such plans as he may deem most eligible, it being understood that the Assembly's Catechism wi~l be regularly taught. IX. In order to maintain the catholic principle on v.rhich this Institution is professedly founded, the children of those who desire it are to give the follow ing answer to the 95th question : · '' Baptism is to be administered to those who profess their faith in Christ, and obedience to Him." The good sense and candour of the Principal will, it t ' \ ~ ' • .Jadin s,a Cr .. -v. :ng · Frcm ~ p. 60] THE LAST DAYS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 61 thought of entering on new premises under such a regime, determined to make a sweeping change. They decided that the " plan on which the school had hitherto been conducted, whereby an ordained minister of recognised scholarship filled the office of Principal, and at once superintended the religious and secular instruction, was, with the growth of the school (the numberi were eighty-three), and in view of the proposed new building, which would provide for a still larger growth, no longer practically successful." They therefore abolished the office of Principal, and asked Mr. Humphries to continue at Mill Hill as chaplain and minister. This he declined to do, alleging that the Committe~ were degrading him, and that he could not acquiesce in his own disgrace. He claimed that, though well over sixty years of age, he was still capable of managing the school satisfactorily. Just at this juncture Miss Lee died, and a Mrs. Jackson was appointed in her place. In June, Mr. Humphries, finding the Committee obdurate, left Mill Hill, and published a pamphlet stating his quarrel with those who had insisted on his retirement. He also caused an announcement of his departure to appear in The T£mes, and added, "De hujus scholae curatoribus selectis copiosissitne posthac." Among the boys educated at Mill Hill under Mr. Humphries were several who became subse quently well known, amongst others the Rev. H. Mayo Gunn, Congregational Minister of Warminster, a notable champion of religious liberty; the eminent church musician, the Rev. Thomas Helmore, M.A., priest-in-ordinary at the Chapel Royal, St. J ames's, editor of the Hymnal Noted, and other works of the 62 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL same class; and the Rev. Thomas Rawson Berks, M.A., Fell ow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Professor of Moral Philosophy. The office of Principal being now abolished, Rev. • William Rooker was again offered the chaplaincy, but again declined it. Eventually, Rev. Henry March, of Bungay, was appointed to the office. Dr. Corrie, who had been f-andro Waugh Sacrae Theologiae Doctore et J oh:mni Y ockuey : Nccuon civihus admodum colendis Georgio Bacchus, Roberto Bousfield, J osepho Bunnell, Thoma Carter, Jacobo Collins, Olintho Gregory Utriusque juris Doctore, Josepho Gutteridge, Gulielmo Alers Hankey, Samuelo Luck Kent, Rogerio Lee, Ebenezere Maitland, Abrahamo Mann, Nathanide Roberts, Thoma Piper, Nathaniele Muggeridge, Gulielmo Sabine, Thoma Smith, Gulielmo Lepard Smith, Georgio Stevenson, Henrico Waymouth, Et architecto G11lielmo Tite ; Die Ante Kalendas J ulii sexto decimo Annoque sexto Regni Georgii Quarti Ac reparati orbis MDCCCXXV. In bumble hope of the Divine favour Implored by fervent prayer In the name of our Blesst-d Redeemer THIS FOUNDATION STONE OF THE PROTESTANT DISSENTERS' GRAMMAR SCHOOL WAS LAID ON THE 16th DAY OF JUNE MDCCCXXV Being the sixth year of the Reign of His Majesty KING GEORGE THE FOURTH • by SAMUEL FAVELL, Esqre., Treasurer, Atten CII.\PET.. THE CHAPLAIN'S DIARY 97 1'he boys meanvvhile were no better, and the chaplain was unable to prevent them from covering up their faces, and showing other signs of indifference at Scripture class. A personal friend of the chaplain's, on hearing of his intended resignation, decided i1n mediately to remove his son fron1 the school, which, with other incidents, tends to show that the institution was not flourishing as it might have been. Later on Mr. March writes: " R.'s week with the boys began to-day, and he cannot control them. While I was with one of the lower classes, the sound of the cane and the laughter which followed almost drowned my voice. One great alleviation came, how ever; H. having been dismissed from the singing-table, and others, on his leaving, retired from it, Mr.Newland ca1ne forward and proposed to sit at the singing-table, vvhich I heartily seconded, for Mr. Newland was a truly Christian man, and piety is as oil to the wheels." About this time Dr. Pye Smith and Mr. G. Clayton came to admonish Mr. Evans for his frequent absences; the latter, who had a brother staying with him, was still as unfriendly as ever to the chaplain, and the con dition of the school and staff was most unsatisfactory. Public Day vvas fixed for June 26, and this proved the culmination of these episodes. Mr. March writes : "The weather was lovely, but the company much fewer than last year. As there was none of the usual preparation, and no rehearsal, it was expected that the exhibition on the platform would be a miserable one. But the recitations were fewer, and generally shorter, more calmly and simply spoken, and therefore more agreeable, at least to myself, than I have ever yet heard them. "At dinner all were smiling. After dinner, when 7 98 THE HI TORY OF j\fILL HILL CHOOL one or two of the usual to~sts had been drunk, the Chairman, Mr. Favell, gave the health of the rev. chaplain, and of the masters. I did not speak, but bowed to those who turned to me. Mr. Evans, having waited a minute or two, got up and, after acknow ledging the honour done to him and his colleagues, went on to speak of the testimonies which had been paid to his class by three fellows of colleges, and other vaunts; and then spoke of the distressing feelings with ,vhich he addressed them, being for the last time. When he had done I got up and said that I thanked them for the expression of their kindness, and that during n1y connection with the institution I had endeavoured conscientiously to discharge its duties, and that I retired from it vvith feelings of Christian benevolence towards its governors and all its friends. Mr. Yockney then got up, and spoke at some length, concluding by saying that Mr. Evans's allusion to his leaving ¥.'as quite out of order, his resignation not yet having been before the Committee. (This was not correct. Mr. Evans had written a letter of resignation on June 20, and it had been received at the meeting of the Committee on June 24, two days before Public Day. As Mr. Yockney had not been present at the Committee meeting, he was speaking of a matter of which he knew nothing. Mr. Evans naturally felt annoyed, as it appeared that Mr. Yockney was concealing the truth, since Mr. Evans could not know that he had not been at the Committee.) This acted as a provocation to Mr. Evans, who rose to reply but, becoming in temperate, was interrupted. Here a great clamour arose, for Mr. Evans's class, having got into the hall (headed by Tom Helmore), were conducting them- THE CHAPLAI T' DIARY 99 selves most indecorously as his partisans. 1\fter much noise and confusion, and attempts at speechi fying, the chairman, taking advantage of a pause, said tha~ the meeting was now adjourned. Thus at last it ended.''* • Fred Helmore's account of the incident in his Life of Tlwmas He/more is more detailed . According to him, the whole affair had been arranged beforehand and forty boys marched in as soon as the speeches began. The boys of the second class-room carried all the forms down to the pond, and the younger boys, not wishing to be outdone in mischief, went to the passage by the linen-room, and turned on the taps of some thirty urns, filled with boiling tea, which bad been prepared for visitors. CHAPTER VI THE INTERREGNUM THE school vvas now in a rather parlous condition. Many circumstances had combined to bring about that situation, and no immediate way out of the difficulty seemed open to the Committee. They had not been entirely free from the charge of lack of wisdom. Mr. Phillips's retirement in r 8r 8 had caused them some trouble, and Dr. Humphries does not seem to have been suited to the post of H eadmaster. It seems more than likely that, though he was titular head, yet Mr. J ohn W ood, who had been at the school since the foundation, vvas really the guiding sp1r1t. W e find that he was styled "resident-master in charge and domestic superintendent," and the nun1ber of boys vvhom he took to Totteridge when he opened his school there would hardly have been so large if he had only been an ordinary assistant- 1naster. The Com111ittee's quarrel with Dr. Humphries and l\1r. Wood vvas unfortunate, and they were not able to get any one to supply their places. Their ne,v arrangement of a divided headship could not work satisfactorily, and yet they continued to try to make it. successful. Mr. March, while he possessed many excellent qualities, hardly seems to have possessed the necessary sympathy with boys, and 100 THE INTERREG UNI IOI .ability to \Vork amicably with colleagues, to have made his sojourn at Mill Hill altogether a success. His position was a difficult one to fill, with very ill-defined duties, and the 1nasters \Vere not able to make the wheels of the institution run smoothly. The Committee seem to have been to blame in not appointing more suitable headmasters; they were advised by 1nany competent authorities not to appoint Mr. Evans, vvho v.ras vastly too young and inex perienced, and would hardly have been appointed a headmaster even at the present day. Their constant interference in all the details of school routine gave no opportunity for initiative in the masters, and pre vented Mill I-Iill from becoming a place ,vith any public-school spirit. They no\v chose as headmaster Mr. Robert Cullen, who was a good teacher and an able man, though he had not enjoyed a university education. H e was recommended very highly by the Rev. Dr. I{eate, Headmaster of Eton, and was a member of the Church of England. The Rev. Thomas Blundell was appointed chaplain, and his vvife undertook the duties of housekeeper. During the two years that Mr. Cullen occupied the position of headmaster, there were constant disturbances among the staff. The chaplain was a most unsatisfactory person, and succeeded in causing dissensions among the masters. He wished his authority to be equal to that of the Headmaster at least, and refused to agree to the proposal that only the Head should grant exeats. The Committee made several efforts to raise the school to a higher level, and had numerous schemes on foot to carry out their aims. It was suggested that the manage ment of the school should be entrusted to a body of 102 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCH.OOL laymen, that one member of Connnitrce ~hould alvvays be present on Character Day, that the school rules should be thoroughly revised, and that new blood should be introduced into the body of life governors. Instead of a donation of £rs from old boys, and £25 from outsiders, sums of £10 and £20 were proposed, but the resolution was not carried. Also the habit of taking some boys at £1 s a year was abandoned, as ~ the funds of the institution did not permit of it. Other suggestions occupied the attention of the Con1mittee. They resolved that no itinerant seller of goods was to be allowed to enter the school, that no boys were to play at cricket, or any other games, in the fields at Mill Hill until the crops were quite off the ground, and that no newspapers were in future to be sent by parents and friends to any of the boys in the school, as being calculated to lower the moral tone of the school. In order to advance the boys' studies, there were two series of lectures given in the school ; the first by Mr. Cornfield on atural and Experimental Philosophy, and the second by Mr. P artington on General Elementary Science. A long discussion was held between the Committee and H eadmaster as to the practicability of allovving the boys to rise at six o'clock instead of at 5 .30. But they all came to the conclusion that so startling a change was impossible. A Mr. J. Page died about the middle of 1829, and left £100 to be spent in connection with the library; and, in ,addition to this, the Co1nmittee voted £ 10 for the purchase of books for Sunday reading. 'fhe nurn ber of boys rose from seventy to seventy nine in these two years, but the Committee felt that THE I~TERREG .. "U:\I I03 furthe r additions vvere nece sary to make the school a real success. Accordin o-ly, they addressed a circular to the old scholars , of \vh on1 there \.Vere now nearly eight hundred, and urged them to support their alma nzater, both by recom1nending it to those who had sons to send, and also by becoming life governors. A dinner was held on N overn ber 26, r 829, and served to bring together a number of former pupils and r eawaken their interest in the school. All this time the breach between the chaplain and the rest of the staff had been growing wider. Mr. Ne,vland, a 1nan of great sweetness of temper,* vvas ill during a large part of r 829, and there was no one on the staff to pacify the warring elements. The chaplain accused the masters of unfairness in award ing the conduct letters, and said that the state of the school was far from good. These accusations the masters as warmly controverted, and the Committee had to investigate the matter thoroughly. The masters were exonerated from any unfairness, but it was found that the school was not in as flourishing a condition as it should or might have been. Accord ingly, the Committee began to consider the advisa bility of a complete change. A Mr. I-Iarvey wrote to them just at this time, and suggested that "unanimity and harmony among the Committee, and peace and love among teachers and scholars," vvould prove bene ficial to the sound working of the school. All the masters \Vere unanimous in saying that Mr. Blundell was the stumbling-block in the v.ray of improvement, and lVIr. Cullen explained that his position as a Churchman had laid him open to much petty persecu- * An old boy writes: '' I gravely question his' sweetness of temper. ' I have evidence that he was very severe with the cane." 104 THE HISTORY OI◄ MILL HILL SCHOOL tion fron1 the chaplain. The Committee, after due deliberation, decided that they vvould dismiss the vvhole staff. Of the six members of it, the services of three vvere dispensed with, while Messrs. Cullen, Priestley, and ewland were retained. 1'hey decided that, if possible, they vvould once more combine the offices of chaplain and headmaster, and endeavoured to get the Rev. William Clayton, of Essex, to accept the position. In the midst of their troubles (1830) they lost by death Mr. Samuel Favell, who had been one of the most prominent of the founders, and had been the honoured treasurer of the school for twenty-t,vo years. He had been a most staunch supporter of the school in its darkest days, and had expended time and money on its behalf. He had stood by it when others doubted the possibility of success, and had the satisfaction of seeing it established on a firm foundation, with handsome and adequate buildings, and a position among Dissenters and Evangelical Churchmen vvhich it has never altogether lost. To him, as to others of her treasurers, Mill Hill owes a debt of gratitude which she will find it hard to repay. Probably there is nothing ,vhich would com pensate Mr. Favell so n1uch for his disinterested efforts as to see Mill Hill at the present time, flourish ing and strong, and steadfast to the principles of her founders. We must now resume the narrative of events. Complaints were continually reaching the Com1nittee as to the maTJner in which the school was conducted, and at last, towards the end of the year 1830, their patience ,vas exhausted, and they published a circular denying the charges made against them. It sums up THE L TERREG1 U1I ros the whole matter without mentioning any names, and is printed in order to allO\iV the Committee to offer their own justification: " It is generally known that the Committee have had many difficulties to encounter in discharging the duty confided to them ; but the nature and extent of those duties, and the painful embarrassments ,vhich have been occasioned by them, can be but imperfectly known out of the circle of the Committee itself. Its members have maintained a forbearing silence while numerous misrepresentations prejudicial to the in stitution have been circulated, of which they could have exhibited the most ample refutation had they not been influenced by generous leniency. Severe yet highly unreasonable censures have been pro nounced, based on a very defective knowledge of the facts, the right apprehension of which was essential to the forming of an equitable judgment. Disappoint ments such as are incidental to all human affairs, especially those which involve a complication of instruments, have been made the ground of unsparing and most uncandid reproach, while the only blame that could be imputed was that of an excess in liberality and confidence. Expectations have been formed, and standards for those expectations have been set up, which men of understanding and ex perience would in no similar case have entertained. Some changes in the agencies of the establishment have at different times taken place, important indeed and painful, but absolutely unavoidable; and these have been represented as the results of undue inter ference or caprice, or some other form of injustice, vvhereas, if the facts in each case had been disclosed to the public, the conduct of the Committee would ro6 THE HISTORY OF ~1ILL HILL SCHOOL have appeared to have been the direct reverse of what was assumed and asserted. "Throughout these trying circumstances the anxieties of the Committee, their labours, their devotedness of invaluable time, and the ser ious sacrifices in other r espects which they have had to sustain, cannot be easily conceived, and would be too tedious for de scription. But they look forvvard beyond the present moment; they believe that their t rials are transitory , and they are determined to continue their exertions, conscious of the purity of their intentions, convinced that the objects of this noble institution are of the most valuable nature-the advancement of solid knowledge, the extensive benefit of civil society, and the early inculcation of true relig ion-and believ ing that the means em ployed are such as, with the Divine blessing, are well suited for the a ttainment of those ends." 1'he Committee announced the date of the exarnina tions, and mentioned that school would reopen on January 24, 183 1. They hoped that all pupils might be sent back on the day fixed fo r their return, or as soon after it as possible. T he arrange ments which had been made for their "moral oversight and re ligious instruction, their literary and scientific tuition, vvith a special vie,v also to English attainments and their domestic comfort," were satisfactory to the Com mittee, and they hoped also to their intelligent and generous friends. They found it difficult to obtain "a gentleman of eminent qualifications for the post of chaplain," but the Rev. H enry Lea Berry, M.A., of Glasgow Univer sity, a governor and an old Mill Hill boy, undertook to perform the duties for the first quarter. Mr. Cullen, the old headmaster, still looked THE I~ TERREG Ulv1 107 after the educational side of the school, but retired shortly after this date. Mr. Priestley and M~. New land continued in their positions, as has been already mentioned, vvhile the vacancies caused by the retire ment of M. Outin and Mr. Ryland were not im mediately filled. The Committee were on the look-out for some one to undertake the superintendence of the domestic department, as the matrons who had been appointed since the death of Miss Lee had not given them satisfaction. During the three months' trial of Mr. Berry there seem to have been no incidents of special interest or importance. Flogging was abolished except when administered by the Headmaster, and the arrangements for locking up the house were altered. All doors were to be shut at eight except the north door, and that was to be locked at ten. During these months there were two series of lectures, one by a Mr. Heming on Chemistry, and another on Astronomy by Mr. Wallis; so that the school ,vas not idle. Soon after the beginning of the year Rev. William Clayton accepted the office of chaplain, Mrs. Tapp was appointed matron, and Messrs. Theodore Marzials, Hillyard, and John Munro were added to the staff. The Rev . .f-Ienry Lea Berry accepted the position of headmaster, which he held for a period of four years. Mr. Clayton, who was now appointed chaplain, was the youngest of the three sons of the Rev John Clayton, senior, and had for twenty-five years been minister of the Congregational Church at Saffron Walden. He was a man of immense physical strength, which would, apart from anything else, entitle him to considerable respect from the boys. An instance of his power may be given. On one occasion he was driving to a village church, and found himself on a 108 THE HI TORY OF 11ILL HILL .... CHOOL field-path \Vith a gate at the end, and no means of exit. He unharnessed the donkey he vvas driving, lifted it over the five-barred gate, next lifted the cart over it, and then vaulted it himself. ,vriter, in describing Mr. Clayton's call to Mill Hill, says : " The school \Vas passing through a crisis in its history. It had foes without and there v..rere fears within. It evidently needed some resuscitating power to be at work : the infusion of new vigour into all the departments of official life, and the presence of one who, to the exercise of a kind, yet firm and wise, control over the establishment, should be able to add an influence over the world, and the church without, so as to awaken a vvell-grounded expectation in the judicious management of the in titution, and lead the chief men among Dissenters and liberal-minded Church people fearlessly to con fide in the judgment and good feeling of those into ,vhose hands the highest interests of their children might be committed. In looking round ... for a suitable person ... the attention of the Committee vvas directed to Mr. Clayton. His ov..·n position in the Congregational body, his connection through his father and brothers with three of the most important churches in London, and his high character for prudence, judgment, and simple yet ardent piety, and his ,vell-known affection for the young seemed to mark him out above all others for the post. It vvas believed that his acceptance of the office ,vould bring back to the school its former prosperity, and ensure even a larger amount of efficiency and success. The chief incentive to his compliance with the in vitation was the fact that he would thereby be brought into direct contact with young minds belonging to THE I ~TERREG~UM 109 the ilde of Nonconformist fan1ilies, as well as others,. at the time they were passing through their educational course. "Mr. Clayton entered on his new duties with some d iffidence, but he soon won the confidence and estee1n of all vvith whom he stood connected. The Com mittee did everything in their power to strengthen and encourage him in his labours, by their ,villing co-operation and liberal supplies. The masters wel comed the new chaplain with much respect and friendliness; vvhile attracted by his gentlemanly manners, practical wisdom, and consistent example, they were aroused to new energy, and aided in all acts of moral discipline, and in all his plans and efforts within his prescribed sphere, for the benefit of the scholars." On Monday, May 16, he was solemnly set apart to his office at a devotional meetin g held in the· school chapel. At the same time the Rev. H enry Lea Berry was inducted into the headmastership. The Rev. Thomas Binney, A. S tewart ( of Barnet),. J. Burnet (of Camberwell), G. Clayton, E. Steane, and others took part in the service. In the un avoidable and regretted absence of Mr. Clayton's father, Dr. Pye Smith delivered an excellent and affectionate charge to the newly appointed chaplain ;. while the Rev. Joseph Berry addressed the new H eadmaster, his son. With a desire to provide a place of worship for the school and the neighbour-· hood more in accordance with the reputation of the place, a new chapel was erected in 1832. Mr. Clayton was indefatigable in his efforts in connection with the rearing of this structure, and he had the pleasure,. a short while after the laying of the foundation,. , rro THE HI TORY OF 1\IILL HILL SCHOOL stone, of seeing it dedicated to the service of God, and occupyino- the pulpit himself as the scene of his latest ministerial efforts. The opening ser\7 ices took place on Public Day, June 27, and the Revs. William Ellis, John Clayton, and John Gunn were on the platform, in addition to Rev . .J oseph Berry, the H eadmaster's father, who presided. The ceremony was long, and five of the ministers gave addresses. In addition to this, twenty three boys recited speeches before the prizes ·were distributed by the Lord Mayor. After the 1neeting was over a cold collation was served to four hundred persons, at which 1nore speeches were delivered by the 1-Ieadmaster and Chaplain. A further service took place in the afternoon, and after tea the gathering separated. "It is evident that the blessing of God rested upon Mr. Clayton's labours. The pupils reverenced him and loved him ; the masters regarded him as an acceptable fellovv-worker and a sincere friend; the household servants were taught by his example and won by his kindness ; the church and congregation with which he was associated flourished under his care, while he zealously encouraged the efforts made by the school and the worshippers in the chapel on behalf of the Bible and Missionary Societies and other benevolent institutions. His labour with the boys was not in vain. 1'here rose up around him reflective boys, who reciprocated his regard and listened reverently to his counsels. Some in the aninistry, and others sustaining honourable positions jn the Church and the world, can bear their grateful testimony to the value of his instructions. "Every morning before family worship some one THE IKTERREG Ui\1 III of a number of the boys-to vv horn, as a special 1nark of favour, on account of excellence of conduct and diligence in study, the privilege of private friendship was accorded-was r eceived in his study fo r a quarter of an hour's conversation, always terminated by a short prayer. Every boy, when he went forth from his presence, carried with him to the religious service ,vhich immediately followed, the conviction that the chaplain who led their devotions had the best interests of the pupils at heart; while the vvords of encourage ment that fell from his lips, and his beaming coun tenance, proclaimed the parental tenderness that dwelt in his heart." A gentleman vvho was at the school during the headmastership of Mr. Berry has supplied most of the details of the following account : "The H eadmaster was a man of some learning, but by no means a first-rate teacher. His teaching was far from thorough; grammar and composition were too much neglected, and his first and second classes scrambled through H erodotus, the Poetics of Aristotle, Pindar, a Greek play or two, Cicero de Officiis, Livy, Horace, and Juvenal, with litt le interest, and not much educational benefit. He ,vas very kind, but took things too easily himself to rouse the energi.es of his scholars. The chaplain vvas a kind, genial Chris tian gentleman, a general favourite with us boys, from his sympathising and affectionate kind ness, especially when any difficulties arose. His special kindness to the writer under distressing circumstances is ever fresh in his grateful remem brance. 1'he second master during this time ,vas Mr. Priestley, afterwards headmaster. H e ,vas a thorough teacher, and was greatly esteemed for the 112 THE HI "TORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL strict, just, and impartial discipline which he main tained when he had charge of the boys as master on duty. Mr. ewland (who died at the school about this time) \Vas a quiet, gentle-speaking man, and a good disciplinarian. M. Marzials, the French master, was a very good and painstaking teacher, and of imperturbable patience with our boyish tricks and vagaries. His well-known after-career as a French pastor obviates any need of further detail. Of the matron and other officials there is nothing special to record. Whenever accidents happened, or illness occurred, immediate and sympathising attention was rendered, as the writer can testify from personal experience. Among the assistant-masters, besides those already mentioned, were Messrs. Munro and Hillyard, both of whom taught mathematics, the latter vvith considerable success. H e was at the school for some years, and afterwards took orders in the English Church. When M. Marzials resigned, his place was taken by M. I(eogh, and M. Aubrey in quick succession, while the death of Mr. ewland left the position of writing-master vacant, and for some years a new master was appointed almost annually. The main portion of the school-building was much the same as at present. The old original chapel was at the further end, beyond the H eadmaster's apartments. The ,vriter's impression is that it was dark, small, and inconvenient, low-roofed, and with a gallery for the boys opposite the pulpit. The new chapel, now superseded by the still newer one, ,vas built and opened about this time, but what special services marked the events the writer fails to recall. Several of the elder boys laid bricks, with the builder's leave, by the steps leading from the playground f ,....., rr; -.... p.. TI-IE I ~TERREG UM II3 " The most important function was Public Day, a function similar to Speech Day in other large Grammar Schools. A platform was raised on the table pevv in the new chapel, on which we spoke our pieces. The writer had on one occasion to recite a piece from Moi~ere's ' L'A vare,' and another piece was from Byron's 'Doge of Venice,' selections ,which were afterwards heard to have been very dis pleasing to many of the then governing Committee. Sir .John Key, Lord Mayor of London, presided, his t vvo sons being at the school at the time. The speeches were f ollovved by the prize distribution, after which the visitors had luncheon in the hall, the boys having a scrambling dinner in the class rooms. Later on an extempore match was played with the Old Boys and Visitors, or we promenaded in the garden with our friends. " No school periodical existed at this time, but the writer remembers the announcement that Old Boys vvould give a medal for the best essay on a certain subject, and the varied feelings when it was learned which of the boys was the first recipient of it. I have no exact remembrance of the details of our ordinary school life, such as the hours of rising, meals, etc. ; we were all expected to be downstairs, washed, and dressed, within half an hour of the call-bell, and go to the class-rooms till breakfast time. We were then marshalled in the corridor under the surveillance of the master for the day, and marched into the hall for breakfast and family worship, at which the matron and some of the servants were present. Then followed an interval for recreation, during which the chaplain was wont to walk and talk with the boys in the playground 8 • 114 THE HISTORY OF J\1ILL HILL SCHOOL if fine, three or four, or even more, hanging on each arn1 till the school-bell rang. i\.fter lessons there was a brief interval of leisure till dinner, after which another interval till afternoon school; that over, play till tea. In the evening we were supposed to be occupied with preparing lessons for the next day, till we were summoned to family prayers in the hall, and afterwards marched off to bed, each room under monitorial supervision. On Sundays we rose a little later, and had breakfast and prayers at once. 'Then we were in class for an hour for Scripture teaching, Catechism, or Greek T esta111ent; then to morning service in the chapel. After dinner we had the time to ourselves till afternoon service, when there was one. After tea there was a leisure time, and, unless there was evening service in the chapel, we assembled in the writing-room, where there was catechising and exhortation by the chaplain, and family prayers, and thence to bed. W e were able to obtain books considered suitable for Sunday reading from t_he library if we applied for them on the previous Saturday; but the supply was limited of books adapted for youthful readers. A prayer meeting was held in the library during Sunday afternoon, presided over by one of the senior boys, and occasionally by the Headmaster . It was not largely attended; a few were sincerely earnest, but the 111ajority were present from very mixed and questionable motives, and derived little, if any, good from the . service. "The death of Mr. Newland was a very impressive event. On the evening of his death we vvere all assembled in the writing-room, when the chaplain made a solemn and affectionate appeal for Chris tian • THE 11'TERREGNU:\1 IIS decision. We aftervvards passed in sad procession through the room where the body lay. As this ,vas the first time that most of the boys had seen an adult's corpse, it naturally left a deep and abiding impression on our minds. " I distinctly remember, too, though not the names of the individual actors, yet the fact of a school scrimmage at the door from the box- or play-room into the playground, which resulted in one of the Davenports being thrown down and his leg broken. I was do,iVn, too, and narrowly and mercifully escaped with a bruise or two. "Cricket and archery were the chief sports other than prisoner's base, rounders, and the ordinary play ground games. There were senior and junior cricket clubs, neither of them kept up with much spirit, and no outside matches. There was a very poor .apology for football in the playground, but no attempt was made at organisation of athletic sports as now understood. A weekly marching company and musket drill was our only gymnastics. At that period we numbered eighty boys in the school, and the total sometimes sank to sixty-eight. " There were no exeats save when relations visited us; and to be anywhere out of the playground or playing-field was to be out of bounds. Occasionally, perhaps once or twice in the half-year, we were all taken for a long walk and ramble to Barnet, Hendon, Edgware, or other neighbouring places. 1."'hese were the only occasions on which we used our hats, which, from the day of our arrival until the end of the term, were carefully kept by the matron in her wardrobe presses. We always went bareheaded in the grounds. W e used to have a rr6 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL display. of fireworks each fifth of November, but only viewed them from the portico, not being allowed to have even a squib or cracker to let off ourselves. " Looking back, as an old schoolmaster conversant with modern methods of education, I must say that the style and manner of instruction we received in those days were by no means calculated to stimulate our latent faculties and draw out and train our dormant powers. 'fhere were no examina tions as there are now, no written work at all, and the v£va voce was hardly 1nore than a general question or two in class, or a few lines of construing aloud ; an easy problem in arithmetic, algebra, and Euclid, and the good old ministers who examined us \Vere satisfied. I remember that a course of lectures on astronomy was given by an itinerating lecturer, whose name I forget, in the hall, illustrated by a large illuminated orrery and other devices. This was the only attempt at science-teaching, though there was a quantity of scientific-teaching apparatus in the library, which two or three of the boys were at times permitted to handle, more for amusement than instruction. The library was, as a rule, used by M. Marzials, the French master, as a sitting room, and also for taking some of his classes. "The dietary was unstinted, plain, wholesome, well cooked, and cleanly served food. The sleeping accomn1odation was all that could be desired. There was no bathing accommodation, and feet-washing on Saturday night was done in a series of troughs erected along one side of the box-room, closed with lids, on which our play-boxes stood. It was a very inadequate and unpleasant arrangement. There was THE I TERREGNUi\1 117 a sick room, where cases of more than ordinary interest were treated ; but while I was at school there were no infectious diseases. The precautions against cholera, which was then visiting London, simply consisted in a bag of camphor worn round our necks over our chests. "The discipline of the school was fairly well maintained ; the monitorial system, however, was of little use: its chief duty was to keep order in the corridor and the bedrooms-a duty very much neglected in my room. The forms of punishment for neglect of duty were impositions in writing lines or learning repetitions. Corporal punishment was very seldom inflicted, and then only for serious offences. It was administered by the Headmaster in the dining-hall, in the presence of all the masters and the whole school.'' There were not many incidents of interest during the headmastership of Mr. Berry, and, with the ex ception of the opening of the new chapel, this period is unimportant. It may be worth while to mention that a Rev. Mr. Smith opened a school for boys in Mill Hill, and asked the friends at the Gran1mar School to visit him ; but they had no wish to be on friendly terms with a rival. During the four years of Mr. Berry's headmastership there were almost as many French masters ; and one of these, though interesting as a Polish refugee, proved hopelessly jncompetent as a tutor. Towards the end of 1834 Mr. Berry resigned on account of ill-health. For six months he had been unable to fulfil all the duties of his office, and a Mr. McLaughlin, of Edin burgh, had been acting as a stop-gap. fter returning to Mill Hill, and finding that his health was still rr8 THE HI TORY OF l\11LL HILL SCHOOL unsatisfactory, Mr. Berry tendered his resignation to the Committee, by whom it ½·as regretfully received. When Mr. Berry left Mill Hill in 1834 he was belieYed to be in a dying condition from hcemorrhage of the lungs. It is pleasant, however, to kno,;y that forty years after he was alive and well! CHAPT'ER VII MILL HILL UNDER PRIESTLEY A NEW • era was now to open for the school, for in 1834 the Committee made an appointment to the post of headmaster which, in the opinion of some people at least, ought to ha e been made years before. Messrs. Humphries, Corrie, Evans, Cullen, and Berry, \vhile no doubt possessing excellent qualifications for other positions, had not brought to the headmaster ship that broad-1ninded sympathy with boys, that ability to rule and skilfulness in teaching, which ¥-?ere essential to real and permanent success. Some of them had been good scholars, some fair disciplin arians. There vvas, however, on the premises a man who had been through the mill, and was destined to bring the school up to a standard of excellence which it had reached seldom if ever before; while under his administration the num hers reached an unprecedented figure. Mr. Thomas Priestley had been one of the classical masters in the school since the headmastership of the Rev. Maurice Phillips, and had therefore seen six headmasters retire. He had witnessed the f oun dation of Mr. Thorowgood's rival establishment, its departure to T ottcridge, and the danger of collapse which Mill Hill experienced at that time; he had 119 r20 THE HISTORY OF 1ILL HILL SCHOOL ,vatched the new buildings rise, and had experiencea all the strange vicissitudes of seventeen years. Perhaps if he had been appointed earlier he would not have achieved quite such a marked success: the experience of former masters and the evidence of their mistakes were fresh in his memory, and probably served as signposts, telling him what pitfalls to avoid. It must be said at once that there are two distinct epochs in Priestley's regime: in fact, there are two Priestleys. There is the traditional headmaster, ,vith much of the courtly grace and commanding power of Arnold ; and it is this aspect of Priestley that the writer hopes to put before his readers. Hung side by side with this there is another portrait-a sadder, gloomier picture-drawn when the evil days of ad versity had come, and when the clouds vvere gathering round Mill Hill. Mr. Priestley, as we learn from contemporaries, and as we can see from his portrait in the hall, ,vas a tall man with a slight stoop. Those who knew him at the beginning of his headmastership say that he was a fair classic, a good teacher, and an extremely efficient disciplinarian. He liked to make the boys think he knew more about them than was really the case, but in spite of this he was generally popular. He was a very gentlemanly man, and, though he was inclined to favour some boys, he was a man of sym- . pathetic nature and strict and impartial justice. One of his pupils writes: "He was not only a scholar and gentleman, but also one who, by his devotion and love for his work, by the high and noble spirit by which his conduct was actuated, by his sterling moral worth, by his great experience in the manage ment of boys, by his vvise and kindly counsel, and 1Y.1ILL HILL lJNDER .t> RIESTLEY 1 2 1 by the interest he ever took in all that concerned our welfare, has left behind him a memory and a ., • name which are dear to all who had the privilege of knowing and being known to him." He was either nephew or grand-nephew of Dr. Priestley of Birmingham, the philosopher. He seldom mentioned his father, but his mother he held in very affectionate remembrance, and used to tell of her death bed, saying "that she laid her .hand on his head and repeated the whole of the seventeenth chapter of John." He had been educated by Dr. Boothroyd, minister of H ighfield Chapel, H udders field, and was a friend of Richard Winter Hamilton, minister of Belgrave Chapel, Leeds. No one could have been prouder than he was of being a Yorkshire man, and he once addressed a Yorkshire boy as being ignorant of the slang current among the cockneys who formed the bulk of his pupils. The period of Mr. Priestley's administration is easily divided into three more or less equal parts, during which three successive chaplains held office. The Rev. William Clayton continued his ministra tions at the school for four years, to the increased satisfaction of the Committee. His reputation as a minister induced many parents to send their sons to Mill Hill, while his practical good sense and adminis trative ability were useful to the H eadmaster, whose esteem and affection for him are recorded in the warmest terms. In addition to the chaplain and headn1aster there vvere four others-Mr. H illyard, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, who was mathematical master, succeeded by the Rev. John Dean ; Mr. Munro, the second classical master, and his assistant, Mr. Ewen; 122 TI-IE HISTORY OF JIILL HILL '"'CHOOL and the ,vriting master, 1r. Casford. "Mr. lvlunro," says I Ielmore, "vvas very good-natured and anxious, by precept if not by exa1nple, to inculcate gentle manly behaviour. H e ,vas ,vont to upbraid in pure Doric, thus : 'Ye have no morre manners than the beasts that grraze in yonderr pasturres ! ' I riled Dean once awfully. I had nearly completed his portrait at his request, in black chalk, \vhen the spirit of mischief seized me, and I called out to another boy to bring me son1e red chalk. 'What for?' asked Dean. 'To do your ,vhiskers,' I said. They were fiery red." Mr. Casford ,vas ,.vell liked by the boys. H e ahvays had to be ready ,vith three or four hundred quill pens each day for "large text, round, and small. " t the co111mence1nent of the half ~he boys used to assemble on a given day at the "Bull Inn," H olborn, and from there they ,vere taken to Mill Hill in glass coaches. All ali 0 ·hted at the foot of the hill leading up to Hampstead I-Ieath; and on special occasions the carriages ,vere detained for about an hour for donkey chasing and riding, and great fun the boys had. There ,vas an alternative way of reaching Mill Hill, and that ,vas by the Mill Hill coach, which ,vas driven every day to and from Holborn Hill by a Mr. W oolley, ,vho had tvvo sons a t the school. This was someti1nes used by the boys when the glass coaches did not start at a convenient time. In those days, as Mr. B elmore remarks, there were no railwayf, no electric telegraph, no telephone, n o photography, no steel pens, no postage stamps (all letters from borne cost eightpence), no lucifer matches (flint and steel and tinder box being in use). The boys wore black or blue jackets and black l\1ILL HILL U rDER PRIESTLEY 123 trousers, except in summer, when they wore vvhite ducks. The collars were attached to the shirt, open and free about the neck, round which were tied coloured ribbons or silk handkerchiefs. Out of this habit came an incident, both interesting and amusing. 1'he young ladies at Miss Crump's school in the village used to sit in the body of the church, ,vhile the boys sat in the gallery. H elmore was the only boy who ,vore frills, and after his first Sunday several of the '' Crumpites," as they were called, came in frills. The next Sunday he chose a ribbon to match one of theirs, and in this way they marked their mutual admiration. There was no organised attempt at athletics, nor were there any uniforms for cricket or football, which to-day add interest to the dullest game. In fact, no county teams in those days thought of having regulation attire. None of the n1asters joined in cricket or football, and they never attempted to unbend even out of school hours. The boys vvere taken out occasionally in gangs; at no other times were they allowed off the premises. Whenever they took their walks abroad they ~,ore tall hats, which were otherwise kept by the matron. One of the numerous French masters who was at Mill Hill during this time, a M. Charlton, once took the boys into the fields to gather acorns for the pigs. B elmore was the best clin1 ber, so M. Charlton said , "Comaylong ! comaylong ! evare mind. If de bough do break the grass is soft, and it will not hurt you." 'The gardener, who acted as farm bailiff, ordered him off. " Sare, are you the properioter of dese field? Oh, you are de gardener; zen I shall report you for insolence ! '' But the gardener re borted him, and he was told that in future he must .. . • r24 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL not take the boys out of the playground. Another Frenchman was a very superior man. H e prepared a little speech to suit the peculiar failing of those boys who ,vere most troubl~some. He was quite unable to converse in English. Sometimes he mixed up his sentences: " George Jackson go, and sit. on, non! Pardon\ William Jackson get into bed." The meals at the school, though plain, seem to have been good. For breakfast the boys each had half a pint of milk in a pint pot. Hot water and cold were brought round in large cans, and the boys generally poured part of their milk into a jam-pot, and then mixed Fry's cocoa with what remained, and let the servant pour in hot water. Mr. Helmore tell~ us that he had a good supply of jam and quince marmalade, and ordered polonies, which were brought from London by the carrier. Two large slices of bread-and-butter were placed on each plate, and more was handed round. The other meals in the day were equally good, which, for the period, was a high standard. The boys in some of the dormitories had great ideas, and were very strict in their discipline. In No. 4 one boy was always awake, each taking an hour at a time. All movements out of the bed room were in Indian file, and if a master appeared in the distance the leader turned about, and, the order being reversed, a quiet retreat was made to bed. If there was no time for that, the boys turned into the nearest washing-place and hid behind the towels . ' or if closely pressed, the duty was to crouch near the wall. Dnce Mr. Munro came upon them so suddenly that they had to try this rnanceuvre. It was perfectly successful. Thanks to the shadow of MILL HILL U DER PRIESTLEY r25 his long candlestick, the great width of the corridor, and the mingled vvhiteness of night-shirts and the ~.vhitewashed wall, he passed by, snorting in eager haste, while the boys held their breath. Mr: William Clayton found that H elm ore could sing a hymn tune (which he had never seen before) from the notes, so he made him leader of the choir. He had a very remarkable compass, being able to sing any tune which he could play on his flute. His voice broke at last, and then Mr. Clayton's attitude became incomprehensible. H e accused him of pre tending, and was apparently ignorant of the natural change from a boy's voice to that of a man. After a time he summoned H elmore to his s tudy, and said in solemn tones : "Belmore, suppose you were to die ! What vvould be your feelings on your death bed w hen you reflected that you had not sung the praises of your God for three months?'' On his assuring the chaplain he ,vas sorry he could not, Mr. Clayton dismissed him, indignantly calling him hardened and incorrigible. " On one occasion .' Sam' Davenport (afterwards Sir Samuel Davenport, K.C.lVI.G., of Australia) performed the wonderful feat of kicking the football clean over the Scotch firs. The ball must have risen about , seventy feet to clear the largest top. Several in that time succeeded in kicking the nearest branches, but Sam alone sent it over all. On the last day of the half, when the boxes were packed, we piled them into a pyramid, and on it sang traditional songs : In good King Arthur's reign, When Arthur first did rule the land, He · made a large pudding a ding ding, Great swacking plums he did put in, etc., etc. 126 THE HI TORY OF 1ILL HILL SCHOOL Under the clever teaching of Mr. Hillyard I rose to the top of the school in mathematics, and so had the use of the library as a sitting-room, in conjunction vvith John Fawell Buxton, vvho vvas head classic. The telescope and other instruments vvere under my especial care. But alas ! my dear master left just as I had gained my honours; Mr. Hill yard was ordained in the English Church, and his successor was useless as a teacher." In 183a Mr. William Clayton, who had been chaplajn for seven years, ,vas suddenly removed by death. He was strolling with his daughter through the grounds, and vvhile she had left him for no longer than t,vo minutes he sank on the ground, and when she returned life had left him. The suddenness of his death had a great and lasting effect on Mr. Priestley and all \vho were at the school. Old boys of that period were afterwards accustomed vividly to recall the recollection of Miss Clayton hurrying into No. 6 class-room to tell Mr. Priestley (who was teaching a class there at the time) what had happened. early all those who had come into contact with Mr. Clayton had affectionate remembrances of his kindness, and among the members of the Committee, as well as the staff and boys, he was respected and loved. The circumstances of his death were all the more vivid as Mr. Clayton had read very impressively at prayers that morning Ecclesiastes xii., the chapter beginning vvith the words "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth." It was felt that special ser, ices must be held, as the distance from London prevented many of the boys from being present at the funeral. Accordingly there was a very solemn 1neeting in the school, when the coffin was borne into the hall, ~IILL HILL U_ DER PRIESTLEY 127 and the boys gathered to pay their 1ast tri bute of love and reverence to their pastor. Dr. Pye Smith and Dr. Morrison took part in the service, and then the school vval ked by the coffin "to take farewell of one ,vho had watched over them ,vith a paternal interest, and who had gone to render an account of his ste,vardship." . On the Sunday following the funeral Dr. Joseph Fletcher preached a sennon in the chapel relating to the affecting circumstances of the last week and commemorative of the pastor who had occupied the chaplaincy so recently. A handso1ne tablet was after,vards placed in the -chapel by certain friends, a1nong the most prominent being Mr. George F. White. The inscription is as follo,vs : T O TH E MEMORY OF T H E R EV. \V I L L I A 1\1 C LA Y TO N CHAPLAI OF THE PROTESTANT DISSE TERS' GRAMMAR SCHOOL AD PASTOR OF THE COrGREGATIONAL CHURCH, IN THIS VILLAGE; W ho, in the midst of his labours and his usefulnesc;, was suddenly removed to his heavenly rest, on the r 5th of March 1838 and the fifty-fourth year of his age. During a residence of only seven years He rendered essential service to this insti tution and to the cause of Christ By promoting the erection of this place of worship; and by various other efforts of active benevolence. By the diligence, fidelity, affection, and zeal with which he fulfi lled the duties of his important office, he commended himself to the devoted attachment of his beloved pupils and of his bereaved flock, who have united in raising this tablet To testify Their high regard for his character and their Veneration for his memory. ., . 128 THE HISTOR1 OF MILL HILL SCHOOL 'The death c! IVlr. Claytcn created a vacancy, which \\'as at length filled up by the appoin tn1ent of the Rev. H . J. Crump, whose sister had for some years kept a girls' school in the village, probably at the house originally occupied by Miss Russell's establishment. Mr. Crump was a pleasant, easy-going man, who was very popular with the boys. The assistant-masters were constantly changing, and so a short account of some who joined the staff about this time may not be out of place. There were now five assistant-masters in all, the most important of them being Mr. Earle, the mathematical master, who was almost entirely self-taught, and was reputed to learn pages of the English dictionary by heart. He eventually married, as his second wife, Mrs. H arris the matron, a very popular figure in the school. They set up a school for boys at Edg,vare, and did vvell there. A contem porary adequately describes her as "a real lady." Mrs. I-Iarris had been preceded by a Mrs. Knight, whose son received the thanks of the Committee for shooting at a supposed burglar, and she was succeeded by Miss Freeman, a bright and efficient matron. Mr. Earle's successor was Mr. Blyth, a raw Scotchman, very tall, and an excellent teacher, vvho remained at the school some time, eventually retiring from ill health. Dr. Johnstone, of Aberdeen, a colleague of Mr. Blyth's for one year, writes : " H e was a man of dis tinguished abilities and of great acquirements, both in pure mathematics and in their application to science. Of sound judgment and keen vision, too, with regard to matters of daily life, thoroughly kind and of a noble Christian character, he was a friend of priceless value, amid the perplexities and difficulties \Vhich l Rev. 1'\aurice Phi Hi_ps. Thoma.s Pries f Ley • Rev. Philip Sn,ifh B .. A .. R.f.' VVeymoutl\ D. Lit. M.A. --- -- -- _______ __. REV. :\IAURICE PlIILLIPS, Headmaster 18II-1818. TIIO:\IAS PRIESTLEY, Headmaster 1835-1853 SIR JOHX .c\IcCCURE, IIcJ.dmastcr 1891-1922. REV. PHILIP S::\HTH, B . .-\. , H e.1J.1n3tcr 1853-1860. R. F. WEY:\IOC'TH, D.Lil., :\I..\., Headmaster p. 128] 1869-1886. MILL HILL U 1DER PRIE TLEY 129 inevitably present themselves at the beginning of one's \vork as a teacher. To those who knew him it could not but seem likely that he 1night rise to eminence, but he died at thirty, and sleeps in the quiet church yard of W emyss, near the Fifeshire village where he was born. Whether his great qualities were appreci ated by his pupils I do not know, but I have no doubt that among the surviving members of his class there are some who esteem it no small privilege to have known Henry Blyth." Mr. Blyth vvrote an interesting letter to Mr. Priestley on the subject of science teaching, which may well be reproduced here. He says : "From inquiries I have made about other schools [ find that experimental philosophy is occupying every day a more and more prominent part. P erhaps 1n many schools the experiments are mere clap-trap, and productive of no more real good to the pupils than an exhibition of Punch and Judith would be. I have reason to know, however, that in others the experiments have been made the vehicle for com municating, the most valuable information. The age in ,vhich vve live is so pre-eminent for the application of science to supply the wants of man, that I think the elements of physical science should form a part at least of the education of every schoolboy. Shall the young man be considered to have had a liberal education who, on leaving school, finds himself ignorant of the elementary principles of chen1istry knowing nothing of the principles on which the steam engine depends, and knowing nothing of the laws regulating the movement of the electric fluid ? I have, as you know, sir, endeavoured to interest the boys at Mill Hill in these subjects, but I found myself limited 9 r30 THE HI TORY OF :MILL I-IILL CHOOL by the want of apparatus. If the Co1nn1ittee could be induced to spend a small sum annually, not exceed ing £5 , in keeping up and increasing the philosophical apparatus, much might be done to put Mill Hill Grammar School in as prominent a position in this departrnent as it already occupies in others." This letter, V\,ritten in r 8 s r, when the Great Exhibi tion was beginning to arouse interest in science, only goes to shovv that ~.1ill Hill has never been far behind the times in adapting her resources to suit the require ments of the age. During later years he was assisted in the teaching of mathematics by Mr. Bullock, who was a good disciplinarian and a general favourite. The head classical master after Mr. Priestley vvas Mr. Edvvard J oseph Delacour, who, we learn, " was a good skater, and considered himself a great swell." Mr. Pope succeeded him, and was assis ted by Mr. Thomas C. Storrar, a short, stout, and very good-tempered gentle man. Some of the other assistant-masters seem to have been anything but efficient. 1'he only other master to be described is Mr. I-Ienry Fuge, the writing and general attendance master, a short, stout, rather elderly man, who went through his \Vork satisfactorily. At first all the masters took their duty out of school • a vveek at a time, but about 1839 Mr. Fuge became sole representative of the headmaster out of school, and took perpetual duty, having a few hours of school-time free, and getting help from the other masters on Sunday. H e came from Weymouth ,vith Mr. Crump, and they used to beguile the weary hours of duty by wandering about the fields together. H e had not the resource of being able to play with the 1'IILL HILL U TDER PRIE TLEY boys; indeed, he vvas not built to take part in gan1cs, being stout, and having "bandy legs." It is a marvel how he could carry on, worried by a lot of boys, latterly more than a hundred, and yet n1aintain good discipline. H e seems to have had some con~ nection with coasting vessels in supplying them with meat, and vvhen the equinoctial gales came on he would shake his head and wonder how it was going with his ships. Of the "able teachers, who periodically visited the school, and gave instruction in music, dravving, and gymnastics" (vide Prospectus), it is only necessary to speak briefly. Mr. W afford gave lessons in music, though almost his only qualification to do so vvas his ability to play the flute. Mr. Greener was the gym nastic instructor, and Mr. Renton the drawing-master. T he latter was a kind, painstaking old man, who had been in the service of the school for a great number of years. H e did not retire until he had reached the mature age of seventy-two. As he said, "his fingers were all thumbs," and he found great difficulty in coping with his work. H e was latterly helped by Messrs. Ainslie, two brothers, who assisted each other as masters, and were quite successful teachers. The report of the Committee to the Governors in 1838 gives a good idea of the condition of the school about this time. The numbers were not so satisfactory as they had been, the average being seventy-eight; and this number, "though sufficient to enable the establishment to be carried on with the highest degree of reputation, is not such as to enable the Committee to conduct to efficiency those liberal purposes which have formed part of the design of the institution from the time of its foundation." With regard to their r32 THE HI TORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL progress, ho,vever, there vvas no cause for dissatis faction. The Chaplain and I--Ieadmaster, as well as their assistants, performed their ,vork with assiduity and friendly co-operation, and the results had been eminently satisfactory. The Committee could say "that the position which the pupils have attained in 1nathematical and classical studies during the last session will stand the test of comparison with any similar institutions in our country; while the sense of religious duty, the tone of morality, and the good order and discipline existing among the pupils gener ally, have been such as to occasion satisfaction to the most anxious parents. Dr. Pye Smith and his friends have conducted the examinations in classics, while Professor de 1\1organ, of London University, examined in mathematics, and stated that the school, taken together, had advanced sensibly during the last half-year." 1'he Committee goes on to present a list of books read by the pupils during the period, a few selections from which may be interesting by way of comparison with present times. The first class had three orations of Demosthenes, two books of Plato, and selections from Euripides and Sophocles, and had given time to verse and prose composition, and to the Greek Testament. In Latin they had done Livy, Juvenal, and Horace, committing to memory a great number of the Odes, besides verse and prose composition. Class II. had read four books of Herodotus, and three of H omer, and some Cicero and H orace. Class III. read X enophon, 1-Iomer, Caesar, and Horace ; ·vhile the fourth class had done Valpy's Delectus 1nd Xenophon, also some Caesar and V ergil. The re maining four classes had spent a more uninteresting l\1ILL HILL U TDER FRIE TLEY 133 half-year, since they had been grounded in gran1mar and delectus without much variation. The ,vhole school learnt French and geography, grammar and history, and mathematics; and the upper forms also took German, which had been tried as an experiment in the previous year. In the same report there are references to the school finances vvhich call for attention. It had been the idea of the Com1nittee to split up the debt into small shares of £100; but up till then they had not been able to remove the mortgages which stood in Mr. Bousfield's name, nor was it until some years later that they succeeded. They now proposed to form the school into a proprietary establishment, but for some reason the idea fell throuo-h, and they contented themselves with raising a considerable amount of money, and paying off some of the debt. Mr. Robert Bousfield, their chief creditor, was most generous, and gave nearly £1 ,500. The trustees, who had been reduced by death from twelve to five, were now brought up to their proper number, and altogether the finances seemed quite flourishing. About this time tw0 interesting minutes occur which may be inserted here. Ebenezer Pye Smith presented a bust of his father, who had been the classical , examiner for so many years, and it was placed in a suitable position in the hall, near to that of the late treasurer, Samuel Favell. The other entry is a decision not to allow burials in the plot of ground surrounding the chapel. The boys of 1838 seem to have had a good deal of spare time, for they managed to run two weekly magazines. Of these, The Liberty ran to five numbers, The H erald to about the same. They 134 THE HI TORY OF 1ILL HILL . CHO0L \Vere ,vritten in manuscript, and vvere very deadly riYals, the former emanating from o. 1 class-room, which the intellectuals were supposed to frequent, vvhile the latter vvas the mouthpiece of the monitors, \vho \Vere said by the editors of Tlze L£brrt_y to have conquered them by physical strength. In the initial editorjal of Tlze Liberty it was said that, with nearly one hundred boys in the school, there ought to be a magazine, especia11y seeing that there had been one before. The editors complained that they vvere confined ,vithin the four da1np walls of a prison house. They intended to avoid the heights of R.epublicanism and the n1arshes of the Conservatives, keeping to Horace's aurea nzcdiocrdas. It was a subject for regret that they vvould not be able to discuss at large the merits of the Ministry, the speeches in the S enate, or the course pursued by the leading 1nen in the State, because they were resolved not to speak anything treasonable of those · in authority in the school. In addition to . the editorial there were verses on the School Bell, a Mountain Stream, an appeal from Tlte L £ber-f.y, and a serial story called " The Mystery Unveiled," by J. Sibree. A little light on school-life is shown by a so-called sarcastic poem on the study of German, a mention of the use of slates, and several references to the playing of football. The second number had a ne\v serial called " T'he Muleteer,'' by lgernon W ells, afterwards school secretary. Other attractions were an account of the H arrow fire, an ode to Liberty, and an attack on their contemporary, T!te H erald. ovember 5 saw a special issue, with several insults to one of the monitors. The next issue contained a reply from the monitor, an J oh n Yo c k n e y, Ed\\· a rd Ste an e, D. D . 1-< obert Redpath, Dr. William S1nith , Philip Smith (after\vards headmaster), and Dr. Pye Smith. I'hese examinations \Vere not very sound, and, later on, deteriorated into a mere farce. An old M illhillian \Vrites: "We used to say, ' Redpath, Pudding, and Pye all came in the same fly.' 'Pudding ' was Dr. William Smith, to distinguish him from Dr. Pye Sn1ith, and the name \Vas afterwards transferred to Philip on account · of the rotundity of his cheeks. H e held a vz"-uci voce examination in classics, and the Rev. W illiam Cooke, Professor de Morgan, or Professor Merlet in mathe1natics. The two latter were really good, but 1r. Cooke used to put a few sums on the board, and vve raced to get them done, more marks being given for speed. His pet sums vvere things like : 3 ✓20 - ✓45 ✓125 1'he sports of the school were in a very primitive condition. There was no club for cricket or football, and neither game was played with much zest. Cricket always took place in the playing-fields, and the slope of the ground prevented boys from being thoroughly keen. Among the minor games were fives, marbles, prisoner's base, black bull, Spanish fly, and high-cockalorum. There were no gymnastics save the ,veekly drilJ 1 and that was only a poor apology for exercise. Cricket was played on the gravel playground against the trees, as well as in the fi eld, but perhaps the favourite game was fives, which was played in the court between the end of the main building and the chapel, and against the chapel wall. In consequence of a fatal accident \ ilLL HILL U 1DER PRIE TLEY 143 about this time, hockey was absolutely forbidden. Fev\' attempts were 1nade at organised football, and it consisted chiefly of II pun ta bout'' in the fi eld, or a rouo-h game in the playground. Mill Hill never met any other school in any kind of contest, though there ,vas the school at T'otteridge kept by Mr. Wood and Mr. Thorowgood, \Vhich would have been about the same calibre. The free run of the playground and playing-field was allowed, but no exeats were permitted, with the one exception that boys might accompany their parents for a walk in the village. Walks with a master were taken on half-holidays, and, on very special occasions, senior boys ,vere allowed out by themselves. Only a half-holiday vvas granted on Good Friday, and the same on Easter Monday, for fear the boys should go into London if longer time were given them. The Head master was very chary of giving whole holidays, as he said there was nothing for the boys to do which might keep them occupied and out of mischief. On the whole, however, they seem to have been fairly happy in their long half-years; the third month always went slowly, but the fourth was lightened by the anticipation of a holiday of six weeks' duration. In these days there were as yet no baths in the house, and washing was done, as before, in the washing-room in the morning, and on Saturday nights there was hot water in the room adjoining the play-room, and foot-washing in the long troughs often mentioned before. With :regard to sleeping accommodation, dormitory o. r had fourteen beds, o. 2 had nineteen, ,. o. 9 had twelve; No. 5 was the smallest, and had only eight beds, with the French 1naster's room opening out of it. The boys in 144 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL class I had o. 9 to themselves, and had to behave quietly, as it was near the second octagon and the Headmaster's study. Each boy had a small bed, and at the side was a box-seat for clothes and brushes. The beds were spaced about four feet apart, and up against the vvalls of the various roon1s. How they managed to cram nineteen beds into No. 2, under these circumstances, it is• difficult to under stand. The boys were allo~1ed to talk after they went to bed, at first until ten o'clock, but this was afterwards changed to nine o'clock. There was a sick-room for isolation, but it was rarely required; twelve cases of mumps one winter caused its oc cupation, and in 1848 there was a severe outbreak of scarlatina. All the boys in the school, with the exception of eighteen, took the sickness, and three boys died, one of them Peary, the captain of the school. Towards the end of the same year cholera broke out in London, and great alarm was caused at Mill Hill. Strict injunctions were sent down as to behaviour and treatment in case of illness, but though three or four hundred cases were announced daily in the metropolis, there was no outbreak at Mill Hill. Under ordinary circumstances domestic medicine for slight ailments was dispensed by the matron in the linen-room after prayers in the evening, while chilblains were treated with brandy and-salt in the hall, on the form which the servants had occupied at prayers, and the same which caused Mr. Priestley's accident in 1845. There was no heating apparatus in the bedrooms, and as the doors were kept wide open all night, the rooms were extremely cold and draughty. The discipline of the school depended then, as novv! • :t, ~ /£ ·· ·- ', < , ' · .. t· ; , ·, · 1.' .. , ·r~1 ~.i!'. : . ,~ ..;~::~--· ;:· ;..._c: .... ~; .;:. -- ,; h\'Y· \\1 •"" ' tt .. "' .. ~,. •:.•, \ .• ..,. ' 'l " ,,...~.,.~ .,, -°' °' I I.O OI co .... ,-, ~ --r ..... NIILL HILL UNDER PRIESTLEY 145 very largely on the individual masters, some being- at that time notoriously slack. Mr. Fuge, as has been said, looked after the boys out of school hours, but never joined in the games. 1 'here was no monitorial system, but the head boys in classics and mathematics were librarians, whose duty it was to attend to the issue and return of books on Saturday, and levy fines for untidiness, such as books left about, or candles upset. The fines were collected when the ,veekly pocket-money was given out, and were applied to the purchase of the optime prizes, £.e. prizes given to boys who had received two or three optime letters during the half-year, but had not gained any other prize. If a boy had four optimes he received a school prize, provided in the same way as the lesson prizes by the Committee. Pocket-money was at the order of parents, from a penny to sixpence, but some boys received none, as they were trusted with all their money when they came from home. Punishments were mostly so many lines to be written or learnt by heart. For proved falsehood a boy had to wear his jacket turned inside out for twenty-four hours for the first time, for two days on the second offence, and for a week for the third time. A certain boy used to lie notoriously to M. de Lize, the French master. When M. le Sueur was appointed, the boy's j acket was speedily turned on five occasions. Boys seem sometimes to have run away from school. Once a lad ran over to Harrow, and took the train from there to Birmingham. H e was captured, and gave as his excuse that he was suspected of throwing wood at Mr. Earle, the mathe matical master, and disliked restraint. Only a year or two later two boys ran away, and to provide funds IO 146 THE HISTORY OF l\IILL HILL CHOOL one of them sold in the school some very beautiful pictures on Chinese rice paper. Eleveu boys, amongst them some famous old !vlillhillians of to-day, provided money, and the H ead rnaster discovered their action. H e declined to believe that they did it in all innocence, and tore up the ,vhole series of prints in the presence of the asse1nbled school. H e writes about the 1natter as follows : "The mean-spiritedness and C0"\\7ardice of the whole eleven are so palpable that I do not hesitate to give you their names (here follows the list). X. says he gave four shillings, but denies that he knevv what the money was wanted for; however, he has long been considered one of the most notorious liars in the school, and thcref ore no master attaches any credit to his s tatement. ... This is what Dr. Arnold calls 'boy nature '; but \vhat is to be done with the eleven? Severely punished they ought to be . ... A. I have uniformly treated with almost parental affection, and I therefore feel his conduct most keenly.* Him and tvlo others of my class room I have excluded from my presence for a day or two .... I have it clearly in evidence that the system of getting up in the middle of the night and going out of the house has been pursued by some few or more for a series of years past, and that it ,vould not no\v have been discovered but for M.'s bottle of ,vine, which partially inebriated the delinquents on that occasion, and made them reckless of noise on re ... turning to bed. I should like to add my recollection of having, from a premonition that something was wrong, frequently urged Mr. Crump to hjre a boy or man occasionally to watch the passages and bedrooms all night. ... The necessity of some such measure * A. is now a well-known old Millhillian. :MILL HILL UKDER PRIE, TLEY r47 .. . you yourself will now see." 'The two boys were captured quite early, and only one was expelled; the one who was pardoned afterwards attained to very considerable renown in the diplomatic world, and died only a few years ago. It almost looks as if the unfortunate boy who went was made to suffer for the sins of others, and was punished 1nore severely than his case demanded. One year on two successive character days only two boys in the first and second classes received optime letters, and, in consequence, they were the only ones to be included in the excursions to the Zoological Gardens and the "Welsh Harp." They were Edward Bousfield Dawson (now Constable of Lancaster Castle) and Alfred (now Sir Alfred) George Marten. As a rule, the offences of which the boys ~ 1ere guilty were venial ones, as vvhen a fellow \vho wa very mischievous, but subsequently became a useful man in the world, " deliberately and malignantly cut off beneath the soil a geranium in the French master's bedroom." Another time two boys got out of bounds to eat the apples, and were discovered by their breaking the vane on the top of the cowshed. The "Crump ites," well-known to fame, had to have their position in chapel 1noved to a spot out of sight from the male occupants of the gallery, and partitions were put up in the square high-backed pew for the same reason. CHAPTER VIII APPRECIATION OF PRIESTLEY MR. P RIESTLEY'S services were recognised in r 843 , after twenty-five years spent on behalf of Mill Hill, by the painting of his portrait to hang in the dining hall. Old boys very readily subscribed tovvards the cost of the picture, including many who had never known Mr. Priestley as headmaster. Mr. Justice Talfourd, who asked to be allowed to add his dona tion, had not even known Mr. Priestley as an assistant master. Mr. George White was one of the leading spirits in the work, and devoted untold labour to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. The following account of the ceremony is taken fro1n The Patriot of September 1843 : ,, PROTESTA T DISSENTERS' GRAMMAR S CHOOL, M ILL H ILL "On W ednesday, August 28, an interesting meeting was held in the hall of this noble institution. The young gentlemen ·educated there, being anxious to show some public mark of respect towards the H ead master, they requested Mr. Priestley to sit for a full-length portrait, to be placed in the hall as a memorial of their heartfelt esteem and gratitude. 148 APPRECIATIO OF PRIE TLEY 149 "Thomas Phillips, Esq., R.A., ha Ying executed a beautiful picture (which occupied a prominent position at the Exhibition of the Royal Academy), the old pupils met the General Committee on Wednesday last, to present to the institution this fine work of art, and at the same time an address of congratulation to Mr. Priestley. The drapery having been removed from the picture, at three o'clock Thomas Piper, Esq., took the chair, surrounded by a numerous body of the Comn1ittee, amongst ,vhom we observed Mr. Alderman Hunter, W illiam Tite, Esq., Dr. William Smith, the Revs. G. Clayton, Yockney, Binney, Wells, and Blackburn, and Messrs. Bousfield, Coombs, Edwards, White, and Dixon. "After a few prefatory remarks fr0m the chairman, Mr. 'Trotman proceeded to read a highly gratifying address to the H ead1naster, in which his old pupils called to mind ' that self-control and patience, that aptness and earnestness in instruction, that strict impartiality, con1bined with parental kindness, that love of honour and that expansive liberality of feeling which added to his precepts the force of daily example.' Mr. Priestley replied in an eloquent and impassioned speech, which was loudly cheered by his present as well as his former pupils. The Rev. A. W ells, the secretary of the school, then addressed the meeting on the greatly improved position and pro spects of the establishment, with his well-known intelligence and good feeling, and closed the proceed ings, on which the young gentlemen present indulged in three hearty cheers, and proceeded to the beautiful grounds of the institution to enjoy some juvenile recreation. W e observed that the address was beauti fully written on vellum, and understand that it is to r50 THE HISTORY OF 1\1ILL I-IILL SCHOOL be placed in a rich frame; and that Mr. Priestley's portrait has been engraved in mezzotinto, each sub scriber to the painting being entitled to an im pression." A few vveeks after the unveiling of the picture Mr. Priestley vvas the recipient of three more testi monials. The first was from the Mill Hill boys, and took the form of a handsomely bound edition of the Greek dramatists, presented in the name of the school by a boy named Rule. At the same time the treasurer, in the name of the Committee, handed Mr. Priestley a gold watch, and Mr. Delacour presented him with a set of Cicero's works from the masters. The enthusiasm was almost as great as at the presentation of the portrait, and Mr. Priestley was deeply touched by these unanimous signs of appreciation of his efforts and character. S ome account has already been given of Mr. Crump, the chaplain, but it will not be out of place to add to it here. H e seems to have been a difficult man to work with, and his relations with Mr. Priestley were often strained. As Mr. William Clayton and Mr. England were both able to work amicably with the H eadmaster, it is probable that Mr. Crump was in a large measure at fault. The Committee were ill-advised not to settle definitely which official vvas really at the head of the school, for Mr. Crump could not accept a subordinate position. He was little able to keep order, and his idea of good behaviour was a strange one. He wrote to the Comn1ittee that the boys behaved admirably during the illness of Mr. Priestley, whereas one of the boys APPRECIATIO OF PRIE TLEY 151 themselves distinctly says that they led the masters a fearful life, especially the substitute, who, indeed, at last left in despair. The Committee seemed to realise that the chaplain was a weak disciplinarian, for we find Mr. Piper writing to the secretary "that more religious instruction is necessary, but that a master should always be present so as not to expose the chaplain's feebleness, which one dominie (Mr. Priestley) would be glad to see exhibited." Surely a most unfair criticism of the Headmaster ! We find Mr. Crump frequently making complaints to the Committee-that his salary is not so large as the Headmaster's, that his son does not advance in school, that the chapel is very cold, and that one of the masters is making love to the housekeeper ! The Committee did not regard him as a good teacher, for on two occasions they sent down a deputation of ministers to examine the school in Scripture History, and, on each occasion, with unsatisfactory results. Mr. Crump himself thought he was a good disciplinarian and a successful teacher. His favourite punishment was solitary confinement, for which he claimed a most unwarranted efficacy in dealing with boys. With regard to his teaching, he endeavoured to excuse it by complaining that the chief place in the boys' studies w.as not given to Scripture. In this connection he asked why, in criticising Mill Hill, it was necessary to drag in the Borough Road Training College, apparently implying that some rivalry existed between the two establishments. Just before he left he received a request from the eccentric Lord Teynham, asking his permission to preach in the school chapel, but he felt himself unable to comply with the request. In 1846, owing 152 THE HISTORY OF l\1ILL HILL SCHOOL to incivility on the part of the Committee, he retired to open a boarding-house for students at Harrington Square. The boys purchased a handsomely bound Polyglot Bible and other books, which they presented to him before the breaking-up for the Christ1nas holidays. By far the most important function in this time, in fact the only school function until quite recent years, was Public Day. It vvas then, as now, on the v\lednesday nearest to June 20, and until 1845 there were speeches in Greek, Latin, English, and French in the chapel before the distribution of the prizes. The speakers stood in the pews next the aisles: on one occasion Schiller's " Ring of Poly crates" was recited, and a dialogue out of the "Prometheus Vinctus," while John Hoppey once recited " Singing for the Million." The following programme of speeches to be recited on the anniver- sary of the Mill Hill Grammar School, Wednesday, June r6, 1841, should prove instructive: Stainton . Huxtable. Noble . Oratio Archidami ad Lacedaemonios. T HUCYDIDES Der Taucher_; or, The Diver . Catalina ad Conjuratos . Co01nbs . Burder . Alfred Gow . Le Paquebot, ou Voyage en Angleterre Boadicea SCHILLER . SALLUST DE T ORRY vVHEWELL . HOMER Hoiborn . George Barker Rule Devenish. Stevenson • . Description of a Battle . . Farewell to War . Oratio Alexandri ad 1Wilites M arius among tlze Ruins of Carthage L e Meunier, son Fils t.'t L'Ane . Passage of tlze Rat Sea . MONTGOMERY . C f. CURTIUS • { SCOTTISH 1'11 ·sTREL LA FONTAINE • HEBER APPRECIATION OF PRIESTLEY 153 PARL IAMENTARY DEBATE ABRIDGEMENT OF THE PROCEEDI NGS IN THE H OUSE OF COMMO~S I N I 829 For the Removal of the Catholic Disabili't£es Mr. Peel Mr. Brougham Mr. Fynnes Clinton Mr. North Sir Edward Knatchbull Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Robert Inglis . Mr. Huskisson Lord Tullamore . Lord Castlereagh . Mr. Sadler Lord Palmerston Mr. Bankes Sir C. Wetherell Sir Joseph Yorke. . Huxtable . Henry Davis Earls . Rule • . Micklem G. Barker Ching . Fletcher Hy. Crump Burder . Hainton Brown Alfred Gow Stevenson Wilson Piper Russell Goulty "A Chapter on Umbrellas" "Greece" • • Anon Byron In 1845, on account of Mr. Priestley's illness, the speeches were given up, and were not resumed for two years. On Public Day it was always de rigueur that boys should wear yellow kid gloves and patent shoes, and great care was taken to see that every one was spick-and-span. The venerable Dr. Pye Smith distributed the prizes one year on Public Day. There was put into his hands the H enriade of Voltaire, and a boy was standing before him waiting to receive it. The Doctor announced the name, was struck with horror, and gradually fired up into a strong denuncia t ion of the brilliant Frenchman, the author. Finally he banged the book down on the platform, whence it rebounded into some distant pew. The prizes were 154 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL not always agreeable to the parents; for one year a gentleman wrote to complain that the reputation of the school would be seriously damaged if it con tinued to give such books as the one that his son had r eceived. A letter of quite a different kind is the following: "I was at Mill Hill on Public Day, and was obliged by the presentation of Fenelon's work to my son, and shall be quite ready to pay the expense of it, though I do not perceive any charge in the bill. If you consider the drawing of Josiah worthy the distinction of a place in the visitors' parlour, I beg to solicit that it may have a fran1 e more in harmony with the others, and in that case please increase the charge to me, ,;vhich at present is 17s. 6d." Before mentioning some of the men who took the chair on successive Public Days, it will be well to give a short account of the less ceremonial distribution of prizes at Christmas. Dr. Pye Smith almost in variably took the chair, and gave away the books with that charm which accompanied all his actions. One year when Po,vell and Wells Butler, who after wards passed first into the I.C.S., vvere to receive the twenty-guinea matriculation prizes, the function was made more elaborate. Mr. G. F. White came down and distributed medals to J. H. Howard for an essay on the "Evidences of Christianity," and to Cotton Mather for one on the " Patrician Power ir. Rome.'' As a rule, however, it was a much quieter ceremony. On various occasions addresses were delivered by the Rev. Thomes Binney, Dr. William Smith, and Joseph Hardcastle, Esq., M.P. Another time, the Rev. R. Winter Hamilton, D.D., of Leeds, one of the earliest Mill Hill boys, spoke, and wrote in a APPRECIATIO OF PRIE TLEY r55 letter to his sister the next day : " Mill Hill came yesterday. There vvas rain in the early morning, \Yhich freshened nature and made our ride very pleasant. It is impossible to represent to you the beauty of the scene. Parents and children grouped in the grounds, vvhich are surpassingly lovely. The banquet is almost a fairy spectacle. My address went off ,vith great eclat. othing but compliments. It is to be printed." In the following year, 1845, the Rev. Algernon W ells, the school secretary, gave t,he address. Previous speakers had spoken more especi ally to the boys, but Mr. W ells set before himself the idea of exhibiting "the importance that Dissenters should possess a permanent institution for securing a public-grammar-school education for the sons of their more respectable families." Mill Hill, he says, is a grammar school, and the ref ore classics are the chief source of education there, but mathematics and science, modern languages, and the requisites for a commercial education are not neglected. The school is a public school, and, as such, is governed by public persons for no private gain. It provides an education which could not be obtained privately at the same expense ; discipline is maintained, and boys have to learn to obey as they might not at home. The speaker waxed eloquent on the advantages of athletics, " ,vhich, if not the full half of education, are still an essential part of it. They are not merely physical training, but partake of the nature of a moral discipline. The physical advantages are great : nerves are braced, senses are exercised, limbs are strengthened, and tone is gained. But there is another good. In games equals meet equals. Rights are maintained, and offences punished with prompt decision. There 156 THE HI TORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL is a code of laws and a standard of conduct ,vhich is summarily enforced. The play-field is indeed but mimic and miniature life; but still it is social life, and trains lads for the world they are soon to enter. Here conceit is humbled, mean tricks are scorned, unfair advantage-taking is repelled, arrogant assumptions are brought down, and a lad is made to feel that he must be frank and honourable an1ong his fello,vs, and respect their rights, or be thrust out of their society. In other words, be disciplined for life." It does not seem that an apology is needed for quoting this panegyric of athletics, which is singularly pleasant in the mouth of a divine of fifty years ago, and appropriate in view of modern criticisms. From athletics Mr. Wells went on to speak of the aim of the school. " That this should be the school of successive generations, that it should gradually gain the charm and interest connected vvith lengthened associations, that the son should feel that he is study ing in the class-rooms and playing in the fi~lds ,vhere his father studied and frolicked before him, and where, probably, his own son \Nill be his successor in the same pursuits and scenes: all this is believed to have its significance and value, and to be worth while the seeking at Mill Hill. Suppose, what is not improbable, that some of those now deeply engaged and interested in the management survive to witness its first jubilee, and to see it then quite free fro in debt, and to find in its classes the grandsons of the first pupils; n1ight th~y not retire from their labours pleased with the thought that, after all, there n1ay be one day a Dissenting institution covered with the hoar and moss of antiquity?,, Comment on this is almost unnecessary. Mill Hill may be said to be APPRECIATIO OF PRIESTLEY 157 covered with the hoar of antiquity, and the children's children have arrived to the third and fourth gener ations, but the liquidation of the debt had to be left to those who might be living when the school cele brates its centenary. It is now necessary to consider the numbers in the school during this period. On April 30, 1841, the Committee were summoned to meet at the school, and celebrate in a pleasant, useful manner the attainment, for the first time in the history of the institution, 0£ the number of one hundred pupils, one hundred and three being r eported in the school. The Com1nittee dined in the hall with the pupils, suitable addresses \Vere given, and a whole holiday was kept. Twenty one members of the Committee were present. The highest number vvhich the school reached in Mr. Priestley's time was one hundred and thirty-one in 1845, but the numbers varied very considerably during his headmastership, ranging from seventy upwards. The Committee were fairly active during these years. They paid off £1,600 of the debt in one year, bought the " Three Hammers Inn " for £ 72 5, made the Committee-room into a library at a cost of £100, and planted in the fields a gross of hollies, eight copper-beeches, and a dozen Spanish chestnuts. The old chapel, vvh1ch had been superseded in 1832 by the newer building, was pulled down in 1843. The materials were in good repair, and were nearly sufficient for the scullery, larder, and boot-room, which were built at the other end of the school. Thus a considerable portion of Ridgeway House is still being used, though in a different shape, for the foundations of the second chapel were made from the bricks of 158 THE HISTORY OF l\fILL HILL SCHOOL the old house when it was pulled do~rn. The Com mittee did not cease to interfere with internal matters, and strongly urged the importance of extensive learn ing and recital, on the Lord's Day, of Watts's Dt'vz'ne Songs for Children. In 1840 the school had a narrow escape from de struction. Mr. Bacchus, one of the original founders, demanded payment of the £500 he had lent. The Committee had no money, and proceedings in Chancery, which might have meant the dissolution of the school, were threatened unless the debt were paid \Vithin a few days. The treasurer temporised, but the creditor refused to wait, though he generously gave up his claim to twelve years1 interest. He \Vas, however, taken seriously ill, and upon the Rev. George Clayton going to him on what proved to be his death-bed, he consented to accept £400, which four of the Committee had by this time scraped together. Just about this time one of the Committee said in a speech that Mill Hill had not yet reached the zenith of its popularity and usefulness, but that a brighter prospect awaited the institution. Accordingly, as the present condition of the school and its finances were not absolutely satisfactory, an effort was made through the Congregational and Baptist Unions to circularise the ministers of those denominations, ,vith a view to their forwarding the interests of the school. In a prospectus which was to be published it was urged that special emphasis should be laid on the fact that the school was a public, and not a private establishment, as several people had been in error on this point. Dr. William Smith, writing at this time, speaks of Dr. Arnold's Life, which had just come out, and suggests that many of his customs might APPRECIATI0.1. OF PRIE TLEY 159 ,vell be adopted at Mill Hill. It would be to the interests of the school to have an advanced form in which boys studied classics, with a view to pro ceeding to the Universities; and the wealthier parents were urged not to remove their sons too early from the school. About this time a Miss Goff of Brighton left £ 100 and part of the residue of her estate to Mill Hill, and a Miss Tomkins of Abingdon bequeathed the same amount. The Coward Trustees offered to the school a scholarship to be held as they should decide, and the Committee thanked them for the offer, but no mention of the matter occurs again. In conse quence of the increasing prosperity of the school, the Committee themselves offered a scholarship of £ 50 a year for four years, for s tudy at London University or at some ministerial college. In I 847 great changes in the staff vvere made. The Rev. S.S. England, of Royston, was appointed chaplain, and the Committee announced that "he was com mended to the confidence of all friends of Mill Hill, in the assurance that he possessed qualifications for his arduous and responsible office." A new matron and a new mathematical master were appointed, both of whom seemed likely to be improvements on their predecessors. Mr. England, though a very pleasant man to work with as far as Mr. Priestley ,vas concerned, was not an unmixed success. The treasurer, indeed, writes that he was pleased with his efforts, and a deputation of parsons who examined the school reported favourably. It was, hovvever, obvious that he was not quite the right man for the place. He had not much sympathy with the boys, and did not win their affection. H e used to say 160 THE HISTORY OF l\IILL HILL SCHOOL that Cheapside was the only place really worth living in, and probably on that account found Mill Hill unsuited to his tastes. He had difficulty with Miss Freeman, the matron, about attendance at chapel. Not content with having the servants attend his ministrations during the term, he demanded that neither they nor the matron should absent themselves from any service at any time of the year without his permission. The matron, not unnaturally, declined to admit this demand, though he tried to convince her that it was on these terms that she and they were appointed. This domestic trouble did not tend to improve matters at the school, where relations had been rather strained before. About this time one or two parents vvrote to ask if it was necessary for their sons to be in structed in the catechism ; but the Committee decided it was essential, both for the well-being of the boys and the reputation of the institution. In the report of the Committee for 1848 there are some points which call for consideration. The numbers had begun to w ane, and from 131 they had sunk to 104. In addition to this, the price of prov1s1ons had greatly increased, and so the profits had been reduced at both ends. otvvithstanding this, £800 had been paid to Mr. Bousfield, in part ' liquidation of the debt to him. The members of Committee now began to look at matters seriously, and suggested three or four methods in which the school n1ight be improved. First, strenuous efforts were to be made to raise the numbers, a fall of twenty six in one year being very serious. Next, fresh life governors were to be added to the list. During the last twelve years only three new names had been APPRECIATIO OF PRIESTLEY 161 included, and this fact alone showed a considerable lack of interest in the school. If new men joined the list, besides bringing fresh life and vigour into the society, their "contributions would be advan tageously employed for the improvement of the library, maps, philosophical apparatus, etc., with which the school as a public literary institution was but too scantily supplied." The third desideratum was that the school should be better known through out the country, in order that its influence might be more widely spread ; while, in the fourth place, it was asked that the school's finances should be placed on a sounder and more satisfactory basis, in order that the Committee's scheme for scholarships might be carried out, and an opportunity given to pupils to continue their studies at the University. During the six years of Mr. England's chaplaincy events crowd thick upon each other. The lifelike portrait of Mr. Thomas Piper, so long the treasurer of the school, was subscribed for, and put up in the hall, which was now decorated with the two large portraits, the two busts of Dr. Pye Smith and Mr. Favell, and the medal board. In discussing the question of internal decorations Mr. Philip Smith, a:f'\:erwards headmaster, wrote to Mr. G. F. White, and put forward an original scheme. He commented on the lack of reverence for antiquity among Non conformists, and suggested that, now that Mill Hill has attained to a good age, to which the remark of T acitus might be applied, "per quindeci'm annos grande mortalis aevi' spati'um," it would be well to do something to supply what was lacking. " The school," he writes, "has in embryo, if not in maturity, every element of greatness except associations. It I I 162 THE HI TORY OF l\1ILL HILL SCHOOL has beautiful scenery, its noble buildings, its rising groves ; but it still \i\,ants its works of ideal and ornamental art. The building," he continues, " calls for them. Look at its portico, its pillared vestibule, its light and airy octagons, its noble hall-hovv many admirable positions for statues and pictures at once present themselves to the mind." The ideas V/hich are here propounded have never yet received the consideration : they deserve. Lack of funds and the continual changes in the school prosperity have prevented these plans coming to maturity. In r 847 Mr. Priestley and some of the boys were in a railway accident, but fortunately they escaped without any serious 1nJury. A considerable number of boys were also cooped up in a coach on Hampstead Heath, owing to a break-down. In the same year there were two cases of flooding, the hall, passages, and corridor being damaged. Burglars attacked the premises, and succeeded in carrying off a little dog, a pair of W ellington boots, and a clock (value £10), from Mr. Priestley, and a flute and thermometer fron1 Mr. Storrar. r 848, a year of distress to nations, was also a time of trouble and anxiety to Mill Hill Grammar School. The year opened with an outbreak of disorder and ill-behaviour, finally resulting in one expulsion. Scarcely was the worry caused by these circumstances removed, when the pipes again burst and flooded the house. To culminate matters, a severe epidemic of scarlet fever attacked the school, and only eighteen boys failed to take the infection. It was a great crisis in the school's history, and taxed the energies of the Headmaster and chaplain, as well as those of the medical officer and the housekeeper, but all APPRECIATIO OF PRIESTLEY 163 differences were forgotten and every effort was made to stem the disease. Great carelessness had been shown in allowing the epidemic to assume such proportions, but after it vvas fully realised every care v.ras taken. Dr Risden Bennett visited the school, and decided that nothing was really wrong vvith the sanitary condition of the school, but sugo-ested some obvious improvements, such as the construction of a regular sanatorium. During the epidemic three boys died, and the bailiff's wife was taken at the same time, though not from the same disease. 'fhe numbers went down from 104 to 701 and the Com mittee spent quite a thousand pounds in fumigating the buildings, and allowing reductions for the time boys were absent from school. At the end of that year and the beginning of the next, cholera broke out in London, and the stricken school took very elaborate precautions to prevent any outbreak. Nothing occurred except twelve cases oi mumps and a single case of measles ; but the year was full of anxiety. Mr. Piper wrote at the e nd of the year, "Nil Desperandum is a motto much in use at Mill Hill; I hope it is not yet worn out, .as we shall want it often again. " In 1850 the Rev . ...t\lgernon W ells, the quiet and hard-worked secretary of the school, died. There is no doubt that his a1niable character, indefatigable energy, and sanctified common-sense were of much use to the school in periods of stress. The weary labours of the last few years had been a strain on others beside the secretary, 8.nd in 185 r Mr. England sent in his resignation. He was persuaded to reconsider his decision for a year, but towards the end of 18 52 both chaplain and H eadmaster retired. . .. 164 THE HJ TORY OF l\1ILL HILL SCHOOL In r 8 s r died one of the oldest friends of Mill Hill, the Rev. John Pye Smith, one of the founders of the institution. He passed away at the advanced age of seventy-six. He promised to give away the prizes on Public Day 1850, but was unable to do so, and accordingly sent an address, which was read to the boys by Dr William Smith. The whole writing ~,as filled vvith a great joyousness, and the aged Doctor hailed with delight the Great Exhibition which he was not destined to see. With singular appropriateness he recalls the history of the school since its foundation. " It is just forty-three years and a half since the opening of this institution ; of the persons who were then active in its foundation and advancement, so far as my memory serves me, all have passed into the eternal state except three, the Rev John Clayton, Mr. Samuel Houston, and the writer of these words. Among them stand out prominently Mr. Joseph Fox, the patron and friend of our first pupil, who is now Sir Thomas Noon T alfourd, Mr. Favell, so long the zealous treasurer, the learned counsellor who afterwards became Sir John Gurney, Baron of the Exchequer, Mr. Page, Mr. Bunnell, Mr. Gutteridge, Dr. Buxton; and of ministers, Mr. Hughes, Dr. Waugh, Dr. Winter, and Mr. John Townsend .... Nor can we forget those who in succession presided over the studies and discipline and evangelical ministrations of the seminary: Mr. Atkinson, Mr. Phillips, Dr. Humphries, Mr. William Clayton. We loved them living, and we revere their memory now that they sleep in death. We desire to apply more and more intensely the divine command, 'Remember those who have been your guides, who spoke to you the word of APPRECIATIO OF PRIE TLEY r65 God; whose faith imitate, steadfastly contemplating the issue of their mortal life.' ... Tender memory yet lingers. It cannot quit the memory of pupils who have done honour to their educational advantages, have given evidence of conversion and faith and love to their Redeemer, and have finished their holy course. Two I would point out especially to your revering imitation, one who entered on the same day as Talfourd-Richard Winter Hamilton, and the other a young man whose contemporaries may be yet at the school, Samuel Johnson Farrer, whose warm-hearted devotedness and untiring energy were in active exercise until almost his last breath." Such \Vere Dr. Pye Smith's parting words to the pupils of a school which he had watched and served with almost the care and affection of a parent. His death was a severe blow to all friends of Mill Hill, and, coming at a time when the school was losing others of its nearest supporters, could not fail to have a marked effect on the institution. For some years Mr. Priestley's health had been poor, and no one was surprised that he should find it necessary to seek relief from his exertions in the greater quiet of private life. His parting letter deserves to be printed verbatim : To THE COMMITTEE OF THE MILL H ILL GRAMMAR SCHOOL December 31, 1852. " GENTLEME ' "My tenure of office is expired; and in severing the tie which has bound me, for the long period of nearly thirty-five years, to the institution committed by Divine Providence to your care, and in withdrawing 166 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL from my position as Headmaster to seek the repose and tranquillity of private life, I am desirous of supplying by this address another instance of my cordial sympathy with your aim and object, and of my continued regard for the great cause of liberal education upon the only true basis of evangelical truth. Already I have made a public application to be permitted to enrol my name among those of the life governors of the school in order to prove the sincerity of my feelings, and already has this boon been accorded me, not upon my own terms, but in consonance with that spirit of considerate kindness on your part which has attended the close of my official career. To your own body in its corporate capacity, as well as to its individual members, I present my best thanks, and warmest acknowledg ments for all and every act of kindness and courtesy of which I have been the recipient in my personal or official relation to you; and it is my earnest hope that your disinterested services in advancing the triumph of mind, in harmonious combination with the ascendency and cultivation of the moral feelings, may hereafter be owned and blessed by Heaven in a manner far transcending your most sanguine wishes. "And I cannot refrain from availing myself of this opportunity to rene\v through you the expression of my continued and deep sense of obligation to the great body of gentlemen-the alumni of your school now scattered throughout these kingdoms, and even in our colonies, for the very numerous indications of friendly regard and confidence with which they have honoured me in their mature years, and especially that many of them have deemed their old master ,vorthy of a durable memorial in the hall of APPRECIATION OF PRIESTLEY 167 your institution. To which must be added the parting tribute of respect and attachment, lately conferred by the present pupils of the establishment. These attestations, to him beyond all price, are deeply im printed on his heart, and, so long as the faculty of memory shall last, he cannot, he will not cease to cherish a lively and an abiding interest in the personal and relative welfare of one and all the objects of his former care. I take leave, before concluding, to offer my heartful congratulations upon your choice of a successor. In Mr. Smith, as a pupil of the school, I could not fail to recognise the germ of a fine mental character and of a high moral purpose, whilst our subsequent friendship has served to elicit that sound ness of scholarship and the qualities of head and heart which command respect wherever they are found. He carries with him into his onerous duties and the important relations he is about to sustain my most cordial wishes for his usefulness and happiness. A.nd now, gentlemen, it only ren1ains for me to convey to you my fervent prayer and most ardent aspirations for the enlarged success of this, and of every other effort to promote the combined influence of religious principle, sound learning, and accurate science among the rising generation, and to subscribe myself \ivith every sentiment of regard and esteem, " Yours very respectfully, " THOMAS PRIESTLEY.,, In summing up Mr. Priestley's character, it must be remembered that he laboured under very great dis advantages at Mill Hill. He was not the Headmaster of a genuine public school, and this fact was not th€ result of his own influence entirely, or even to any 168 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL large extent. The Committee liked the boys to be overlooked at every turn, and not even at their games were they free from supervision. Not that the masters shared in the sports as comrades, but rather checked them from giving free play to their spirits. This entire lack of freedom was felt throughout the school, and Mr. Priestley was by no means his own master. He was helped and hampered, advised and thwarted, by a Committee who did not understand his views, and would not have carried them out if they had understood them, and, little by little, he became querulous and suspicious, and lost some of the nobler characteristics which had been his at first. He was not loyally supported by the Committee, and was misjudged by some of them. The Rev. Thomas Binney, in his earlier days, wrote that as long as Priestley was at Mill Hill he would never recommend it to any one, as it was a godless place, and many of its alumni became churchmen and Tories. He even accused Priestley of trying to make the boys leave the ranks of the Dissenters. This, however, was not done openly, but in a letter to a friend, and Priestley did not hear of it until years afterwards When he heard of it, he wrote to the Committee, and, in a fine letter, claimed that the catholic and liberal foundation of Mill Hill prevented him from carrying out any narrow sectarian teaching in the school, that he had never introduced politics or dogmatic religion into his classes save where it was absolutely ·essential, and that nothing would induce him to glorify the principles of Dissent by vilifying the Established Church of England. A word of praise must here be given to Mr. Crump, who acted in a most generous manner when he heard of Mr. Binney's accusations. He APPRECIATIGN OF PRIESTLEY r69 wrote denying that old Mill Hill boys complained of the lack of religion in the school, and assuring the Committee that there were signs of great interest in such matters. A prayer-meeting numbering some times more than fifty boys, and the passing of notes on religious subjects of which Mr. Crump speaks, seem to be a sufficient reply to Mr. Binney's first com plaint. Priestley's letter completely nullifies the second. In dealing with their Headmaster, the Committee did not give him a fair chance. They appointed the assistant masters in some cases against his wishes; and a noteworthy instance of this occurred during his illness. A Mr. Bunnell Lewis was given the first t,wo classes, his opinion was solicited on every one and everything, and hopes were held out that he might remain in his new position, Priestley being retained as "whipper-in in chief." In this instance the Com mittee showed singular inability to select the right man, for Lewis, though extremely clever, was, as we hear from an old boy then at the school, quite in competent to manage boys, who worried him to such an extent that he was glad to seek retirement in Queen's College, Cork, as Professor of Latin. Mr. Priestley wrote the Committee complaining of the vvay he himself had been treated. It was the first time for twenty-six years that he had been laid aside, and he thought he might have been consulted in the matter. Nor was it the only occasion in which he had been treated with scant respect. "After I had served the school with fidelity for seven years,'' he vvrites, " Mr. Ryland would, but for the intervention of Mr. Corrie, have been brought over my head Four years subsequently Mr. Tite kindly interposed 170 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL or Mr. Scott, a mere boy of twenty or twenty-two years of age, would have been placed over me, and still later I had to submit to the leadership of Berry" (one of his own pupils). He had made some sacrifices of his own interests for attachment to the school, though his remuneration was most inadequate. It has been suggested that he ought to have retired when his portrait was put up in the hall. At the beginning of 1843 he fell over a form owing to a slight paralytic seizure, and from that he became irritable with his classes. But could he afford to retire ? Certainly not The school ,vhich he served so faithfully either could not or would not give him a sufficient salary After a connection with it of twenty-three years, he only received £200 per annum for his services as H eadmaster for seven years, and during that time he declined a splendid offer of a headmastership of another school. Even then with singular generosity he volunteered to resign if any one on the Committee vvas dissatisfied with his work, in order to benefit the school for which he had so strong an affection. When all these circumstances are r emembered, it is not surprising that the public school spirit was absent fron1 the Mill Hill of his day. And yet he wanted Mill Hill to be a place of sound learning and high tone, and to produce boys of libera1 minds and right princ1p1es. H e vvrote to the Committee that, if they wanted the school to succeed, they must have good masters, and must get them early , and must offer adequate salaries. He complained of the disorderly conduct of the servants in the vacation, and asked the Committee to improve matters. So 1nuch .. vas the influence of that body felt that he see1ns to have bee11 afraid to take the initiative in anything requiring APPRECIATIO OF PRIE TLEY r7I deliberation, but al\vays refers to the governing body as his ever-present superiors. That he was a man of kind heart is shown in many ways. H e says when the burglars stole his little dog, " I was sorry to lose my dog, and I do hope he will have a kind master''; and again, when he was told that new boys had a hard time at Mill Hill, he promised to make strenuous efforts to prevent it. When Mr. Earle lost his first wife, Mr. Priestley combined with the Rev. J. Nicholl, the Vicar of Mill Hill, to collect money to assist him; and a few years later he wrote to the Committee, pleading the case of Mr. Storrar, and suggesting that he should be given an increased salary. The instances of his generosity could be multiplied, but enough has been said to show that he was of a benevolent disposition. In the Mill Hill of his time there were no doubt considerable faults and an almost complete lack of much that makes modern public school life so valuable. But in spite of this the bright colours in the picture predominate, and at any rate the moral tone of Mill Hill was then, as ah,vays, for the most part high. If a comparison be made with other schools at the same period, it will be found to reflect great credit on the place, and even at its worst it was fortunately very far removed from the notorious "long chamber" at Eton. ·Looking back at one's schooldays through a vista of half a century and more one is apt to get a distorted view, and to magnify petty incidents of everyday life into epoch-making events. At the time here described there were undoubtedly regret table incidents and occasionally a seeming absence of any definite policy. But amid all the aimlessness that is from time to time apparent, there was always the 172 THE HISTORY OF MII.L HILL SCHOOL goal towards which the efforts of those connected with Mill Hill were directed, a desire to make it a school where Free Churchmen could receive a liberal education, and where they would be trained to appre ciate and maintain the privilege of freedom which their fathers had won for them. No doubt those who were in authority forgot, as many have done, that the safeguard of freedom is perpetual vigilance ; not a petty policy of spying, but a constant watchfulness and a maintenance of high ideals, and a strenuous effort to improve and perfect. There were times when the school was almost extinct, and it looked as if its detractors might ask with some justification whether the school was worth preserving. But even in its darkest days there were some who never lost confidence in it, but looked forward to a time of success. With regard to its educational success, it is only fair to say that its scope was strictly limited and its opportunities small. Most of its pupils had no hope of going to either of the two old Universities, and therefore few of them were desirous of pursuing their education beyond the limits of an ordinary business life. It is possible that in some periods difficulties might have existed in the way of giving them adequate preparation for Oxford or Cambridge. But though the masters were for the most part without degrees, it must not be supposed that they were men of slight ability, meagre scholar ship, or uninspiring character. They were men who had acquired knowledge in the face of difficulty, and so were able to appreciate the troubles of their pupils. It is not altogether a condemnation to say that they made boys learn instead of teaching them, for the same mjght be said of many if not most schools of r APPRECIATIO OF PRIESTLEY 173 the period. In all probability not a few of them vvere ushers and little else, but at any rate they did not have to lecture to classes of over a hundred, as was the case at Eton. During the early years of the school a v1s1t was paid to Mill Hill by Sir Colin Moncrieff, Mr. Leonard Homer, and Mr. Mackworth Praed, M.P., the poet. They had previously been to Eton for examination purposes, and so undertook an informal inspection of the school. One of the texts on which they examined was the Clouds of Aristophanes. The examiners complimented the school on being equal to Eton in construing, though not in versification. It could not be expected that what is now called the public school spirit should have exercised a marked influence at Mill Hill, seeing that none of its masters had experienced the advantages of education at any of the great public schools. Rugby acquired the spirit to a large extent from Winchester, through Dr. Arnold, and it was really the publication of Stanley's L ife of Arnold and Tom Brown's S chooldays vvhich created the interest in schools and education which is so characteristic of our own day. Until l cnJt.: Brown, no one ever wrote of his old school vvith n1uch affection ; even Thackeray fails to display any vvarmth of feeling for Charter house, and Charles Lamb and Cowper find more to condemn than to praise in their own school experiences. Priestley knew Arnold, and had met hirn on several occasions at the studio of Thomas Phillips, who painted both their portraits. Some of the ideas which characterised Arnold's administration of Rugby are to be seen in a diluted form at Mill Hill under Priestley, and the Committee encouraged the imitation but failed to r74 THE HISTORY OF l\1ILL HILL SCHOOL appreciate the spirit which should have dominated the school. 'fhe i1nitation was too close and de tailed, and Arnold's confidence in his boys and reliance on his monitors to spread his tone through the school find no parallel at Mill Hill. In the main Mill Hill reproduced most of the features of the academy of the previous century and few of the characteristics of the twentieth-century public school. It is curious to notice how Priestley follo\ved rnold in his dislike of University College, London, then almost the only place of education to which Millhillians could go on leaving school. He used to style it "that godless place in GoV\rer Street," apparently because Arnold had broken ,vith the institution owing to its lack of definite religious training. In no period of the school's history was there a lack of men whose scholarship and character were an ample credit to it. During the first twenty years of the school's foundation we find the names of Dr. Winter Hamilton, ot Leeds (Chairman of the Congregational Union), Sir Thomas Noon T'alfourd, friend of Lamb and Dickens, and James Challis, a Senior Wrangler. Of those boys who passed from the old house to the new the most noteworthy ,vere Rev. Thomas Belmore of the Chapel Royal, St. J ames's, and Canon Birks of Ely. To the period immediately before Priestley's belong Canon Gandell of Wells, the Rev. Edvvard White, Sir San1uel Davenport, and Bishop Jacobson. Of the many eminent pupils whom Mr. Priestley educated, the best known are H. N. Lay, famous as an inspector of Chinese Customs, Lord \Vinterstoke, the present Chairman of the Court of Governors, Lieut-General Bamfield and Major-General Sandilands, Sir William Roberts and Sir Alfred APPRECIATIO OF PRIE 'TLEY 175 Marren, K.C.M.G. There was never any difficulty in getting old Mi11hillians and other pro1ninent onconformists to serve on the Committee of Man agement. Many of the best known Metropolitan ministers belonging to the three denominations had a more or less close connection with Mill Hill, and we come across in the lists of the Committee such names as the Brothers Clayton, Dr. Binney, Dr. Steane, Dr. H. R. Reynolds, Dr. Hannay, and the Revs. R. Redpath, Algernon Wells, and Frederick Trestrail. It may fairly be said that the first half century of Mill Hill's foundation impressed Non conformists with the necessity and possibility of having a public school of their own, which should provide a sound education equal to that which the ministers of the eighteenth century had provided in their small academies. As the Committee mentioned on more than one oc asion, Mill Hill shows that a strong testimony to the excellency of the teaching provided there had been borne by independent observers as well as by results, and that "purity of manners had been recognised as a characteristic" of those educated at the school. 1'hen as now Mill Hill might have adopted as its motto " Et Virtuten1 et M usas." For this satisfactory state of affairs Mill Hill was indebted to Thomas Priestley more than to any other man. H is connection with the school had lasted for thirty-five years, and his influence had been strongly exerted from the very first. He had many great qualities, untiring perseverance, a steadfast devotion to duty, and much sympathy with the young life around. His failings were closely intertwined with his surroundings, and no one can find fault if his life and temper vvere coloured by them. CHAPTER lX MILL HILL UNDER PHlLI? SM1Tll S ELDOM has the school been in greater need of vvise administration than at the retirement of lVIr. Priestley. Mill Hill had lost within two years one of her founders and staunchest friends, the Rev. J. Pye Smith ; her secretary, the Rev. Algernon W ells ; the Rev S. S. England, the chaplain; and Mr. Priestley, so long as sociated with the school. The Committee realised the necessity of a wise choice, and succeeded in getting a strong list of candidates for the position of headmaster. They had made certain resolves as to the character and position of the new h ead, and amongst other things had decided that he was to be a minister, and a married man, and that his salary was to depend upon the numbers in the school. Thus in one respect they went back to 1825, when they had firs t given up the idea of having a clerical head- . master, and attempted, vvith only partial success, to gain satisfactory results by dividing the offices of chaplain and head classical master. From the time of Dr. Humphries until the time of the Rev. Philip Smith there was no headmaster who was also a . minister, and with only one exception the dual authority proved a mistake. The 111ost prominent of the candidates were Mr. John Carmichael, M.A., of 176 Thomas 8c.ruHol\:. H.l~V. JOHX PYE S)IITII, D.U., F.R.",., S.-\..:.\IGEL F.\ \"EI,T,, Co-Fonu:.>5 -1~96. TIIO::-.IAS PIPER, Treasurer 1835-1855. J). I 76]. MILL HILL U DER PHILIP SMITH 177 Edinburgh High S chool, and Mr. R. F. W eymouth, ... VI.A. London, who had a successful school at Plymouth. ~ either of these was a minister, and the Committee accordingly rejected their claims, and pressed the position on Mr. Philip Smith. Before accepting the post Mr. Smith stated succinctly his demands. H e was not desirous of having so much interference from the Committee as his predecessors had been obliged to tolerate. H e wished for freedom of choice in the 1natter of his masters ; he declined to have the responsibility of worrying details "¼1 hich could better be done by a secretary ; and he also informed the Committee that he should expect their active co operation in any reforms he might suggest. On these conditions he accepted office, and in January 1853 he commenced his headmastership. H e was an old Millhillian, and had been at school under the Rev. H enry Lea Berry, and was therefore a con temporary of the Revs. Holloway B elmore and Edward White, and Mr. J. P . Bidlake. We read that he was an earnest boy who had endeavoured to raise the standard of the school at a time when the morality of the place was at a rather low ebb. Mr. Priestley's high opinion of him has already been recorded, and the unanimous vote of the Com mittee shows the strength of their confidence in him. After taking his degree Mr. Smith had been a professor at Cheshunt College, and only gave up the position as the result of a great deal of persuasion. Ever since he had left the school he had taken a keen interest in everything connected with Mill Hill. H e had been one of the earliest to subscribe to the Priestley P ortrait Fund, and had only been prevented from serving on the Committee by his distance from 12 178 THE I-IISTORY OF l\IILL HILL CHOOL town. H e had for some years assisted in the classical examinations held every quarter in company \Yith several others, notably his brother, after\vards Sir William Smith. In consideration of his services he had been elected a life governor without fulfilling any of the ordinary requirements. He ,vas not therefore unknov.rn to Mill Hill, but came with a reputation for scholarship, power of administration, and a love for the school which ,vould recommend him to all vvho wished for the school's vvell-being. During Mr. Priestley's las t few y~ars at the school the numbers had been for many reasons slowly sinking, until there were only seventy-three boys in the house. The Committee determined to make a great effort to bring up the numbers and status, and accordingly fell in with Mr. Smith's suggestions. Superior domestic arrangements and mechanical appliances ,vere, as he said, due to its present position and reputation, and to the class in society from which the scholars ,vere derived. It therefore proposed to carry out the following improvements as soon as the funds per mitted: 1. 1'he lighting, warming, and ventilating of the building were to be improved. 2. Baths, lavatories, and a new sanitary system \Vere to be undertaken. 3. Class-room acco1nmodation was to be increased and improvements effected as to the size of the rooms and their furniture. 4. covered playground and a gymnasium were to be built. It was also arranged that the rooms occupied by Mr. England should be handed over to the Head- 1naster, as there was no,v no resident chaplain. tIILL HILL U1 DER PHILIP !IIITH r79 These were to be papered, painted, and v\t·hitevvashed, and temporary bedrooms allotted to Mr. Smith and his family; it being understood that a sitting-room and kitchen ,vith offices in the basement would be added in the near future. Mr. Smith was a scholar and a gentleman with courtly manners and high conversational powers. H e was widely read in the classics and in modern literature. H e could talk on any subject and had a splendid memory. He seems to have been adapted rather for a professor than for a headmaster, and certainly the discipline of the school deteriorated under his rule. He was extremely kind both as a teacher and as a n1an, but he ,vas perhaps rather too lax with his pupils and not sufficiently fond of taking pains with the duller boys and of grounding the1n in their work. H e ,vas a big n1an physically and mentally, but like 1nost men had some weaknesses. He hated Americanisms, and once returned to a boy a somewhat difficult translation from the Andr£a of Terence with thirteen faults-because labour and \vords of this class were spelled without the "u " with a footnote, " The question was not translate into American but into English." H e was a great a uthority on metre, and it was a treat to hear him read a chorus from the Oedipus of S ophocles, or a scene from one of Terence's plays, illustrated by continual reference to " my article Sappho." The ~1pper boys in the school had the privilege of taking down his lectures on Greek Grammar. Probably no class ever heard the main portion of the extended course, but the introduction was full of useful and interesting information for philological students, and 'Ari th an excursus on G:reek dialects took a large part of 180 THE HI TORY OF 1\1ILL HILL SCHOOL the daily Greek hour to dictate and dilate upon. If grammar lectures saved boys from the necessity of preparing Aeschylus for the morning period, during one year they ,vere saved fron1 the Georgics by the Comet. If any boy suggested that the comet might be inspected, away went the books and the Head master's telescope was fetched, and the afternoon pleasantly employed in searching for the comet and listening to remarks on its history. The chief assistant masters during the six years and a half that Mr. Smith spent as Headmaster ,vere Messrs. Sykes, Kinnear, Johnstone, Dee, and M. Charles Sueur. Mr. G. F. H. Sykes, B.A., "was a very kind and gentle teacher," and had the advantage of being an old boy. Mr. Robert Johnstone, B.A., LL. B. (now Dr. Johnstone, Head of the United Free Church College, Aberdeen), who took one of the lower forms, was a strong able Scotchman and a splendid oral teacher. H e made the boys learn by heart a great deal of the best English poetry, and thoroughly ground them in both Latin and Greek declensions and conjugations. It would have been hard to find a better teacher, and all his pupils acknovvledge hovv much they owe to him. Mr. David Kinnear (now Free Church minister at Dalbeattie) was nearly as good, and although a bit irascible he was a con scientious good man and taught mathematics, geo graphy, and natural science thoroughly well. M. Sueur taught French, but was not popular with the boys. ~ Mr. Sykes only remained a few years, and ,vas succeeded by Mr. T. D. Hall, M.A., afterwards Headmaster of Bowdon College, whose Greek Testa ment classes are remembered to this day with pleasure by old Millhillians. M. Sueur was sue- :\1ILL HILL U DER PHILIP Sn'.IITH r8r ceeded by M. Dargue, a graduate of the University of Paris, a very able man but rather impetuous. He ,Yas believed to be a political refugee of some pos1t1on. Mr. Dee had many successors. Mr. inslee gave lessons in drawing, and Dr. Gauntlett in music and singing. The latter was a 111ost able teacher and an inveterate snuff-taker. There was a retired army sergeant as conduct master and drill instructor, and he vvith the matron, who varied from time to time, and the ever-faithful Betsy completed the list of school officials. At the beginning of the period a Miss Couch was matron-an inefficient matron whom the boys did not like. ext came Miss Bolus-a kind motherly person who was very easy-going vvith the boys and earned their affection by giving thern nice things vvhen they complained of colds. She \Vas succeeded in 1858 by the Rev. Thomas Rees, a retired Congregational minister, and his vvife, who acted respectively as steward and matron. Under their rule an era of economy came in and was very un popular with the boys. Mr. and Mrs. Rees were careful but kind, not easy to be got over, and by no means willing to be wasteful in their administra tion. Some who were at Mill Hill in those days say that the sparing methods which were of necessity adopted did the school some harm. As successor to Dr. Gauntlett came F. Westaway Force. While he ,vas there a good deal of keenness vvas displayed, and a musical union was formed. The members gave a Christmas Concert in 1859, and went through a program1ne of tvventy-one items. Dr. Johnstone writes very warmly of the pleasant recollections which he always has of Mill Hill and the agreeable common-room life of the staff. During 182 THE HISTORY OF 1ILL HILL CH00L the early years of Philip Smith's administration everything seems to have been admirably conducted, and the school flourished as well as it had done at any previous period. Dr. J ohnstone speaks very gratefully of Anne Lose, the linen-room maid, vvho spent nearly half a century at Mill Hill, and was devoted to the interests of the boys. She ,vas better known as " Betsy," and after her retirement fro1n the school she was in receipt of a pension from the Old Millhillians' Club up to the day of her death. "The tone of the school," writes Dr.Johnstone, ",vas ah,vays high, as was to be expected, seeing the Puritan house holds from which nearly all the boys came-the Spicers, Pye Smiths, and H olborns, and other well known Free Church families. I have lost touch, of course, with many of my old pupils; that is one of the saddest features of a schoolmaster 's life; but with many I still keep up correspondence. ot all of them have been uniformly successful in their profession or business ; but I can state with confidence-and it is pleasant to be able to say this as one's las t ,vord ' I do not remember one who made decided moral shipwreck of his life.' " The teaching at first was good, especially in mathe matics. From 1855 to 1858 the school was divided for that subject into sets A to I-I, different from the ordinary classes, of which there were six. G and H only learnt arithmetic, euclid and algebra being taken up as the boys got on in the school. A probably consisted of only one or two seniors, some of whom read as far as the calculus vvhen Mr. l(innear \Vas mathematical maste r. Most of the sets studied mathe matics before breakfast. Exan1inations took place every month, quarter, and half-year, with a grand MILL HILL U DER PHILIP S~1ITH 183 revievv before Public Day. Revs. Samuel N ewth and R. Redpath used frequently to come down, and some times Oxford and Cambridge men examined both orally and vvith papers. The upper forms always took the subjects for the Matriculation Examination of London University, which at that time took place in August. Modern languages \Vere weak, and only a little chemistry was taught at times. On one occasion one of the masters gave a demonstration as to the making of sul ph uretted hydrogen, followed by other demonstrations and the consequent evacuation of the class-rooms by all the classes. His own class was so impressed by the experiment that they long retained a vivid impression of the lesson. After Mr. Sykes, Mr. l(innear, and Mr. Johnstone had left, it was hard to get good men to fill their places. Most of the masters were from the Scotch Universities at low salaries, and only stayed for a short time. In s truction and discipline, which had been good before, deteriorated and became very lax ; some of the masters were lamentably weak, could barely keep order, and were very indifferent teachers. Either the Headmaster could not select suitable men, or the salaries which he was able to offer were not sufficient to attract them. There was not always a regular moni torial system, and the H eadmaster alone administered corporal punishment. A well-known old boy writes laconically: " H e caned me three times-six! twelve !! twenty-four! ! ! '' On one occasion a boy was asked to remove some of his outer garments preparatory to a flogging for a series of offences-the going out on Sundays and fetching beer and spirits for the monitors. His father, one of the Committee, wrote a rr __ most indignant letter, and was with difficulty appeased. 184 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL The Headmaster was evidently no respecter of persons. Other means of discipline were the monthly character letters sent home, and long impositions of lines to write, usually accomplished by the three-nib trick. In very bad cases boys were shut up in No. 9 and kept on bread and vvater. The day's work was as follows : The boys rose at half-past six in winter and at six in sum1ner. Roll-call was then taken, and mathematics filled up the time until breakfast at eight o'clock in summer and half an hour later in winter. Prayers came after breakfast, then school from nine to twelve. Dinner followed at one o'clock, and afternoon school was either from tvvo to four or from three to five, according to the time of year. Tea was at six, preparation from seven to eight, followed by evening prayers, no supper, and so to bed at nine o'clock. There were half-holidays on Wednesdays and Saturdays. "Sundays," ,vrites a contemporary, "were truly miserable d~ys. T,vo dreary services in the School Chapel, morning and afternoon, afterwards changed to evening. ·The re mainder of the time was spent in learning the \Vest minster Assembly's Shorter Proof Catechism and then saying it in class, and in the so-called religious in struction, which consisted in reading the Bible vvithout note or comment, verse by verse, in rotation through the class. Sunday was a day which all heartily loathed." Another old boy is not quite so pessimistic, and says that the Septuagint and Greek Testament Classes, "\Yhich the upper forms attended with the H eadmaster, were both useful and entertaining. The services in the chapel were conducted by the Head master and the staff, and by stud en ts from N evv College, who vvere reputed to be not over-supplied I\fILL HILL U DER PHILIP S IITH 185 \Vith either fees or luxuries. The great majority of the boys vvent to the School Chapel, but a few who vvere members of the Church of England used to attend St. Paul's Church. The prospectus said that the food was plain, and no one has been found to challenge the truth of the assertion. It was good, plentiful, vvholesome, and reasonably varied, and there was never the slio-htest question of stint. For breakfast there was milk and bread-and-butter-tea, coffee, and meat being extras. It was said that the amount of meat pay ing boys got depended upon the number of non-paying boys willing to tip the servants to bring the1n some. For tea the same provision ,vas made as for breakfast. Dinner consisted of plain joints of beef and mutton and plain milk or suet puddings. One glass of beer vvas ahvays allowed, but cheese was only introduced for supper after evening chapel, when these services were changed from the afternoon. The meals were served in a rough style, the boys' large mugs being filled ,vith milk-and-water from cans. The question of baths was again to the fore, but the Committee did not at first make any improvements. An old boy writes: " In my first years at school we could wash very imperfectly, being only provided with the well-known foot-baths in the play-room on Saturday nights. There was absolutely no facility for bathing the whole body until in my last year a bath-room, with one bath to get into, was introduced for the first time, and a limited number of boys sent to use it on certain evenings.'' During most of this time the bedrooms over the masters' sitting-rooms were not used except during one year, when there were nearly a hundred and t,venty boys. Only the six bedrooms over the r86 THE HISTORY OF iILL HILL SCHOOL class-rooms were used, and they ~1ere generally ample. The sleeping accommodation was fairly good, and the beds were comfortable, but the dormitories were very cold, and the washing-rooms as well chilly and un pleasant. Iron basins stood in long lead sinks or troughs in open lobbies, and when the thermometer recorded eight or ten degrees of frost, washing at 6.30 a.m. was a delightful exercise sometimes honoured in the breach rather than in the observance. There \Vas a sick-room at the other end of the building, the room now called No. r 5 ; but there was no proper means of isolation. Scarlet fever broke out one year, and seriously reduced the numbers. On another occasion, when measles was about, the convalescents stayed at Rose Bank, the cottage of Skipper, then the farm bailiff, and had a gay ti1ne. The efforts of aspiring authors never reached as far as a magazine, but were confined to a poetical skit upon a master or a coat-of-arms for a boy with peculiarities. On one occasion a boy, novv a most respected minis ter, got into sad hot water for some rather brilliant efforts~ alas! unappreciated by the powers. 'fhe library was fairly well looked after at the beginning, but at the end no one seems to have taken the slightest interest in it. "The school library,'' we read, '' was a si1nple disgrace, so inadequately was it supplied with books: During the six years I was at school (from 1854 to 1860) not a single book was added to it." There were no gymnastics and no athletic sports, neither of them having then come into general vogue. The boys played morning games in the stone play ground with great energy. Their repertoire included prisoner's base, marbles, I spy, and others. Football was always, until 1859, played in the playground, the l\IILL HILL U DER PHILIP S:\IITH r87 goals being marked on the pailings. Sides were never picked, but a boy had his permanent place either on the side which played up or do,vn the playground, and the arrangements were made at the beginning of the term and kept to the end. As the gymnasium and old laboratory (now the car penter's shop) did not then exist, the playground was longer and slightly broader than it is now, but it was enclosed on three sides by black pailings. A game of football simply meant kicking off the ball, and all the boys at once flocked out to their proper sides. Though play was on the gravel, there is no record of any accident at all serious. During the years r 8 5 3 to r 8 5 5 the game of rounders was so much in vogue that it had quite superseded cricket Cricket, however, began again in 1855, and a match with the Village Club gave it an impetus; and then the school had a regular First XI. and later on a S econd. They played in the field outside the school, which was quite unsuited for the game, being on a tremendous slope. If a ball was hit down the hill to leg it '' went for ever." Cricket matches were played with Totteridge Park School, kept by a Mr. Wilkinson, and with Messrs. Wood and Thorov\7good's, which came to an end in 1858. Mr. Wilkinson's see1ns to have been a rather lower grade than Mill Hill. Other schools which were played at cricket were Bruce Castle, Mr. Mason's at Denmark Hill; a Mr. Bradley's (a crammer) at Southgate ; the school of the famous W alkers, also at Southgate ; and Christ's College, Finchley. Mill Hill seems to have been generally pretty successful in its matches, but no definite record has been kept. The rivalry between the local schools was very . • 188 THE HI TORY OF n1ILL HILL CHOOL great, and, in addition to playing at cricket, there \Vas sometimes a match at football ; but there was no real organisation or rules, and no one kne,v in the least how the game was played. On Saturdays an old man named Thompson used to come to cut the boys' hair and sell them knives and scissors, while W arby brought over from Barnet all kinds of eatables for the boys to buy. Very occasionally a holiday was given, and then the whole school went for a \valk. It was a great treat to go out by oneself, and not often was the wish gratified. Bounds con stantly varied. At first no one was allowed outside the place, and the boys never had occasion to use their hats or caps, which were hung up near the hall. The rules were generally very strict, but they ,vere not observed very closely. "When I was among the other boys," says an old pupil, "nothing delighted me more than to break bounds on half-holidays and go for a long walk to Barnet or elsewhere; and one source of excitement was dodging the masters, whom we frequently met on these occasions. We ,vere allo,ved to take country ,valks with one of the masters almost every day, the Sixth Form going by them selves; but these expeditions had not the same charm as our illicit walks, and there was much breaking bounds when discipline was slack. One time four of us went over to Barnet with ten shillings to spend, and bought a large water-melon which we ate in a tree on our way home." There was a club in the school at one time, vvhich developed a rather brilliant idea. All the members paid into the treasurer a certain number of lines at the beginning of term, probably written during the holidays, and then as impositions ,vere set the MILL HILL UNDER PHILIP Sl\1ITH 189 treasurer doled out the requisite number of lines to the individual in question. It was possible to do this, as M. Sueur always set as lines- ,, Le temps est le seul biin dont on doit etre avare,·' while the masters accepted repetitions of the first line of the first book of the A ene£d. In addition to ordinary work, several courses of lectures on scientific subjects were given, notably by Professor Sch1nelt, of Edinburgh, Professor N ewth, and Dr. Ray Lankester. The latter on one occasion, in the midst of a most interesting experiment, fell backwards off the platform on to his head, fortunately without serious injury. " Character Day " was held once a month, and was a most interesting proceeding. All the boys were marched into the hall, and stood round against the v.;all. They were then divided into forms, and each fonn came up in turn to be examined. The masters then read out reports of class work and conduct, and announced how many marks each boy had obtained and what were his good and bad points. Then the boys changed places so as to stand in new monthly order. This was entirely settled by classical marks until 1860, when "general order " was substituted; and to decide this marks in all subjects were added together. Then A, B, or C was given according to a boy's position and conduct. Those who had A from each master had a certificate of being on the lis t of " optimi," a very common distinction in those dayi>. Those who had C were called for the tin1e "mali," and had to be in detention all the aftern0on of the Character Day, which was a half-holiday for the rest of the school. Public Day in June was the day of the year. It 190 THE HI TORY OF 1ILL HILL SCHOOL -came at the end of the first half, and took place in the School Chapel. The ceremony began with a hy111n and prayer, follo,ved by a lengthy address from a leading Congregational minister. A large platform ,vas put up at the \vest end of the chapel, and fron1 this the prizes were distributed by some leading 1nen, and speeches and recitations in Greek, Latin, French, and English were delivered by various boys. There ,vas a cold luncheon given tc the boys' parents and friends in the hall, but no cricket match or any other fo rm of amusen1ent. The boys went home for the Midsummer holiday the same afternoon or the next day. At the end of the second half-year the prize distribution took place in the School Hall without any public ceremony. Sometimes there was a school concert. T'he H eadmaster's birthday in ovem ber ,vas always kept as a whole holiday; a long walk was taken in the morning, and a bonfire and fireworks ,vere enjoyed in the evening in the playground. Perhaps the day in the year which the boys liked n1ore than any other was November 5. Piles of vvood were brought to the school on trolleys, sub scriptions were collected from the people around, and the fireworks and bonfire which were the result proved a most enjoyable means of spending an even ing. It was in striking contrast to Mr. Priestley's time, when fireworks ,;vere strictly tabooed. It is novv necessary to hark back a littl e and traverse some of the ground again, in order to recount the events which have been passed by un noticed. Mr. Smith seems to have wished to conduct the school on rather 1nore definite public-school lines than Mr. Priestley had done. H e started a reading r-.1ILL HILL U DER PHILIP :MITH rgr ~ ociety, \vhich took in the Tonconfornzist Patriot and Chri tian Ti'1nes. The 1nagazines ,vere supplied by the Committee, but apparently a good many people had an opportunity of reading them. The Committee in recognition of Mr. Priestley's services presented him with an honorarium of £500, entertained him to dinner, and elected him a life governor at the same time as l\1r. England. In 1853 Mr. Robert Bousfield, ,vho had on many occasions liberally supported the school, now estab lished a scholarship of £50 a year for three years tenable at University College, London, or ew College, London, in the case of a ministerial student. Mr. Smith proposed that there should no longer be • a conduct master, but that all should take their turn at duty, and a beadle should be appointed to report boys for any slight breaches of rules. The Head master, intent on improvements, suggested that a Mill Hill Calendar should be published in the same way as the University of London had done for some years. This early idea of an official list was, like 111any of Philip Smith's plans, doomed to failure. A scheme which met with more success was that for a coat-of-arms. After much deliberation he decided that it would be \Vell to adopt the follovving coat: 1 ' Azure three n1artlets or; on a chief argent a cross of St. George gules.'' The primary idea of the arms is embodied in the martlets, vvhich are the badge in cadency of a youuger son. They are heraldically painted without feet, being unable to perch except on a hill> and being the badge of a son who in herited nothing, they typify Mill I-Iill's position as a younger unendo\ved school among the great public schools of England. 192 THE HISTORY OF IILL HILL SCHOOL On Public Day, 1853, Mr. Smith took the chair and delivered the speech to the boys, it being thought a ,vise plan thus to introduce the Headmaster to the friends and parents of the pupils. In spite of all the improvements which he had inaugurated, the H eadmaster was unfortunately made a\\! are at the end of the year that there was a loss on the school's finances, consequent on the repairs and increased salaries by means of which he had so much improved the status of the masters. The Annual Meeting of Life Governors in 18 54 had to be adjourned because only two of the Committee turned up. When it vvas possible to get enough members together, there was some interesting information to be given. Under • Mr. Philip Smith's leadership the school had gone up in numbers from 76 to r 04, and of these 72 had been admitted to the school by Mr. Smith himself. The arrangements for the Bousfield Scholarship being novv completed, the money was invested and four old boys were made trustees, Mr. Bousfield being elected an honorary member of the Committee-a distinction previously awarded only to Dr. Pye Smith and Mr. W. Alers H ankey. Several members of the Committee at the same time signed a doc,ument which is interesting in view of subsequent events. It was a petition to Parliament asking that Dissenters might be allowed to proceed to degrees at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge-a privilege which they were not to enjoy for another seventeeH years. In the middle of this year, Mr. Piper, who had been actively connected with the school for forty years, and had been Treasurer for a considerable period, retired from office. H e was presented vvith an address engrossed on Yellum and bound in purple morocco YI!!! •• ii ,, .J ll __..-- ... • -- COI,LI XSOX IIOCT::iE. [p. r9:; l\1ILL HILL U DER PHILIP SMITH r93 ,vith the school arms embossed on it, probably the first occasion on which they were used. It was also decided that his portrait should be painted and placed in the hall, and Mr. Dicksee, father of the present Mr. Frank Dicksee, R.A., was chosen as the artist. In place of Mr. Piper, Mr. T. M. Coombs was elected Treasurer, a position he was not destined to hold long. By Mr. Piper's retirement all the links with the past were broken, and from this day the school began to decline. The high water-mark under Philip Smith was reached this year, when r r4 boys were in the schoolhouse. Elated by their success, the Com mittee determined to make two changes. For the first their 1-Ieadmaster ,vas responsible, for the second they alone were to blame. Instead of having two half-years, as had been the case since the foundation, it was decided to make three terms of equal length, much as schools do nowadays. This proved singu larly inconvenient for many parents, vvho complained that they preferred holidays i~ June, and when they lived at a distance, as many did, were unwilling to have the expense of sending their boys backwards and forwards three terms each year. The second change ,~.ras a colossal error. ot content with making expenses and receipts tally, the Co1nmittee must needs try to make a profit. The school was not strong enough to stand any change, and the increase of the fees did more than anything else to injure it. Ten pounds a year was added to all the regulation fees without any due notice. The year r855, like the year r848, was one of dis tress of nations, coming as it did in the midst of the Crimean War. Like 1848, it was a year of sadness for Mill Hill, for scarlet fever again broke out and 13 194 THE HI TORY OF l\1ILL HILL CHOOL worked havoc in the school. One boy died from pneumonia f ollo,ving on fever, and a master died from erysipelas. Dr. Risdon Benn ett vvas again called in, and in very strong terms denounced the system of drainage and the absolute lack of proper means of isolation. 11 the boys had to go home, and the whole place vvas cleaned and painted. The medical attendant came in for a great deal of blame, for he had altogether failed to take adequate precautions. Two such outbreaks vvithin seven years ,vere in themselves sufficient to bring great criticism on a school, and Mill Hill never recovered from that blo,v till the e,v Foundation. The numbers vvent do,vn to seventy-tvvo, and the return to the old system of half-years served no purpose. At the Public Day Mr. Edward Ball, M.P., distributed the prizes, and Dr. Morrison, Chairman of the Congregational Union, gave the address. On this occasion ,vas started the plan of giving prizes of £20 and £10 to the first two boys in the London :vT atriculation. The only other point of interest in the year \Vas a decision of the Committee that retrenchment vvas necessary, and that the first to suffer was to be the I-Ieadmaster. The Life Governors, in absolute de fiance of the rules of the institution, had not met for tvvo years, and ,vhen they came together at the beginning of r 8 56 there was a very different tale to tell. The numbers had fallen from r 14 to 71, and in stead of an annual profit of £200 there was a deficit of £600. Speech Day vvas held as usual, and Dr. George Smith, after\Yards school secretary, preached the sermon. In continuation of their policy of retrench ment the Committee reduced the salaries of the staff 11ILL HILL U1TDER PHILIP Sl\1ITH 195 from £1,400 to £900, sent away Tilburn, who had 1nanaged the farm to the general satisfaction for 1nany a long year, and appointed as secretary Rev. Thomas R.ees. In spite of their efforts the school went down . in numbers to fifty-six, and fresh efforts had to be n1ade for a revival. The Headmaster ,vas asked to give at least five hours a day to teaching, to take 111ore supervision on Sundays, to teach every form at least once a week, and finally to spend a considerable part of the vacation in visiting parents and ministers ,vith a view of getting fresh pupils. 1857 ,vas even worse. The parents complained of the large expense incurred by the boys going to the Crystal Palace, and some actually \Vent as far as to say that the teaching ,vas non-existent, discipline a failure, and bullying rampant. It may have been so, but the old boys of the period seem to have different Yie\VS on the subject. As the nu1nbers decreased still further it was resolved that the staff should be reduced, that the Headmaster should teach one hour before breakfast and four afterwards, that no exeats should be granted under any circumstances, and that the Committee would hold themselves at liberty to terminate their engagement with the Headmaster at the end of six months. Among all this gloom there is a record of son1e enjoyment when the school went to Primrose 1-Iill to see the fireworks and illun1inations in honour of the conclusion of the peace after the Crimean War. The boys drove the way in on1nibuses, and \\:ere accommo dated in the garden of Mr. Lush's house at St. John's Wood. Mr. Lush was a friend of the Headmaster's, and "\-Vas subsequently the well-known judge. He had a cottage at Mill Hill and ,vas extremely kind to the r96 THE HISTORY OF 11ILL HILL SCHOOL boys, inviting a few of them by turns to tea. " He had several pretty and charming daughters." Another very prominent incident which cannot be passed over is the rebellion vvhich took place during this era. The ,vhole school, with the exception of five, rebelled and defied the Headmaster. As the captain of the school was his son the rebellion was at last quelled, but the culprits only surrendered because the captain said he simply obeyed the H ead1naster as a parent. On one occasion two gentlemen visited Mill Hill and left a sum of money for a treat to the school. They seem to have been old boys, and every one accordingly had a holiday and \ivent to St. Albans, vvhere they sa\v the Abbey and afterwards had lunch at the principal hotel. Holidays ,vere very frequent at this time; in fact, scarcely a ,veek passed ,vithout any extra half for some reason or other. Neither work nor play vvas really strenuous, and the school suffered accordingly. At the end of r857 the school reached a low water mark, having only forty-four boys all told, and the Committee, unfortunately too late, lowered the fees once more. In spite of all the difficulties and small numbers, the Committee was able to report to the Life Governors at the beginning of the next year that the health of the school was improving, the general reports vvere satisfactory, £r,ooo profit had been made in two years, and that in their opinion the value of the education at Mill I-Iill was greater than ever before. Accordingly they passed an extremely h earty vote of thanks to the Head1naster, but so mew hat stultified th ems elves by again sending him provisional notice a fe\v months later. At Speech Day Dr. Hamilton preached, and Sir S. NI. Peto, Bart., l\IILL HILL U~DER PHILIP SjIITH 197 \\~:ts in the chair. The result of the reduction of the fees was even novv evident, and the numbers had increased to sixty-six. There \Vere still difficulties about the sanitation, but an attempt \Vas made to remedy these, and certain radical improven1ents were made none too soon. This year the chapel ceiling fell in large quantities, and had to be repaired at a considerable expense. The Committee ,vere in per plexity about the \vater-supply, and seriously con sidered the plan of filtering the pond and rain vvater for drinking purposes. With regard to the masters at this tin1e, a Capt:tin of Artillery, named Parkins, \Vas engaged as junior classical master, and the music n1aster was reprimanded for incompetency. At the close of the year the school suffered another blovv in the death of Mr. Thomas Piper, the former Treasurer. In 18 59 there are not many facts to relate. Mr. Willian1 Tite, M.P. for Bath, t he architect of the school and of the R.oyal Exchange, took the chair on Public Day; £1,000 \i\Tas paid off the debt, and a proposal vvas made to liquidate the whole in some way. 1'he Headmaster's proposal of bedrooms on the top of the hall seems rather premature, seeing that several of the existing rooms vvere empty; but the numbers were going up, though not sufficiently fast to justify the Committee in making any new acco1n- 1nodation. A vote of congratulation \i\Tas, as usual, passed by the Life Governors to the Headmaster, and his provisional notice was duly given him by the Committee. At the end of the year the old Hymn book, which had been in use for a great number of years, \Vas given up, and the Congregational Hymn book substituted. The next year opened with scarlatina, but fortu- 198 THE HI TORY OF 1IILL HILL SCHOOL nately the epidemic \Vas stopped before it became at all serious. There \Vas occasion to speak to the H eadmaster about disorder in the donnitories, and the Co1nmittee thought there \Vere grounds for cen sure. There \Vere a large number of applications for admission, while the I-I eadmaster said that the "condition of the school educationally and morally was satisfactory, and the work \Vas going on with regularity and success." The Con1mittee, however, had been considering the necessity of making some change in the mastership, and after a long and exhaustive discussion, no details of which are recorded in the minutes, they decided "that it \i\-ould be for the interest of Mill l-Iill School that the Rev. Philip Srnith should cease to be its H eadmaster, and that connection \Vith him be termi nated fro1n Midsummer 1860." Mr. Sn1ith had been in a very difficult position for son1e years. His salary had been reduced from £600 to less than £ 300, and each half-year since r 8 56 the Comn1ittee had pro visionally terminated his engagement. I--I e not un naturally felt himself aggrieved, especially as he had but recently received a vote of congratulation frorn the Life Governors' meeting vvhich was almost identical ,vith the Com1nittee. H e vvrote a lengthy letter in ,vhich he justified his pos ition, and com plained that the Committee had not assisted him to the extent they ought to have done, and that he had been compelled to face many discouragements. H e concludes : "As I did not seek this place [he had declined it once and only accepted it after urgent requests], as I have not held and used it for my own sake, but for the good of the school, as I have stood firm to my post through every discouragement, l\iILL HILL u DER PHILIP :vrITH 199 so I do not no\v desert it by my o,vn act, and I am not responsible for this new blow to a noble institu tion in which I can never cease to feel the deepest interest, and to the service of v1hich I had hoped to have devoted the rest of my days." Philip Smith may not have been a good disci plinarian, and he vvas possibly not an ideal man for the position of Headmaster; but if a man is to be judged by results, he will surely have a high place among Mill Hill worthies. For so short a time as he v.ras at the school few men could have trained so many successful boys as he did. It Vi'ill not be necessary to mention 1nore than a f evv of the most famous: Dr. Pye Smith, F. R.S., late S enior Physician of Guy's H ospital; Dr. Crum Brown, F.R.S., Professor of Chemistry, Edinburgh; Mr. H. Weston Eve, M.A., la te Headmaster of University College School; Sir Richard Thorne Thorne, F.R .. S., J{. C.B.; and Sir Ernest Mason Satovv, l{.C.M.G., H.M. Minister to China. Dr. Thorne Thorne, speaking at ew F ounda tion Day, 1894, said that it vvas at Mill Hill he first learnt to vvork, and called Mr. Smith "that fine old Christian gentleman"; and Dr. Pye Smith made similar reference at an Old Millhillians' dinner. The Committee which compelled Mr. Smith's retire ment, however, did not seem to realise that scarlet fever and the raising of the terms vvere the two facts which caused the school's downfall more than any thing else, and that nr 1ther of these was in any way attributable to the H eadmaster. It was also a refinement of cruelty to expect any one to do his best work when his salary was reduced year by year, and he himself continually threatened with com pulsory resignation. For the decay and decline of -· 200 THE HISTORY OF ~IILL HILL . CHOOL Mill Hill under Philip Smith the Committee of the time must be held responsible rather than the Head master. It is certain that no Headmaster that Mill Hill ever had has more successfully embodied the t,vofold ideal for which the school was founded scholarship and evangelical Christianity. CHAPTER X THE COLLAPSE OF THE OLD FOU1 DATION THE last eight years of the Old Foundation are a sad epoch, relieved by a final effort to bring the numbers of the school and its reputation up to the standard of former years. Mill Hill had at this time a good deal to live down: the two outbreaks of scarlet fever, a general discontent among its constituency, the loss of old friends and supporters, and a growing feeling that those in authority were not adequately equipped to make the school what it ought to bet and \vhat it had been in Priestley's day. There was naturally a continual comparison with the great achievements of the forties, and every one fel t that lvlill Hill was in no prosperous state. To succeed Philip Smith, whom it seemed they had unwisely dismissed, the Committee chose out of eighty applicants the Rev. William Flavel Hurndall, M.A., Ph.D. Dr. Hurndall was the son of a Con gregational minister at Basingstoke, and was thirty years of age, having been born in 1830. The school at his appointment contained considerably under forty boys, and some of these left almost immediately. The \Vork was arduous, combining preaching with teaching, and of the latter Dr. H urndall never failed to take his full share in daily classes. Moreover, the con- 201 202 THE HI. TORY OF :\1ILL HILL SCHOOL dition of the house at that period was unfavourable to the advance of the school. Many comforts of more recent rlays \Vere lacking, as well as gas and bathing accommodation ; and though Dr. H urndall greatly desired progress to be made in these matters, the funds a t the disposal of the Committee were inadequate, and during his time the much-needed improvements could not be granted. During the three years that Dr. Hurndall was H eadmaster the numbers ,vent up to eighty-five, but the boys ,vere not very old, and the difficulty seen1s to have been to get a satisfactory sixth form. One member of the sixth ,vas preparing for honours in Classics at London Universi ty in the Matriculation, but the others were only taking the pass examination. To conceal the really low standard of the form, boys \Vere allovved to prepare their ,vork with the · aid of a translation, and this put an end to real honest effort. Most of the customs of the school \Vere the sa111e as in previous ri,ginzes. Boys ,vho vvent for a month without any loss of conduct marks vvere granted leave to go out alone or with a chosen companion for walks on half-holidays; other\iVise walks were taken ,vith a master-an hour's round on W ednesday and Saturday to H endon, Finchley, Edg\vare, or Barnet. On half-holidays a man used to come over from Barnet to sell "eatables and other such things in the playground. Sundays vvere more enjoyable than had been the case under Philip Smith. Dr. Hurndall gave up the custom of S cripture classes and learning of catechism on the S abbath, but to take their place ,vas a quiet hour in the hall for the reading of good books from a selected library which he secured for the purpose. Another good arrangement THE COLL. P E OF THE OLD FOU TDATION 203 of this time was the inviting of those boys \Vho had lost no conduct marks, or perhaps less than five, to a pleasant evening at Dr. Hurndall's private house after Character Day. Dr. Hurndall vvas exceptionally distinguished as a student. He ,vas University Scholar in Classics, and obtained his Master's degree in Philosophy and Classics simultaneously, ,vith a gold 1nedal for the former, this being a feat of ,vhich only three instances are recorded. He vvas elected a Fellow of University College, L,ondon, and aftervvards studied at the Uni versity of Heidelberg, vvhere he took his Doctor's degree in Philosophy. In addition to his other quali fications, he possessed great music~.l gifts, and ,;vas the author of many hymn-tunes of a high order. In boys' games he was one vvith them in genuine enjoy ment, and would often be met in the H ertfordshire lanes, leading a cavalcade of school cyclists. During the two and a half years he was at Mill Hill, Dr. I-I urndall was unfortunate enough to have tvvo epi demics of measles and scarlatina, but, as it happened, there were no really serious cases. About this time the Committee stated in one of its reports that vvhat vvas ,van ted to make Mill I-Iill a success was "good and gentlemanly behaviour fron1 the masters, no slackness on Sundays, and lectures on Chemistry." The n1asters of the period ,:vere both numerous and varied, but not of sufficient interest to call for any individual mention. There vvere some distinct im provements made during this tirne, notably the offering of silver medals for competition in Classics and Mathematics, the providing of money to improve the library, and the abandonn1ent of holidays at Easter and Michaelmas. The R.ev. F. Trestrail ,vrites at this . . 204 THE HISTORY OF iIILL HILL SCHOOL time 1nentioning the great necessity for physical exercise and recreation, and, in accordance with his suggestions, games of archery and bo,vls ,vere pro vided for the boys. In order to increase the efficiency of the school, it ,vas proposed that it should be divided into commercial and professional sides, but the numbers vvere too small to admit of such a pro ceeding. It was also suggested that the '' Three Ha111n1ers " Inn should be sold, and the proceeds devoted to current expenses, but the idea fell throuo·h. Tovvards the close of the year 1862 Dr. Hurndall began to think seriously of resignation, and in the summer fo1lo\ving he left Mill Hill. The vvorries and difficulties of his position had proved too much for hi1n, and he thought that he ,i\l'ould be better ad\'ised to go in for a private school. He therefore resigned the headmastership of Mill Hill, and started a school of his own at The Cedars, Rickmans,vorth. The Comn1ittee had again to seek a H ead1naster, and, after much careful deliberation, the position vvas offered to the Rev. S. G. Green, of Rawdon College, but he declined the honour. Mr. Griffiths, of Taunton College, vvas next approached, but he decided to re1nain where he was. If the Committee had been able to make up their minds, they might haYe had Mr. William Aldis, of 1'rinity College, Cambridge, but he could not endure their indecision, and refused to be kept waiting. Among other names brought forward vvere those of the Rev. Philip Chapman Barker, M.A., LL.B., London, of Coventry; the Rev. G. D. Bartlet, of Scarborough; and Mr. T. D. Hall, M.A., of Bo\vdon, a former assistant master. Eventually Mr. Barker was appointed to the office, and entered on his posi tion in July 1863. The only events in his short THE COLLAP E OF THE OLD FOUNDATIO_ T 20.5 administration were the appointment of the Rev. G. Smith as honorary secretary and the death of Mr. T. M. Coombs, the treasurer. Tea and coffee "vVere substituted for milk at breakfast and tea after long and exhaustive discussion. The first term was not altogether successful, and in consequence of this the Committee passed a resolution that, unless matters improved, they would have to determine their con nection with Mr. Barker. This stupendous piece of folly surpassed anything the Committee had yet achieved, and the Headmaster, not unnaturally, sent in his resignation. Another choice lay before the Committee, and they appointed to the position one of the rejected candi dates of six months before, the Rev. G. D. Bartlet, M.A., of Scarborough. The school was in a very bad state, and there seemed no way of its recovering its fonner position. Ho\vever, the ever-sanguine Com mittee hoped for a brighter day. In order to stimulate their own body, they co-opted six new members, all, with one exception, Old Millhillians-the Revs. Joseph Smedmore, Alfred Holborn, R. H. Marten, H. R. Reynolds, and Messrs. Henry Ibotson and 'fhomas Scrutton. To this last member Mill Hill was destined to ovve its very existence. The able though sparing manager, the R.ev. Thomas Rees, now re signed, but he \Vas induced to remain by a promise of assistance, and by the assurance of the continued confidence of the Committee. It was at first proposed to have a Speech Day, but in consequence of the Headmaster's intended retirement it was abandoned. This was the second consecutive year without any Public Day. Feeling that some effort must be made to rouse the constituency of the school, Mr. James 206 TI-IE HI TORY OF l\1ILL HILL SCHOOL Carter called a meeting at Radley's Hotel, and a f e\v days later a dinner ,vas held at Green,vich, at vvhich a number of old boys ,vere present. It ,vas ascer tained that the loss on the half-year's vvorking ,vas about £500, due chiefly to the s1nall number of boys in the school. The second half-year opened ,vith thirty-one boys only, a nu1nber hardly calculated to inspire the ne,v Headmaster ,vith confidence in the school. The question of examinations \Yas discussed, and it ,vas suggested to Mr. Bartlet that he might in future years make use of the Oxford Local Exa1nina tions. It ,vas also propo ed that boards should be put up in the hall, on ,vhich \\'ere to be painted the names of the captains of the school, but this idea seems to have received no attention. The nevv year opened ,vith an increase in numbers, and forty boys returned to the school. Almost the first event of 1865 ,vas the death of Mr. Thon1as Priestley, who had resigned the headmastership thirteen years before. The Cornmittee, meeting a few days after this sad occurrence, passed the follovving resolution : " That this Committee, on their first meeting after the death of Thomas Priestley, Esquire, for 1nany years the Headmaster of this school, would place on record the cordial expression of their esteem for his mental and moral worth and official excel lencies, believing as they do that his memory ,vill be long and gratefully cherished by a large number of pupils, who had the advantage of passing through the school under his wise and efficient superintendence, and that the :nfluence of his example is even now beneficial in the conduct of the institution." It was at first decided that Public Day should be only a quiet ceremony, but, as no festivities at all THE COLLAPSE OF THE OLD FOU 1DATIO 207 had been held since 1862, it ,vas arranged that Mr. Hardca&:le, M.P., an old Mill Hill scholar, should be asked to pre ide. He was unable to do so, and eventually Dr. Edmond ,vas persuaded to take the chair, and deliver an address, which 1net with great approbation. About this time the Committee ap pointed eight new trustees, as, of the original twelve, only four \\7ere now living. J\1asters ,vere at all times difficult to get, but all the n1ore so at this era, ,vhen the Committee prided itself on offering no more than £60 to £80 for their senior as_ istant. It was proposed that gas should be installed in the school in place of lamps and candles, and that the chapel should be done up and improved, but funds proved in~ufficient, and the idea ,vas dropped for the time being. There was a meeting of Old Millhillians at the school towards the close of the year, which ,vould probably be unrecorded but for the fact that the Committee had to pay a deficit of £4 ,vhich vvas owing after the accounts ,vere settled up. The Committee and 1-Ieadmaster decided that for the future the only examinations should be held at Midsummer, and that those at Christmas should be permanently abandoned. They also agreed to advance £5 towards the purchase of some ne,v books for the library, ,vhich was in very considerable need of additions. The numbers had by the end of the year gone up to fifty-six, owing to the energy of the 1-Ieadmaster and secretary, but in spite of this the accounts at the end of the year showed a balance on the wrong side of £50. At the beginning of r 866 the Committee took advice from Mr. Rolt, Q. C., and from Messrs. Sheffield, their solicitors, as to their legal position with regard to 208 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL the school. They \Yere anxious to discover their personal liability, and also to know whether money which they had advanced could be repaid them before other debts ,vere settled. They ,vere rather afraid lest, by accepting office on the Committee, they had rendered themselves responsible for the payment of all the school's liabilities. It appeared that numerous rules had been systematically broken. In accordance with the directions given by one of the Masters in Chancery in 1823, the Committee vvas to consist of tvventy-four members, elected for one year only by the body of Life Governors, whi]e there vvere ahvays to be twelve trustees. As a matter of fact, for a number of years there had been only four trustees, and the Committee had usually consisted of a much sn1aller number than twenty-four, of vvhom seldom more than six or eight attended the meetings. Then again the Life Governors were to meet annually, in the very first ,veek in the year. Far from having done so, since r 8 38 they had never met in the first vveek of the year, and on at least t\vo occasions, two years had elapsed betvveen their meetings. This being so, the Committee, elected for one year only, should ipso facto have ceased to exist. Altogether matters v.;ere in a considerable muddle, and the Committee ,verc at a loss to knovv what to do. Mr. Charles Finch Foster had just died, and the only other original trustees ,vere the Rev. Dr. ~·teane, Messrs. John Dixon and John Bazley White. The Committee were unable to find the slightest trace of Mr. Dixon, vvho had not been heard of for years, and they did not kno\v vvhether he vvas alive or dead. What had happened to the eight nevv trustees does not appear; probably they had been elected illegally. THE COLLAP E OF THE OLD FOUNDATIO 209 For the present, however, matters stood still. The Committee arranged with Professor D'Orsay to deliver a course 01 five lectures on English Reading, and the Headmaster made strenuous efforts to secure new pupils; but the school was in a hopeless condition, and no headmaster could have saved it. Mr. Rees again complained of the responsibilities of his office and, with Mrs. Rees, resigned. After some difficulty a successor as housekeeper was obtained in Mrs. Brooke, who was strongly recommended by the Rev. Thomas Binney. For Public Day an attempt ~·as made to obtain Horatio elson Lay, C.B., an old boy, to take the chair, but he was unable to do so, and Edward Miall, M.P., consented to preside. The Headmaster suggested that there should be some athletic sports held in the morning of the day, and the Committee allowed £3 to be spent in prizes. The numbers now began again to go down, and accordingly the Committee were willing to consider Mr. Bartlet's offer to buy the school. H e did not, however, think it was worth what the Committee demanded for it, so the negotiations fell through. His possible resignation was now discussed, and schemes of all kinds were in the air. At the end of 1867 a notice was fixed on the school gates asking that all claims should be sent in at once, and giving notice that the school might possibly not be con tinued. The year 1868 opened in gloom, but the precarious position of the school was the opportunity of some of its strenuous supporters. At a meeting of some friends held in May it was "unanimously agreed that the school ought to be continued on the principles which have guided it from the beginning, and such 14 210 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL CHOOL alterations and improvements as the present condition ot public education may demand." Another confer ence was held on July 17, at the Congregational Library, with Mr. Scrutton in the chair. A report was read and afterwards printed. fter giving some slight sketch of the school's history, it made the following statements: "The present Committee on entering office found the legal basis of the school in an involved condition, which has necessi tated an application to the Court of Chancery, with a vie,v to the rearrangement of the Trusts, and the appoint ment of ne\V trustees. . Many circumstances have tended in recent times to reduce the nu1nber of pupils, and the school has been carried on for some years past at a loss varying from about £200 to £400 per annum. There is at present an accun1ulation of debt on it, arising fron1 sums lent by some members of the Committee, amounting to about £r ,375. In addition to this there is a mortgage of £7,000 on the premises. An outlay of at least £ 1,000 is required for substantial repairs and necessary improvements of the building." Mr. Samuel Morley had come forward and made some generous promises, but the Committee did not know how far they were justified in accepting them. It was rumoured in the village that the premises ,vere to be sold to the Romanists who were settling in the neighbourhood. Finally, it was decided to close Mill Hill rrom the end of r 868, and a letter was sent round to this effect. All engagements with the Headmaster and assistants were terminated, and from January r 869 till October the school was non-existent. The story of its phrenixlike resurrection must be kept for another chapter. CHAPTER XI THE NEW FOUNDATION THE resuscitation of Mill Hill was due in a very large degree to one man, the Treasurer, Mr. 1'homas Scrutton. Through all the trying experiences of the years preceding the New Foundation, he was one of the few who never los t courage, and it is not too much to surmise that, but for his energy, business like qualities, and firm belief in Mill Hill, the school would in all probability have ceased to exist. H e was appointed Treasurer in I 866, and saw to what s tate of collapse everything connected with the school had reached. H e at once set to work to enlist the sympathy of influential people, and succeeded in interesting Mr. S amuel Morley, M.P., in the school. Plans were prepared for reorganising the school ' and several general meetings of the friends of Mill Hill were held, which decided that it was essential that the institution should not be allowed to collapse. Accordingly application was made to the Charity Commissioners, and a new trust was formed. 1'he school was to be conducted as far as possible on the lines of the great public schools, and the subjects therein taught were to be the chief items in the curriculum of Mill Hill. Under the new scheme 2II ,. 212 THE HI TORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL the Life Governors were to consist of the following classes: 1st. The surviving Life 'Governors under the regula tions passed in the year 1823. 2nd. Contributors of twenty guineas and upwards to the Capital Fund of the school. 3rd. Accredited ministers of the Congregational, Independent, Baptist, or Presbyterian denominations, who shall each contribute, either individually or through their respective churches, not less than ten guineas to the Capital Fund, or who shall introduce a Life Governor contributing not less than twenty guineas to the said fund. 4th. Old pupils of the school who shall contribute not less than ten guineas to the said Capital Fund. 5th. Old pupils of the school who shall have taken a degree at a British University. In accordance with the general recommendations of Her Majesty's Public School Commissioners, the classical languages and literature hold the principal place in the course of study. From February until October a provisional com mittee was sitting at intervals to make all arrange ments for the reopening. Out of seventy applicants for the post of H eadmaster they chose two as likely candidates : A. S . Wilkins, M.A. London, B.A. Cambridge, who had just graduated as 5th Classic and Hulsean Prizeman, and R. F. W eymouth, M.A.r D.Litt., of Plymouth. The position was offered to Mr. Wilkins, but as he received almost simultaneously the offer of a post as Professor of Latin in Owen's College, he felt it necessary to decline the head mastership of Mill Hill. The Com1nittee had ex perienced great difficulty in choosing between Mr. THE r EW FOU DATIO 2IJ Wilkins and Dr. Weymouth, and so, on the resigna tion of the former, they had no hesitation whatever in offering the post to the latter, and towards the end of May he accepted the offer. It will be interesting to note what people had a chief share in the re-establishment of Mill Hill, and so a list of the Vice-Presidents, Trustees, and Governors is ap1?ended : VICE- PRESIDENTS The Very Rev. Henry Alford, D.D., Dean of Canterbury. Edward Baines, Esq., M.P. Rev. Thomas Binney, D.D. Thomas Chambers, Esq., Q.C., M.P. Rev. F. W. Gotch, LL.D. The Hon. Sir Robert Lush. Ed '>vard l\1iall, Esq., ivl.P. Samuel I\Iorley, E sq., M.P. The Right Hon. Sir John Rolt (a former secretary of the school). Henry Rogers, Esq. John Storrar, Esq., M.D. TRUSTEES E. Rider Cook, Esq. E. B. Dawson, Esq. J. G. Dawson, Esq. Robt. Forsaith, E sq. Rev. Alfred Holborn, ?vf.A. H . J. Marten, Esq. Samuel l\Iorley, Esq. A. Scrutton, Esq. T . W. Scrutton, Esq. J. R. Vaizey, Esq., M.A., LL.M. GOVERNORS Rev. H . Allon. ,, Dr. Angus. ,, Llewellyn Bevan. ,, Dr. John Ed1nond. Mr. H. M. Bompas. ,, T. Micklem. ,, Benjamin Scott. ,, Wallis Nash. H.ev. Robt. Fison. ,, R. H. Marten. ,, John Kennedy. ,, Joseph Smedmore. Mr. Thomas Scrutton. ,, P. H. Pye Smith, M.D. ,, A. C. Stratten. On July 9, r 869, the last meeting of the old Com mittee was held, when the following were present : 2r4 TI-IE HI TORY OF l\1ILL HILL SCHOOL l\ti essrs. J an1es Carter, Percy I botson, Thomas Piper, J. G. Dawson, and Thomas Scrutton, with Dr. George Smith as Secretary. After a fevv moments' dis cussion on topics connected with the prospective changes, the following resolution was carried : " That th is Committee, having taken the necessary steps by conferences and public meeting to accomplish an entire change in the n1anagement of the institution, and having before them the copy of a new Trust Deed, which has been executed in Chancery, by which a new body of Trustees and Go vernors is appointed, hereby dissolve themselves, and hand over all docu ments and papers in their possession to the newly appointed Governors, with best wishes for the future prosperity of Mill Hill School." 'I'hus was laid the New Foundation on the ruins of the Pr otestant Dissenters' Grammar School at Mill Hill. In the Daily News for July 23, 1869, after giving a brief history of the school, the writer goes on to say: "Its history bears no unimportant relation to the growth of liberal opinion which characterises the present century. Such a school is still greatly needed, and, conducted as it will be on the broadest principles of religious culture, it will be certain to obtain the support it deserves .... Dr. \Veymouth, the H ead master, is the first Doctor of Literature in the University of London, and for many years has con ducted with great ability the Portland Grammar School, Plymouth. The selection he has made of the gentlemen by whom he will be assisted indicates the high character of the education he intends to maintain. With their help, combined with his own admirable qualification for the work of tuition, and aided also by the stimulus afforded in the prizes and TI-IE EW FOU DATIO 2I5 scholarships which will be at his disposal, there is every reason to believe that a large and flourishing school ,vill soon again be established. Two lines of railway with stations at Mill Hill render the locality very accessible both from London and the country. A fin er or more healthy site could not be found. The school is in no sense proprietary, but essentially a public school, and we hope it will ere long rank among the highest in the kingdom." The school opened on October 7 ,vith thirty-four boys and the following masters in addition to Dr. Weymouth: J. H. Taylor, M.A. Oxford and B.A Cam bridge, Chancellor's Medalist ; Arthur W ankl yn, B.A. Cambridge; S. Lobb; H. J. Tucker; Mons. F. J. Charpentier, B. es L. ; and Mr. George Brightwell, who remained a member of the staff for thirty-five years, ret1r1ng in 1905. On the following day Dr. W eymouth wrote the following letter to Mr. Scrutton : " W e assembled yesterday evening, and everything passed off very satisfactorily. Only one lady's face not her words-betrayed a little vexation at our unprepared condition." The early days of the foundation are described by Mr. Henry J. Tucker, who accepted a mastership at the beginning of October r 869. "We had some funny scenes that autumn term. I remember the forest of scaffolding poles in the hall, the certainty that if you went in to get a better view, a feeling of damp cold on the top of-your head drove you upstairs at. the double to wash off the paint that had been splashed down on you by the little army of men at work on the ceiling. At the very first call over t,vo of us masters were brought to a piebald state that upset all the school. The Doctor hac.l sent word 216 THE HISTORY OF ?\1ILL HILL .... CHOOL he would take roll in the library. W e appeared in the doorway to watch proceedings, and were promptly requested to don academicals and come inside. But we were not warned as to wet paint, and on passing through the door together, my colleague suddenly became a lovely stone colour all down his left side, and I all do,iVn my right. If there was one smell more prevalent than paint through those early weeks it was that of turpentine. W e no more thought of going without out turpentine bath to wash off the paint of the day before than of going without our dinner. "One day that October a little mob of men and boys set to work breaking away the old desks from their iron s tandards. Those old desks bore many a name of the earlier generations of Mill Hill boys. A rare opportunity of doing a s troke of business ,vas lost when that history-laden wood was broken and I suppose burnt. ... I missed two boys from the field for half an hour one W ednesday, and I always felt uneasy when I couldn't see them. ligh t dovvn in a cavernous hole in o. 6 class-room and the sound of digging soon revealed their whereabouts. 'Only w anted to see where ,ve should get in if we bored through one or two walls.' ot long since an old boy startled me by giving a vivid description of a scene that had taken place in the masters' common room, where none but masters vvere present. H e and a chum were close underneath the floor, and were highly amused at what they heard. On his own confession I offered him what he ought to have had eighteen years before. . .. The first term there arose a rumour that football was no longer to be the disorderly unintelligible chaos that it ha indeed, were sometimes open to just criticism, as, for exan1 ple, when he was wont to fix 220 THE HI TORY OF MILL HILL CHOOL the responsibility for any disorder on the eldest boy who had taken part in it, although bigger, stronger, and more influential boys, who happened to be younger, were often more to blame than they were. Vividly impressed upon the memories of some of us is the habit he had \vhen disorder arose, as it occasionally did, in chapel or dining-hall, of calling for five minutes' perfect silence from the " ·hole school. Sometimes when we had all waited anxiously, say for four and a half minutes, with our eyes fixed on the H eadmaster, as he sat or stood before us, holding in his hand his beautiful gold v.ratch and chain, a slight whisper would be heard among the boys, or some luckless youth would, intentionally or unintentionally, shuffle his feet, and then , e ,vould have the chao-rin of hearing the H eadmaster say, 'The five minutes will now begin all over again .' And so they did. We can afford now to r ecall such little incidents as these with a smile of amu ement. But at the time I expect they did B S real good. For, on the whole, this strong, vvise, resolute man, inheriting as he did high ideals of discipline from his father, an honoured Commander in the Royal avy, taught his pupils reverence for law-respect for rightly con stituted authority-as few perhaps have ever learned it. And although, as the result, he had to face much unpopularity and obloquy, and, it must be confessed, came to be rather feared than loved, yet, in this matter of stupendous importance to the welfare of a school, he never shirked his responsibilities. Disorder and insubordination he would not permit. Education apart from the persistent coercion of boys, who after fair trial still deliberately refused to do their duty, he would have regarded as no real THE TEvV FOU D TION 221 education at all. And so his boys soon knew that, whether they liked it or not, they had to obey rules; and sullenly it may be at first, but more cheerfully later on, for the most part they did obey them, and to this day, in their secret hearts, they are probably glad that the necessity to do so vvas laid upon them beyond the possibility of misunderstanding. "Lastly, be it said that the influence of Dr. Wey mouth has been a religious force of no mean order in the lives of at least some of his pupils. There are those of us vvho feel that it is to him that we owe some of our best moral and spiritual impressions. The sermons that he delivered on the very rare occasions when he occupied the school pulpit were not a little appreciated by many who were privileged to hear them. And still more cogent were his appeals to the Bible Class, held in the school chapel every Sunday afternoon, when he used to warn us so faith fully of the misery and ruin which inevitably follow wrong doing, and plead with us so earnestly for self surrender to Christ, and purity and nobility of life." "I shall never forget," writes another old boy, "the fine tone there was at Mill Hill in those days, and I am inclined to attribute it largely to Dr. Weymouth. I remember his occasional sermons and their power, and very firmly impressed on my mind is an incident at one debate. A boy had argued, rather feebly it seemed to us, on the choice of a profession, endeavour ing to point out that the Christian ministry was the finest of all callings. Dr. Weymouth's remarks, how ever, gave one seriously to think, and have since borne fruit in leading one to make that calling one's own. There were many quiet influences at work in those days, and they were none the less real and 222 TH£ HISTORY OF ~1ILL HILL CHOOL potent for being quiet. J suppose the strong on conformist stock fro1n ,vhich most of the boys came \vas responsible for this, and the fact that one is no longer a onconformist makes one all the more ready to appreciate the o-ood and silent influences vvhich \Vere brought to bear on many of us." From the very start the school gre,v rapidly, and under Dr. W eymouth and his two no less famous lieutenants soon beat all previous records. Mr., afterwards Dr., Murray came to Mill f--1 ill in 1870, and the Rev. Robert H arley joined the staff t\vo years later. The influence of the nevv H eadmaster \Vas at once felt. umbers went up, and schen1es for still further development were broached, so remark able was the progress achieved by the school. In 1870 the first meeting of Life Governors after the evv Foundation was held, and the report then pre sented to them shovved that the school had taken a • leap for\iVard. Sunnyside, opposite "The Three H am mers," was taken for Dr. Murray, and he lived there for the fifteen years that he was at Mill H ill, only leaving to go to Oxford to carry on his great work there, taking with him the old name of his house to bis new abode in Oxford. As some slight protection against the spread of epidemics, a small house ,vas taken in the village to serve as an infirmary until the funds of the school were sufficient to allow of the building of a regular Sanatorium. The list of Vice Presidents who had consented to serve the school was a strong one, and it was now proposed to ask Earl Granville to become President. H e was not, however, able to accept; and the venerable Earl Russell, who had promised to preside on Foundation Day, was unable to come, and thus provided a second THE JEW FOUNDATIO 223 disappointment for the Governors. He wrote a very cordial letter, apologising for his unavoidahle absence and wishing all prosperity to the school, which, as the Daily Nezvs remarked, embodied the principles of liberty on behalf of which he had waged so splendid a struggle. In r 872 two events of considerable interest occurred. The friends of the school subscribed sufficient money to present an organ to the chapel, and at the begin ning of the Christmas term Mr. Harley took up his position as Vice-Master. It now became possible to consider seriously some of the schemes which but a few years ago had seemed so chimerical. It was proposed to provide additional accommodation for the school by building a Boarding House on the same lines as has been done at many of the other public schools. The proposal seems ordinary enough now, but at the time it was regarded as a very considerable innovation. The matter was well discussed, and in 1874 Burton Bank, as the house was called, was opened. It was built on similar designs to some of the houses at Harrow, and was intended to contain thirty-five boys. Good grounds were purchased at the same time, and the popularity which the house at once obtained was well deserved. Other schemes equally satisfactory were in the air, and the Head master put £200 at the disposal of the Governors as the nucleus of a fund for a new chapel. The scheme did not at once commend itself, and eventually a Swimming Bath was built instead. The credit of this latter suggestion is probably to be given to Mr. Harley, since, after his arrival, he suggested that the " Hollow" might be used for swimming purposes. It had been used as an ornamental pond by Peter • 224 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL Collinson, and lasted as such till 18 54, when, becoming a nuisance, it was done away with by Philip Smith. Eventually it was decided, on the advice of Mr. G. C. Stevenson, to utilise some land beyond the Old Chapel, and in the summer of 1874 the building of the Bath was an accomplished fact. At the same time the play-room v1as made into a large class-room, and the Gymnasium was built. This was not the building as we used to know it, but was open to the air on the side of the playground, and had an irregular concrete floor. Mr. Tucker was nearly killed in the Gym nasium by a fall from the trapeze not long before he left, and the bar was kept as a trophy for many a long year, till he returned once n1ore in 1893. Perhaps the most interesting improvement made at this tin1e was the foundation of the Mill H i'll Maga zi'ne, which took place in June 1873. The greatest share of the credit for this ·new institution is due to T . A. Gurney (now the Rev. T. A. Gurney, Vicar of Emmanuel Church, Clifton), who originated the idea and became its first editor. It was not an entirely new venture. Several magazines had been started before, notably the Li'berty and H erald in 1838, the Sun in 1839, and the Mi'll Hz'll Chron£cle in 1849; but they had not attempted to give an account of school life, and they only served as a substitute for a Debating Society, or as an opportunity for the boys to write essays on the characters of Cincinnatus and Cromwell, the advantages of education, or the draw backs of school life, the blessed nature of friendship, and the properties of chloride of lime. The new magazine was to be something far different; it was to be a record of events, but not merely a newspaper a bond of union between past and present boys, and MUSEUM p. :!.::qJ THE KEW FOUNDATIOX 225 a n1eans of making the school better knovvn to the public. It vvould provide scope for "articles on 1\1 illhill ian subjects from all writers, articles on all subjects by Millhillian writers.'' It vvas quite early an1ong n1agazines of its kind as the organ of a school as a whole; and apart fron1 the honour due to its comparative age, it can claim special renown because it is the only school magazine quoted in the Oxford Dictionary, and received a ,vord of commendation from Mr. Gladstone when he distributed the prizes on Foundation Day 1879. "I can well remember the anxieties and uncertainties of the first number. W e wondered if we should sur vive our first issue. If we had been told that thirty six years after it would still be flourishing, much more flourishing than ever, the idea would have seemed too roseate to be possible. That the hope took any practical shape vvas due to the sympathy and help of Dr. Murray and Mr. Harley. They came to our help vvith suggestions and criticisms, and revised our first literary attempts. That our periods needed serious pruning those first editorials show. It is quite surprising to find what a ponderous Elizabethan style one cultivated in those days. The modern boy vvould not stand it for a moment. But those were also the days when Scott's novels were still regarded as the acme of really good stories. The first editors vvere T. E. Scrutton, A. Horne, C. Downing, and myself. After the summer holidays the first three of these had retired, and their places were taken by A. Edwards and H. T. Atkin. A certain study down that long east passage beyond the Headmaster's study saw the evolution of 1nost of our editorial plans and ideas. 226 THE HISTORY OF :\IILL HILL SCHOOL "1'he other day the \VOrld \Vas startled vvith the changes which it presented to a n1an vv1ho had been buried away in prison for a long term of penal servitude. To come to Mill Hill to-day, and compare it, this new Foundation Day, with what it ,vas then in 1873, one almost might claim to be a Rip Van Winkle. Yet there was a good deal besides the magazine germinating at that time which has come to fruition since. That June term was the term when we had our first Athletic Sports since the reopening of the school under the ew Foundation. That Foundation Day was a special one; for it saw the opening of the organ in the school chapel-that heavy, square, barnlike structure which now served as 'Big School.' Tom Hugh es presided over the luncheon. That organ took the place of a plain harmonium. 1'he same year saw the completion of the Fives-Courts, and it sa,v almost the beginning of the 'Gymnasium,' which was then in the large class-room now used as an Art-room. Part of the flagstones of this class-room were taken up and replaced with bark and parallel bars; a horizontal bar, trapeze, and rope ladders were placed here, though a later development savv the replace1nent of this Gymnasium by another in the school yard. The writer has tender memories for that first Gymnasium, as the place where he squashed his nose (temporarily) in quietly attempting, one afternoon alone, the evolution of flinging oneself from the horizontal bar backwards, whilst clinging on with the knees. "Owing, no doubt, to the Liberal instincts of the school, we were all reformers in those days, and we needed to be. The very first number of the Magazine contained a valuable letter from ' a ta tor' on our THE EW FOU DATION 227 chronic subject of agitation- how to get a swimming bath. His proposed remedies will interest Mill Hill present. He suggested that the boys of the Upper School ' should relinquish their pocket money for a term,' and also secure sums of money as private gifts, and by this means raise sufficient to provide a tank 'forty yards long by twenty,' filled with rain water drained from the school field, ' open to the sky, but shut in by wooden palings.' '' Modesty compels us to discuss vvith 'the present' the literary quality of the materials contributed to that first volume of the Magazine. They included notes on ' A Tour in North Wales and in Cornvvall,' ' Boating Adventure on Trondhjem Fjord,' ' ibblings at Names of Places,' 'Mrs. Brown at Mill Hill School,' • A Visit to Stonehenge,' an article on 'Highwood I-louse,' three poetical contributions, ' Sundries,' and a good deal of school news. "The patriotism for 'our school' forms no small part in our education for future citizenship and public life. An English public-schoolboy learns, from his first entry into school, to ' look not on his ovvn things, but on the things of others.' He is lifted out of himself, he catches on to the tone, the enthusiasm, the esprit of the body of which he has become a member. William of 'Nykeham inscribed in a corner of the great cathedral at Winchester, of which he was the builder, the words 'This work made William Wykeham.' "The king for whom he built it was indignant, taking it as a slight upon himself. But William's ansvver satisfied him: ' I never meant,' he said, ' that I made the cathedral; what I meant was, that the cathedral made me.' That is ,vhat we owe to our 228 THE HISTORY OF lVIILL HILL SCHOOL . school. Writing in full view of the to,vers of Clifton College, one cannot but remember that scene, fro1n Henry N ewbolt's pen, of the old Cliftonian fallen among Afghan thieves, who demand his life for blood revenge. Alone, given till to-morrovv's dawn to live, hopeless of any succour, what does he see, as he sits huddled on the edge of the wood, for that last night on earth far from all farewells of those he loves ? 'He saw the school close, sunny and green, The river beside him, the stand by the parapet wall; The distant tape and the crowd roaring between- His own name over all. ' That is the spirit which has made our race. 'fhat is the inspiration of school-the place where one learnt the first lessons in self-mastery, self-discipline, self denipl, and 'so to run, that we may obtain.' That is how we think of it when some stress of life brings memory back to the old happy days, days when 'the clouds' did not ' return after the rain.'" 1873 was a year of progress in many other ways besides. Athletic sports were held for the first time, and the football team was set upon ~ firm basis with A. D. Burnyeat as Captain. As he subsequently played for Lancashire, then a sterling side, the stan dard of the team must have been distinctly good. Many of the clubs against whom the school played have now ceased to exist, and so it may be interesting to give a list of the matches. Hendon, Cheshunt, the Wasps, Somerset Addison, and the Pirates were the clubs with whom games were played, while the schools met were Bute House, Grove House, Tottenham, and Christ's College, Finchley. Both Rugger and Soccer were played, but the latter only figured very occasion ally. Four matches were won, two lost, and seven THE- TEW FOU~DATIO~ 229 dra\vn, among th ~ latter being the match ao-ainst the Old Boys. Cricket was also entered into vvith keen ness ; captains were appointed for six teams, two bats " 'ere offered for the best averages ir:. the first and second elevens, and a prize of one guinea for the boy outside the teams who attended most practices. In spite of these admirable arrangements, only one match resulted in a victory, seven being lost and four dravvn. Any vvant of success, however, in these early y ears is to be attributed to the frightful slope of the ground and all the more credit is due to those who, in spite of all disadvantages, contrived to becon1e fair cricketers. On Foundation Day 1873 an interesting visitor vvas the Rev. Tho1nas Aveling, the biographer of the Clayton family, \Vho had not visited the school since the day of the fun eral of the vvell-loved chaplain, the Rev. vVillia1n Clayton, thirty-five years before. In one of the early numbers of the mag2.zine, an article appeared from the pen of a boy named C. Downing, entitled '' An Idler's Dream," in which he describes d vision of the spirit of the school. The genial visitor reveals to him the future changes in the school, and, besides sho\ving him the old chapel turned into a gymnasium, a nevv chapel erected beyond, boarding houses all over the village, and the bath, then only dreamed of, a reality, he conducts him to the playing field, where he says, '' W e traced our steps over the field, hilly once, but h ilJ y no n1ore, for the earth at the top had been carted to the bottom, and the longed f or object had been effected." It is a ren1arkable fact that not till nearly thirty years had elapsed ,vas the playing-field levelled. 'f awards the end of this year wir. Tucker left to go out as missionary to India During the four years he had spent at Mill Hill, he 230 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL had won the affection of the boys, both from his sterling character and the interest and enthusiasm he displayed in athletics. The school was able to show its appreciation of his services by a handsome presenta tion. The football of this year was fairly successful, and Bruce Castle, Clapton, and the Flamingoes ~,ere met for the first time. Another innovation was the Debating Society, vvhich eventually developed into a very valuable institution, and still exists after one or two lapses. In the vvinter term of 1873 the record nun1ber of boys was reached, and there were a hundred and thirty-five names on the roll, one more than the highest total under Priestley. The event was fittingly celebrated in the school, and a notice was despatched to all the parents to inform them of the gratifying progress. About this time, Dr. Murray, always an ardent supporter of the Magazine, wrote a very interesting article on the place-names round Mill Hill, in which he gave a very excellent imitation of a verse not found in Merlin's prophecies, but supposed to be written some centuries before the school's foundation : " Joy thee Mylne H ill, thy Mylne 1s gone I trow, Yet on thine H yll shall g rindynge be enow. Where churls were wont the corne for breade to grind Shall many a younge man brede of know ledge fynde. If with thy grist at times there mingle chaffe W isdome, I weene, 0ft lurketh in a laugh ! " The cricket and football seasons of 1874 vvere not altogether successful, largely owing to the loss sustained by Mr. Tucker's departure. His place was difficult to fill, and the athletics seemed likely to suffer in consequence. Eventually Mr. H arley consented to take over the treasurer hip of the games, THE EvV FOU DA.TIO and although he was not able to take part in cricket and football himself, his advice was always at the disposal of the Games Committee, and the funds flourished under his wise administration. Another change in the staff was the removal of Mr. A. I-I. Scott-White, who had been a master since just after the ew Foundation, and one of whose claims to recognition was humorously stated by the Magazine to be that he had succeeded in persuading the authorities to abolish the college-cap or mortar ... board. The Magazine on the occasion of its first anniversary had a little poem addressed to it, wishing many happy returns of the day, and for an infant of one year it showed a very healthy growth. In 1874 Dr. Murray received the first public recog ... nition of his ability and energy, being made an LL.D. honoris causa of the University of Edinburgh. This year, too, he put the school under a debt of gratitude to him by establishing the J atural History Society, at first on a very humble footing, but afterwards growing to such an extent as to require a museum. The inaugural meeting was held on April 30, and Dr. Murray was elected president. Meetings were held after prayers every W ednesday evening in No. 5 Class-room, and the specimens were brought out of -their homes in the cupboards under the stairs and displayed on the desks. Edward Baines presented the prizes on New Foundation Day this year, and the successful character of that day showed the steady growth of the school. In the cricket season the first century since the ew Foundation was scored by Oliver Puckridge (now Vicar of Sourton, Devonshire), ,vho put together exactly one hundred against the now defunct Stanley Club. 232 THE HI TORY OP 1ILL HILL SCHOOL 1875 was a year almost ,vithout history, the only inci dents being a successful football season and the making of a pitch on the "ten-acre,1' \Yhich sank very consider ably, and proved anything but good the first fe,v years. It is now time to describe the life at Mill Hill in these earlier years of eymouth's adn1inistration. " The school," writes an old boy of the time, " was divided into forms as follows: VI., Senior V., Junior \ 1. , Modern Remove, Senior IV. and Junior IV., forn1ing the Upper School; and Upper III., Lower Ill., Second and First, forming the Lower School. The only one that deserves special mention is the Modern Remove-the last infirmary of noble minds. It con sisted mainly of boys who were too old to remain any longer in the Lower School, and whose prospect of getting into the Upper by the ordinary methods of promotion seemed unusually remote. Candour compels me to add that there were a few noble exceptions who entered it on principle. It ,vas always a mystery to the rest of the school how they spent the time saved from the study of Latin and Greek. One would as soon speak disrespectfully of the Modern Remove as of the Equator-but I have always fancied a resemblance between it and the House of Lords. The demands on the intelligence of its members were so srnall, the atmosphere of its class-room so soothing, and the whole tone of the institution so eminently respectable, that one may be pardoned the comparison. One difference, how ever, suggests itself: the House of Lords, according to Gilbert, ' does nothing in particular, and does it very well,' whereas the lvlodern Remove, though it also did nothing in particular, can hardly be said to have shown special ability in doing it. THE E\V FOUKDATION 233 " W e had three choirs in those days-the Chapel choir, consisting of boys who could sing but wouldn't, the A choir of those who vvould sing but couldn't, and B choir of those who neither ,vould nor could. The last of these used to meet once a week during ' prep.' for practice in the hall. Perhaps I ought not to say for practice, as 1 cannot remember any occasion on which we were invited to go beyond theory." The Natural History Society had a lot to answer .for in those days. Not content with going on the authorised excursions and attending the ordinary meetings, members used to organise poaching trips, and hold meetings in the class-rooms on their return, when they demolished the spoils of the afternoon with fear and trembling. A member of the Court • of Governors has affirmed that he used to snare rabbits and hares, and carry them back to the school, there to provide a substantial meal for himself and his boon con1panions. Mr. S erjeant Cox, of Moat Mount, was a well-known figure at the school in those days. His splendid grounds were always open to Millhillians, and good use they made of the opportunity. One Midsu1nmer term the " Handy Gang," as a s1nall group of boys had designated themselves, discovered several good nests in the grounds at Moat Mount, and returned on the follow ing Saturday to reap the spoils. Some one had been there before, and they not only lost the eggs, but a lso a handkerchief which provided incriminating evidence. On the following Tuesday the word was passed round, "All boys in the Large." When the boys had assembled, the Doctor came in frowning and looking as black as thunder. Taking his seat at 234 THE HI TORY OF I\IILL HILL SCHOOL the big desk by the ,vindovv he began (" I remember it almost word for word," says an old boy who was prominent in the ro,v): " o doubt you are all avvare that through the kindness of Mr. Serjeant Cox you are permitted to walk in the beautiful grounds at High wood 1-Iill. But this permission does not extend to trespassing or birdnesting in his preserved woods. I am sorry to say that the keeper has found this handkerchief at the top of a tree in the vvoods close to the lake." This was sufficient to identify the culprit, and his friends were soon detected also. '' I• thank you, gentlemen," continued the Doctor, "for your endeavours to raise the school character, and I feel sure that the rest of the boys thank you also for depriving them of the privilege of enjoying the beauties of Mr. Serjeant Cox's grounds, as he has withdrawn that privilege from this day." Then, addressing the eldest boy, "You, sir, vvill write me out a hundred French irregular verbs, and I shall only take good v\1riting, and the three of you are gated for a month.'' This was not the only time that boys came near the keepers. On more than one occasion ferrets have been kept at the school, and have led to dis turbances with various people owning land about. Once three boys were watched trespassing, and the next day a detective came up to the school to endeavour to fasten on to them the offence of breaking open a platelayers' cabin on the Midland Railway. Many have been the expeditions on to the pond at Moat Mound in the leaky old punt, and sometimes it has been difficult to get the rickety boat back to shore. The relations bet\veen the school and the landovvners, ho,vever, have usually been of T.HE N~W POU DATION the fri endliest description, and there has never been any difficulty in getting permission for the paper chases to run across ploughed fi elds or through woods belonging to gentlemen living in the neighbourhood. When the school was looking out for a new field on which to play cricket, .Mr. H. A. Erlebach and another of the masters walked round the neighbourhood in search of a suitable o-round. They fixed on a field behind the present junior foo tball ground, and almost before they had time to discuss the matter Mr. Johnstone wrote to say that he vvould be very glad for the school to make use of his fi"eld on one con dition, that they should pay no rent. This extremely generous off er was at once accepted, and one of the best cricketers who was trained on that ground was Mr. J ohnstone's son, A. S. Johnstone, the well-known sportsman. It is interesting to note that he got his South cap for "Rugger," played for several first class counties at cricket, and of late years has always been well up in the Amateur Golf Championship. The field was used as long as Mr. Johnstone lived at Arrandene, and the designs for the pavilion erected there were also a free gift, beino- presented by Arthur Harley. I At various periods in the school's history the col- lecting of objects of natural interest has been carried on vvith great vigour. Some splendid collections of birds' ea-gs, butterflies, and plants have been made, and there has seldom been a time v.rhen there were not one or two enthusiastic collectors. Of late years something has been done in the ,vay of stuffing birds, a revival of the habits of old days. lVIany of the cases in the museum are filled with specimens stuffed and presented by H. C. Drury (M.H. 1877-9), while 236 THE HI TORY OF l\1ILL 1-IILL SCHOOL A. J. R. Roberts, ,vell kno,vn to more recent Mill hillians, has not only taken up stuffing, but has also a very fine series of photographs of living birds, their nests and habitats, not inferior in some directions to those of Messrs. K.earton and Lodge. A boyish interest in such matters has not always been en couraged, and the fate of the boy who read Richard Jefferies in the Large during an harangue from the Doctor was not pleasant. On one occasion when the school assembled, and was being lectured on the enormity of some offence which had been committed, the eye of the Headmaster lighted on a boy who was calmly engaged in reading a book. In thunderous accents the question came, " Ball, what book have you there?" To which came the answer, cool, cahn, and clear, " The A niateur Poacher, by Richard J efferies, the author of The Gamekeeper Abroad and other works." It sounds flat in the telling, but the effect on the boys was electrical. It is sad to have to say that from the boy's point of view the effect 'Nas entirely disastrous. " Morning school, at this time, began at 7 o'clock. The getting-Hp bell used to ring at 6.30, mainly for the benefit of the new boys, who used to give tacit encouragement to this pernicious custom by ris_ing at once. By the rest of the school this early practice of campanology was studiously ignored. As far as I recollect, seven minutes to 7 was the usual time for all self-respecting boys to rise, experience having shown that seven minutes were absolutely necessary for the proper performance of ablutions and toilet. few youths with an exceptional genius for the manipulation of articles of attire considered four minutes to be the irr ducible minin1um." THE EW .fOUNDATION 2 37 The Debating Society was very keen in those days. i\11 the boys in the upper part of the school attended, and not only the masters but also their wives, and other ladies connected with the school. Subjects of all kinds were discussed1 and, owing to the presence of masters, no ragging took place. The speaking on the whole was of a fairly high order, and there was. not often a lack of discussion. In quick succession Mill Hill boasted a President of the Union at Oxford and at Cambridge, N. Micklem of New College, and T . E. Scrutton of Trinity, though it must be said that the Debate had not been founded when Micklem left school. Other prominent speakers at Cambridge ,vere J. R. Tanner, Harold Harley, Arthur Ropes, and Owen S eaman, vvho all acquired some of their ability to speak at Mill Hill. During Dr. Weymouth's ad1ninistration there was, as has already been said, a remarkably good record at the Universities. It might, however, have been much better if full advantage had been taken of the opening of Oxford and Cambridge to Nonconformists. As it was, Dr. W eymouth made all his sixth form read with ·a view to the matriculation at London University,. of which he was himself so distinguished a member. Though his boys did so vvell at . Oxford and Cam bridge, not one ever won an entrance scholarship at either University; and it was only in 1884, after Dr. W eymouth had been at Mill Hill fifteen years, that an exhibition w as gained at Lincoln College, Oxfor J, by one of his sons. So, to a large extent, the opportunities afforded at the older Universities were missed, and London was made the goal for all Millhillians . That they were capable of winning scholarships is shown by their remarkable success 238 THE HISTOkY OF MILL HILL CHOOL vvhen they arrived at Oxford and Cambridge. In the Matriculation Examination at London the school achieved some remarkable successes, winning the Erst place four times within eight years, and getting .one or more in honours on most of the occasions when candidates were entered. We now take up the thread of the history again. ln 1876 there was a slight outbreak of scarlet fever, but, unlike sorne of the epidemics before the ew Foundation, it was taken in time, and was followed by the building of the S anatoriun1. The water-supply was improved at the same time. The Sanatorium has the best view in the whole school, and is a prominent feature in the landscape from beyond the Midland line. It is a building well adapted for its purpose, though when first erected it was not suitably designed. Dr. Moff~t paid a visit to the school in 18 76, and met with a very warm reception. S everal of his descendants came to the school after his visi t. This year saw the taking of W est Grove by the school in consequence of its increasing size, it being found possible to fill the ne,;v house as well as Burton Bank. Mr. Alfred Erlebach was the first master in charge of W est Grove, and it is worth mentioning that some nights it was very dark and also foggy; and there being no lamps there vvas some danger of falling into the ditch vvhich ran along by the side of the path from the schoolhouse to W est Grove. In spite of the school's progress, however, serious discussion began to be raised on the subject of expenditure and the position of the boarding-house boys, and this led to a good deal of friction ,vhich did not tend to become less as time went on. Dr. William Huggins, THE NEW FOUNDATION 2 39 F. R.S., this year distributed the prizes on N evv Foundation Day, and the H eadmaster was able to make the gratifying announcement that the first place jn the Matriculation Examination was held for the first time by a Mill Hill boy. The results next year \Vere even more satisfactory, there . being three in honours, one in the first place, and four others in the first division, out of seven candidates. New Foundation Day 1877 was again successful, Sir Robert Lush distributing the prizes, and Prince Lucien Buonaparte being among the guests. T'he school had more than a moderately good season, \Vinning seven matches and losing only three, playing U.C.S. at Lord's. 1878 was an uneventful year, especially when it is compared with the year which followed. Mr. W. H. Wills (now Lord Winterstoke) presented the prizes on New F oundation Day, and the bath, which had been building for some years, was ready for use towards the end of 1878, and was actually opened 1n the early months of the next year. The great event of 1879 was the distribution of prizes on New F oundation Day by Mr. Gladstone. Mr. R. J. Hodgson, who was senior monitor at the . time, has supplied the follovving account of the great day: "Already among the favoured few vvhose privilege it was to sit in close proximity to Dr. Weymouth's table, Mr. Gladstone's well-known postcards, eluci dating, perhaps, some abs truse question relating to the Greek aoris t, were familiar objects ; but now the report spread that the great man was really to appear in person on New Foundation Day, and as that anniversary approached the exci tement grew in 240 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL intensity. \Vell do I remember it! I mean, of course. the main features of the day, for the mists of time have unfortunately obscured many details. No one at any rate will be bold enough to deny that it was par excellence a red-letter day for Mill Hill. It marked the culminating point of a long-continued period of prosperity. My friend the Rev. E. P. Powell at that time shared with t,iVo others and myself the kudos attaching to the position of senior monitors, and I can recollect that it was a very long day for Powell and myself. We rose betimes, nearer 5 a.m. than 6, I should say, and hurried off to catch an early train to King's Cross, en route to Covent Garden, where the bouquet which, later in the day, was to be pre sented to Mrs. Gladstone, was to be bought. With tender loving care the bouquet ,vas carried back to the school, and there deposited for safe keeping with Miss Cooke, whose unfailing kindness on all occasions endeared her to every Mill Hill boy who had the good fortune to stand in need of it. "I suppose I ought to say a word about the weather. It certainly was uppermost in the thoughts of us all at the time. To the best of my recollection, the term had hitherto been a fine one, and vve hoped that this state of affairs atmospherical would continue over the memorable day. Sad to say, all our fond anticipa tions were doomed to fai lure. A damp and dismal morning was followed by a downpour, the steadiness of which can rarely have been equalled, and certainly never surpassed. Among ourselves it was the subject of much unfavourable comment, and, doubtless, the visitors were equally loud in their denunciations of its perversity. Nevertheless, in spite of this draw back, the success of the day was never for one OLD RIDGEWAY lIOl'SE. TIIP, HU:\IE OF PETER COI,T,IXSOX, .-\XD THF ORIGIX.U, SCIIOOI, IH:II~DIXC. • ~ - - - - - --- __ • ------ __ :___ 4- , ---- - -~-· .--::----_-- - ·1~HIS BUILDING fS]}ED[CATED T'O THE us~ OF THE. SOYS Of hHLL HTIL( • SCHOOL :tHA.1:1.T l\fA~ PRESERVE 'THE MEf\10RY OF THE-WORK ri:ERE OF J'"AM:J~S AUGUSTUS IiENRY M~URRA Y. M.A. LL.D. O.C.~.wHo· BECAN r!HEENGLISH D[CTIONJIBY-f' A BUILDING Or' 'Wiir CH Tr-us TAf{ES Tft:[. PLACE • IT IS BY COURTESY NAMED THE I MURRAY SCRIPTORIUM. TIIE DEDICATIOX AXD FOR.TR.UT OF SIR J A:\I~S :\Il'RR.-\ Y IX TIIE SCRIPTORIC\l. [;). :::q I THE NEvV FOUNDATIO. moment in doubt. It ,vould have taken far more than mere rain to damp the spirits of the boys, and the crowds of ladies, who graced the occasion with their presence, cheerfully ran the risk of damaged dresses and vvet feet. "The boys dined in two relays, at 12.30 and r respectively, in the large class-room, and at about 3 p.m. the guests sat down to luncheon in the hall. / About half an hour later the speeches commenced, and this vvas the signal for the boys, and those visitors ,vho had lunched elsewhere, to add still furth er to the nu1nbers which already filled the hall almost to overflowing. Even speeches 1nust have an end, and so eventually a move was made to a marquee which had been erected at the top of the playground, and just below the narrow dip of land which went by the name of the Choir Gardens. To reach the marquee along the narrow causeway of planks, necessitated by the muddy state of the ground, was a work of time; but at last all found themselves settled in their places. There was not long to wajt before Mr. Gladstone, accompanied by his wife and daughter, appeared. Who that vvitnessed that scene could ever forget it? Round upon round of cheers greeted the illustrious visitors, again and again renevved-such cheers as are only to be heard in an assembly of British boys. Scarcely had the cheering subsided vvhen Povvell and myself stepped on to the platform and presented Mrs. Gladstone with the bouquet which had been sub scribed for by the boys themselves. Dr. Weymouth opened the proceedings with a few remarks on the achievements of the school, and immediately there after Mr. Gladstone began the prize distribution. H e shook hands with every prize-winner, adding, 1n r6 242 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL many cases, a special word of congratulation and encouragement. Next came the event to which, above everything else, we had been looking forward . Need I say I refer to Mr. Gladstone's speech? With the great majority of us, I suppose this was the first occasion on which we ever lis tened to his voice. 1'o such it must have been little else than a revela tion. To me it certainly ,;vas. The rain fell in torrents all the time; it pattered upon the tent with an irritating noise, but it mattered not, the old man's voice ran strong and clear above it all, and every word was audible. To the best of my recollection he spoke for fully fifty minutes, but such was the magic of his eloquence that it seemed no time at alL The youngest of us present, I am confident, ,;vas sorry when he sat down. A vote of thanks to Mr. Gladstone was graciously ackno,vledged, and shortly afterwards the distinguished visitors took their departure. Thus ended the most fa111ous day in the annals of Mill Hill School.'' Mr. Gladstone's speech was based on three topics the value of the education supplied at Mill Hill, the School Magazine, and the Natural History S ociety. Coming at a time when the great statesman ,;vas no longer in office nor at the head of the Liberal Party, it excited no little interest. Mr. David Williamson, in his little book Gladstone the Man, says of it: " An address quite by itself in impressiveness was one which he gave to the boys of Mill Hill S chool, cer tainly never to be forgotten by any who heard it." H. M. Bompas, Q .C., the son of an Old Millhillian, and one of the governors of the school, presented the prizes in 1880, and by that time the influence of Mr. Gladstone's visit had sent the numbers up to THE EW FOU DATIO 243 183. The words dropped by Dr. Murray at the previous Foundation Day had borne good fruit, and the museum for the Natural History Society was already built. The Old Boys' Club had been founded in 1878, and held its first annual dinner before Christmas 1879; it now started a Football Team and played seventeen matches their first year, meeting with considerable success. It was, however, always difficult to get sides together, and, though the club became well known and turned out many good players, it was eventually disbanded. Mr. E. S. W eymouth has kindly supplied an account of the foundation of the Old Millhillian Club : "The idea of an Old Boys' Club was no novelty. Other schools of importance had theirs; so naturally the question would arise of founding one for Mill Hill. The germ of the Club, as events subsequently showed, was to be found in the cricket and football teams that were brought to play against the school. The first to take any definite s teps in the matter of forming a club was, beyond a doubt, Mr. Cecil \"fi..T. Cunnington. He was the S ecretary of the Debating Society at King's College, London, where he was then residing, and he restarted the I{ing's College Magazine, which had been discontinued for some years, and he founded the Chess Club there. He was not happy unless he was founding something. I used to see a good deal of him in those days, and he told me his views about an Old Boys' Club for Mill Hill; and it was agreed that probably the best way of popularising this idea was that he should send a letter to the Mill Hill Magazine, and that I should follow it up with another letter in the next number, supporting the proposal, and this was done. 244 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL Cunnington's letter in the Magazine of July 1878 1s worth quoting: "' DEAR SrR -, " ' There is one respect in which Mill Hill is behind other schools of far less importance, and that is in possessing no Old Boys' Football and Cricket Club. I remember when at school talking the matter over in the Monitors' Study, but we never got as far as a name for the club. I do not think, however, that nomenclature is any real obstacle ; there are many old boys residing in and near London; their numbers are conbnually increasing, and if the right ones will come for\vard and take the lead they may be sure of many eager followers. '' ' I s· am, 1r, "' Yours truly, " ' QUARTER- BACK.' "In my letter in the next Magazine (October), signed '1--IALF-BACK,' I see I wrote: 'This scheme was mooted, if I remember rightly, first at the Athletic Sports a year and a half ago, and I beiieve it was well received by all those of the " old boys '1 to whom it was mentioned, and if we were to follow the style of nomenclature of some schools it might be called " The Old Millhillians." "On ovember 18, at the football match Past v. Present, Mr. R. J. Wells, the captain of the Football Club, proposed starting an 'Old Boys' Football and Cricket Club,' and the proposal ,vas supported by all the old boys present, and W ells, at their request, undertook to start the club. Two days later a pre liminary meeting was held in Cunnington's room at THE NEW FOUNDATION 2 45 I(ing's College to arrange the agenda for the General Meeting of the old boys interested. The General Meeting took place at the Freemasons' Ha~~. Holborn, when it was decided to found the club and that it should be called the 'Old Millhillians.' A Committee and Officers were elected, except the President, Vice President, and Cricket Captain, who were elected at the next meeting. 'fhe first complete list of the executive elected was as follows : President, H. Spicer ; Vice - President, N. Micklem; Captains: Cricket, T. Micklem ; Football, R. J. W ells ; Secretaries, C. W. Cunnington and S. S. Pawling; Treasurer, E. S. Weymouth; Committee, E. S. Curwen, W. Edwards, J. G. M. Furnivall, T. H.F. Lapthorn, J.M. Lightvvood, F. S. Ogilvie, J. Povvell, T. E. Scrutton, and C. W. Symons. "The growth of the club is interesting. It was a vigorous infant and has grown to be a giant, but it passed through the stage of being a fat boy who refuses to play and prefers to mouch about. In those lazy days the club ceased to issue programmes of cricket and football fixtures. However, it recovered from its lethargy. But I will not venture on giving the history of the club; that could better be given by one of the present Club Officers or Committee, who has taken an active part in working the club up to the splendid position it now holds." This year saw the departure of Alfred Erlebach, who had been at the school a number of years and vvas extremely well liked, though he was a strict disciplinarian. The school football season of 1879-80 was un doubtedly the most successful that the school had experienced up to that time, and it has not been , 246 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL excelled since. Fourteen matches were won, one lost and one drawn. For the school 54 goals, 49 tries, and 58 touch-downs were scored; against them 3 goals, 3 tries, and 22 touch-downs. T . L. Scarborough, the captain, himself scored 42 tries for the school. According to modern scoring and not reckoning the tout:h-downs, that would represent a score in points of 414 for the school, 24 against. The cricket season ~was almost as successful, 11 matches being won and 4 lost; U.C.S., the Leys and the Old Boys were beaten, Totteridge Park, the Leys and Aldenham were successful against us. The most successful members of the team were A. Butcher (who afterwards played for Hertfordshire), A. G. Day (Yorkshire), and C. J. Robinson (Somerset). It is interesting to note that at this time there were six H eadmasters of Mill Hill living (the Rev. H. Lea Berry, M.A.; Philip Smith, B.A.; P. C. Barker, M.A. ; W. F. Hurndall, M.A., Ph.D. ; G. D. Bartlet; and Dr. Weymouth). There are probably few schools to vvhom such a circumstance has happened. The Old Millhillian Dinner of 1880 was most suc cessful, and Dr. Weymouth and his two famous coadjutors all made excellent speeches, full of hope for the future. Mr. Harley, in parodying a story of W ebster's, "the greatest lexicographer next before Murray,'' said that there was no record of a school with so able a staff as Mill Hill ever coming to grief His moral is fair, inasmuch as Mill Hill is still flourishing; but the school had to go through another valley of shado\VS before it reached the Promised Land The football season of 1880-81 was not quite so successful as that of the previous year, but the First Fifteen only lost one match, and the three teams THE NEW FOUNDATIO 2 47 together only four, while twenty were won. One of the three-quarters this year was J. H. Dewhurst, who was extremely successful at school, and when he went to Cambridge got his "Blue." He after wards played for Yorkshire, and eventually won his International cap. It would not be fair to pass over the various outside means of education which the school utilised at this time. In addition to the Debate and the Natural History Society, which were of distinct service to the boys as well as serving as a recreation, there were always four or five lectures in each term, delivered by well-known men on scientific or literary subjects. In addition to members of the staff, well-known ministers like the Revs. Paxton Hood, Elvery Dothie, De Kewer Williams, or Mr. Benjamin Scott, the City Chamberlain, and many others used to lecture. In 1881 a further de velopment was attempted, and the H eir-at-Law was acted by some of the boys and masters. This embryo Dramatic Society, however, died in its infancy, and it was not revived until 1896. In the same year the first School Concert under Dr. Weymouth's adminis tration was held, and was fairly successful. Music, however, was not made the most of in those days, and though the annual concert has been kept up with but few lapses until the present time, it has been only of recent years that the school has been really keen on music. At the present time there are pro bably fevv schools where the percentage of boys learning the piano or other instrument is greater than at Mill Hill, and there are few boys with any taste for music whatever who do not have an oppor tunity of getting to know something of chorus singing or orchestral music. 248 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL The position of boarding-house boys in the school house had never, it would seem, been definitely fixed, and the question was constantly cropping up. Originally the boarding-house boys dined at the school, but this system proved very unsatisfactory, and was eventually abandoned. This question and others led to an amount of friction vvhich did the school no good, and suggested to the outside public that the wheels vvere not running smoothly. In 1881 • matters came to a head, and Mr. Harley left Mill Hill towards the close of the year, selling Burton Bank to the Governors at a very substantial figure. It \Vas probably unwise to have had such a system in vogue ,vhereby the boarding-house was the private property of a master, who had therefore vested interests which could not be overlooked. The system has worked well enough at other schools, but the Governors 0£ Mill Hill have decided not to repeat the experiment. Mill Hill also suffered in this same year by the death of Miss Cooke, who had been Lady Resident since the New Foundation. Until her time no matron had stayed at the school more than four year s except Mrs. Rees, the wife • of the secretary, who had lasted for a decade. All Mill Hill boys during the first twelve years of the New Foundation have very affectionate remembrances of Miss Cooke, and the news of her death was heard with great regret by all who knew her. Any one who had the good fortune to stand in need of her help had never to ask twice for it, and her whole life was bound up in Mill Hill. Every Speech Day her toast was pro posed ,often by the Rev. J. De I(ewer Williams, and the enthusiastic cheers with which her name was greeted were a certain witness to her great popularity. It THE NEW FOUNDATI01 2 49 was felt that some adequate memorial should be raised, and so a tablet was erected to her memory in the School Chapel, and a monument was put up over her grave in the village churchyard. To take Mr. Harley's place Dr. Weymouth was successful in getting Dr. Frederick Stock, and he accordingly enterecl upon his duties as Boarding-house Master in the winter term of 1881. Dr. Stock was a Doctor of Literature of the University of London, and ~o Mill Hill had the unique possession of two out of the three Doctors of Literature in existence. rfhere can be no doubt that a mistake was made in the introduction of a man from outside, with little experience of schoolmastering, to undertake the duties of Boarding-house Master, when there were several men on the staff who had done yeoman service for the school. The prizes were distributed this year by Dr. Storrar, Chairman of the Senate of the University of London, who had always been a good friend to Mill Hill, and had been a member of the Court for some years. Both in cricket and football the school kept up a good record, the cricket team winning nine matches as against three, while the football team did even better, scoring eleven victories and only being defeated three times, G. P. Reynolds kicking 36 goals out of 48 attempts. The numbers, which had sunk from 183 to 172 in the previous year, now slid down to 140. There was no doubt that the loss of Mr. Harley was felt to a very serious extent. He had possessed a very large connection in Yorkshire, where many of the N oncon formist families sent their boys to Mill Hill, and he also had friends who were of Huguenot extraction. 250 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL whose sons came here. Now that he had gone all his connection was lost to the school, and this told more and more as time went on. The Charity Commissioners began to get troublesome, and refused to allow the huge price which had been paid for Burton Bank to be raised out of ordinary funds, but insisted that a sinking fund was to be established to pay off the debt. Finances were crippled by this enormous outlay, far beyond what Burton Bank was really worth, and the school has never recovered this blow until comparatively recent years. Robert Temperley came back this year as master. He had been a boy at the school a few years before, and had had a successful career at Queen's College, Cambridge. After leaving Mill Hill he went to Bradfield College as a master. There he was the life and soul of the cadet corps, and was very much missed when he decided to take up barrister's work in Newcastle. The Earl of Aberdeen, for some years past, had owned a house in Mill Hill, called Littleberries, now owned by the Catholic sisters. He always took a considerable interest in the school, and at his house Mr. Gladstone had stayed on more than one occasion. The school was fortunate enough to persuade him to distribute the prizes this year on Foundation Day, and a very successful function was the result. Two former Headmasters were on the platform, side by side with Dr. Weymouth, the Rev. Philip Smith, who had sent out so many successful boys from 1853 to 1860, and the Rev. G. D. Bartlet, the last Head before the New Foundation, who had made a final effort to reorganise the school. The Old Millhillian Club had a fairly successful THE NEW FOU D TIO cricket season, winning four matches and losing only two. S. S . Pawling, always a tower of strength to them, on one occasion took eight wickets for three runs, six of them being clean bowled. Like the Old Boys, the school had a good measure of success, winning ten matches, and los ing only four out of eighteen. The Leys were beaten twice, U.C.S. and the Old Boys once each, while the M.C.C. were successful. There was some extremely good bowling, a hundred and eighty wickets being taken at an average of seven runs apiece, while Mr. Erlebach had an average of thirty-seven in club matches, J. W . Davies of twenty-two, and G. P. Reynolds of twenty-one. Events now hurry on to the close of the W eymouth administration. The school managed to recover its position slightly, but a bad year followed, with slight outbreaks of chicken-pox, scarlet fever, and measles. There was accordingly no Foundation Day in 1883, but Mr. William Summers, M.P., who was to have distributed the prizes, came in the winter term and delivered his speech to the school. It was plain from the lack of success in the football and cricket seasons that the school was declining. The football team of 1882-3 won six matches, as compared with seven defeats, being beaten twice by the Old Boys, and once each by the Leys and the Old Leysians. In cricket the record was vvorse, only two matches being won, seven lost, six drawn, and one tied. The M.C.C., Merchant Taylors, U.C.S., and the Old Leysians all beat the school, while the Old Boys took their usual victory. The football season of 1883-4 was not very much more successful, ten matches being won, and the defeats only numbering one less. In cricketJ 252 THE HISTORY OF :MILL HILL SCHOOL however, there was a very conspicuous in1provement in I 884, and with J. F. Wintringham and J. H. Todd the school won nine matches, including the games against Merchant Taylors, the Leys, and the Old Millhillians, '"hile they only lost three, including the match against the M.C.C. This improvement was also maintained in the next football season, when eleven matches were won and four lost. An interesting note in the Magazine this year was one which tells us that the decorations of the Sixth Form Room had been increased by the presentation of four busts of Shakespeare, Milton, Goethe, and Dante. At one time No. VI. Class-room was Vlell equipped with ornaments of this kind, having quite a dozen pictures of team groups as well, but the last of the busts disappeared in 1895, and the last of the photographs a few years later, and the walls for some time were absolutely bare. Since the turning of the class-rooms in the schoolhouse into living rooms in 1906, a great deal has been done to beautify them. Most of the six rooms have their quota of pictures, and the rooms themselves have been redecorated and refurnished at the expense of the Headmaster and Mr. Herbert Marnham. In 1884 the first notice of the publication of the English Dictionary was sent round. The labours of Dr. Murray and his assistants had been tremendous; three tons of paper slips with quotations on them had been sent in from known and unknown friends in all parts of the world. The material in the Scriptorium had gradually been brought into some sort of order, and in the beginning of the year a circular was sent round announcing the impending publication of the first part, which was an accomplished fact before the THE EvV FOU DATIOX 253 middle of the year. Now that the publication had begun, Mill Hill was to lose Dr. Murray, who had been for fifteen years the mainstay of the Debate, Magazine, and atural History Society. He stayed until the middle of 1885, and then went to take up his residence in Oxford, where he could edit the Dictionary on the spot, and supervise its production. Suitable presentations were made by the boys, and the Court of Governors, at their next meeting, passed the f ollovv ing resolution : '' That, in view of the retirement of Dr. Murray from Mill Hill, the Governors of the school desire to record their sense of the great services vvhich he has rendered the school during the fifteen years of his mastership. They recognise that Dr. Murray, by his energy and devotion to the school, has uniformly succeeded in winning the affection of the boys and the esteem of all connected with Mill Hill, and that the school is deeply indebted to his personal influence and wide scholarship. While vvishing Dr. Murray every success in the larger work vvhich he has undertaken, they cannot but regret their loss in his retirement. They have, however, the satisfaction of knowing that his name and influence will long be remembered and felt in connection with the school." " Dr. Murray," vvrites an Old Millhillian of his time, "always seemed more at home at Mill Hill than most of the masters. Whether it was the greater homeli ness of his class-room, with its shoppy smell, caused by the books which were sold there to the boys, or the fact that he used to give out the pocket-money, this much remains, that he was appreciated by practi cally every boy with whom he came into contact. Nothing was too much trouble for him. H e rendered 254 THE HISTORY OF l\1ILL HILL SCHOOL a great deal of help to the editors of the Magazine, and the Natural History O\ved its birth and nearly all its success to his untiring effort~. Often we used to drop in to Sunnyside and bring pieces of stone, some butterflies and moths, or specimens of flowers, to be named by him, and he never turned us away. At times he must have been fearfully bored, but he always contrived to appear to suffer us little fools gladly. H alf the pleasure of an afternoon's walk was the prospect of a talk with Dr. Murray at the end of it. His classes were always intensely interesting. You never knew where you might arrive before the lesson was done. A nominal geography class might easily develop into a lecture on Icelandic roots, and we often tried to bring him back to the days when the Finnish landed on the shores of the Baltic, on occasions vvhen we had not given adequate time to the preparation of our set lesson. Then the tricks he could play with \vords. Such was his skill and knowledge that many of us firmly believed that by Grimm's law he could prove that B LAC K really was the same word as W H I T E ; a t least that was how it seemed to our poor intelli gences. Another interesting memory is his recitation of ' MacGregor,' so often, but never too often, re peated, and the marvellous way in which he produced the echo,'" lVIacGregor, MacGregor," the echoes reply.' This was a frequent finale to our scratch concerts, and never failed to bring down the house. It was a treat to hear him read the lessons, particularly the chapter in Kings about Elijah and the prophets of Baal. How he scorched them. Why, I am sure many boys of that period felt convinced that Elijah had a red beard and wore a scarlet hood. All Millhillians of that period, and many others who have got to know THE NEW FOU DATION 255 him at Oxford since that time, keep a very \Varm corner in their heart for Dr. Murray. To many 1 suppose the present seems the most glorious period of the school's history. But to not a few those years when Dr. Murray taught us English and Grimm's law, scorched the prophets of Baal, and recited ' MacGregor' was the golden age. '''Joy was it then to be alive, And to be young was very heaven.'" The departure of Dr. Murray seems to have had an immediate effect on the numbers of the school. In 1883 there had been 104 boys in the schoolhouse, and at the end of 1884 there were still 91, but by December 1885, when Dr. Murray's resignation had taken effect, they had sunk to 63. The profits of the working of the school had also disappeared. From a substantial sum in 1883-4, they had sunk to nil in 1885. A committee was appointed to inquire into the matter, and it was found that if the prospective decrease of numbers by eighteen boys took place, there would be a considerable loss on the next term. There were two welcome additions to the school buildings about this time. Dr. Murray had originally intended to take the Scriptorium to Oxford, but the difficulties of moving it made him decide to give it to the school as a r eading-room for the boys. The old boys, at his request, subscribed to have it 1noved from Sunnyside into the playground. At the same time, the Governors decided that the teaching of science ought to be made a more definite part of the school curriculum. Something had been done in o. 5 class-room, but there was no adequate accom modation there, and eventual1 y a laboratory and 256 THE HI TORY OF :MILL HILL SCHOOL lecture-room \Vere built of corrugated iron, at the end of the buildings by the playground. The room is now used as a carpenter's shop. The athletics of Dr. Weymouth's last years may be summed up in a fe\v lines. In the cricket season of 188 5 the school \Yon four matches, and lost nine, out of a total of fifteen, U.C.S., lVIerchant Taylors, Leys, and Old Leysians being successful against us. The football season of 1885-6 was fairly good, the school winning eight as against five. St. Paul's were beaten twice, U.C.S., Merchant Taylors, l(ing's College School, and Blackheath once each. The Godolphin School was beaten by fifteen goals three tries to nil. The only school to win was the Leys. In r 886 the cricket was only fair, seven matches being won, five lost, and two dra\vn. While the school was declining from its high position of the seventies, several of those who had been actively interested in the school's progress were passing away; and thus there was a very definite line being marked between the present and the past. In the summer of r 88 5 Philip Smith, a forn1er H eadmaster, died, and only a few months later the Rev. Robert Marten, the school secretary, like Philip Smith, an old Millhillian, also died. During 1886 four men vvho had been intimately connected with Mill Hill passed away. Sir W alter Medhurst, an old boy of the forties, who had become a successful diplomatist in China; Dr. Storrar, chairman of the Senate of the University of London, and a member of the Court of Governors ; Dr. Stock, only recently appointed boarding-house master; and lvir. Samuel Morley, M.P., who had had a great deal to do with the ew Foundation, and had by his generous gifts 1nade it possible for Mill Hill to exist; he had been ............. _ ·-- . .. . , ... ....... . , ,, , f,,' -"- •, -.. ~ "'- -..; -t. THE NEW FOUNDATION 257 a Vice-President for seventeen years, and had main~ tained his interest in the school. Mill Hill did not show any signs of recovery-in fact, the outlook was even more gloomy than ever and in March 1886 Dr. Weymouth sent in his resig nation to the Court of Governors. He had been extremely unlucky in losing his two ablest lieutenants within so short a time of each other; and this fact, coupled with the reorganisation of one or two grammar schools in the north of England, notably Bradford, had drawn off from Mill Hill some con siderable part of its constituency. There is no doubt also that the serious dissensions which had taken place from time to time among the staff had done the school no small amount of damage. The Governors with much regret said that, while they recognised Dr. Weymouth's ability, and were grateful to him for the long and admirable services he had rendered to Mill Hill, they did not feel that the present size of the school justified them in any other action than to accept his resignation, which they thereby did. "The growth and success of Mill Hill during the period of Dr. Wey1nouth's headmastership," writes another old boy, " is one of the most striking eras in its history, and was due to several causes. Time and circumstance had, of course, much to do with it. The commercial prosperity of the late sixties was felt to the full by leading onconf ormists. The ideas then current and vigorous in Church and State were in accord with the notion of a public school free from Anglican bias, and rather proud than otherwise of its special character. "There were more parents at once able and ,villing to send ~heir sons to Mill Hill than had been 17 258 TIIE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL the case for a long time. Private schools were passing out of vogue. The older public schools were still alien and unattractive to those from whom Mill Hill drew its strength. "And \Vith the time came the men. Dr. Weymouth was in many ways a ·man exceptionally fitted to revive Mill Hill. He was severely orthodox as to the greater part of the Evangelical creed. He was a great man among the Baptists. His London D.Lit. had placed him on a high pinnacle among those-and they were the clz'entele of Mill Hill-who loved the curriculum and methods of the London University. He was just the type, good but not too good for the place and the hour. And in himself he possessed not a few high qualities. He was singularly im pressive to parents and boys and the public, especially for the first time. I-le had considerable and varied learning of the London University kind. He had a wonderfully taking and instructive way of teaching both the sixth form and the second. He knew and made boys know the indispensable quality of clear ness. If there was a strain of artificiality in his character there was something very like a strain of greatness with it. He did not always show at his best in 'the trivial round, the common task,' but he never once failed to rise fully to any great occasion. His genuine powers of display of discipline and of exposition were most ren1arkable. Above all, he ,vas a striking personality, never to be ignored, and always exciting interest and stimulating thought. We sometimes feared him, sometimes liked him, sometimes even laughed at him, but we were all proud of him. "Before long the school was greatly strengthened by the arrival of Mr. Harley. Like Dr. W eymouth THE NEW FOUNDATION 259 he commanded the confidence of the orthodox on conf ormist. He brought with him a most valuable connection from the North of England. His eminence as a mathematician was beyond criticism, and inspired something like awe, and his blend of vulnerable temper and the kindest and sunniest of natures won by its very singularity. There were not a few reasons for the success of his boarding-house, and as his in fluence was largely in the North of England, and that of Dr. Weymouth in the South, the two together placed the school in a very strong position. "As important, though very different from both, was Dr. (now Sir James) Murray. When he first came he was only Mr. Murray, a young Scotchman with the full allowance of national grit, integrity, and power of work, but with an historic sense scarcely equalled in those days save by J. R. Green, and a passion for literature and language studies which revealed an original and powerful mind. With traditions as unlike those of English public schools as possible, he developed more of the true public-school spirit than any other master, and beneath an austerity of manner which beca1ne the rigorous discipline of the North, he only half concealed qualities which won him ever-increasing and enduring affection. " Like the other two, he was felt to be an eminent man, conforming to no conventional type, and so the school was given its tone and character by the dominant sense of personality which its leading masters awakened and exemplified. "The same was true to almost the same degree, though in a less conspicuous scale, with the most influential of the other masters. Few stayed as long or had as much influence as Mr. J. M. Lightwood and 260 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL Mr. Alfred Erlebach. They were very different men : Mr. Lightwood responsive, almost romantic, fond of theory and of literary charm, just the man to guide and interest young imaginations; Mr. Erlebach severely accurate, matter-of-fact, though practical, but with the prosaic fibre of his nature made as it were fusible by the fire of righteousne;:;s and duty which glowed within him. "Accordingly there was adequate and good teaching and training material in the staff of the school, and boys who take their line from the characteristics of their leaders had, to an unusual degree, opportunities of developing their personalities and individual char acter. This was helped by the school curriculum. The accurate but elementary omniscience demanded in those days by the London Matriculation was largely the ideal of school work. It gave an admirable finish to the school education of those proceeding to count ing-house or office. It did not help the few who went to the older Universities or the learned pro fessions. With quick boys, or those who if attracted by a subject want to go into it heart and soul, it was not fully satisfying, and here came in the char acter of the leading masters with their interest in things outside of examinations. There are many now who look back to hours in Mr. Lightwood's library, to chats with Dr. Murray on all sorts of out-of-the world subjects, to confabulations with Mr. Harley as to the logical machine, or with Dr. W eymouth as to his special views on the Second Aorist in Greek, as among the most stimulating of their earlier mental efforts. "So it was that alike the type of master and of curriculu1n all made for the development of personality, THE NEW FOU DATION 261 for the teaching boys to think and hold op1n1ons, rather than for high scholastic acquirements or educa- tional finish. It may well be more than a fancy which leads Old Millhillians of that time, conscious of many deficiencieg compared with those of other schools, yet to nurture the notion that they learnt more perhaps than some contemporaries, to 'see life steadily and see it whole.' "To this there was, of course, another side. The classical studies given so much prominence in the New Scheme were not pursued with success or thoroughness. Dr. Weymouth, though _learned, was not in the technical sense a ' scholar,' save in New Testament Greek. Dr. Murray's multifarious know ledge was organised on historical and scientific lines rather than those of University tradi-tion. Mr. Harley was a mathematician largely self-trained, vvith scarcely anything in common with Cambridge methods. Had it not been for Mr. J effery and Mr. Hudson the notion of what is meant by felicities of classical style would scarcely have reached a Mill Hill boy. There were, of course, a succession of masters who had taken good degrees at Oxford and Cam bridge, but they were overshadowed by the three greater names. "There is no doubt the defect injured the school and prevented its gaining a tie with Oxford and Cam bridge so close as to help Mill Hill when the inevitable days of adversity came, but at the time it seemed to matter little in the continued success which these remarkable men secured for the school. "If personality was the principal element in the success of Mill Hill in the seventies, it was the clash of personalities which had much to do with the beginnings of decline. 262 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL "There was much in Dr. Weymouth and Mr. Harley of the best private school rather than of the public school type. The relations of Governors to Head- master, of Headmaster to Vice-master, were scarcely articulated with full precision. Dr. Murray was drawn away to the great English Dictionary and his famous career. Trade expansion had been succeeded by trade depression. The Mill Hill tradition was strong enough to keep the school going, but not to keep it flourishing, and with the declining force of the individual came a pause in the growth of the school. But the Weymouth period has added not only a notable chapter to the school's history; it has enlarged the meaning and associations of 'Mill Hill,' and it has left for subsequent years the solution of the supreme problem of uniting tradition and training with the encouragement of individuality, which vvas advanced in those memorable years when Millhillians boasted of the celebrated men who were not only their masters but their friends." CHAPTER XII MILL HILL UNDER VINCE THE Governors had now to appoint a new Head .. master, and out of the numerous applications for the post they appointed Mr. Charles Anthony Vince, M.A., late Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge, and Sixth Form Master at Repton School. Mill Hill was not in a satisfactory condition, and the prosperity that . had attended it before was no longer with it. It needed a very great deal of support to put it on its legs once more, and unfortunately it had to slip down still further before it was finally re-established. In recognition of Dr. W eymoutr's splendid services to the school, it was decided to make him a pension from the funds of the school, and this motion was unanimously carried by the Court. His old pupils also combined to do him honour by having his portrait painted by Sidney Paget, and hung in the dining-hall. The masters at the school continued as before, Mr. Jeffrey, formerly Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, who had been on the staff since r 878, going down to Burton Bank. The other masters were Messrs. J. H. Jackson, F. J. Edminson, A. E. Hudson, and E. W. H allifax, who joined the staff in 1885. Mr. Vince was fortunate in being able to get such 263 264 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL good presidents for Foundation Day, the four being Sir George Young, Archdeacon Farrar (afterwards Dean of Canterbury, a former Headmaster of Marl borough), Dr. Dale, of Birmingham, and Dr. Fairbairn, of Mansfield College, Oxford. In spite of all efforts, the school went down in numbers, and the Old Mill hillians Club Committee and the Court of Governors met to discuss the best method of increasing the school's prosperity. In 1888 the Rev. J. Radford Thompson resigned his duties as chaplain, and in the next year Miss Myers, the lady resident, retired, and Mrs. Foster took her place. Dr. H urndall died this year, to the general regret of those who had been his pupils at school. He had been headmaster in the sixties, during a similar crisis to that which was now upon the school, and he had retired, finding the task too heavy. In order to create fresh interest in Mill Hill, a garden-party was held at the school in the summer of 1889, under the auspices of the Headmaster and the President of the Old Millhillians Club (Mr. Albert Spicer). About five hundred old boys and friends came up to Mill Hill, and the success of the day was quite exceptional. No change in the school's numbers, however, ,occurred as the result, and the prospect seemed to be becoming more and more gloomy. As a curious contrast to the general condition of the school, the athletics were surprisingly success ful, at least in some respects. The football team of 1886-7, under N. McAllardice, won ten matches and lost seven out of eighteen, being beaten by Merchant Taylors, Bedford Modern, and the Leys. Cricket hardly shone in 1887, the team, under the MILL HILL U DER VI CE 265 captaincy of S. C. Buckland, winning only four and losing thirteen. In 1887-8 R. H. Smith was captain of football, and Bedford Modern and County Schools, U.C.S. and the Marlborough Nomads were among the six teams beaten. Seven, including U.C.S. and the Old Leysians, were successful against the school. T. W. Pearson was captain of cricket in 1888 and 1889. While at school he seems to have been equally prominent at all games, as, in addition to his success at: cricket and football, he was the best athlete of his time, and also won the open tennis tournament in one of these years. In his first year five matches were won and ten lost, but in 1889 the figures were reversed. Of the ten victories U.C.S., Guy's Hospital, and the Stoics were the most important; of the five defeats, the Leys, M.C.C., and Bedford. In some respects the football season of 1888-9 was the most successful that there has been in the history of the school. Under the very able captaincy of C. E. Fitch, twelve victories were scored against only two def eats out of a total of sixteen matches played. The Leys, St. Paul's, Merchant Taylors, U.C.S., Bedford Modern, and Bedford County Schools were beaten, the latter by seventeen goals one try to nil, T. W. Pearson missing only one shot out of eighteen kicks, a record which has never been beaten. The team scored 199 points to 29. Besides being success ful while at school, the individual members afterwards attained to considerable heights in the football world. C. E. Fitch won his Blue at Cambridge, and also got his trial-eights cap ; T. W. Pearson was captain of Cardiff, a leading member of the Newport team, and formed, with A. J. Gould, perhaps the best wing that has yet been seen. He got his International cap on 266 THE HISTORY OF MILL H1LL SCHOOL no fewer than twelve occasions, and has since repre sented Wales at hockey and tennis as well. After retiring from the football field for some years, he reappeared for e\Yport in 1902-3 as an emergency player, and was so successful that he was chosen to play for Wales and to captain the team. In the same year he also got his International hockey cap again in each of the three matches. A. F. Todd got his Blue for two years at Cambridge, and in 1900 got his International against Scotland and Ireland before going out to the front. Of the other members of the t eam, J. C. Harris was a prominent member of Rosslyn Park, and J. B. Jackson, in addition, got his Middlesex cap. After this seaso11 the success was not kept up. The next year unde r A. A. Hobson, only four matches were won as against seven defeats, and in 1890-1 , A. F. Todd's first year as captain, the school won five and lost eight out of fourteen. The cricket team of 1890, under F. H. Nimmo, though containin ()" several good players, vvas not very successful, and Bedford Modern put up 450 against them, A. 0. Jones, the present otts captain, and C. S. Lorraine both scoring centuries. F. D. Gray's season was distinctly better, ten matches being won and eight lost. In spite of the alternations of fortune, there have probably been few periods when so many good footballers ,vere turned out as in these five years; and the greatest credit is due to the football captains, and cricket captains too, for the splendid use they made of what seemed at first but scanty material. For some years single-handed hockey had been played in the school ; in 1891 it was definitely r cognised as a school game, and rules drawn up MILL HILL UNDER VINCE 267 for its play. In the same year considerable im provements were made in the "Ten-acre," and it vvas begun to be used permanently as the First Eleven ground. Up to this time the school had been indebted to Mr. Johnston, the fath er of A. S . Johnston, the Essex cricketer, who was here from 1878-1884, for their ground. Later on Mr. Collings Wells also allowed the school to play on the field attached to Mr. Johnston's old house, but now for the first time the school could boast of a level field of its own, largely through the keenness displayed by Mr. T. H. J ackson. H e and a good number of the boys helped in levelling and rolling, and did a lot to make the ground fit for play. Several other suggestions were made for the i1n provement of the school. Mr. Edminson, who was in charge of W est Grove, proposed that it should be made into a boarding-house like Burton Bank, but Mr. Jackson, who had succeeded Mr. Jeffrey, objected, and consequently the idea fell through. Mr. Hudson also proposed a preparatory school, but the nurnbers were not nearly large enough to make such a scheme at all feasible. The only active im provements brought about were the establishment of a carpenter's shop-where the boys were able to use tools under the supervision of a competent instructor -and the building of an additional piece to the atural H istory Society's Museum. In the meantime the school had shown no signs of improvement, and the numbers remained at a low figure, being in some terms lower than they had been in 1886. Some new blood was introduced into the Court of Governors by the election of Messrs. J ames Powell and R. W . B. Buckland, and continual 268 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL discussions ,vent on as to the best means to adopt for raising the position of the school. There was an annual loss, and it became really doubtful whether Mill 1-Iill could continue to exist. Some one or two old boys, unnatural sons, suggested that the school had had its day, and should therefore cease to be ; but the great bulk of Dr. Weymouth's boys, and many of earlier date, gathered round the school, and announced their determination of making another effort. bout the middle of 1891 Mr. C. . Vince decided that the task of pulling Mill Hill School out of the mire was too heavy for him, and accordingly sent in his resigna tion, vvhich the Governors regretfully accepted. During the five years he had been I-Ieadmaster he had won the affection of the boys, and had exercised an extremely good influence over the moral tone of the school. Of the boys who were at Mill Hill during his administration there are few, if any, who are not loyal Millhillians, and there are a good number who have won some distinction for them selves in other directions besides sport. Mr. ince was probably at his best in the pulpit; and the sermons vvhich he preached in the school chapel will not be forgotten by those who heard them, or even those who have only read them in their published form. A Committee was formed among the Old Millhillians who had been at school under Mr. Vince, and arrangements were made to have his portrait painted by Mr. Frank Ogilvy and presented to the school to be hung in the dining-hall. Mr. Vince's retirement made it necessary for the Governors to look about them for a H eadmaster. They made several overtures to likely candidates, but none of them felt inclined to accept the responsi- MILL HILL U DER VINCE 269 bilities of the position. Among the names brought before them was that of J. D. McClure, M.A., LL.M., of Trinity College, Cambridge. He had been a prominent Nonconformist while at the University, and was a graduate both at Cambridge and London. For the last five years he had been engaged in extension lecturing all over the country, and had made numerous friends wherever he went. He had , just been called to the Bar when he received the ' offer of the headmastership of Mill Hill, which, after due consideration, he accepted. Several Old Mill hillians had been among his best friends at Cam bridge, and one of these, the Rev. E. Hampden Cook, became school secretary when Mr. McClure became Headmaster. CHAPTER XIII MILL HILL UNDER DR. McCLURE THE eighteen years during which Dr. McClure has been H eadmaster are too recent to admit of more than cursory mention. They have not passed into the stage when they can be reckoned as hi story; and though there is very much upon which it might be interesting to dilate, we must be content with mentioning the bare facts without adding any com ment. When Mr. McClure, as he then was, assumed the reins of government in 1891 the school contained only sixty-one boys. About a third of these were day boys, another third were at Burton Bank, and the remainder were in the schoolhouse. Only about one table was filled in hall, and on Saturday night, when the weekly boarders were at ho1ne, it was unnecessary to have " Large Preparation," as th ere "\\7ere so few boys to go in to it. There were six monitors only, and the corridor was not half full when the boys lined up for meals. H ouse super vision was comparatively easy, owing to the small numbers, and the spare and gaunt chapel looked miserably bare on Sundays. "Assembly" was held in the "Long" in the middle of the morning, vvhen there was a " ten-minutes " break, now altered to the "quarter of an hour." The old large class-room 270 iILL HILL U DER DR. :McCLURE 271 was big enough for all the boys who went in to preparation, and it was not until 1894 that the monitors began to increase their numbers to eight, and to supervise the preparation of the classic and modern fourths in the " Long." About the same time the alteration in the hours, which is described ]ater on, and the "Assembly" was taken in the chapel before school instead of in the " Long" during the interval. No. 2 dormitory was opened in 1892, after having been used as a box-room. During the eleven football seasons which have elapsed since then, this dormitory has contained the football captain on no fewer than eight occasions. Classes in those days were small and the organisa tion was difficult, while it was not yet definitely settled whether it would be possible to continue the working of the school. However, the Governors had confidence in the H eadmaster they had chosen, and the enthusiasm which he brought to the task soon infected those around him, and made the school full of keenness though small in numbers. It grew every term from the very start, at first slowly, but by September 1893 the hundred limit was reached. This was the third occasion on which Mr. Scrutton, the treasurer, had seen the school pass the century; and it must have been gratifying to him to think that the dark days of the eighties were over, and that a new era of prosperity was in sight for Mill Hill. The new Headmaster proved himself an enthusiast for athletics ; and though the size of the school prohibited any extraordinary success, yet keenness was evident on all sides, and the cricket and football teams of this period were respectable, if not remarkable. Foundation Day was revived, 272 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL with all its pleasant associations, and Dr. Courtney S. Kenny, the Professor of English Law at Cambridge, presided in 1892. At Old Boys' ay in the previous year the Earl of Stamford was i11 the chair. Though not an Old Millhillian he had very close ties with the school, having been Fifth Form Master for some years under Dr. Weymouth. In those days he was known as Mr. Grey, and it ,vas not until he had been some years at Codrington College in the Barbados that he succeeded to his title. The staff \\7hen Mr. McClure commenced his head mastership consisted of Mr. T. H. Jackson, B.A., who succeeded Mr. Jeffrey at Burton Bank, Mr. E.W. Hallifax, M.A., Mr. J. G. Milne, B.A., Mr. R. J. Johnson, M.A., Mr. E. L. Milner-Barry, M.A., and Mr. H. H. Meyler, B.A. Of these only two remained long-Mr. Hallifax, who has for sixteen years carried on his work at Burton Bank, and Mr. Milner-Barry, who after six years as schoolhouse-master held Collinson House for four years, and only retired from the staff in 1907. In addition to the respon sibilities already mentioned, Mr. Barry was an Examiner in German at the University of London, an Examiner for the Tripos at Cambridge, a Lecturer at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and a prominent worker in everything connected with modern language-teaching. Mr. Jackson has settled in New Zealand, where he occupies an imporant position in Canterbury College, while Mr. Milne is an inspector under the Board of Education, and is actively engaged in work at Mansfield House Settlement. Mention must be made of Mr. M. C. Powell, M.A., and of Mr. R. J. J ohnson, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, the latter of whom, '' ,, CARP SHOP MILL HILL U DER DR. McCLURE 273 after teaching the First Form for a year, went out to South Africa, and is at present headmaster of the school at Aliwal North, where he had experiences of great excitement during the late war. In 1893, to the great satisfaction of all Millhillians, there joined the staff a master who had been well known to boys of the early seventies, Mr. Henry J. Tucker. While a master at Mill Hill he had secured the affection of the boys to a very large degree, and he had been recognised as a thorough sportsman of the best type. He at once showed that he had lost none of his keenness, by taking an active part at school cricket, and by refereeing in football matches, as he felt himself unequal to taking a more definite share in them. Amongst the masters of these years we may mention Mr. F. A. Wright, M.A., of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and Mr. R. S. Clay, M.A., of St. John's College, Cam bridge, novv a Doctor of Science of the University of London, so long the 1nainstay of the atural History and Photographic Societies. Of these Messrs. Barry, Milne, and Meyler used to play football for the school when the numbers prevented a respectable side from being chosen without assistance from the masters. In I 893 the prizes were distributed by Dr. J. A. H. Murray, who had in I 88 5 resigned his mastership at the school to assume more immediate supervision of the Oxford Dictionary. The enthusiasm with which he was received showed that the school and the old boys had not forgotten his keenness for everything that concerned Mill Hill. The year I 893 was also remarkable for a new departure in connection with the Magazine, whose editors published a register of all the boys who have IS 274 THE HI. TORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL ever been at school, with some slight account of their subsequent doings. The initiative in this task vvas taken by Mr. E. Hampden Cook, M.A., of St. John's College, an Old MillhilJ :an himself, vvho came to the school as secretary when Mr. McClure assumed the headmastership. During the four years that he spent here Mr. Cook was indefatigable in his efforts on behalf of the school, and no inconsiderable share of the credit for the rise in numbers is due to him. This year was unfortunate in so1ne ways for the school, for an outbreak of scarlet fever during the summer made it necessary for the boys to be sent home before the end of the term, and thus the cricket season was spoiled. In spite of the outbreak, the numbers still went up, and everything pointed to further progress. The gy1nnasium, which had been an open asphalted shed, was now boarded in, and a floor was put down capable of supporting the gymnastic instruments, which had often been very unsteady on the old and uneven asphalt. The year 1894 opened with a hundred and thirty boys, so that in less than four years the numbers had nearly doubled. As a good many changes have taken place since that time, it may not be entirely devoid of interest to give some account of life at the school as it appeared to a boy who entered the school in June r 894. There had recently been a great change in the arrange1nent of the hours. The old system had been to \i\'Ork from nine till three, with a short break at twelve for lunch, consisting of bread-and-cheese, to which, as vvas perhaps natural, the bigger boys were successful in making good their claim, to the disadvantage of the younger members of society. The new systern, which is :\IILL l!ILL U DER DR. McCLURE 275 till in vogue, had just been introduced, and dinner was at one o'clock instead of at three. Looking back to these years, there are some salient differences which at once suggest themselves. A smaller number ,of boys made the family spirit more prominent, and it was possible then, far more than at the present time, for everybody to know every one else. With ,only a hundred and thirty boys, of whom not more than eighty were in the schoolhouse, there was bound to be rather more esprit de corps than there has been in some years since. As at a small college a t one of the Universities there is no danger of "cliques," and every one is made to feel that a great deal of the success of the college _is dependent on him, so at Mill Hill in 1894 it was brought home to -every boy what responsibility rested with him. It • was not possible for any one to be lost in the mass, and in the extraordinary growth of the schoolhouse perhaps one of the most remarkable features of later years- to practically a hundred and fifty boys, this has been by no means an inconsiderable danger. It may well be hoped that the growth of the house system will do much towards res toring the feeling of individual responsibility. Besides the impor tant difference in numbers, there are the rapid changes in the external aspect of the school grounds and the numerous additions to its buildings. The long, uncompromising slope of the playing-fields, on which cricket was so irksome, and the improvement of which seemed well-nigh impossible, has since given place to a series of terraces, the last of which is nearly a hundred yards broad, and affo rds accommodation for foot ball in winter, and can be used for cricket by the 276 THE HI TORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL second eleven and juniors. This change has done away with some of the old trees, the group of firs near the footpath, the splendid old beech-tree, and the latest victim, a well-shaped oak near the site of the small pond. 1'hen again the black palings which enclosed the playground on one side, and bore on their surface names of many former boys, have gone, and with them all the glory of the choir gardens. These had long ceased to be gardens, and consisted of chicken-runs, rabbit-hutches, and the like, where youthful fanciers reared all kinds of domestic creatures, some for amusement, some for profit. The end of the playground near the school was partly occupied by the Scriptorium and the carpenter's shop, now moved over nearer to the farm. What is now the first half of the music-rooms ,vas then the atural History Society's Museum, and had been recently enlarged. Since that time it has been rebuilt, and subsequent changes have not left it undisturbed. Railings enclosed the playing field in those days, running from the firs to the old chemical laboratory, and from there down to the choir gardens. The cricket field was not much more than half its present size, and the apology for a pavilion ,vas an untidy, rickety wooden shed, all out at elbows. It was still customary to play im portant matches on the old First Eleven ground, as Mr. Colling \\7 ells's field vvas called, and the M.C.C. match ,vas played on that ground for the last time in r 894, vvhen Mr. Tucker's lobs proved so useful. Another point in which the life differed then was in the arrangements of early morning preparation. T'here was no early breakfast then as no,v. Bells rang at 6.30 and 6.50, and there was, in addition, a rattle in the clock t\VO minutes before seven. This. l\IILL HILL U DER DR. McCLURE 277 ~Nas the signal for at least one boy in o. 6 dormitory to rise, and, strange to say, he was not late so often as might have been imagined. o. 6 harboured some queer inhabitants in those days, but it was then, as now, a strong sporting dormitory. When the bell finally rang for preparation the " Large " door was closed and the master read roll. If he was not par ticular, or happened to be short-sighted, boys lovv down in the school managed to creep in while roll ,vas being called. The n1onitors were allowed to write their names on a slip of paper and place it on the master's desk, a privilege which not infrequently led to complications. The old chapel was, of course, still used as a place of worship, and the small lobby leading to the bath served the double purpose of a vestry and music room. As an instance of the small number of boys in the school, it was neces ary to have only four pianos on which the boys might practise-one in the hall, one in the old library, one in the museum, and one in the music-room. It is unnecessary to 1nention the structural alterations beyond the bath, as they will be dealt with in their proper place. Quite as popular ,:vith the boys as ordinary cricket was the cricket of the playground. A bat ,vas always lying by the central buttress of the museum, which was chalked to represent a wicket. About twenty boys would bowl in turn at the batsman with hard rubber balls, and any one who caught or bowled the batsman took his place at the wickets. There was a piece of playground asphalted just where the ball pitched, and when this was cut up, the balls some times shot in, and were almost unp.layable. The 278 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL game developed pluck and grit, but it encouraged bad strokes, and many boys who could stay in for several overs in the playground would succumb to the first straight ball they received at the nets or in a match. A striking feature of the playground at this time was the trunk of the old beech-tree which fell on the night of the spring concert, 1894, and only just missed killing one of the masters. For some years it was left lying across the end of the play ground, lopped of some of its branches, but with part of its root still embedded in the earth. When it was cut up, the names of old boys of several generations back were found carved deep in its core. It may be interesting to mention that in the summer term there were three half-holidays a week-on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, and in conse quence of the badness of the pitch in the playing field coconut matting was laid down, so as to give the semblance of a decent wicket. The cricket and football seasons at the beginning of this period were not altogether successful. With t~e small number of boys in the school success was not to be expected at once, but Mr. McClure interested himself to a large extent in the games, and was always ready to referee a t football or coach at the nets. In 1891-2 the foot ball team won five matches and lost seven, Bedford Modern; Black.heath, and Merchant Taylors being successful against the school. The cricket team of 1892 was only moderately good, for though they beat the M.C.C. and won five other matches, they were beaten on ten occasions, including Bedford Modern, H ampstead, and Merchant Taylors. There was hardly any improvement in the next year, eleven matches at football being won, as against ten lost, MILL HILL U DER DR. McCLURE 279 while at cricket only four \Vere victories, including no school matches, our colours being lowered eight times out of a total of fourteen matches played. In 1893-4 there was a slight improvement in the football, the team winning ten and losing eight. The victories included University College School, Blackheath, Royal Naval School, Finchley, St. Dunstan's, and Whitgift Grammar School; the schools to beat us were Bedford Modern and Merchant Taylors, twice each, and Leys and Blackheath once. I 894 saw two changes in the staff, Mr. W. H. Andrews, of Sidney College, Cambridge, and an Old Millhillian, and Mr. F. S . Young, of Queen's College, Oxford, from Bishop's Stortford, coming in as recruits. Mr. .f\ndrews, who succeeded Mr. Meyler as master of the classical fifth, is still with us, but Mr. Young has since become headmaster of his old school. There he has carried the energy in work and games which made him so popular at Mill Hill. Though a 'Soccer player by education, he took readily to the Rugby game, and succeeded in getting his cap for Middlesex, while at cricket he met with great success for I--Iampstead, and \Vas a leading member of the ondescripts. In the Masters' match against the School he was ahvays certain to make a large score and to take wickets, and the school \Vas seldom able to claim the match as a victory. The athletic sports this year had to be put off until the summer term, but though they interfered so1ne\vhat \Vith the cricket, they were the occasion of some excellent performances, A. J. MacHutcheon putting the weight 31 feet 11 inches, throwing the cricket ball 105 yards 2 feet, and jumping 5 feet 5¾ inches. Through the generosity of the old boys, a silver challenge cup 280 THE HISTORY OF MJLL HILL SCHOOL was this year presented to the Games Committee to be held each year by the champion of the sports. D. W. Bishop and E. Robinson were the ,rst . winners. New Foundation Day was a complete success, though it was celebrated amidst showers of drenching rain. The prizes were distributed by Mr. (afterwards Sir) Richard Thorne, F.R.S., principal medical officer to the Local Govern1nent Board. The day will probably long be remembered on account of Mr. Fred Helmore's chatty reminiscences of his old school-days. On this occasion the Headmaster was able to make the gratifying announcement that in eighteen months the numbers had risen from 81 to I 3 I. The cricket season was only a moderate success; in fact it was tersely described in the Magazine as a "rank failure." In school matches, of the twelve played, only three were won-two against the School for the Sons of Missionaries, and one against Bishop's Stortford. Merchant Taylors won; University College School won and drew; the Leys, Whitgift, Black heath, and Bishop's Stortford won, while Bedford Modern beat us on both occasions. The M.C.C. beat us comfortably, and the village also lowered our colours. Of the eighteen matches played, five were won, twelve lost, and one drawn. H. W. S. Wills proved a successful bowler, taking sixty-six wickets for less than ten runs apiece. The football season of 1894-5 was as successful as had been anticipated; of the twelve matches played, seven were won, four lost, and one drawn, but among the defeats was that sustained by the school from Merchant Taylors, who beat us with a n1argin of p. 230] MILL HILL U DER DR. l\1cCLURE 28r five goals three tries. Bedford Modern won at hon1e, but was beaten at Mill Hill. H. W. S. Wills proved himself a very capable captain, and his successor in the latter half of the season, R. H. Smith, played half on several occasions for Rosslyn Park while still at school. Many of the matches were stopped owing to the frost, which lasted for six weeks, and proved a source of untold pleasure to the boys. The doctor's pond was frozen over, and skating was possible for several weeks, while the playing fields made a grand course for tobogganing. The Magazine gave a whole page to the subject of toboggans, and incidentally published the following jeu d' esprit: "There was a kind of fascination about the 'Bus ( one of the best toboggans). It was big, and held as many as liked to go on-and besides this it always ended its downward career in the ditch, with a writhing mass of arms and legs all round. Some verses found in the Editor's Box perform the task of description better than our poor prose. "Prithee, what avails this prating Of the blissful joys of skating? Perhaps for you it's fascinating But for us '' \Vhy tobogganing's the ticket, \Vhen the ' 'Bus I is on the wicket Then it takes a deal to lick it, Does the 'Bus. "If perchance an invitation Offers on the 'Bus location, Then accept it with elation, Without fuss. " Ah, 'tis glorious when, 'midst cheering, And with goodness-knows-who steering, Swiftly, madly we're careering On the 'Bus. 282 THE HISTORY OF l\IILL I-IILL . CHOOL "And even though the betting Is strong upon our getting, When we reach the ditch, a wetting, \Ve don't cuss. " o, but as we limp off lamely We bear bumps and ducking gamely, Swearing but by one thing, namely, By the 'Bus." One of the numbers of the Magazine about this time contained the first of a series of " Dialogues of School," which proved very entertaining. This year marked a greatly increased interest in Foreign Missions, owing to the inauguration of a scheme to present a boat to the London Missionary Society. The scheme was carried out, and a boat called the M£llhill£an was presented to the Island of Tutuila, one of the Samoan group. We must record the death in this year of James Walford Hart, an Old Millhillian, who had volunteered with Dr. Lavington Hart for service in China. The small fortun e ,vhich he left was devoted to the building of a Missionary College, which suffered seriously during the trying siege of Tientsin in 1900. Since that time it has been doing splendid service in education in China, and Dr. H art has sent to Mill Hill six Chinese boys who have had their preparatory education at the Anglo-(_::hinese College, Tientsin. 'fhe athletic sports of r 895 vvere only noticeable for a magnificent effort on the part of A. J. McHut cheon, who threw the cric~ and Pup Forties. These last four get generally t,vo games a week, and haYe to go round the "Three Mile" chano-ed once, ,vhile the "Top Field" get scrum ming and passing practice in addition to any matches they may have. After the first fevv games are over the "Top Field 11 goes in chiefly for practice and not picked sides. The plan of doing avvay to a large extent with gan1es for the seniors has come into vogue only within the last fevv years; but, so far, it has worked all right. Every body is Yery keen on football, and it is the principal school game. In fact, until comparatively recent years cricket was not treated with much respect, largely owing to the difficulty of getting suitable grounds. Now all this has been changed, and the cricket games are arranged as well as the football sets. There are the Senior ets, consisting of the First and Second Teams. A professional bo,vler is there to coach, and several of the masters also help in this direction. George Burton, the old Middlesex slovv bowler, was for some years the school pro fessional; one year G. Mills, from the Oval, under took the duties; but for the last six years J. Sleat has successfully looked after the cricket and the grounds. The third eleven takes part in the seniors' game, which plays twice a week; promising young sters are specially trained in their own game, which also plays twice a week; under-sixteen and under fifteen matches are also played. Both these sets have nets once or twice a week. The rest of the -school are divided up between Ar (for hopeless 324 THE HISTORY OF l\1ILL HILL SCHOOL seniors), A 2, B 1, B2, C, and C2. These sets play twice a week, and occasionally have nets. There is also a trophy open to the forms in which no "colours " may play, and the con1petition for this is usually very keen. Double-handed hockey has only recently been taken up, but it has already become very popular, and considerable success has been achieved. The game takes place in the Easter term, and fills up a gap between football and the sports, which usually . come off about the beginning of April. One of the most interesting features of the sports is the cross country run. The senior run is nearly ten miles long, the middle division nearly four miles and a half, and the junior rather more than three miles. The last-m entioned two races are run three times, the winner being the boy vvith the best average time. Silver and bronze medals are given in all cross country runs to all who finish under certain times. In 1909 the ten-1nile run was cancelled, owing to the agitation of some eminent doctors, and a shorter run has taken its place. The fives tournaments also take a long time to work off, and are generally keenly contested, while gymnastics have recently been encouraged considerably, and an "eight" ·has been formed. Every boy, unless physically unfit, has to attend one class a week, and there are a number of additional classes for those who are especially keen. 'I'he school boasts a game of its own in single-handed hockey. In order to adapt itself to the gravel play ground, now asphalted, the ga1ne has become quite changed. A small solid indiarubber ball and a thin stick are used, and of course only one hand is allowed. The rules are somewhat odd, there being practically TI\ c C 0 1~ l~ I D 0 I~ • Tl\e SCI) IPTOl~ I U1'1 THE LIFE OF TO-DAY no dead-ball line, and touch only on one side. If a man makes a fair catch he may try to thro\v a goal. list of rules ,vas drav.;n up at first in 1891, but, though revised from time to time, they are in the main only traditional. At certain times in the day there is al1nost ahvays a gan1e in progress, which any one can join in or leave at any time, but organised " changed " games are also played. In these nine members constitute a team-a o-oalkeeper, three backs, and five forwards, as a rule. The game can be played only against scratch teams and the Old Millhillians, and, as 1night be expected, the school has never yet been beaten. It is to be hoped that double-handed hockey will not drive out the other game, as this has been most useful in creating keenness. There are form ties and dormitory ties, for ,vhich prizes are awarded; and at various times there are matches between Classics and Moderns, the Schoolhouse and the School, Monitors and Prefects and the School; and these games have been very interesting. Illegal dormitory suppers are not indulged in, but at the end of the term many dormitories have organised banquets at Skipper's or the tuck-shop. As a variation, "tarts" are occasionally indulged in upstairs> the practice being legal at end of term. ~ 11 cup-winners in the sports bring their cups round at night filled with ginger-beer, or whatever liquid happens to be fashionable at the time. During the latter weeks of a term the morning post used often to bring a small package easily recognised as con taining a cap recently won by some boy in the school. It was fair game to open the parcel and forcibly to crown the lucky owner a1nid lusty cheers-a perform ance which gave unmixed satisfaction to the promoters. 326 THE HI TORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL As the caps now come throuo-h the linen-room, this custom has died out. If during t,vo consecutive vveeks the loss of conduct-marks has averc:1ged less than one and a half per boy per week, the whole school gets a half-holiday on Monday afternoon-the vvhole school, that is, minus the unfortunates \Vho have tvvice been put in " Black Book" (curiously enough it has a white cover) for bad work. The School Magazine has been established for over thirty years, and, as might be expected from so venerable a paper, it is, as a rule, extremely respect able but quite interesting. Certain energetic spirits, feeling that there was not sufficient scope for their literary genius, have from time to time started certain private ventures circulating only amongst the elect. Of these the most permanent were The Norther1t Star and The M£llhillian ; but they have now deceased, owing to the departure of their editors. They occa sionally contained some humorous verse, but always of a very ephemeral nature, and when they appeared in print instead of jellygraphed copies, their popularity died. The class-rooms vvhere the boys live were old and draughty, and it was difficult to make them really comfortable. There used to be a good many " cocoa clubs," vvhich meet on half-holidays and try to make the best of the rooms; but they sadly miss the old fires, which at least made the class-rooms look bright. Nowadays, a complete renovation of the class-rooms having taken place, they are very much more pre sentable, and are more respected by their occupants than heretofore. On New Foundation Day the forms used to vie with each other in having the rooms decorated vvith ferns and flovvers, cricket-bats and THE LIFE OF TO-D Y 327 stumps, tennis-rackets and nets, and pictures of all sorts were borrovved for the occasion. Ingenuity sometimes led to curious experiments in the way of decoration. On one occasion a form made a small paddock in the corner of the room, lined it with grass, and fastened a tame goat there. ot to be outdone, another fonn another year got hold of a pony on which one of the boys used to ride to school, and intended making a stable in o. S, but those in authority stepped in, and pointed out the serious disadvantages of the arrangement. One year, too, there vvas a fountain ingeniously worked in o. 1 from "Purgatory," and there was quite a flood down belo\v as the water leaked through. An unfortunate boy, who went exploring to examine the defect, returned looking as if he had been playing at mud pies. The mention of the word " Purgatory" suggests that an explanation is necessary. All under the class rooms there are passages, winding and dark, along which it was once possible to clamber. Many tradi tions are current as to how extensive a perambulation it has been possible to make; but at the present time there is no such opportunity for travel, as the class rooms have all been refloored. There is a well-known story of a master who was teaching his form in No. 3, and who was persuaded to go out and fetch a book bearing on the lesson. When he returned he found hi class vanished, so went out to report the matter to the Headmaster. The two returned together, and found the boys sitting quietly in their places. Expla nation was unnecessary and excuses were unavailing. One term a number of boys used to drop pennies dovvn a slot in No. 6, probably as a test of skill. In any case ''Jock " found four shillings and twopence 328 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCI-IOOL when he cleared out the passages in the holidays. It was really necessary to clear them out sometimes, as coal and v1ood were stored there by the boys a most dangerous practice. The boys of various periods have not been well acquainted with their Dante, and so have called the underground passages "Inferno" and " Purgatorio" indiscriminately. The picture of Mill Hill which figured some years ago in Punch now hangs in the visitors' room. It calls to mind one of the school servants, J ock Hindes, who for twenty-seven years was boatman here. He was a 1nan of trerr1endous strength, and was a very popular figure with the old boys, who remembered many stories about him. Every one was very sorry when he and . the school parted company in 1896. Another well-known servant was Edward Croxford, familiarly known as " J ohn," who was butler here for 1nany years. He has been succeeded by Italo Vestf, who has anglicised his name into West, and has become English in sympathies and tastes. He is quite an authority on beetles and botany. I find that I haven't said anything about Sundays here. We get up at 8 instead of 7. 15, and have breakfast at 8.30. Scripture preparation lasts about three-quarters of an hour, and is followed by a choir practice. Those vvho are not in the choir have the time free till n1orning service at 11 o'clock. There are on ly two choirs nowadays, Sunday and full choir, the former being slightly more select. We are rather proud of our music at Mill 1--Iill. Dr. McClure is an enthusiast, and has a short orchestral practice on .Sundays for boys who care to play over sacred pieces with him, though lately these practices are no longer held. lYJ r. Cane looks after the music-teaching THE LIFE OF TO-DAY and trains the choir. Any boy who is keen on music can get as much opportunity for exercising his gift as at any school. There are four concerts each year: the Messiah concert in the vvinter term and another shortly before it, given entirely by local talent, a rather more elaborate concert in the spring, and a grand concert in the sum1ner. In the spring term there is also the Dramatic Society's performance, which is always interspersed with orchestral music, arranged usually by Mr. Cane. This has of late years dropped out. Those who are in the Sunday choir have a supper each term, those in the week-day choir at Christmas, and both choir and orchestra have a holiday in every term. Monitors and prefects also have a terminal holiday, and this applies to those boys who ring the bells for periods, take round t e slips for conduct and attendance marks, and bring the mark book and punishment books into "Assembly." At one time it was possible to multiply offices and holidays, but there are strict rules against pluralities nowadays The other school societies are in a very flourishing condition. The Photographic Society rents a dark room from the Games Committee, and manages to produce some excellent results. Through the generosity of Mr. Buckland, there is usually a com petition once ·or twice a year. It would take too long to describe the "Bug," as the Natural History Society is called. It meets once a fortnight to hear papers from masters, old boys, or present boys, and has excursions to Aldenham, Epping Forest, and elsewhere in the summer. It has been said that some boys are keener on the eggs which they eat with their tea at the " Plough Inn," Elstree, than on those 330 THE HL TORY OF IILL HILL SCHOOL which they collect from the nests at Alden ham; but this must be rejected as a scandalous libel. The Debate is also flourishing after a long period of torpor ~mounting almost to inanition, and discusses affairs of State with great keenness. The Headmaster is sometimes in the chair, and all meetings are open to '"he whole school; but once a session a proper public debate is held in thP. " Large." The Literary S ociety holds meetings on wet half holidays or other days \vhen there is nothing particular on. The meetings are open to the whole school, and readings and recitations by masters and boys are given for the amusement of the public. Occasionally music is introduced into the programme. Informal gra1naphone concerts on the head butler's splendid instrument are also a popular form of amusement; the public attend armed with deck-chairs, books, and the inevitable "bag of svveets." T alking about music made me forget all about Sunday. After chapel comes dinner, and then the vvalk. The monitor on duty chooses his destination, and takes roll there after a reasonable interval has been allowed. The choir don't have to go for a walk, but have their practice at 4.5. Tea comes at five, and a quiet half-hour follows for reading or writing letters. Evening service is at 6.30, then supper and bed. Only monitors are allowed to carry sticks, and the former have likewise the privilege of wearing silk hats-a right of which they are somewhat slow to avail then1selves. At one time roof-climbing was as popular as a journey into '' Purgatory"; but these have both died out. There is a story told of a boy who climbed on to the roof on a dark night, and walked along to the THE LIFE OF TO-DAY 331 octagon, looking down at the master on duty. The latter saw him, but could not recognise the culprit. All doors were closed, but the boy, who vvas a prize gymnast, swarmed down the pipes to the ground, climbed over the fives-courts wall, and came up to bed ,vith the monitors. Another time two boys got on to the roof to see some blazing haystacks, but in the bright light their shadows were seen by the Headmaster, with painful results. At the end of each winter term we have "hokey pokey" or sing-song. The audience is usually pre pared to be amused, and each boy who is leaving is expected to take some part. The various class-rooms, houses, and dormitories also provide items for the progran1me, orchestral or vocal, and very often con siderable wit and originality are displayed. There has been an attempt to make the school-singing as suc cessful as that at H arrow; and Mr. Cane has composed two school songs, which will do a great deal towards it. The "hokey-pokey" is far from formal, and sometimes in the middle of the evening there is an interval allo\ ed to search for some" skunk.er" who has neglected to take his turn. I CHAPTER XVI THE BUILDINGS IT is a matter for regret that no part of the old buildings is no,v in existence in its original form. The exact date of Ridgeway House it has been impossible to obtain, but it is mentioned on a monu- ment in H endon Church as existing i'11 1644, and in the 1695 folio edition of Camden's Br£tann£a, and must therefore have been well known in the county at that time. A short description of its main features has already been given ; but better than several pages of writing is the picture of the house taken from a ,.,vater-colour drawing made by the drawing master, Mr. Renton, in 1827, shortly be fore the building was destroyed. As has been noticed before, the bricks of the old house vvere used for some of the foundations of the old chapel, and some for the kitchen premises at the east end of the school. Until r 827 all the school buildings in existence were the main house, and the two class-rooms built on, with bedroon1s over them, the stable used as a chapel, and an open shed used as a playroom in wet vveather. The present building was erected in 1825-7 from the designs of Sir William Tite, F.R.S. It is not exactly as the architect intended it to be, as a reference to 332 p. 3.32] ?'0 TC:,.T,.1!'"•DCI" ..... 11 ~",-1.T YO 1-tL"NO()N N',.JJ ~ T l:-"0 I --- i 1 "'OO'n'U.L l ,... I i ; / .> 'D()TP'-"Tl-1 TO TO"f ,...... 1(1(,,,- ';,. t ~ {, \•;::, , .. , \\, ,, ,, A · MAP ·OF MILL · H lLL ADAPTED· FROM ·THE· ORDNANCE · .SURVEY REVl.'iED • AND • CORR EC TED · IN· JUNE • 1905 • BY · .MARTIN · SHAW· BRIGGS • A :R:l : J>:A; .... :11~-rr---::·-~1/I', - ,.. ,... ~ .s ~~--=- ~ T"0 M E"NOON ""'°""'"""I T ~ ll"k~ .......... T!OH A " C >C."00... • - -G• Tl,. Y • .O "'' a t,.4,c.oc OT-_111 81.11...0 ..... C:I -f"Utf.:0 o,, "'0oc.TOlll'J JlbNo" ~ 3(..lf''T(>Jl!Uf'I • L.ADO,llt4To,lh' D U N • Of' ...... .. ~ .. ~ I!. "'1'h1>11;11: H.,,.i,.,, .......... , .... J' 1,tfifWOL•,,,._..,.,_,.. ~ ,. • .,., • u,r..o, ... q~ SCALE OF FEET ~-· ,..,.,_., .,. t ..-o - · . ....... ~ ,.,..._.._ ~ I L.1..U:ITitAT1f., Tl-lc; ,..,;TO"'V 0,,, ,l,CttQo;. 0 8 T NOltM.o\N C • .,,,,...,....,.., '1, A, THE BUILD! GS 333 the elevation and ground-plan vvill show. fhe corn pleted design was to have included a chapel, after wards built, vvith a quadrangle between it and one end of the school, and the headmaster's house at the other end, with a similar quadrangle joining it to the main building. The quadrangle near the chapel \Vas to have been used as a playground, while the yard at the other end would have been devoted to the drying of clothes. It is an advantage that all these ideas were not carried out, as the completed buildino would probably have involved the loss of the big cedar. As it stands, the main building is 300 ft. long, and in its broadest part, namely the portico, it measures 120 ft. The centre of the school is taken up by the main en trance and the dining-hall. When entering the building by the main door, on the right is the old library, now made into the masters' com1non room,. and on the left the visitors' room. This is the hand somest room in the school in some ways. It was oricrinally decorated with prize drawings, but now has on its walls, adorned as they are with Morris. wall-paper, several valued possessions, namely, the original drawing from Punch of the school portico, and one of its respected servants, by Raven Hill, an old map of the district painted in 182 r by James Challis, then a boy in the school, afterwards Senior Wrangler, and an oil painting of the old school, dis covered a few years ago. The Sheraton sideboard is an old possession of the school, and probably dates back from the time of Peter Collinson. Immediately opposite the entrance is a lofty door way opening into the dining-hall, but this is only used on special occasions, the usual vvay in being by a 334 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL sn1aller door nearer the form rooms. The hall is a lofty room, 36 ft. in height, and is of a very effective design. The south side of the room is taken up vvith five huge windows reaching practically from floor to ceiling, and sho,ving the pillars of the portico immediately outside. There is a handsome fireplace at each end of the hall, but the nece sity for thern has been done away with by the system of hot-water pipes which is now in vogue. The east end of the hall is hung with three portraits ; the central one represents Lord Winterstoke, and was painted by the late Mr. Sidney P aget. On the right and left of this are two extremely successful portraits, one by Mr. Sidney Paget, of Dr. W eymouth, H eadmaster from 1869 to 1886, and the other of Dr. IYI urray, assistant master for fifteen years, and now editor of the New Oxf or, .. . f f_ ,§$;_~~16;: !i•~m ~ •:fc, . - - : 1 I? ,_ . 1.; r' r , I I ~ I ;-... l ,, . " " i '- i l t ,. .,. ,...., O'I ~ (V') ci. THE OLD MILLHILLIANS 349 three brothers I--Ielmore vvho vvere here in the thirties became clergymen, one going into the English Church : the Rev. Holloway Helmore was a vvell known missionary in South Africa, Thomas was Master of the Chapel Royal at St. J ames's and Pre centor of St. Mark's, Chelsea, while Fred H elmore, who did not take orders, was Choirmaster to the Prince Consort and Professor of Vocal Physiology in the University of Glasgow. Mill Hill has sent out a number of old boys as missionaries, among them Rev. William Ridley, the pioneer of missionary work in Australia; Arnold Foster, of Hankovv, a contemporary of Sir Ernest Satow ; two brothers Ashton in India; the brothers Henderson in Africa and Burma; Dr. Lavington Hart and J. Walford I--Iart in China; and Dr. Sidney Roberts Webb on the Congo. The two last of these have both succumbed to the climate. There is a window placed in the school chapel to the memory of Dr. Webb, while Mr. Hart is commemorated in the Memorial College in Tientsin. Mill Hill has even educated two Roman Catholic priests: Father vVaugh, of Wakefield, and the Very Rev. T . E. Bridgett, Rector of the Redem ptorist Fathers' House, Teignmouth. • Of Nonconformist ministers there is also a fairly long list: the Rev. Robert Winter H amilton, of Leeds, a schoolfellow of Judge Talfourd's; the Rev. Arnold Thomas, of Bristol, and the Rev. Edwarc. White, of Kentish Town, Chairmen of the Congregational Union; the Rev. Alfred I-Iolborn, one of the school trustees; the Rev. Professor· Adeney, Head of Lancashire College, a well-known Biblical scholar, being among the best known. Henry C. Carter, of Oriel and 350 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL Mansfield Colleges, Oxford, has recently been chosen to succeed Dr. Berry at Wolverhampton. Many, if not most, Old Millhillians have adopted business as their profession, and have shown that the training which the school affords is equally suited for leading them to eminence in that direction. Lord Winterstoke, formerly Sir William Henry Wills, Bart., the head of the Imperial Tobacco Company, is also Chairman of the Court of Governors. His gifts to Mill Hill have been extremely numerous, in fact he has been concerned in every improvement of the last dozen years. , It is difficult to estimate the school's in debtedness to him, but some attempt has been made to show appreciation of his generosity by the presentation of his portrait to hang in the school hall, and by his election to the Presidency of the Old Millhillians Club two years in succession. While Sir W. H. Wills was engaged in floating the Imperial T obacco Com pany, another huge commercial enterprise has been in the hands of an Old Millhillian, Major Henry Maitland Kersey, the Secretary of the White Star Line of Steamers. A large amount of the business of the great shipping deal was managed by him, and he also received a D.S.O. for his gallant services at the fr0nt. Sir Albert Spicer, Bart., M.P., for several years M.P. for the Monmouth Burghs, is head of the largest English firm of paper-makers ; while F. J. Colman was a partner in the great mustard business. Sir William Salt, Bart., was one of the members of the family who made the town of Saltaire in York shire, and established a huge woollen industry in the North of England. He and his three brothers were all educated at the school. Several Old Millhilli ans have had an intimate con- THE OLD l\lIILLHILLIA S 351 nection with the City of London. Benjamin Scott, who ,vas Chamberlain for many years, was at the school in 182 5. G. F. White, who was on the School Com mittee for many years and was instrumental in making the arrangements for Mr. Priestley's portrait, was, and A. W. Challis s till is, one of H.M. Lieutenants for the City of London. Sir Kingsmill Grove Key, Bart., father of the famous cricketer, was the son of a former Lord Mayor of London; and David Evans, who was at Mill H ill in 1840, and founded a large silk business, was the father of a Lord Mayor. T. McKinnon Wood was the first Old Millhillian to attain the position of Chairman of the London County Council, and after becoming an M.P. he has been appointed Parliamentary S ecretary for Education, and then Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs; Evan Spicer, after serving as Alderman of the L.C.C., also became Chairman; while several old boys, notably Thomas Scrutton and G. C. Whiteley, have been influential members of the old London School Board. G. Walter Knox, another ex-President of the Club, was also President of the Chartered Accountants Institute, and H. W. Eve, late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, was for many years the successful Headmaster of University College School. In literature, journalism, and the art of the theatre there are not many names to mention. Owen Seaman, the political Calverley of our day and the present editor of Punch, was at Mill Hill for four years before going to Shrewsbury. H e won the Parson Prize at Cambridge, and was one of a brilliant group of Mill hillians who were contemporaries at the 'Varsity. mong them were A. R. Ropes, known under his ovvn nume as Fellovv of K~i ng's College, Cambridge, 352 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL and an editor of French classics, and under the uom de plurne of "Adrian Ross" as the writer of Gaiety lyrics; Harold Harley, better known as Mark Ambient, the successful author of Oh, Susanna! A Lz'ttle Ray of Sunshine, and A Snug Lz'ttle Kingdo1n. J. E. Courteney Bodley, of Balliol College, was private secretary to Sir Charles Dilke, secretary to the Com mission on the Housing of the Poor, and author of France-a book which created as much interest in intellectual circles as almost any during the last fevv years. He has been further honoured by being specially appointed by His Majesty the King to write the official account of the Coronation. Thomas Barker, one of the Court of Governors and a Vice-President of the School, was for many years editor of the Dady N ews ; James Waylen was an intimate friend of Thomas Carlyle, and published several interesting books ; while James Fraser, of still earlier date, vvas the founder of the once famous }raser s M agazz'nc. E. B. H. Cunnington earned djstinction in a e:lifferent direction, having served as war correspondent in several campaigns in Egypt; J. B. Latham was Paris correspondent of the L eeds Mercur_v for many years. Herbert Ward, who was at the school in 1877, is well known as one of the officers of Stanley's ill-fated rearguard. He has written several entertaining books descriptive of his travels, and is well kno·v1n at the school from the lectures which he has delivered and from his portrait which used to hang in the Sixth Form roon1. Of Old Millhillians vvho have entered Parliament there 1s not a very long list, Sir Albert Spicer, Bart., J. A. Hardcastle, Abel Buckley, Lord Winterstoke, Alfred Hutton, George Kemp, and Alfred Davies • 1rh.e h0GGlfI p. 35.2) THE OLD 1ILLHILLI S 353 being among the most celebrated. The last-named established quite a reputation for himself as the Pickwick of the House of Commons. At the general election of 1906 seven Old Millhillians stood for Parliament in the Liberal interest, and all were suc cessful. They were : Sir Albert Spicer, Bart. (Hack ney), A. E. Hutton (Morley), W. R. D. Adkins (Chorley), A. T. Herbert (Bucks), Sidney Robinson (Brecon), . Micklem (Watford), T. McKinnon Wood (St. Rollox, Glasgow). George I{emp, who went on to Shrewsbury after four years at Mill Hill, got his "Blue" for cricket at Cambridge, and represented Lancashire for several years. He commanded a body of Y eo1nanry in the South African War, and received the rank of Colonel and the honour of knighthood. Mill Hill sent a fair number of other representatives to the front, including Edgar Devvhurst, A. M. Woolley, L. M. Murdoch, J. Carr, Russell Trotman, who went through the siege of Ladysmith and assisted in the relief of Maf eking; A. F. Todd, the international footballer, who received a commission in the regulars; D. W. Bishop, H. T Mursell, and W. C. immo on the medical side ; C. W Spicer, who came over from India with Lumsden's Horse ; and Murray Spicer, his brother, who went out with the C.I.V.'s and returned wounded, to be done to death in St. Pancras by roughs on the night of the celebration of peace. Mill Hill has never, in any sense, been a military school ; in fact, all her connections have been in the other direction. Many of her governors have been ministers, and the influence of the Quakers, who lived at Ridgeway House, has at times seemed strong, if only sentimental. There have, however, been several \Nell-known Indian officers who owed their education 23 354 THE HISTORY OF ~IILL HILL SCHOOL to Mill Hill: Lieut-General Bamfield, Major-General Sandilands, Colonel Van Someren, Colonel Chatterton, Major Carstairs, and Surgeon-Captain Fink. Another interesting Old Millhillian was Prince Oceola N ikonochee, of Econchatti, Red Hill , in the United States. He \\"as the son of the last of the Mahicans, and was captured by the American soldiers during the war \\Ti th the Red Indians. A missionary named Sherman took compassion on hin1, and brought him to England, where he lived for some time, being a boarder at the school from I 842 to I 844. When coming through London he saw the sufferings of the animals slaughtered for food at Smithfield market, and in consequence of this became vegetarian, a plate of rice being placed for him at dinner every day instead of meat. He ~ras a contemporary at Mill Hill of Edward Bousfield Dawson, Thon1as Barker, and Lord Winterstoke. There are several families vvhose names reappear at regular intervals in the roll-calls-son follo\ving father , and sometimes even a grandson coming to the same school as his grandfather There are some boys at present in the school whose fathers were here under Dr. Weymouth, and a few whose grandfathers were here in Priestley's ti1ne. Among the most frequent names at Mill Hill are the Pye Smiths, ,vith four generations connected with the school, the earliest being one or the founders , the Helm ores, the Spicers, who have reached five and six at one time in the school, and number twenty-five in the register; the Robinsons trom the north and west country; the vVills, now in the second generation, numbering ten in the register; the Tanners, Gunns (again a fourth generation), Carters, Cooks, Sheffields, Da\vsonsJ and THE OLD ivIILLHILLIA S 355 Walkers. There vvere six brothers Sheffield, four of \Vhom reached the age of eighty years, one being over ninety, of \vhom the best known ,vas Edvvard, the founder of the Edward Sheffield Prize for Classics and a liberal contributor to any fund raised in connection with the school. The third generation of Carters has already reached Mill Hill, and together the three • reach back to r 8 ro, Vv·hile the same applies to the Dawson family, among whom E. Bousfield Da\vson is trustee to the Bousfield Scholarship. The Cooks once numbered six at the same time, and several other families can say the an1e ; but one has recently come to the front in the Walkers, who in the Easter term of 1902 fell only one short of a cricket team. CHAPTER XVIII ATHLETICS OF THE LAST SIX YEARS THE athletics of the school have not shown any decrea~e in keenness during the six years from the beginning of 1903 to the end of 1908. To fill in the gap caused by the cessation of Rugby football in the Easter term, double-handed hockey was intro duced in 1901, and it has certainly made the spring more full of interest than was formerly the case. ln 1903 J. L. Macalpine was captain of hockey, and the team won 5 matches, losing only 1 ; the two schools met being King's College School and Royal Naval School, both defeated by large margins. At the sports A. T. W aite was senior champion and F. E. S picer junior champion. Waite was also captain of the Gymnastic VIII. The successful cricket season of 1902 was not follo\ved by an equally successful term in 1903, and there were more matches lost than won. K. Bramall was captain, and out of 16 matches we won 4, beating University College School and Wellingborough, and winning the first match with Bedford Modern School. They beat us in the return game, and we were also beaten by Royal Naval School and Aldenham. The M.C.C. won easily, and in all we lost 9 matches. D. L. Morgan was head of the averages for the first time of a long series, 356 • ATHLETICS OF THE LAST SIX YEARS 357 being only fourteen years of age. In football we had a most excellent season, winning 9 matches out of 14. In school matches we scored 177 points to 6, and won several of our matches with consummate ease. W e beat University College School by 30 points to nil and 42 to nil, Merchant Taylors by 22 to nil, Bedford Modern School by 11 to nil and 37, and Leys on their own ground by 3 5 to nil, and the Old Boys by a single try. M. J. Fletcher was an admirable captain, and he and J. L. Macalpine led the forwards splendidly. In 1904 J. L. Macalpine was captain of hockey for the second year, and the school won 3 matches and lost 6, a great many being scratched through the bad state of the grounds. In the sports R. E. F. Peill proved senior cha1npion, A. T. Waite being unable to compete, and H. G. Francis did a very good time in the cross-country run. The cricket season was only moderately successful, as we won 4 matches, lost 3, and drew 5. Bedford Modern were twice beaten, University College School and Welling borough once. We drew with Royal Naval School and vvere badly beaten by Leys and Aldenham. D. L. Morgan was again at the head of the averages with an improvement in his figures, closely followed by H. E. Snell. The swimming sports provided a great amount of keenness, and, as usual, a junior won the " Ousey" Bowl, the prize going this year to W. H . Cullen. 1904 was an imp<;>rtant year in the school's football history, for by suffering defeat at the hands of Leys we closed our series of all-victorious seasons. From November 1900 to November 1904 no school beat us, and in school matches we scored 875 points to 358 TI-IE HL_ TOR OF J\1ILL HILL SCI-IOOL 33, crossing our opponents' line 2 50 times and only having ours crossed on 9 occasions. Of course it must be admitted that our fixture card might have been much stronger; but still ,ve vvere playin er Merchant Taylors, University College School, Bedford Modern School, Royal a val School, Christ's Hospital, and the Leys each year-and a four years' unbeaten record against such schools is not to be despised. G. J. Lethem was captain this year; and though the Leys beat us by 22 to 17, we won 8 matches out of 12, and on several occasions played extremely fine football. . A. Dore was captain of the 1905 hockey t ean1, and the side won 5 matches out of 6. A new scheme was started at the beginning of the year, and a competition was begun for junior teams in football, which has aroused a great deal of keenness. Each side plays all the others, and each member of the most successful XV. gets a medal. The cross-country runs were very dull this year, only 9 altogether participating in the three competitions, T. L. M 'George being the success ful senior. A. T. Waite was again captain of the gymnastics, and after a year's rest he again won the senior championship in the sports. The Old Millhillians Club started running a football side in 1903-4 and met with moderate success, but this year they won half their matches and showed marked improvement. It was largely owing to the energy of Mr. M'Gowan that the venture was made, and in the six seasons during vvhich the club has novv been in existence it has easily surpassed anything the former O.M.R.F.C. ever did. The cricket showed a -distinct improvement under H . E. Snell. D. L. Morgan ,vas again at the head of the list, this ti1ne ,vith an average of 51 and an ATHLETICS OF THE LAST SIX YEARS 359 aggregate of 720. W e beat Alden ham and Bepford Modern, and were beaten by City of London School and \Vellingborough. The second match with the City of London and the garnes against University College School and the Leys were draws, Morgan scoring a splendid innings of 91 in the last-mentioned match. But the triumph of the season w2.s the victory over the M.C.C. by 119 to 103, largely due to the steady batting of I-I. E. Snell. C. J. Thackrah, . T. Waite, and J. A. Taylor vvere the most successful bo\Ylers. . A. Dore \vas captain of football, and the team lost as many matches as it won (6). W e won 6 out of our 7 school matches, Leys again lowering our colours by 28 to 8. We beat University College School by 36 to nil and s r to nil, Bedford Modern by 33 to nil and 59 to nil, Christ's Hospital by 28 to nil, and Merchant Taylors by 46 to nil. The captain of hockey for 1906 was C. W. By,vaters, and as it vvas his fifth season in the team he vvas able to bring great experience to his task. Six matches were won and only two lost, several having, as usual, to be scratched owing to bad vveather. A great deal more keenness was displayed than usual in the cross-country runs this year, 8 running in the "ten " and in the " three," while there were ro cotnpetitors in the "five." In the athletic sports C. W. Byvvaters was senior champion, winning the "ten," the mile, and the half-mile. S. W. Lloyd was an easy winner in the junior championship with fine firsts, securing records in the 100 yards, quarter-mile, and putting the weight. H. E. Snell was captain of cricket; and though we were beaten by the M.C.C. we had a good season, winning 8 matches and losing 6 out of I 5. We beat 360 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL City pf London School easily, getting them out for only 27, and failed against University College School, only making 48 ourselves. Highgate ~1e defeated by 4 wickets, and Bedford Modern School by the same margin. The Old Boys were defeated in the first match by 70 runs, and only just beat us by 5 in the return. The Leys match was our one drawn game. Our best victory of the season was in the game ,vi th Aldenham. We got them out on a plump ,vicket for 161, and then made 265 for 6 vvickets, of \Yhich D. L. Morgan, who again headed the averages, made 176, only getting out in the last over of the match. Morgan's average was only 37 as compared with 5 the previous year, but he was just as useful as ever, and, moreover, won the average ball by taking 24 wickets for under 10 apiece. He resigned the ball to G. A. T. Darby, who got nearly twice as many wickets, though with a worse average. The football season was no more than moderate, and we won and lost an equal number of matches. A. D. Ball was captain, and our school successes were in the matches against Bedford Modern by 20 to 6, Christ's Hospital by 13 to 8, University College School by 19 to 8, Merchant Taylors by. 25 to nil 'There were signs of a decline in skill all through the school, and none of ou1· matches were ~1on by such heavy margins as in previous years. It must frankly be admitted that 1907 was not as successful a year for athletics as we could have wished for the centenary year of the school's history ; but it must be remembered that we were essaying a harder programme than ever before. In hockey we won 6 matches and lost 2 out of ro, A. D. Ball being captain. He and D. L. Morgan proved the most prolific goal .. i\THLETICS OF THE LA T SI-' YEARS 36r scorers on the side. D. L. Morgan was captain of cricket, and celebrated his year of captaincy and fifth year in the team by heading the batting averages once again, v.rith an average of 61. He was far and a way the best cricketer on the side, and his know ledge of the game served him in good stead in his captaincy. His best score was his 159 not out against St. Paul's, a match which hi~ skill and coolness won almost unaided. To go in against a total of 278 and beat it was a splendid achievement, and throughout the three hours and a half that the innings lasted he showed complete resource and an absolute mastery over the bowling. The game was played at West Kensington, so that there were few Millhillian spectators; but those who had the good fortune to be there saw a memorable finish. Other good innings of Morgan's were I 2 r not out against Finchley, 56 against Bedford Modern, 74 against the London Scottish, 59 against the ondescripts, and 62 against the City of London School. The season was not entirely successful, as we only won 2 school matches, those against St. Paul's and Bedford, and lost 4, against Aldenham, Leys, Highgate, and University C1)1lege School. The final results were 4 wins and 4 losses, out of a total of r 3 matches. T. D. Morgan ~ as the most successful bowler. The football season vvas not a success, as the record will show. Ten defeats and only 5 victories was most unlike Mill Hill football, and one of the defeats was the heaviest the school has ever experienced. Bedford Grammar School-played this year for the first time-beat us by 89 to nil, and this seemed to knock all the heart out of the team. We only pulled ourselves together very slowly, and St. Paul's, Merchant Taylors, Uni- 362 THE HISTORY OF l\IILL HILL SCHOOL versity College School, Leys, and Christ's Hospital had beaten us before we managed to recover some .. thing like form. We won the last four matches, and in them scored over 100 points to nil, but the effort came too late. It was unfortunate that W. A. Lethem should have had such an unsuccessful season after the capital results achieved by his two brothers; but the fact remains that he happened upon a very lean year as far as football was concerned. The sports held earlier in the year were on the whole satisfactory. J. E. Dexter and J. S. Cocks were equal for the school championship, while D. N. W omersley secured first place among the juniors. L. H. T. Storey broke the school record for the weight, with a put of 32 ft. 6 in. The "T'en" was won by G. L. Hartridge. 1908 was a distinct improvement on 1907 in athletics, and the change was marked by a successful beginning. The hockey team had no one of the class of Ball or Morgan, but they succeeded in winning 9 matches and only losing 2 out of a total of 1 I. . E. P. Harris made an excellent skipper, and was. well backed up by his team. The athletic sports also showed a very satisfactory series of contests. G. R. Prentice beat the record for the "five" (really 4½) by 38 sec., only taking 23 min. 46 sec. over his run. In the junior division of putting the weight F. N. Rex beat the previous record by 4 ft., his best put being 31 ft. 5 in. The senior cham pionship was again won by J.E. Dexter, W. S. Thomas securing the junior cup. The cross-country runs were exciting, apart from Prentice's record, and J. E. Dexter only beat G. L. Hartridge (the previous winner) in the "ten'' by 4 sec. in the excellent ti1ne of 59 min. 2 sec. In all ,, ATHLETICS OF THE LA ... T SIX YE. RS 363 r r competitors ran in the "ten," 9 in the "five," and 5 in the " three." 1'he cricket season was distinctly successful. W e won 4 matches and lost only 2, but 8 dravvn matches make the fixture card look very unsatisfactory, and in several games only a few minutes more vvould have given us the victory. We beat the Garrison with great ease by an innings, won by 16 runs against the London Scottish, beat Finchley easily after a fevv minutes' extra play (very sportingly allowed us by their captain), and we had a very easy victory over the City of London School. Our tvvo defeats were at the hands of St. Paul's and Aldenha1n. But our best achievement was against U.C.S ., when, after losing 6 wickets for 8 runs, we scored 220 and secured a very favourable draw, chiefly through the steadiness of . G. Knott and G. E. Spicer. . G. Knott was head of the batting averages, and . E. P. H arris, who proved an efficient captain, headed the bowling averages. After the lack of success in the 1907 football season, every effort was sure to be made to redeem the school's character. ever before has there been such a consistent series of victories in the history of the school, and many who are best competent to judge say that the team was the best the school ever turned out. Of 13 matches played, only one, that again t the Old Boys, was lost. Four scratch sides were defeated .it various times ; but it was in the school 1natches that our chief successes were gained. University College School succumbed by 8 to 1 5 in the first match, but in the return they only scored 6, while we piled up 46. W e beat King's College School by 24 to 13, Merchant T aylors by 38 to 31 364 THE HI TORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL St. Paul's by 17 to 6, Christ's Hospital by 67 to 3, Leys by 35 to nil, and Bedford Grammar by 3 to nil. The team scored 364 points against 73, and in school matches they had still better figures. T'. D. Morgan \Vas captain, but was unfortunately ''crocked" in the first practice. and E. D. W. Levien accordingly led the side on the field of play. The success of the team was so great that their names are appended : A. F. Rook (back), E. Higham, R. M. Dexter, H. C. David, and H. H. Smith (three-quarters), G. E. Spicer and F. W. Turner (halves), E. D. v,l. Levien, T. W. Lloyd, . A. Davison, A. H. Parry, H. Pettit, G. M. W. West, J. R. Sagar and D. . W omersley (forwards). The athletic history of the six years just recorded is, in the 1nain, satisfactory ; and now that the fixtures have been strengthened the school will have to put forth its best efforts to equal and improve on some of the achievements which have been accomplished. Besides the successes actually achieved at school, vve have to chronicle successes won by Old M1llhillians in various branches of sport. The football club has now reached a high standard of excellence, and stands well amongst Old Boy teams. This year it has beaten the Old Leysians in the return, after suffering defeat in the first match, drawn with the U.C.S. Old Boys, and defeated the Old Blues. The Old Merchant Taylors only won by a small margin. A consider able number of O.M.'s have gained county caps or represented their counties in recent years: a1nongst others, A. J. R. Roberts (Devon and South), C. S. Williams (Lancashire and orth), F. W. H. Auty and J. S. uty (Yorkshire), A. T. Svvain (Midland Coun .. ties), W. M. Penny (Somerset), A. T. Waite (Devon), E. M. Ridge, D. Spicer, R. Spicer, A. G. C. Gundry, ~ , .... . , .... . ....... ' h u, ;..., 0 H tr) I.O (V") ci. ATHLETICS OF THE LAST SI-' YEARS 365 W. G. C. Gundry, C. W. Bywaters, and N. A. Dore (lVIiddlesex), while A. J. R. Roberts and W. M. Penny got their "Blue" at Cam bridge, and R. N. Ro,v botham only just failed at Oxford. G. J. Lethen1 has repre sented Edinburgh University on the football field for two seasons. In cricket there are not many successes to chronicle. The Old Boys only ran a regular side for two seasons ; but there is nearly always a cricket week at the school in August, and very successful matches have been played. A. E. Davis, who was captain in r899, has played with considerable success both as a bat and a "stumper" for Leicestershire, D. L. Morgan played twice for Gloucestershire, J. S. Auty made one or two successful appearances for Yorkshire 2nd, and G. E. Dumbelton and a much older Millhillian, Arthur Butcher, play consistently well for Hertfordshire. In hockey, although the game has only been taken up eight years, county caps have been won by A. E. Davis (Leicestershire), M. A. Warrick (Middlesex and Lancashire), H. C. Darke (Devon), G. C. Hollis (Cornwall), and R. H. Dodds (South of Scotland). T. W. Pearson has played for several years for W ales, while B. J. K. Hallovves (Cambridge) and A. D. Ball (Oxford) are the first Old Millhillians to get hockey half-blues. The two rowing successes of recent years have been Douglas Spicer, ,vho rowed in the winning trial eight one year at Cambridge, and E. A. Walker in the trial eight at Oxford; but several O.M.'s have got into their college boat. The other school games still continue on the whole to be keenly supported. Single-handed hockey has recently been less enthusiastically played than here- 366 THE HISTORY OF l\IILL HILL CHOOL tofore, in spite of the levelling of the playground; but this ,vill probably be only a temporary relapse. Fives has become popular again with the erection of two new " Eton " courts, and the new gymnasium has increased the number of those who join the e xtra classes. W e have only once been represented by a pair at Aldershot. Boxing is taken up quite keenly, and the competitors are very spirited. E. D. Basden did well in the middle weights at Aldershot a few years back, and is proving quite a good heavy weight at Oxford. In swimming, too, there has been a marked improvement of recent years, largely due to the establishment of annual svvimming sports and the presentation of the "Ousey" Challenge Bowl. In 1907 we s,vam against City of London and were just beaten, and last year ( 1908) we beat City of London easily and were beaten by St. Paul's. Amongst more recent champions are E. Parnell, A. Y. Gimson, A. D. Henderson, and C. R. Morgan, who has figured in that position three times. S eeing that the numbers have hardly ever been over 2 50, the record in. athletics is not to be despised, and shows that though football is our principal game, others are not neglected. Perhaps the most interest ing featu) ~ of the athletic record is that more than half of our best athletes are also good scholars, and, with few exceptions, all our boys who have gone up to the University with scholarships have been in the first team for football, cricket, or hockey-sometimes for all three. •, CHAPTER XIX LISTS OF MASTER- , ETC. H eadnzasters T he Rev. J ohn Atkinson . . . 1807-1811 The Rev. Maurice Phillips . . 1811-1818 T he R ev. J ohn Humphries, D.D. . . 1818-1825 J ohn Corrie, M.D. . 1825-1826 T he R ev. G. S. Evans, NI. A. Glasgow . 1827-1828 Robert Cullen . 1828-183 1 T'he Rev. H enry Lea Berry, M.A. . . 183 1- 1835 Thomas Priestley . 1835- 1853 T he R ev. Philip Smith, B.A. London . 1853- 1860 The R ev. William Flavel Hurndall, M.A. London, Ph.D. H eidelberg . . 1860-1 863 The Rev. Philip Chapman Barker, M.A., LL.B. London . 1863-1864 The R ev. G. D. Bartlet . 1864-1868 Richard Francis W eymouth, M.A., D.Litt. London . . 1869-1886 Charles Anthony Vince, M.A., formerly Fellow of Christ 's College, Cambridge 1886-1891 John David McClure, B.A., Mus. Bae. London, M.A., LL.D. Cambridge (Trinity College) . 1891- 367 368 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL Samuel Favell Thomas Piper Thomas M. Coombs Treasurers • • • • • • • • Thomas Scrutton . . Ernest H. Mayo Gunn . Richard William Bowrie Buckland . Secretaries . 1806-183 5 . 1835-1854 . 1854-1863 . 1863-1895 1895-1899 ' . l 899- William Whitwell . . 1807-1808 John Fox . . 1808-1810 The Rev. John Humphries, D.D. . . 1811- 1812 Thomas Conder . . . . 1812- 1818 ]. ]. Iselin . . 1819-1824 G. Lyon . 1824-1834 John Rolt (afterwards Rt. Hon. Sir John Rolt, Q.C., Chief Justice of the Common Pleas) . . 1834-1839 'fhe Rev. lgernon Wells. . . 1839- 1851 Algernon Wells (son) . . . . 1851-1856 The Rev. Thomas Rees . . 18 56- 1866 The Rev. George Smith, D.D. . . . 1866-1869 The Rev. R. H. Marten, B.A. . . . 1869-1883 The Rev. J . Upton Davis . . . 1883- 1886 A. A. Hannay . . 1886- 1891 The Rev. E. Hampden Cook, M.A. . . 1891-1896 After 1896 the office received the designation of Bursarship. Bursars Henry Judson Tucker David Watson, M.A., B.Sc. orman George Brett James, M.A. . Henry Judson 1~ucker . 1896-1903 . 1903-1906 . 1907 . 1907- RE\·. "\YII,LI.\~I RIDT,EY. :\Ii,;5io:1ary to the Aus lralhn .-\b')ri 1ine.-;. RE"\•. W. F. IIURXDAT,L, Ph.D., ~L-\. IIeadm1ster 1860-63. LISTS OF l\1 TERS, ETC. Chapla£ns The Rev. Henry March . . . 1826-1828 ·rhe Rev. Thomas Blundell . . 1828-1 831 The Rev. Henry Lee Berry . . . 1831 The Rev. William Clayton . . . 1831-1838 The Rev. Henry J. Crump . . 1838-1846 The Rev. S. S. England . 1846-1852 The Rev. Robert Harley, M.A., F.R.S. . 1873-1881 The Rev. J. Radford Thompson . 1881-1888 Miss Warr . Miss Lee Mrs. Riddif ord Mrs. Blundell Mrs. T app l\1iss Hack . Miss T aylor . Mrs. K.ight . Mrs. Harris . Miss Freeman Mrs. Cribb . Miss Couch . Mrs. Bolus . Mrs. Rees Mrs. Brooke . Miss Cooke . Miss Meyers Mrs. Foster . Miss Baldwin Miss P earse . John Kershaw George Shepherd Matrons • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . 1812-1 814 . 1814-1825 . 1825-1823 . 1828-1831 . 1831-1836 1836-1837 . 1837 . l 838-1842 . I 842-1846 . 1846-1850 . 1850-1852 . 1853-1855 . 1855 . 1856-1866 . 1866-1869 . l 869-188 l . 1881- 1888 . 1888- 1899 . 1899 . 1899- A ssi'stant Masters . Writing . 1807 • . Drawing . 1807-1819 24 370 THE HISTORY OF l\1ILL HILL CHOOL Cherol . John Wood . W. Meek Sharp . Stalford. . French I Sos Mathematics r 808-18 2 5 . Writing 1808 " . l 809 1809 Inder\vick ( died at School). \i\Triting 1809 1809-18 10 1808-18 16 18 10 18 10-18 12 18 10 Lovve Thomas S1nith Bilgrain. C. Tancre C. ]. Elvin . W. Milward. Scott Eisdell . Picard . • Stimpson " Classic French " . Writing " ,, " . French . Writing . 18 10 -1 8 12 18 12 J. Mather (boy assistant) Joseph New land ( died at . 18 12 18 12-1 8 16 18 12-1815 1814 School) . Hook Reeve . Baron . J ansen . • Thomas Priestley Dr. Corrie . J. Renton J. . Ou tin J. E. Bedingfield . ] . E. Ryland Writing . Classics " 18 15-1834 . 1816-1818 . 1816-18 I 8 . French . 1816-1818 ,, . l 8 l 8- l 8 l 9 . Classics . 1818-1852 " 1819-1827 . Drawing . 1819- . French . 1819-1830 . Writing . 1824-1828 Mathematics 1825-1831 W. R. Birks (afterwards Canon of Ely) (boy assistant) . . J. Munro Theodore Marzials . Classics . French . 1828-1830 . 1831-1837 . 1831-1832 LISTS OF 1IASTER, , ETC. 371 Hilyard. Schmidt Mathe1natics 1831-1835 W . Casford Zan1elesky Keogh . Aubrey. Charlton Aubourg l\1cLaurin (took Mr. Berry's French . 1832 Writing French ,, " ,, ,, 1832-1838 . I 838 place as Headmaster) . 1834 Rev. John Dean . Mathematics 1835-1836 J. E,ven. Classics . 1835-1837 John Earle . Mathematics 1836-1846 Hene French . r837-1839 Henry Fuge . Writing . 1837-1847 Williams 1838 Fuller . 1838 R.icbardson . . Classics . 1838-1839 G. Carter Classics . 1839-1841 J. Millard Classics . 1839- 1842 Drouet . French , 1840- 1842 Day ,, . 1842 Delacour Classics . 1842-1844 Sueur . French . 1843-1855 Storrar . Classics . 1843-1852 Carlisle . ,, . 1843-1846 Brewin . . 1844 Bullock . . . Mathematics 1844 H. Blyth ,, 1846-1852 G. Pope . Classics . 1846-1852 1'ucker . . Writing . 1847-1852 R. Johnstone, B.A., LL.B.. ,, . 1852-1857 G. F. H. Sykes, B.A.. ,, . 1852-1 855 D. Kinnear . . Mathematics 1852- 1857 37'2 THE HISTORY OF IvIILL HILL SCHOOL J_1ee, B.A. 1\. W. Pitcher Bailey ( died at School) T. D. Hall, 1\1.A .. ErevJicker Dargue . Hook Ed\\1 ards Bell H erbolt. Barker . Fergusson Evans . Nicholls • • • • • • • • Captain Parkins . Pringle . Vanderstanten . Home . Crump . Stone • Vil . McGregor . Roy .. P arvex . Robertson, M.A .. H agnauer H argreaves . Muller . W oodland Hurley . Bradford Leeds . • R. F. Hoskin Reed • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . Writing . Writing . Cla sics . French . Classics • • . . • 1853- 1855 1854 . 1854-1855 . 1855-1 856 . 1855-1856 . l 8 56-18 58 . 1856-1858 . 1857- 1858 . 1857 . 1857 . 1857-1858 . 1857 . 1857-1858 . 1858 . l 858-1859 . 1858 . 1858 . 18 59 . 1858 1859 Mathematics 1859- 1862 . 1859 . . 1859 . Classics . 18 59 { French and } • German 1859 • • . 1859 . 1860 . 1860 . 1860-1861 . 1861-1862 . l\1athematics 1862- 1864 1862 . French 1863-1866 LISTS OF MASTERS, ETC. Binger . French William Maybin, l¼.A .. after- vvards Rector of /\.yr Academv Classics P ortier . Auger . Reinhardt ., . French After the JVew Foundation . 1865 . 1865 . 1865 . 1866 373 1866-1868 J. H eber Taylor, M.A., Queen's College, Oxford, and Trinity College, Cam bridge, Chancellor's Medallist . A. W anklyn, B.A., Sidney-Sussex College, Cambridge S. Lobb H. J. Tucker Monsieur Charpentier, B. es Lettres Dr. C. H essel ·G. Brightwell Dr. l\tl on tini . R. P avne .., A. H. Scott-White, B.A. London J. A . H. Murray, M.A. , D.C.L., LL.D. J. Nettleship, B.A. , C.C.C., Oxford . M. Coulon E. E. Gill (now Rev.) . Herr Niederheitmann . G. Emery, B.A. London . . . J. W. Williamson Professor Albrecht J. Leslie • • • • • • • • • Rev. Rober t Harley, M.A., F.R.S . . 1869-1870 1869-1870 1869-1873 1869-1891 . 1869 . 1869-1905 . 1869-1874 . 1869 1870-1874 . 1870-1885 . 1S70-1873 . 1870 . l 87 l . l 87 l . l 872-1878 . 1872 . 1872 . 1873-1874 1873-1881 374 TFIE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL J. M. Lightwood, M.A., Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge . \. F errier G. Wilkinson, B. . D. ]. W oodley J. Pankhurst . J. Roberts . 1873-1874 . 1874 . l 874 . l 874 • l 874 W. Grey, M.A . Oxford (now Earl of Stamford) . Erlebach, B.A. London . A. I err. Dr. Kern . 1876- 1877 . 1875- 1878 . l 87 5 . 1875 A . P Bo\vdon, M.A. . 1876 R. L. W. Greene 1876-1877 H. . Erlebach, B.A. London 1877-1878 and 1878-1 885 G . W. H enson . 1876 T . T . J effrey, M.A., Fellow of St. P eter 's College, Cam bridge S. Chester C. F . Baxter, B.A. G. H ooper . R. E. Young, B.A. E. Williamson H. R. Bone, B.A. A. W. Sunderland G. I(. H. Mitchell H. Mimson . R. Rutherford M. A . Rundell . 1877-1891 . 1877 . I 8 7 7 -- l 8 7 8 . 1878- 1891 . 1878 . 1879 . 1879 . 1879 . l 879 . 1879 1880 A. E. Hudson, B.A., Oriel College, Oxford 1880 1880-1891 . Mackay . H. H. Pinkney . S. Forsyth . F. Stock, M.A D.Litt. London . 1880 . 1880 1880 1881-1885 • LIST OF n1AST"f~RS, ETC. ·r. H. J ackson, B.A. , 0\Yen's College, 375 Manchester . A. McIntosh. E. . Smedley J. Dent . ] . G. Ashley. 188 1- 1892 . 1881 . l 88 I 1881- 1882 188 1 R. Temperley, M.A., Queens· College, Can1 bridge I 88 r - I 882 1:-i . Pearce, B.A. . r 882 R. ta veley . r 882 E. "V\7. H allifax, M.A. London . . 1885 F . J. Edminson, B.A., O\ven's College, Manches ter . 1886-1891 H . R . Starr . . r888- J. T'. Jolley . r 888 T. G. Reed . . 1889- J . G. Milne, M.A ., C.C.C., Oxford . . 1891- 1893 R . J. Johnson, M.A., Trinity College, Cambr ido-e . 1891- 1892 E. L. 1V1 ilner-Barry, M.A., Caius College, Can1bridge 1891- 1907 H. H. l'v1eyler, M.A., J esus Colleo-e, Oxford 1891- 1894 M. C. P ovvell, M.A., Trinity College, Can1bridge A . I-I . P epp in, B. ., F .R .C.O., W orcester College, Oxford H . J. T ucker R . S . Clay, M.A., D.Sc., St. John's College, Cambridge F . . Wright, M.A., Magdalene College, Cambridge W. H . ndrews, M.A., Sidney-Sussex Colle 0 ·e, Cam bridge F . . Youn o-, M.A. , Queen's College, Oxford 1892-1893 1893- 376 THE HISTORY OF fILL HILL SCHOOL D. Watson, B.A., B.Sc., St. ndrews 1895- W. G. R. Murray, M. ., Balliol College, Oxford . 1895- 1897 G. F. A. Osborn, M.A., Trinity College, Carn bridge 189 5- 1897 L. A. Cane, B.Mus., F.R.C.O., Queen's College, Oxford . I 896- C. E. Grange, M. ., B.Sc., Jesus College, Cambridge 1897-1898 G. ]. W. Macfarlane, B.A., Mansfield Col- lege, Oxford . . 1898-1900 W. H. Jenkins, Ph.D.. . 1898 J. Good,villie, M.A., Fellov,,r of C.C.C., Cam bridge . 1898 C. S. Edgar, M.A., Trinity College, Oxford 1898- 1899 B. B. Thompson . . r 899-1900 J. F. Hudson, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford 1899 J. H. Murray, B.A. London . 1899- 1902 J. F. S. Moore, B.A., St. John's College, Cambridge 1899 H. C. Barber, B.A., Queen's College, Oxford . . 1899 A. F. Page, M.A., Magdalen Colle 0·e, Oxford . . 1900-1901 W. A. Bruce, M.A., University College, Oxford . . 1900-1902 • P. Coleman, M.A., Queen's College, Oxford 1900-1903 A. J. Williams, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford 1900- F. J. Turner, M.A., Downing College, Cambridge 1902- N. G. B. James, M.A., Lincoln College, Oxford . . 1902- J. H. Free111an, B.A., Exeter Colleo-e, Oxford . 1903 • LIST ' OF l\1ASTEI , ETC. 377 F. Brown, B.A., W orcester College, Oxford 1903 F. Clarke, B.A., Emmanuel College, Cam- bridge . 1903-1904 F. M. Gilbert, M.A., Christ's College, Cam bridge . 1904 C. M. Barber, B.A., Magdalen College, Oxford . . 1904-1908 F. W. M. Draper, B.A., Queens' College, Cambridge 1904- 1907 A. R. Clarke, B.A., Clare College, Cam- bridge . 1906- H. Gregory, B.A., Nlerton College, Oxford 1907 J. H. Haydon1 M.A., I{ing's College, Cam- bridge . 1907- H. E. Halliday, B.A., Brasenose College, Oxford . . 1907- C. E. Stockton, M.A., Victoria University 1907-1908 K. T. Gemmell, B.A., Pembroke College, Cambridge . 1908- \V. H. Brown, M.A., Queen's College, Oxford . A. B. Forster, M.A., Edinburgh University 1908- 1908-1909 CHAPTER XX PETER COLLI SO , THE BOTA 1ST OF MILL HILL O N January 14 or 28, 1693-4, Peter Collinson was born. The usual notices of him give as the place of his birth Staveley, in the County of W estmoreland ; but he himself, in a memorandum dated July 18, 1764, writes: "I was born in a house in Change Alley, St. Clement's Lane, Lombard Street , from which my parents removed into Gracechurch Street. " His parents belonged to the Society of Friends, and had been settled on the paternal estate called H ugal Hall, on the edge of Windern1ere. One of his great-grand fathers, who bore the same name as he did, certainly possessed this house a century or so previous to the date of Peter Collinson's birth. 'fhe firn1 was knovvn as producers of n1en's mercery, and had a flourishing business in London. Peter and his younger brother James w ere partners in the firn1, and in1proved their father 's trade to a considerable extent. A large busi ness was opened with America, and this gave rise to several of Collinson's friendships with men of influence on the other side of the Atlantic. Sir John Smith, President of the Linncean Society, who \¥rote some account of Collinson, says that the business was that of wholesale woollen drapers, and was accom modated at the "Red Lion " in Gracechurch Street. 378 PETER COLLI 0 379 Fro1n this Collinson acquired a considerable fortune,. ~·hich he devoted to the pursuit of natural history. Little is kno\vn of his youth, vvith the exception of his love for the objects of nature. A writer of the time mentions this juvenile devotion to natural his tory: "Insects and their metamorphoses employed many of those hours ,vhich at his time of life ,vere mostly spent by others in very different pursuit r Plants likewise engaged his attention. He began early to make a collection of dried specimens, and had access to the best o-ardens of that time in the neighbourhood of London." The real origin of his love for botany is mentioned in his diary: "Being sent at two years old to be brought up with my relatives at Peckha1n in Surrey, from them I received the first likino- to gardens and plants. Their garden \Vas remarkable for fine cut greensr the fashion of those times, and for curious flowers. I often vvent vvith them to visit the fevv nur ery gardens round London, to buy fruits and flovvers and clipt yews in the shapes of birds, dogs, men, and ships." Mention is made of some of the most famous gardeners of the day: Parkinson, of Lambeth; Wrench, of Parson's Green, Fulha1n; and Bishop Con1pton, of London, vvho formed a magnificent collection of rare plants from the West Indies and orth America. The age in which Collinson lived vvas devoted to the study and culture of plants. Tvvo reasons for this are forthcoming : first, the close connection of England vvith the Dutch, then the chief horticulturi ts in Europe; and secondly, the rise of the famous botanist Charles Linne, better known under his latinised • name Linnceus. Fa1nous noblemen vied with each other in posse sino- the last-imported shrub, 380 THE HI TORY OF :\IILL HILL SCHOOL or being the first to flovver or fruit a new variety of plant or tree. While quite a boy Collinson secured the notice of several eminent scientists, amongst \Yho1n vvas the famous Sir I-fans Sloane. His friends \\"ere Yery numerous, and some of the most prominent men and \von1en of the day ,vere included in the nun1 ber. The Earl of Bute (tutor and Prime Minister of George III.) greatly encouraged his study of botany, and Sir Charles Wager sought his acti Vf' assistance. It vvas at Collinson's suggestion that he syste1natised his search for illustrative examples of natural products during his voyages. considerable portion of the collections thus acquired was deposited in Sir H ans Sloane's Museum. Amongst Collinson' other friends were the Dukes of Rutland and T orth umberland, the benevolent Earl of Mansfield, the Duke and Duchess of Portland (,vith who1n he vvas on very an1iable relations), Earl J ersey, H enry Fox, Lord H olland, and Lord Clarendon. Collinson vvas a great lover of antiquities near at hand, and \\7aS active in the forrnation of the S ociety of Antiquaries, of which he ,vas one of the earlies t men1bers. S everal papers on English antiquities ,vere written by him, as well as one on the vexed question of the Round T o,vers of Ireland. H e \Vas elected a member of the Royal Society in December 1728, and for many years used to contribute numerous papers to the P h£losoph£cal Transactions of that body , being quite one of its most prominent members. By 1740 he had acquired a great reputation as a botanist, and had in1proved English horticulture to a very large extent through his splendid gardens at Peckham. H e was a regular contributor to the collections of the British Museum, and it vvas proposed at one time to PETER COLLI.i: 0. ,. make him Curator of the Botanical Department there. The idea for some reason fell through, and Collinson, who had been anticipating his appointment with considerable pleasure, was very grieved at failing to secure the position. He sho,ved, ho,vever, that he could bear up against disappointment by evincing no bitterness on the subject. In 1724 Collinson married Mary, daughter of Michael Russell, of Ridgeway House, on Mill Hill, in the parish of Hendon. The lady ,vas nine years his junior, and at her father's death inherited his freehold estate of more than £100 a year. By her he had two children-Michael, who survived him and carried on his botanical garden, and a daughter, vvho married Sir John Cator, of Beckenham, himself an enthusiastic botanist. On the death of Michael Russell, in 1747, Collinson commenced the removal of his botanical garden to Mill Hill-an enormous work, which took two years to complete. At length, on April 8, 1749, having safely accomplished the transference of his plants and trees, including forty large evergreens, he took up his residence at Ridge way House, still continuing to conduct his busi1'ess in the City. In regard to the latter, ,ve are told that he was happy in being "in partnership with his brother James, in a business that did not always. require their presence together They lived in great hannony, and reciprocally afforded to each other opportunities to follow their respective pursuits." Collinson's friendship vvith Linna:us is \Vell kno\~/n, and the great Swedish botanist is said to have paid a visit to Mill Hill and planted the cedars on that ausp1c1ous occasion. He certainly came over to see Collinson at Peckham in 1735, but there is nothing t o .. 382 THE HL. TORY OF 11ILL HILL SCHOOL show that he came to Mill H ill. lt is, however, quite possible that he may have paid a short visit here, as Collinson \Vas accustomed to make use of his father in-law's grounds for p lanting rare flovvers and shrubs in anticipation of the time when he himself should come to enjoy them. If some of his best exotics ,vere at Mill Hill, he may ,vell have brought Linna:us up to see them, or the cedars may have been trans planted ,vhen quite young from Peckham. So much credit has been attached to local tradition that in 1825, in commemoration of Linnceus's visit to England, the Linna:an Society had a field-outing and picnic in the school grounds, and exarnined with interest vvhat ,vere believed to be the most authentic men1orials of their great nan1e-gi ver. In comrnemoration of the services done to botany by his friend, Linna:us gave the name Colli'nsoni'a to a genus of perennial Labiates ,vith yellow flowers . That the two were great friends is clear from the affectionate nature of their letters, and fron1 the n1ention of nun1erous exchanges of plants between them. O n April 20, 1754, Coll.inson ,vrites : " I am making a catalogue of my garden, in _ ,;vhiih I have a great variety of rare plants; but whether 1 shall find time to finish it I cannot say." Two years later he says : " I am a ·business man and can never pretend to publish a catalogue, unless I had one of your ingenious pupils to digest and n1ethodise it for me." Quite as important as his friendship with L·1nna:us was his connection wi th America. His position as a London merchant, carrying on an extensive business \\rith the plantations, gave h irn great facilities fo r col lecting plants or t rees from the Colonies. A regular system of exchange gre,v up, and he strongly urged PETER COLLI ON the , 1nericans to cultivate flax, hemp, silk, and the vine-a suggestion vvhich led to their introduction into some of the States. The two best known of his merican correspondents \Vere Benjamin Franklin and John Bartram. In 1730 a subscription library \Vas being founded in Philadelphia, and Collinson \Vas consulted by several of the leading men of the Com mittee. Fifteen years later he sent to Franklin an account of the electrical experiments then going on in Germany, and despatched the parts of the instru ments necessJ.ry for follo\ving up the work. Franklin's gratitude for these and other services is sho\vn by the f ollo,Ying letter addressed to l\lichael Russell after his father's death: "DEAR SIR-) "Understanding that an account of our dear departed fri end, l\1r. Peter Collinson, is intended to be given to the public, I cannot omit expressing 1ny approbation of the design, as the characters of good 1nen are exemplary, and often stimulate the well disposed to an imitation beneficial to mankind and honourable to themselves. "And as you may be unacquainted with the fol lo\ving instances of his zeal . . . I take the liberty of informing you that he encoura0 ·ed the design of a subscription library in Philadelphia by n1aking several valuable presents to it, and procuring others from his friends. And as the Library Co1nmittee had a con siderable sum accruing annually to be laid out in books, and needed a judicious friend in London to transact the busin~ss for them, he voluntarily and cheerfully undertook that service, and executed it for more than thirty years successively; assisting in the choice of books and taking the \V hole care of collecting and shipping them, without ever charging or accepting any consideration for his trouble. The success of this 384 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL library (greatly ovving to his kind countenance and good advice) encouraged the erecting others in dif ferent places on the same plan, and it is supposed there are no\V up\vards of thirty in the several colonies, which have contributed greatly to the spreading of useful knowledge in this part of the world; the books he recom111ended being all of that kind, and the cata logue of the first library being much respected and followed by those libraries that succeeded. " During the same time he transmitted to the direc tors of the library the earliest accounts of every ne\v European improvement in agriculture and arts, and every philosophical discovery; among \vhich, in 1745, he sent an account of the ne,v German experiments in electricity, together ,vith a glass-tube and directions for using it, so as to repeat the experiment. This was the first notice I had of that curious subject which I after\vards prosecuted \Vith some diligence, being en couraged by the friendly reception he gave to the letters I wrote to him upon it. Please to accept this small testimony of n1ine to his memory, for ,vhich I shall ever have the utmost respect; and believe me with sincere esteem, "Dear S ir ' " Your very obedient servant, " B. FRANKLI L" An account of h is experiments in electricity and his correspondence \Vith Franklin w ere translated into French, and the experiments repeated before the I(ing of France, Louis XVI., at t. Germains. From J ohn Bartram he received many gifts and sent others in exchange. January 27, 1758 : " Received from John Bartram from Pennsylvania some roots of a great striped orchis; planted some in the bog, and some with orchis 's in the bed before laurel hedge ; f1o\vered ugust 18, 17 58." Where this bog was '-f • -i) ' . . . .. , .... ... 't··. \ .,- - -~:. .. ( ' I ·I • '! ;,~: .. ~ 1'.11&~.I •• I : r1 ~-: . .( •,, ~ :-.... :l, •. - 1 11 O'I O'I I.=> O'I :)C) .... ,__; '; .... .... --1 ~ H ~ ~ •rt :.0 .to ... ~ § :n .s ..., ... ~ H ""' >. .:::> t:n ::: -~ ~ ... Q Q s 0 ... ~ a z 0 0.. llJ l1 ,<( _J ..J -> w ~ ,- I 00 <'l t- C. I. PETER COLLINSON situated is uncertain; it may ei ther have been the doctor's pond or the small pond in the six-acre, or it n1ay have been the H ollow, \vhere, in early views of the school, there is an ornamental shrub-surrounded pond, with svvans and other fowl on it. He also men tions the fact of fishing in the pond, and says : " I caught a perch to-day, left half of it on the hook, and allowed it to stay in all night. The great mud turtle whom I have not seen for one and a half years ate it. N o,v that I know the poacher who has cleared the pond of fish I must transport him." Another of his letters to Bartram runs : "The King has appointed thee his botanist, >.iwith £50 each year. Please send me these plants - kalneas, azaleas, rhododendrons. Tv.Iy inclination and fondness to natural productions of all kinds is agreeable to the proverb, like the parson's barn refuses nothing. If thou callest on the Virginians thou must be dressed in drugget clothes, and be clean, neat, and handsomely attired. I hear thee talk much of Pitt and his retirement. He v1as glad of his pension, and slipped his neck out of his collar when it became him best to serve his country. The loss of my fine plants affects me more than the loss of Pitt. W e have a good man at the helm (Lord Bute) and a brave King, and have gained Louisiana vvithout Pitt. I am here retired all alone from the bustle and hurry of town, meditating on the comforts I enjoy. The old Christmas log is burning and the fire of friendship is blazing. Franklin has been staying here with me." H e was particularly successful with orchids, for Curtis wri tes: "The bee-orchi~ with the rest of the other orchis's was cul tivated with great success by the late Peter Collinson Esq. (whose men1ory will always be revered by every 2 5 386 THE HI TORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL botanist), in his garden at Mill 1--Iill. llis method \Vas to place them in a soil and situation as natural to the1n as, possible, and to suffer the grass and herbage to grow around them." Orchids were not so rare in Middlesex then as now; they have gradually died out under the ravaging hands of the collector for the London market. John Bartram also helped to supply his ponds v-.1ith specimens. "January 22, 1756, fro1n J. B. A great snapping mud-turtle, put in lower pond; one of our small fro 0 ·s ; water-turtle, same as we had before in our ponds ; a water-turtle that frequents Springhead, dark black colour, spotted all above with small deep yellow spots, without any regular order." There are some interesting sentences in some of his letters on the subject of Mill Hill, which may be reproduced here. A letter dated December 25-27, 1757, Ridgeway House, says: "You would have been delighted and surprised to see the large nosegay that was all flov-.rers gathered out of the open garden. There were four kinds of aster, and several chrysan them urns in flower on Christmas Day." On May 1, 1765, he writes, " My garden is now a paradise of delight" ; and again next year, " Dr. Selander came down to Mill Hill to feast himself upon nectarines .... A few days ago Professor Hope, of Edinburgh, came to see my little paradise." On March 16, 1767, he ,,vrote a last letter to Linn~us with the addre~s "Ridgeway House, on Mill Hill, ten miles north of London." H e says : "I am here retired to my de lightful little villa to contemplate and ::J.dmire the unalterable laws of vegetation." Further on he speaks, as though prophetically, of his near approaching end, and returns thanks for the blessings of his long life. PETER COLLINSO Peter Collinson died on ugust 1 r, 1768, ,vhile on a visit to his friend Lord Petre, in Essex, but the place of his interment is not recorded. I--I e had lost his wife fifteen years before. His promised catalogue was never published during his lifetime, and after his decease went to his son-in-la\v, Mr. John Ca tor, who laid it by in a drawer, ,vhere it was not discovered until nearly half-way through the last century. In r843 L. W. Dillwyn published Hortus Collinson£anus, or the Plants Cultivated by Peter Collinson. From this interesting book it may be well to cull some extracts. Collinson originally intended it to have been called by the name which he wrote on the title-page, Anno 1752 £n Horto Coll£nsou£ano at Ridgeway H ouse, on Mi'll Hzll, £n H endon, Middlesex, but when the title page was printed there was some error, and the book i announced as being A Li'st of the Rarer Plants £n Peter Co!Linson's Garden at M£ll Hz'll, ten miles fro,n t. Giles' Pound in Holbourn. '[he author adds, " See X milestones (the first set up near London for 1neasuring roads); my house within a bowshot of the X-mile." On April 8, 1749, we read, " Removed from my house at P eckham ; for two years was transplant ing my garden to my house at Mill 1--Iill." Under the date r763 he says: "I often stand with wonder and amazement when I view the inconceivable variety of flowers, shrubs, and trees novv in our garden, and what there were forty years ago! In that time what quantities from all North America have annually been collected by my means and procuring, and for some years past a great variety of seeds are brought from China and many fine plants raised ; the China mul berry I first raised, and from Siberia many curious 388 1HE HISTORY OF MILL HILL SCHOOL shrubs and flowers. Very few gardens, if any, excel mine at Mill Hill for the rare exotics which are my delight.'' In China one of the Jesuit missionaries . exchanged good offices ; for in ref erring to the Ailantus, of which the first specimen ever seen in Europe grew at Mill Hill, Collinson says, "It was a stately tree, raised from seed from ankin, in China, in 1751, sent over by Father D'Incarville, my correspondent in China, to vvhom I sent many seeds in return ; he sent it to me and the Royal S ociety." The extraordinary services ~Nhich Collinson rendered to the cultivation of plan ts are shown by the list given, at the end of Dillwyn's catalogue, of a hundred and seventy-two exotics the introduction of which to this country is due to Collinson. There is a note in the catalogue on mistletoe, which fo rmerly grevv on the walnut-tree, and was observed by one botanist on limes at Barnet and Whitchurch, as well as on the oak. Further on we read, "Four-leaved bignonia in flower at Mill Hill, June 2 5, I 7 56, and there is a fine oak- the Turkey or Vanilla (Quercus aeg£lops)-from acorns I procured fro111 the island of Chio, sowed 17 50." This tree has probably gone, but its descendants may be those on the roadside at High wood Hill. Collinson frequently sent trees and shrub to his friends, and we know that he supplied the Duke of Richmond at Goodwood with specimens of this particular tree. A1nong other plants gro\vn by him there is the Opnioglossum, or Adder's Tongue well known still to abound in the ten-acre, and the Ornithogalum, or Star of Bethlehem, a single plant of which grew and flowered in the playing-field the year that it \,vas reserved for hay ( I 868), suggestino- PETER COLLI ON that if the ground were turned up or lef t untrodden, not a few of Collinson's plants might reappear. The Mother of Thousands (Li'naria cynibalaria)i which still puts forth its sweet little blossoms by myriads on the wall outside the Headmaster's garden, was also one of his flowers. In another place he speaks of the cedars. "175 r : Our two large cedars of Lebanon on each side the grass walk \Vere given me by the Duke of Richmond, and ,vere brought from Goodwood." "Six cedars of Lebanon, five years old, in a field, April 30, r 76 r, given me by Mr. Clark; all grew.'' "So," says Mr. Dillwyn, "it is probable that the ages of the two noble trees vvhich remain at Mill Hill may be nearly ascertained." London, in his Arbores et Frutices Brdanniae, says that several of the firs, cedars, and spruces s till remain. Collinson mentions some of them, notably the "Weymouth pine taken up in 17 37 by John Bartram near the river Conestoga, in Penn sylvania; it is now ( 17 56) 40 feet high." Again, "The two clumps of pinasters were raised from seed, 1749." Probably these were the group of pines or firs which used to form so splendid a feature of the view on the far side of the playing-field. The Deciduous Cypress, situated in the Hollow, was one of Collinson's trees, and was first supposed to be a Juniper. "J uni per, a new species, raised from Peter I{alm's seeds that lle gave me, which he collected in a journey from Philadelphia to Quebec, and so to the Falls of Niagara and back to Pennsylvania." This dates from 1736. Other entries are: "Tuesday, June 9, 1767. Mr. Gurdon, senior and junior, dined with me and brought me some flowers"; and, "The Convolvulus syriacus • 390 THE HISJ'ORY OF !\1ILL HILL SCHOOL was raised from seed from Aleppo to 4 feet against the south wall in the open air, and showed flower, October 19, 1754, a very fine autumn .... Turkey nut in Mill Hill garden, very remarkable, planted 1754 .... August 17461 a hydrangea flowered, the first in Eng land. . . . H eleboune flowered first at Mill Hill, July 16, 1747." The tulip trees are mentioned in another place, as vvell as several kinds of laurels, including the Portugal laurel. "The Portugal laurel, now the greatest ornament in our gardens, was in the year 1719 first brought from Portugal, and was for many years kept in a greenhouse; it was exposed by degrees, and has since been found to endure all weathers." At the present time the two immense trees, about 6 feet 3 inches in girth, have extended their branches by layering so as to cover circles 80 feet and 60 feet in diameter, the union of which constitutes a figure-of-8-shaped arbour or bower, with a length of 127 feet and an area of 5,000 square feet, entirely formed by two trees. The specimen is believed to be unparalleled elsewhere in Britain. Of Ridgeway H ouse, from Collinson's death until 1807, there is but little history. Dr. Fothergill says that Michael, his son, kept on the garden, a fact which is also mentioned in Lyson's L ondon, published in volumes from 1791 to 1800. Sir John E. Smith in his Correspondence of Linnaus writes : "This garden at Mill Hill, so assiduously cultivated by this gentleman and his son, and for so many years abounding with rarities and beauties, fell afterwards into the most barbarous and tasteless hands. After a transient restoration by an eminent botanist, it is now, as far as we can learn, almost entirely stripped of its chief curiosities." "i\ . fine black larch," says Dillwyn, "was PETER COLLI so T 391 cut down in 1800 by its sapient possessor to make a rail," and th is, as may be gathered from other sources, was the fate of many valuable trees. At the same time it must not be supposed that the Committee of Mill Hill treated the grounds badly. Loudon, ,vho visi ted the place in I 835, says: " On examining the g rounds ,vhich formerly belonged to Ridgeway House, several trees and shrubs planted in the ti.me of Collinson were found to be still r emaining. A platanus 40 ft. high and 1 ½ ft. in diameter, at 1 ft . from the ground ; a deciduous cypress 48 ft. high and I } ft. in diameter; four pinasters, two of Pin us cembra \Vith trunks nearly 2 ft. in diameter and from 50 to 60 ft. high, which must be the finest specimens of thi tree in England; a tulip tree 30 ft. high, diameter 9 in.; and two cedars with clean trunks from 30 to 40 ft. high and diameters of nearly 4 ft., branches cover a space 60 ft. in diameter. Near the spot where Collinson's house stood there is a cedar 60 ft. high vvith its lowest branches reclining on the ground covering a space 20 ft. in diameter. ear it are a very old laburnum and a sweet chestnut with a trunk nearly 5 ft. in diameter, and branches extending 20 ft on each side. There are also a queen's ilex ... a weeping willow ... a Chinese arbor vitae ... two red cedars ... an upright cypress ... two Portugal laurels ... an arbutus ... a hemlock spruce with two trunks . . . a handsome box tree . . . and a score of laurel trees. It is greatly to the credit of the pro prietors of the school that all the fine specimens are carefully preserved, and the name of Collinson respected as it ought to be." Most of these trees remain, and are receiving the same care as in Collin- 392 THE I-IISTORY OF !ILL HILL SCHOOL son's time. It is much to be hoped, and also quite within the bounds of possibility, that the energy of the present generation -\vill do a great deal to repair the damage done by the Philistines of the early nine teenth centur . BIG- SCHOOL (sin ce enlargemel\1) (:LA 5 S RO OM. __:_----"----~- ,p. 393. I CHAPTER XXI SCHOOL SONGS 1'he Modern Schoolboy Story IT ,vas a little British boy, whc joined a British school, In a country more diversified than is the general rule; l t owned a noble waterfall that fell into a pool, From a mountain most majestically hoary. There was a wild and rocky waste where roaring billows meet, A dockyard and a lighthouse, and a fort and British fleet; In fact a combination that you hardly ever meet, Excepting in the modern schoolboy story. The boys were very happy in their academic hive: They boated and they cricketed, they did the lofty dive; They climbed the aged mountain, and returned from it alive; And they smashed themselves at "footer'' con amore. They organised debating clubs, and argued with their chums With nicely pointed paper darts and peuets made of cru1nbs; 393 394 THE HISTORY OF ~tfTJ ,L HILL SCHOOL And now and then they took a turn at Latin or at sums, Though you hardly hear about it in the story. Our hero had his troubles, there is hardly need to state : I-1 e fought a brutal bully only twice his height and weight, Then knocked him out in half a round by hitting very straight, And left him lying grovelling and gory. The bully and his friends devised a deadly plot and deft: • They stole the good Headmaster's jam and charged him with the theft; Their malice was discovered, and they consequently left, As generally happens in the story. His subsequent adventures I must cut extremely short: He saved a ship by swimming out and steering her to port; He collared French and Russian spies who came to see the fort, And was covered with illimitable glory; And although a trifl e hampered in his tripos greats exam By going through the Dardanelles on board an armoured ram, He got a double wranglership at Oxford on the Cam, As a sequel to this modern schoolboy story. A. R. ROPES (M.H. 1874-;). SCHOOL SO1 GS The Captai'n of the First XV The captain of the First Fifteen I speak with no disloyalty- Is greater here than king or quee·i.·~ , Or all the hosts of royalty. o constitution places checks On my supreme authority, And no one cares when " rex " is '' lex " Which side's in the majority. 395 Oh, my patronage is very much sought after, When we're going out to Bedford or the Leys; It often moves me to Homeric laughter To watch the suppliants a-begging on their knees. If they are not worth their places at three-quarters, If at forward play they are not up to much, 'fhey might shine, they think, perhaps as "mag" reporters, And they're very smart indeed at judging " touch." w. G. R. MURRAY (M.H. 1882-5; Master 1895- 7). G. F. A. OsBORN (Master 1895-7). Football S r, ng Mill Hill, Mill Hill, Shove with a will, Shove with a will with the ball at your feet. No slacking or shirking, But good ho:1est ,vorking, Shove all together and never be beJ.t Back up directly, And pack up correctly, Three in the front row and get the first heave. 396 THE HI TORY OF :MILL HILL CH00L Hold them or screvv them, Or straight avvay through them, Heel out at once when the word you r ece1 ve. Right, right, come round, boys, Keen as a hound, boys. ow break up smartly, and off in full cry. Right away, rush them, Smother and crush them, I{eep the ball rolling-Hurrah ! it's a try. School is over, who can say Whether it vvas work @r play? Work with a will and play with a ,vill, And do your best ever : three cheer for 1\1 ill Hi 11 w. G. R. MURRAY G. F. A. O sBoR r . Cheer f or Mill Hill Here's to th e school at the head of the valley, Girded and crowned by her lawns and her trees ; Sure to her aid all Millhillians will rally, Others may sing th eir O\i\Tn school if they please. Fill the cup, fill, Cheer for Mill Hill. True to our motto, the morals and muses, Severed by some, in our hearts shall unite. Here's to the lad who no knowledge refuses, S,vorn to use all in defence of the right. Fill the cup, fill, Cheer for Mill Hill. We see her flourish, and flourish she will. " SCHOOL SO GS Battles for freedom were won by our sires ; Freedom e'en now hath her fulness to gain : \1/ e seek the light that the future requires, Strong and impassioned in muscle and brain. Fill the cup, fill, Cheer for Mill Hill. 397 This be our day-star when manhood shall claim us: Hair may be whitened and backs may be bent, Yet shall no thought of Mill Hill ever shame us; We cheer the school where our boyhood was spent. Fill the cup, fill, Cheer for Mill Hill. \Ne see her flourish, and flourish she will. W. R. D. ADKINS (M.H. 1875-80). Mi'll Hz'll £n 2097 We're Millhillians on the latest New Foundation: Ahead of all contemporaries by far, We've put in force the latest legislation An organised Athletic S chool we are. No more of mystifying mathematics, Except enough to teach us how to score ; Geometry and surds and low quadratics And trigonometry for us no more. No more of Vergil, Livy, Horace, Caesar, No more of Homer or Thucydides, For scholarships and 'Varsity degrees q.re No longer won by excellence in these. No more sedentary piano practice, No fiddling now, nor early morning choir ; There are no instruments at all, the fact 1s We had to put th em all upon the fire. 398 THE HI TORY OF I\-IILL HILL SCHOOL o, though some may still pursue for recreation Those worn-out studies of a bygone day, W e children of a wiser generation Devote ourselves to studying things that pay. W e're Millhillians on the lates t evv Foundation, And to reach the First Fifteen or First Eleven Is the "ne plus ultra" of our education This year of grace Two thousand ninety-seven. W. G. R. MURRAY. G. F. A. O SBORN. Hurrah f or the Worth of Mi'll H ill I Oh the noon may be drear and the evening be chill And the sunset be mis ty and grey, But while morning is cloudless and glorious still, Let our voices be gladsome and gay; Gathered here as we ne'er may be gathered again, Ere the moment of meeting be fl ed, Lt:t us sing to the school in a joyous refrain Where our morning of boyhood was sped. Then Hurrah for the worth of Mill Hill ! May her record be glorious still, May she e'er be and do What is noble and true : Thrice Hurrah for the worth of Mill Hill ! W e have studied and slacked, have rebelled and obeyed, W e have laboured with book and with ball: W e have some of us plodded and some of us played, nd a few have done nothing at all. May we all going hence be found taking our stand In the service of honour and right, SCI-fOOL SO 1 GS 399 And the treasure of fame that is placed 1n our hand Keeping ever unsullied and bright. 'fhen Hurrah, etc. Then here's to the luck of the school that we've loved, The home of our boyhood's delight, In whose matches we've shared, in whose mushes we've shoved With the best of our will and our might; In vvhose classes we've worked with a varying zeal, Earning merited honour and blame, But whose name we shall cherish through woe and through weal With a love that is ever the same. Then Hurrah, etc. H. C . CARTER (M. H. r 889-94). Ca11ip Sollg Our fires have burnt low and our sing-song is done, boys, And the stars overhead say it's time to be gone, So now to each comrade let's pass the word on, boys, Till we all meet again, " Here's to you, so long." And when the time comes that the shout of our . . s1ng1ng Sounds faint from afar down the years that are gone, May the heart be as true and the cheer be as ringing When we all meet again, " Here's to you, so long." H. J. TucKER ( M. I-I. Master r 869-7 3 ; and 1891- 1907 ). CHAPTER XXII. 1909-1923. FIFTEEN years have elapsed since the first edition of the History was published, and they have been years of increased activity and progress. They have seen the gradual development of the School in size, efficiency and reputation, and the opening up of new avenues which were not considered possible in previous periods. The increasing reputation of Dr. McClure and the recognition of his achievements by the honour of a Knighthood conferred on him, the completion by him and by several of his colleagues and by members of the domestic staff of t\venty-one years and more of service, the growing number of scholarships gained at the Universities and of distinctions gained by Old Boys, the presence of Old Millhillians both in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, successes in the L. C. C., an Old Millhillian in the Cabinet, the phenomenal growth of the Old Boys' Club and the establishment of the Officers Training Corps, and the way in which the School, past and present, faced the National and Inter national crisis of 1914, these are among the special features of a period of three lustres fraught ,vith great significance for the School. •• It will be well first to chronicle the events of the period and then to endeavour to sum up the progress made. 40') • ::\L.\.CRICE I,. J AC JZ-; , ::\L\. He.1dmaster of ~!ill Hill School. [p. 40I 1909-1923 401 In 1909 \Tiscount Wolverhampton distributed the prizes on New Foundation Day, and the Headmaster was able to report continued progress. Mr. G. Lee IIarrison, a grandson of the Rev. Edward \~Vhite, joined the staff, and ,vas actively interested in the life of the School during his too short stay. He was a keen supporter of the Rifle Club, one of the first officers in the O.T.C., and only left to take up a position as lecturer in French at Kingston University in Canada. At the outbreak of War he happened to be on leave in England and teaching at Mill Hill. H e at once volunteered for active service and was first of all an interpreter to the Indian troops in Marseilles, and then saw service on the Western Front with the Mjddlesex Regiment and the Queens. He attained the rank of Lleut.-Colonel and is now in the Egyptian Army. The Grove ,vas opened this year as a Masters' Hostel, and has filled a long felt need. Its charm as a building was at once enhanced by the old furniture placed in it by two enthusiastic antique collectors on the staff, and it has since figured in Country Life as a specimen of Mr. Stanley Ramp's Contributions to Lesser Country Houses of To-day. ineteen hundred and ten also saw the estab lishment by Messrs. Andrews, Cane and J ames of the Rifle Club, full detaHs of which are given lll the Chapter on the Officers Training Corps. Ten scholarships and exhibitions were obtained at Oxford and Cambridge during the year, a record which has yet to be exceeded. The subjects were evenly represented, H. G. Hawkins obtaining a scholarship at Hertford for Classics; A.G. Gamble (Pembroke, Oxford), J. K. Dunlop (St. John's, Cambridge), E. J. L. Grear (Magdalene and St. John's, Cambridge), J. D. Maitland (Jesus, Cam bridge) being successful in Modern History ; G. F. 26 4 02 THE HI TORY OF l\IILL HILL SCH OOL Timpson and F. R. D. Englefield distinguishing themselves in [odern Languages at Worcester and A. H. Parry (Clare) and C. H . Richardson (Sidney) obtaining scholarships in Mathematics. Since then there has been a good average number obtained each year even during the period of war. One interesting item with far reaching implications was the lecture given by Mr. William Lynd on " Wireless Telegraphy." During the cross country runs a fire burst out in the School buildings and destroyed part of the big schooJ and severely damaged several of the class-rooms. All the masters and boys assisted the firemen and soldiers from the barracks in putting out the flames. There was no danger of the fire spreading to the living part of the Schoo] House, and the evening pa per placards : '' Mill Hill School in Flames: 250 Boys Homeless," only alarmed parents without any adequate reason. All the damage was covered by insurance and the School was practically fit for use by the commencement of the Summer Term. Amongst the distinctions gained by Old Boys were a Knighthood conferred on Lieut.-Colonel George Kemp, since raised to the peerage as Lord Rochdale, and the election of Sir Albert Spicer as President of the London Chamber of Commerce. Sir J ames Murray was made a corresponding member of the French Academy, and George EJliott became a King's Counsel. In rgro there were several changes on the staff. Mr. F. M. Gilbert left us to go to Highgate and was succeeded by Mr. R. W. Harre, of Harrow and Hertford College, Oxford. Mr. Gilbert was a very able mathematician, and with Mr. Watson helped the boys to win their scholarsrups at Cambridge. He was also a writer of distinction and was an admirable cricketer. His batting and • 403 bowling were alike good, and his coaching at the nets was most helpfuJ. Mr. Harre stayed at the School till 1919, being absent on service for some years during the War. He was very versatile in his attainments, being equally proficient in Classics, Mathematics and Science, and having spent some years in Germany. In 1910 came Mr. C. M. Gilray, of ew Zealand, and University College, Oxford, a " Blue " and a Scottish Inter national Three-quarter. His splendid knowledge of the Rugby game and his excellent powers as a player and coach made him jnvaluable in the Athletics of the Schoo] , and it was with very real regret that we parted w1th him just before the War, when he returned to ew Zealand to practice as an Attorney. He served with distinction in the I{ing's Royal Rifles during the War, being awarded the M.C., and has now returned to Jew Zealand and to schoolmastering. There were small waiting houses near the Cricket Field where boys could start their School career, but the need of a new full-sized Boarding House was felt, and the Governors acquired the land at the left of Wills Grove with that idea in view. A very fine design was provided by Mr. T. E. Colcutt, and full advantage was taken of a magnificent situation on the brow of the hill, with views extending to the orth Downs. The Governors also developed a frontage on Wise and Hammers Lanes belonging to the School, on Garden Suburb lines, with 15 delightful houses from the designs of Mr. Martin Briggs. The ground rents provide a small endowment for the chool, and it is hoped that the style of architecture may give a key to the right develop ment of the building land in the village. During the year the numbers remained stationary or actually declined, but not sufficiently 404 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL CHOOL to be sympto1natic of any real falling off in efficiency. It was evident that the lack of accommodation was sending boys elsewhere. Among Old Boys, T. E. Scrutton was made a judge of the High Court and received the honour 9f Knighthood. He has since been appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal and a Privy Councillor. In the Parliamentary Elections of January and December, W. R. D. Adkins (Middleton), Sir G. Kemp (Manchester J.W. ), T. McKinnon \1/ood (Glasgow, St. Rollox), Sir Albert Spicer (Hackney Central), and Sidney Robinson (Brecon) were all successful. H. J . Priestley was appointed Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Brisbane University, and E . A. Horne Professor of Political Economy at Patna University, India. ineteen hundred and eleven was an unusualJy active year, and interesting developments took place. The numbers had shown signs of diminution and had actually dropped from 266 to 238, and the following year saw a slight further drop. But there were good reasons of a merely temporary character to account for this, for after that time the numbers have shown a steady increase. It was, in fact, the need of a Junior School ,vhere boys under 13 years of age could be educated, and several schemes were considered before ' ' Belmont'' was finally established .. In J anuary, r9rr, Lord Winterstoke died in his 8rst year. For many years he had been Chairman of the Court of Governors and had aided the School in countless ways. Through his generous help the School had been able to secure itself from the assault of the speculative builder, to build the new Chapel, the Winterstoke Library and the laboratories. The Wills' scholarships were estab lished by him, and every fresh scheme of develop- 1909-1923 ment enlisted his sympathy. His name is also commemorated in Wills Grove and Winterstoke Gardens. His portrait in the School House Dining H all and the recollection of his many acts of generosity will serve to keep his memory green. H e ,vas succeeded by Sir lbert Spicer, Bart., M.P. , as Chairman of the Governors. Miss (now Dame) Janet Stancomb-\rVills and Mrs. Richardson, two of Lord Winterstoke's nieces, each gave £5,000 to the funds of the School in memory of their uncle. During the year a Contingent of the Officers Training Corps was formed by Captain Brett J ames and Lieuts. Gemmell and Harrison. Lord H aldane inspected the Contingent. on Foundation Day and distributed the prizes. Mr. Gemmell and l\1r. H alliday both left at the end of the summer term to continue their studies in France. They were both extremely keen schoolmasters and are still carrying on at Tonbridge and Stourbridge respecfavely. During the vVar they served with distinction in France and Italy, and both won the Military Cross. They were succeeded by Messrs. F. R. H. McLellan and V. A. Elliott, who are still on the staff. Mr. McLellan came from Leeds Grammar School, and had had four years' experience in German schools. When Mr. Haydon took over the VI. Form in Classics, Mr. McLellan succeeded him as Senior French Master, and on Mr. H allifax' s retirement he became Director of l\,Iodern Languages. His war service i:s referred to elsewhere, but it should be added that in 1921 he became House Master in the School House, and in the following year Head of Collinson House. He is now O.C. of the Corps with the rank of Maj or. Mr. Elliott came from Carlisle, where he had obtained a ' ' orth '' cap as a Rugby forward, and had shown much skill both there and at 406 THE HI TORY OF J\1ILL HILL SCHOOL . Oxford as a cricketer. In rgrr the pressure of work in the Corps compelled Captain Brett-James to give up the position of Games Master after ro years of work in that capacity. Through his influence and that of H . A. Link, the Athletic and Swimming Sports were greatly improved by the establishment of a system of House Points, ~,.hich made it possible for all boys who did reasonably well in races to score points for their Houses even though they did not win a prize. The effect of this was at once felt, and the Athletic and Swim ming Sports have never looked back. Mr. Elliott became Games Master and has twelve years of very arduous work to his credit in that capacity. He has devoted very much time to the organisation of the games and has never spared himself in any way. During the War he was a valued member of the O.T.C. staff, and since that time he has been promoted to be House Master in the School House. On July rst, Sir William Collins, Vice-Chancellor of London University, opened Ridgeway House, so called after the House of Peter Collinson, the 18th Century Quaker Botanist. Mr. F. J. Turner, who had ro years' service as Chief Science Master to his credit, was made first House Master. Among Old Boys, T. McI{innon Wood was made a Privy CounciHor and appointed Financial Secre tary to the Treasury. W. R. D. Adkins ~ras knighted and made Recorder of ottingham, and Principal Adeney was elected Chairman of the Congregational Union. E. A. Walker was ap pointed Professor of History at Capetown University. The event of chief interest in 1912 was the coming of age of Dr. McClure, who was received with immense enthusiasm at the O.M.C. Djnner in October, and on the next day at Mill Hill was 1909-1923 made the recipient of several presentations. A portrait was unveiled and the McClure Music Schools were opened by Sir H enry Miers, Vjce Chancellor of I..,ondon University. The Music Schools are from the design of Mr. Martin Briggs and consist of a central hall and 14 practising rooms. Dr. McClure was given a gold watch and a cheque, and Lady McClure a diamond pendant as more perf onal gifts, and the Headmaster was granted leave of absence for two terms. In 1912 1VIr. E. W. Hallifax retired from Burton Bank after 22 years of strenuous work there as House Master. He continued on the teaching staff as Head of the German Department, and his place at Burton Bank was taken by Mr. A. J . \Villiams, who had been for five years House Master of the School House. To this post succeeded Captain Brett-J ames, fresh from a three months' tour of the Mediterranean, made possible by the admirable system of periodic " terms oft " estab lished by the Court of Governors. An account of his travels was subsequently published by Messrs. Allen & Unwin and entitled '' My Term Off." Mr. C. J. Jones joined the staff and continued at the School till the War, when he joined a Battalion of R.W.F., and subsequently of Engineers. He was in France almost continuously to the Armistice. Mr. A. J. Rooker Roberts joined the staff, having bought " Belmont," a fine Adam House near the School, with a view to a preparatory department. The establishment of this feeder to the main school, the deveJopment of MiJl HilJ on still more modern lines, the continued success of the Officers Training Corps, and the Knighthood conferred on Dr. McClure, coupled with the increasing recognition of his splendid services to 408 THE HISTORY OF 1\/IILL HILL SCHOOL education, are among the main factors which have hel12ed to bring up the numbers of the School once again. The Rt. Hon. T. McKinnon Wood was appointed Secretary for Scotland, and was the first Old Millhillian to obtain Cabinet rank. Sir Albert Spicer, Bart., who was Chairman of the Marconi Commission, was sworn of His Majesty's Privy Council. As 1912 was noteworthy for the twenty-first year of Dr. McClure's Head Mastership, so 1913 saw the public recognition of his services to education. In the Birthday Honours a Knight hood was bestowed upon him, and it is interesting to note that this is the first known instance of an active schoolmaster being thus honoured. As Sir Ryland Adkins wittily put it on Foundation Day, '' the Government recognised that there was a place for Knights as well as Bishops on the educational ·chess-board." Sir John's work at Mill Hill and the great services which he had rendered to the profession were no doubt the reasons for the honour, which was warmly wel comed by the profession at large. During the first two, terms of the year Dr. McClure was enjoying his well-earned rest in Switzerland, Italy and the United States of America. In his absence Dr. A. S. Way, the well-known translator of Euripides, took his place, but, as he was ill for some considerable portion of the time, he naturally deputed many of his duties to be carried through by the School House Master. Sir William Robertson Nicoll, of the British Weekly, was the speaker on Foundation Day, and sympathetic allusion was made to the resig nation of Mr. F. A. \\Tright after 20 years' service as VI. Form Master. Mr. Wright joined the staff in the early days of Dr. McClure's regin1e, and was 1909-1923 for two years a resident 1naster in the School House. After his marriage he lived either in 11ill Hill or Finchley, and combined work at the School with evening work at Birkbeck College. His enthusiastic teaching in I,ondon built up so large a classical department that it beca1ne necessary for him to give up either his school or college vvork. He reluctantly decided to sever his connection with Mill Hill, and is still doing admirable work at Birkbeck College, one of the Constituent Colleges of London University. Dur ing his twenty years at Mill Hill he was in charge • of the highest classical vvork, and brought to his taste the accuracy of the Cambridge School com bined with the 1 ove of art and literature for their own sakes which characterises the Oxford mind. As a result, many of his pupiJs who did not do brilliantly in pure classics acquired a love for the spirit of the Greeks and Romans and their wonderful achievements in Jetters and the plastic arts that has lingered with them long after their school days. During the year we lost two trustees, Canon Barnett, the founder of Toynbee Hall, where Old MJ.llhillians had been at work for 20 years, and the Rt. Hon. G. W. Palmer, of Reading. Owen Seaman, the Editor of Punch, was knighted, and Sir James Murray received the degree of Ijtt.D., from Cambridge University. The effect of the opening of Belmont and the gru\ving reputation of Sir John McClure began to be felt this year, and the numbers vvent up from 232 to 261. At the beginning of r 9r4 the Rt. Hon. Viscount Bryce, O.M., accepted the position of first President of the School. He distributed the prizes in July and many of those boys who were present on that occasion and several who received 410 THE HISTORY OF MILL HILL CHOOL prizes at his hands were soon to make the supreme sacrifice in Flanders. The outbreak of the War during the next month found the Officers Training Corps ready to act as a feeder for officers in the ew Armies, and for the whole period of the War officers and cadets worked more strenuously than ever to face up to the new situation. A full account of the work of the O.T.C. is to be found in a separate chapter. Old Millhillians of all ages joined up and the casualty list started in November with the name of William Frew Somerville, who was big-game shooting in East Africa, and fell in the ranks of the African Mounted Rifles. Those who fell in the first five months of the War were E. M. Ridge, K. S. Aplin, C. L. Bentley, J . Pyn1an, . Pocock, A. F . Todd, R. A. Lloyd, E. F. Gardiner and C. G. Thackrah. By Christmas over 500 Old Boys were serving in the Armed Forces of the Crown. From the staff F. R . H. McLellan, C. J . Jones, G. L. Harrison, W. H . Joues and R. S. B. Wyld went on active service, and L. A. Cane joined the O.T.C. as a Second Lieutenant and carried on with Lieutenants A. J. Rooker-Roberts, V.l. H . Brown, V. A. Elliott, and Captain Brett-James. The War Office considered that these five officers were essential to the efficient running o± the, Corps and the provision of a constant stream of embryo officers, and so they were not allowed to go on Active Service, though they volunteered to do so time and time again. During the year died Mr. T. G. Reed, who had been book-keeping and shorthand Master at the School since 1886. He had also taught the same subjects at Haileybury and Harrow, and was very deservedly popular with boys and Old Boys. He was a man of imperturbable good humour and he carried out his duties in the face of many difficul- r909- r923 4rr ties. The numbers still showed a gradual upward tendency. The majority of eligible Old Boys were serving in the rmy and so there are few academic successes to record. R. H. Compton was elected a FeJlow of Caius College, Cambridge. By the end of 1915 there were over 750 Old Boys serving, and the list of those who had fallen was increa ing every week. The Natural History Society organised through ~ T _ M. Goodman an e...wibition of War Curios, and this resulted in a substantial sum being sent to Dr. Beadel in erbia for the refugees. Dr. Beadel was one of the School Medical Officers, and he spent the whole of the War on Active ervice. Dr. Findlater won the D .. 0. in Gallipoli, and Dr. Martin, who was much above military age and had the whole burden of the practice on his shoulders, was M.O. at the Barracks. Mrs. Martin did magnificent service as a " :fiJler " at Woolwich, as a motor driver, and especially by organising the Boy Scouts in the village. From the staff Mr. Harre took a Commission in the R oyal Sussex Regiment, Mr. Riding one in the orthumberland Fusiliers, and Mr. Hanson one in the Scots Guards. Messrs. Howard, Curzon and Rayner joined the staff, all having been invalided out of the Army. Mr. Curzon and Mr. Rayner did not stay for any length of time, but the latter was here long enough to do much useful coaching of juniors in cricket and football, and to help Mr. Roberts to build up Belmont. Mr. Howard came as a French and German Master, but> with the importance of Spanish becoming more obvious, he qualified himself very quickly to teach this subject, and has had many successes in the Joint Board Examinations . . Spanish bids fair to rival German as the second .. • 412 THE HISTORY OF l\IILL HILL SCHOOL most popular Modern Language in the chool, and in the development of this fresh outlet Mill Hill has taken a prominent lead. Mr. Howard has made his class-room a centre for gramophone music and dramatic production, and has provided many impromptu concerts for the School House. During the year we lost by death ir James Murray, the Editor of the Tew Oxford Dictionary, who was for 15 years a faster at the School. He alvvays regarded the years as the golden years of his life, and MilJhillians of all generations received a hearty welcome at Oxford for the sake . of the Old School. He went to Oxford ,vhen the task of editing the dictionary became too engros sing to all ow of any other duties, but the first preface was dated from the Mill Hill Scriptorium. The School, in the seventies and eighties, owed much of its character to him, and Old Boys of his day have the liveliest and warmest recollec tions of his teaching capacity, his phenomenaJ omniscience and his great kindness and good humour. Many welJ-deserved honours were given to him- degrees from al] the best-known Universities, public recognition of all kinds, and finally the Knighthood by which the King rewarded a life-long devotion to a single aim. But the honour which he probably appreciated most highly was to have been a Master at Mill Hjll for so Jong and to have won an abiding place in the history of the School and in the hearts and affections of Old Millhillians. During 1916, as in the previous years of War, there were numerous changes on the staff, but the numbers went up to 292. Dr. A. C. Benson, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, was the chief speaker on Foundation Day, but as in all the years of the War there were no prizes. T. J. Hughes and Evan Spicer received the honour of 1909-1923 Knighthood, and ,ve lost by death, apart from the vVar, Ernest H. Mayo Gunn, Treasurer of the School during four important years at the close of the century, ,vhen the schemes of development were in full swing, and E. Bousfield Dawson, the Constable of Lancaster Castle. ew trustees were appointed for the School to make up the requisite number, and these included Mr. Justice Bailhache, Sir A. W. W. Dale (since deceased), the Hon. V:./. Hulme I.,ever, Sir Donald Macalister, Lord Rochdale, Principal Selbie, Dr. Temple (now Bishop of Manchester), and Sir J. J. Thomson, 0.M. (now Master of Trinity). To ceJebrate the Shakespearean tercentenary a garden party was given by the School House Master and afterwards excerpts from two plays and Shakespearean songs ~,ere rendered in the Grove Garden. The Grove has since been used on more than one occasion for similar productions, and it would be a welcome addition to the activities of the School if an annual Pastoral Play were performed in the School grounds. In 1916 Mr. H. Coates, of C.C.C., Oxford, joined the staff after a brilliant career at the University, where he obtained two :first-cJasses and was University Exhibitioner in Mathematics. His powers o± exposition are most excelJent, and he has contributed in no sn1all degree to the success of the Mathematical Department. As House Master of the Day Boys he has instilled a great deal o± keenness into a group of boys without anv local habitation. J The most noticeable feature of 1917 was the fact that tor the first time- on record the number reached a total o± over 300. That this should have happened in war time was particularly gratifying. The Master of Balliol spoke on Foundation Day and emphasised the need for the service of Public 414 THE HISTORY OF IILL HILL CHO L School men in the solution of the difficult problems of reconstruction. This year ,;vas the 150th anniversary of the visit of Benjamin Franklin to Peter Collinson at lVIill Hill, and to celebrate this a garden party ,vas given at the School House. The celebration also synchronized with the advent of the American nation into the War. short play was specially written for the occasion by Captain Brett-James, and it was per£ ormed by the boys. Mr. R. M. Rayner, who ha :\LP., Edward, 213, 23 1 Balam, :\Ir., 86 Ball, A. D., 360. 365 - :.\LP., Edward, 19+, 236 Bamfield, Lieut.-Gen., 174, 354 Baptist :\[issionar y Society, 2. 41 Barber, :\Ir., 310 Barker, George, 152, 153 - Rev. Philip Chapman, head• mastership of, 204, 205, 246 - Thomas, 352, 354 Barls, 153 Barnard \ Villiam, 15 Barnet, ro9, rr5, r 37, 188, 20::, 38S - Gate, 28+ Barnett, Canon, 314 Barry, Dr. F. \V., 346 Bartlet, Rev. G. D., 204, 2461 250; headm astership of, 205- 10 Bartram, J obn, 310, 3 3-61 389 - :\IemoriaJ Society, 3 ro Basden, E. D., 366 Basingstoke, 201 Bates, Rev. :\Ir., ro Bath, 197 Batten, ICC. , J. \V., 3+8 Baxter, Richard, 63, 317 Beddome, R., 88 Bedingfield. Mr., 621 81 Bedford College, 315 - County chool, 265 - Grammar chool, 361, 364 -· ~Iodern chcol, z64, 278-Sr, 293- 298, 30+, 306, 356-65 Bennett, Dr. Risdon, 163, 194 Bentley, Dr. , 10 Benwell, J oseph, 15 Benyon, :'\Iessrs. \V. H., 285 Berry, r70 - Dr., 350 485 Berry, Rev. Henry Lea, 106, 177, 246 ; headmaster::.,h1p of, 107. 109, JII- 9 -Rev. J oseph, 6+, 66, 10Q, rro "Betsy," 181, 182. 30<) BeYan, Rev. LI., 2q Bidlakc, J. P., 177 Billiter Lane, r7 Binney, Rev. T homas, 4-0, 109. 149, 154, 16 ' 175, 20(), 2 13 Birks, Rev. Thomas R~nvsc,n. 5 note, 62, 91, 174, 34 Birmingham, 1 2 r, 145 . 26+ Birrell. Mr. Augustine, ."? '7 Bishop, D. \V., 2 1. o, 353 Bishopsgate Street, r, Bishop's ' tortford, z7q, '.? 1. o, 233, 295, 298 Black Bes , 27 " Black, H J.rry," 70 Black, . Ir., 1() Blackburn. J{e\·., r .J.<) Blackett, E. T. , 344 Blackhenth School, 256, 278, 279, 280, 283, '.? 7, 291, 29+ Blasson, Dr., 309 Blundell, Re,·. Thomas. 101, 103 Blyth, H enrr, 128 Bodley, J. E. C<.,urteney, 3:'-'.? Bogu~ Re~ J ohn. 23 Bolus, Miss. 181 Bompas, Q.C .. H. :t\1., 213, 24-2 Boothroyd, Dr., 12 r Borneo, 32. 3+7 Borough Road T raining Collf'ge, 4, 151 Bousfi eld, Robert, 66, 149, 160 : gift of, 133 ; founds a scholarship, 19 1, 192 Bo" ·don College, r o Bradbury, Re,·. l\Tr .. 63 Bradfield College, 250 Bradford, 3 r o -Grammar choc-1, 257 Bradley, Mr., 1 7 Bramall, I<., 356 Brent Bridge, 26 Brentwood. 307 Bridgett, Very Rev. T. E ., ~ ~() Brighton, 159 Brightwell, George, 215, 3rr Bristol, 62. 298, 319, 339 - University College. 347 British & Foreign Bible ociety, 2, 64 British & Foreign chools ociety, 1 Broad Street, 23, : 6 Bromsgrove, 3 ro Brooke, Mrs., 2 0<) Brown, Dr. Cnu11. I ()(), 317 -- Mr. , r 53. 302 Bruce Castle, 187. 230 Bryce, Rt. H on. James, 308 Buckland, Mr. R. W. B., 267, 3::9, 342; becomes Treasurer, 29~, -S. C. . 265 Buckley, Abel, 351 Budden, 6 " Bull Inn," z 6 Bullock, Mr. , 130 Bungay, 62, 78 Bunnell. J oseph, 15. 66, 16 t - Peter. 36, 49 ; gifts of, 39 Buonapartc. Prince Lucien. 239 Burder, Mr., 152, 153 Burnet. Re\". J .. 92, IO() Burnyeat. A. D., 2'.? Burrows, l\tr. E. J ., '.? 1 Burton Bank. See under '.\fill H tlt ch ,iol B urton. George, 2 7. 293, 323 Butcher, Arthur, 246. 365 - J ., 295 Bute, E2rl of. 380. 385 Bute House 'chool, 2::? l Butler, \Velis. 153, 344 Buxton, l\I.D .. Isaac, 15, 36. 16+ - J ohn Fewell. 15, 36. 126 Bywaters. C. V\'., 309. 359, 365 C Calamy on Richard Swift, 1 r Calverley, C . . -., 351 Camberwell, 109 Cambridge, -ni,·ersit y of, 63, r9z - Christ's College, 263 - J esu College. 295 - King's College, 35 1 - Magdalene College, 273 - Peterhouse, 263 - Queens' College, 250 - Sidne~· College, 279 - t. J ohn's College, ?.73, 274 - T rinity College, 62, 121, 204, 237, 269, 272. 35 I - Union, 237 Camden's B ritannia. 332 Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry, 314 Cane, Mr. Laurence A., 28 . 292, 293. 315, 32(), 3 1-3 Canterbury College, T.Z., 271. Cardiff. 265 Carey, Dr., 68 Carlyle. Thomas, 352 Carmichael, J obn, 176 Carr, J ., 353 Carroll. the brother . 2 7 Carstairs, l\Iajor. 35-~ Carter, Rev. H . C., 3 ~9 : song b y, 398 - J arnes, -:?06, 214 -- Norman, 296 - T homas, 66 - family. the. 35 + Cartwright , :\Ir .. 20 Casforcl. ~Ir., 1 2 2 Cator , . fr . J ohn, 38 r , 387 Centenary Fund, 313 Challis, A. \\' .. 35 1 1 - Profe_sor J ame~. 4.6, 17+, 333, 3-1-7 I DEX Chambers, Q.C.. I. P .. Thomas, 213 Champneys, :.\Ir. Basil, 289, 338 Change Aller, 378 Charity Commis;;ioners, 211, 250 Charles I., I ' - II ., IO, 23 Charlton, M .. 1 13 Charpentier. F. J ., 215 Cbarterhouse, 68. r 73, 314 Cha tterton, olonel, 354 Cheapside, r 6o Chcllcnham, s, 285 Cheshunt College. r77, 228 Che ter, Bishop o f. 5 11ote, 34-8 Ching, Mr. , r5 3 Cbirol, ~I. . 3, Christian Times, 19 r Christ's College. Finchley, 187, 2 17, 22 - H ospital, 298, 35 , 359 Cicero, 12 Cincinna tus, 224 City of London 'chool, 3 xo, 359, 360, 36r , 363, 366 Clapton, 230 Clarendon, Lord, 3l o Clark, l\'Ir. , 310, 389 Clay, Mr. R. ~' ., 273, 2 3 Clayton, Re\'. ( ;eorge, 52, 6+, 66, 80, 92, 97, 109, 14-9, 15 ' 175 - Rev. J ohn, I 5, 36. 52, ro7, 110, 164 - Rev. \\' illiam, 86. 150, 164, 175, 229; chaplaincy of. 104, ro7, 109- II 1, 121, 125 ; character of, 108 ; death of, 126; tablet to, 127 Clifton College, 228, 2 7 - Emmanuel Church, 224 Cocks, J. ., 362 Codrington Cnllege, Barbados, 272 Collcutt, ~Ir. T. E., 305, 337, 34-1 Corrie. Dr., 5:?. 62, 65, 7.1, 79, Sr , 86, 9. 90. 93, 169 " Coster·s ~ aturclay Xight, T he,'' 288 Cotton, Dr .. 63 Couch. )Iiss, r r Coulson, Rev. F . B, 3+8 Court Leet, q ~ Court of the Ge11tilcs, IO Ccwentry, 20+ Coward Tru tees. q.5, 150 Co,.ven·s Rose 1H aid1m. : 8'3 Cowper. \Villi am. 17 3 Cox, )Ir. ergcaut, 233 Cozens-Hardy, )Ir. J ustice, 297 C'radock, Samuel, 12 Crewe, Lord. 299 Crimean \Var, 1()3 Crompton. )[r. E. V., 285 Cromwell, Oliver. 224 Cromwell's Iron ides, r8 Croxford, Edward, 328 Croydon, 284 Crump, H enry. 153 - 1iss. 113. 1 2 - Re,·. H.J .. chc1plaincy of, 12 , 139, 146, 150-2, r6 " Crumpites." 1 : 3, !47 C'ry·stal Palace. 195 Cullen, Robert, headma~tersbip of, IOI , 106, Il(J -W. H ., 357 Cunnington. E. B. H., 3'12 - l\Ir. Cecil W., 2.13, 24 ~. 245 Curtis, Mr., 385 Curwen, E . ., 2~ 5 D Collins, J ames, 15, 66 1 Daily N ews, 352; quoted, 2q, 223. Collinson House. See under ~fill Hill , Dalbeattie, 1 80 rllool Dak. Dr .. 16 ~ Collmson, J ames, 37 - Vice-Chancellor. 3 14 - :.\lichael, 1,, 25. 381, 3 l 3, 390 Dallmeyer. T. R., 3 4 7 - Peter, 2 5, 2 8, 22+. 3 ro, 317, 333, Darby, G. A. T. , 360 341 ; botanical gard n of, 18 ; Dargue, lVI.. 18 r account of, 3 r-3, 37 -gr Darke, H. C .. 365 Colman, F. J ., 350 Davenport, ' ir amuel. n 5, 125. 174, Colwyn Bay, 293 344 Compton, Bishop, 379 David, H. C., 364 Conestoga, 389 Davir!s, Alfred, 352 Congregational Library, 210 - J. \V., 251 Congregational JI agazine, Tlte, u - :.\Ir., 93 Cook. Rev. E. H ampden. 269. 274 Davi -, A. E., 296. 297, 365 - E. Rider. 21 3 - H enry, 153 - W. P., 291 Davison, A. A., 364 - family, the, 35+ Dawson, Edward Bousficld, 147, 2 r 3, Cooke, )Iis . 240, 24 ... , 307, 339 354-, 355 - Rev. William, 142 - J. G .. 2 1 3 . 214 Coombs, :ir. , 152 - Robert, 36, 37 - Mr. T. M., 14.9, 193 - Ro~er, 65, 79, 92 Cork, 92 - f.l'nil~·. the. 354 - Queen's College, 16') Da~-. A. G .. 2 ~6 Cornfield, Mr., 102 Deaf and Dumb Asylum. 6.~ INDEX Dean, Rev. J ohn, 121 ; portrait of, 1 22 D<>c, ::\Ir., 180, 181 Delaconr, Edward J (' -eph, 130, 150 Denmark H i.I, 187 Devenish, :\Ir., 152 Dewhurst, Edgar, 353 -J. H., 247 Dexter. J. E., 362 - R. ~I., 364 Dicken , Charles, 174, 348 Dicksee, ::\Ir. , 193 Dilke, ir Charles, 352 Dillwyn. L. \V. , 387, 3 ' ~, 390 DLxon, J ohn, 149, 20S Dodd, Dr., 28 Doddridge, Philip. 21, 63 Dodds, A. K., 308 - R. H., 365 Dore, A. S. V/ ., 299 - .. •. A .. 358, 359, 365 Dotbic, Rev. Elvery, 247 Downing, C., 225 , 229 Draper, :\Ir., 310 ·Drury, H. C. , 235 Dr ury Lane, 348 Dumbelton, G. E., 291. 365 Dykes, Dr. Oswald, 289 E Earle, :\Ir., 128, 145, 171 East Barnet , 17 Econcbatti, Red Hill, U.S. A.., 354 E dgware, II5, 128, 202, 284 - Richard Swift , vicar of, IO Ediobmgh, II7 - High School, 177 - University of, 199, 231 Edminson, F. J ., 263, 267 E dmond, Rev. Dr. j ohn, 207, 213 Education , Bill of 1870, 1 - progress of. in the XIX th cen- tury, r - Puritan system of, 12 Edward IV. , 27 E dward VII., H .::\L King, 352 E dwards, A., 225 - ::\fr., 149 - 'vV. 245 Elgin, Lord, 3-t 5 E llis, Rev. William, 1 IO Elstree, 284, 329 Ely, Canon of, 174, 348 England, Rev. S. S. , 150, 176, 178; chaplaincy of, 159, 160, 163 Epping F orest, 329 Epsom Downs, 76 Erlebach, ~Ir. Alfred, ::?38, 245, 260 - Mr. H. A., 235, 251 Erskine, Lady Anne, 25, 29 E ton, 4 ; as a model, 3, 19 ; " long chamber," 171, 173 Et Firtut fm et Lusus, 29:1 Evans, David, 351 - Rev. G. S., becomes Hcadma~ter, 93, 95, IOI ; r esigns, 98. 119 Eve, ::\Ir. H . Weston, 199, 351 Ewen, ::Ur., 121 F Fairbairn. Dr., 164, 295 Farrar, Archdeacon, 26+ - Samuel J ohnson, 165 Favell, Samuel, 98, 133, 164; founder of ::\I.H.S., 14; lays foundation-stone of ew School, 62-7, 75 , 76; death of, 104; bust of, 161 Fenn, J ohn, 15 Finchley, 202, 279, 361, 363 Fink, Surgeon-Captain, 354 Fison, Rev. Robert, 2 13 Fitch, C. E ., 265 Flamingoes, the, 230 Flet cher , ~f. J ., 357 - Rev. J osepb, 127 - Samuel, 153 Force, F. \Vesta·.,·ay, 181 F orsaith, Robert, 213 Forsyth, Rev. P. T., 314 F oster , Arnold, 34-9 - Charles Finch. 208 - ::\irs., 264, 296 - William, 87 F othergill, Dr., 390 F ou_nders of .:Vl.H.S. , 3, 15 ; their arn1s, 9, 14, 17, 19, .1 r Fox, Charles J ames, 14 -Henry, 380 - J o eph, 15, 36, 164 Framlingham, 320 France, 352 Francis, H. G., 357 Franklin, Benjamin, 3 IO, 383, 384 Fraser , James, 352 Fraser's Magazine, 352 Freeman, l\Iiss, 128, 160 French Revolution of 1792,, ~ Fuge, Henry, 130, 145 Furnivall, J. G. :\1., 245 G Gaffi c, :i\Ir., 23, 39 Gale, Rev. Mr., 10 Gmnekeeper A broad, T !te, 236 Gan dell, Canon, 5 note, 1 70, 348 Gardner, H. C. V., 304 Garnett, Dr. Richard. 308 Garrison, the, 363 Gataker, IO Gauntlett, Dr. , 181 Geliebt und V erloren, 294 George III., 28, 380 - IV., 65 Gilbert, .\lr., 310 - V\l. S., 232 Gimson, A. Y., 366 Gladstone, ::\Irs., 240, 2 41 - \\' illiam Ewart, 29, 225, 250, 3or ; ilistributes the prizes, 4, 239-42 Gladslolle the JI an, 242 Glasgow University, 93, 106 Godolphin School, 256 Goff, :\Iiss, 159 Goodwood, 38 , 389 Gosport, 23 Gotch, Rev. F. 'vV., 213 Gould, A. J ., 265 Goulder's Green, 26 Goulty, Russell, 153 Governors, Court of, 2r, 48, 194, 264 ; election of, 53, 102, 160, 161 ; Life Governors under the :New F ounda tion, 212; on Dr. ~Iurray, 253 Gow, Alfred, 152 Gower Street, 174 Grafton Gallerie , 313 Grange. :\Ir. C. E., 295 Granville, Earl, 222 Gray, A., 290 -F. D., 266 G reat Exhibition, 130 Green, George, 29 - ]. R., 259 - Rev. S. G., 204, 312 Greener, l\Ir., 131 Greenwich, 206 Gregor y, Dr. Olinthus, 56. 66 G rey. l\Ir. , 27'2 Griffi ths, :\Ir. , 204 Grove H ouse chool, 228 G undry, A. G. C. , 36+ - \V. G. C., 365 Gunn, Re\'. J olrn, 110 - family, the, 354 Gurdon, Mr., 389 Gurney, J ames, 15, 49 - Rev. T. A., 224, 313 - Sir J ohn, 164 Gutteridge, J oseph, 15, 36, 64, 60, 164 Guttershedge, 2 5 Guy's H ospital, 199, 265, 346 Gwynne, - ell. 28 H Haddon, Dr. Cort, 347 Hague Peace Council, 346 Hainton, 153 Hall, T. D., 180, 204 H allifax, l\Ir. E . \V., 263, 272, 300, 3.p Hallowes, B. J . K., 365 Ham Hill, 337 Hamilton, Dr. R. W., 40, 121, 154, 165, 174, 196, 349 Hampstead Heath, 26, 122, 162 - ~ cbool, 278 Handel's JI essiah, 288 H ankey, \\" illiam Alers, 64, 66, 192 H ann, l\Ir., 288 H annay, Dr., 175 Hardcastle, :\I. P., J oseph, 154, 2 07 , 352 Harley, Arthur, 235 - H arold, 237, 352 - Rev. Robert, 219, 222; Vice- Master, 223, 225, 230, 246, 248 258, 261, 262, 308 Harman. Captain Edward, 18 - J ercmiah, rn, r , 25, 28, 31, 33 H arpendcn, 49 H arper, C. H ., 3 r r Harrinuton Square, r 52 H arris, J . C., 266 - -'irs., r28 - ~. E. P., 362, 363 Harrisburg, Penn., 310 Harrow, 4, r45, 223, 306, 3+1 ; as a model, 3, r9; fire at, 134 Hart, Dr. Lavington, 282, 349 - James \Valford, 282, 349 H artridge, G. !:..., 362 H ar vey, ~Ir .. 103 Haverstock Hill, 26 H aydon, :\Ir. J. H., 315 H eadmaster, the, super vised by Committees. 36, r68-70, 176 - Committee's ideal, 53 H eadmasters formerly ordained ministers, 2 H eadma ters' Conference, the, 4 - list of. 367 H eath, :\Ir. , 87 H eidelberg, C'niversity of, 203 H eir-at-Law, The, 247 H elmore famil y, 35+ - :\Ir. Fred, 99 note, 349; remini scences of, 280 - Rev. H olloway, 177, 349 - Rev. Thomas, 611 98, 174, 349 ; reminiscences of, 122, 124 H eming, i\Ir., 107 H enderson, A. D., 366 - l\Iessrs., 349 H endon, 1 r, 17, 251 80, 90, 115, 202. 306 - " Bell Inn." 26 - Church, 18, 332 - F ootball Club, 228 H e.nsman, H on. A. Peach, 348 H erald, The, 133-5, 224 H erbert, A. T. , 353 Hereford, Bishop of, 308 Higham, E., 364 Highgate, 360 Hill, Raven, 333 Hillyard, ~1r., 107, u2, 121, 126 Hindes, J ock, 327, 328 H inton, Rev. H oward, 39 H istory of Winchester College, 4 H obson, A. A. , 266 H odgson, l\fr. R. J ., account of New F oundation Day, 1879, 239- 42 490 I DEX H olborn Bars, 26, :q - " Bull Inn," 76, r ~2 - Freemasons' Hall, 245 H olborn familv, I 8.:? - Re\·. Alfred, I5:, 205, ~13, 349 Holland, Lord, 3 o Hollis, G. C., 365 -Mr., 28 H omer, Leonard, I 7 3 H omerton College for minister:;;, 16, I 9, 37, 78 H ood, Rev. Paxton, 247 Hook, Mr., SI H ope, Profe-,sor, 3l 6 Hoppey, J ohn, I52 Horne, Arnold, 225, 344 H ortus Colli11sonia1111s, 387 H ouston, Samuel, I 6+ H mvard, J. H. , 154 H owe, J ohn. 20, 63 Huddersfield, I 2 r Hudson, Mr. A. E. , 261, : 63, 267 Hugal Hill, 378 H uggins, Dr. \Villiam, '.:? 3 Hughes, Rev. J ohn, 23 - Rev. J oseph, IS , 36, 6,~, 66, 84, 91 94, I 64 -Thomas, 218, 226 Hulsean Prizeman, 2r2 Humphries, Rev. J ohn, I S. 36, 37, 74., 79, IOO, n9, 1 6 4; becomes H eadmaster, SI ; retire , 6I, 76 Hunter, Dr. J ohn, 30 - Mr. Alderman, I49 Huntingdon, Selina, ·countess of, 25, 29 Hurndall, ReY. \:Villinm FlaYel, 246; headmastership of, 201-4; quali fications of, 203 ; death of, 264- Husbandman, Jordan, 25 Hutton, Mr. A. E ., 352, 353 Huxtable, 1\1r. , 152, I 53 H ynmnl 1\'oted, The, 61 J Ibotson, H enry, 205 - Percy, 214 I mperial Institute, 337 I ncarville, F ather D', 388 I n Cha;1cery, 309 Inderwick, l\1r., 39 Innes, Very Rev. G. M., 5 note, 348 Internationals from l\L H .S., 265, 266 I on, 348 J " Jack Straw·s Castle," 26 Jackson, 43 - J.B .. 266 - Mr. T. H. , 263, 267, :72 - Mrs., 61 J acobson, Dr., Bishop of Chester, 5- 1Znte, I74, 3-1-8 J efferies, Richard, 236 J effery, l\1r., 26r, 263, 272 J ettnes, Re,·. Mr., 43 J ersey, Earl, 380 " J oclc," 327, 328 " J ohn," 328 J ohnson, .'.\Ir. R. J ., 2 7 2 J ohn ~ton, A. S. , 267 - Mr., 267 J obns tone, Dr., I 2 , 180, 183 ; r e- mini cences of, 181 - l\1r. A. S., 235 J ones, A. 0., 266 - Rymer, 140 K Kalm, Peter, 3 9 Kear ton, l\Ies5rs., 236 Keate, Re\·. Dr. , ror Kemp, Sir George, 295. 35~. -3;3 Kennedy, Re\·. J ohn, 2 r3 Kenny, Dr. Courtney S., z7.:: l~E'nt, Samuel Luck. 66 I{eogh, 1\1. , 112 Kerr, Mr. , 27 Kersey. ::\fajor H. l\I. , 350 , Kcrsha·w, J ohn, 23, 38 I{ey. ir J ohn, n 3 - ir Kingsrnill (.~rove. 35 1 Kigh t, Mrs., 128 King's College cl10ol . .:: +3, 256, 298, 306, 356-65 - ·w eigh H ouse, 308 Kinnear, Rev. DaYid, 1801 182, 183 Ritts, E . J ., 344 Knight. A. T ., 300 Knott, A. G., 363 R: nox, G. \~al ter, 351 L Lady's B attle. 308 Ladysmith, 353 Lamb, Charles, I73, 174, 348 Lambeth, 379 Lancaster Castle, 147 Lancasterian Society, I Lankester, Dr. Ray, I40. 189 Lapthorn, T . H. F., 245 Latham, J. R. , 352 Lawrence, Mr. Justice. "47 Lay, Horatio elson, I7+, 209,345 Leach, l\'lr. A. F., 4 Lee, l\ Iis . . 45, 59, 61, 72, 107 - Roger, 66 Leeds, 154, 349 L eeds jf ercury, 352 Leifchild. Mr. , 140 Leith Hill T ower, 76 Lethem, G. J ., 358, 365 Lcthem, \\' . A., 362 Levien, E. D. W., 364 Lewis, i\Ir. Bunnell, 169 Leys, the, 246, 25r, 252, 256, 25i, 264, 279, 2 O, ::?91, 301, 30'.? , 30-1, 306, 357-65 Liberty, The, 133-35, 224 Life of Thomas H elmo1'e, 99 note Lightwood, J. i\I. , 219, 2-15, 259 Lime Street, London. 17 Lifln't'an Soc iety, 378, 3 2 Linna-us, Charles, 379, 381, 382, 3 '6 Lid·, l\I. de, 145 Lloyd, S. W., 359 -T. \V., 364 Lobb, ., 21 5 Loclrn·ood, :\Ir., 29 Lodge, l\1r., 236 London County Councillors. 35 r - ~Iatriculation. 183, 19-t, 202, 238, 239, 260 - Missionary ocictr, 2, 41, 45, 2 2 ; chambers of, 52 - cottish cricket t eam. 361, 363 - University, 1321 '.? J7, '..:q9, 25 , 273, '.H-7 Long, Gc:o,:ge, 139 Lord, 'ir RilC'y, 314 "Lord Southampton's Armg," 26 Lord's Crirket Ground, 239 Lorraine, C. S., 266 Lose, Anne, 1821 3oq Loudon's Arbores, 389. 391 Louis XVI., 3 4 L ove in, Idleness, 311 Love, J. B., 291 Lowe. Mr., 39 Lum den's H orse. 353 Lu h, ir Robert, 195, 213, 239 Lye, Thomas. 12 Lyson's L o1UloJ1, 390 M Macalpine, .T . B .. 296, 299 - J. L. , 308, 309, 356, 357 Macdonald, Sir Claude, 3+6 '' MacGregor," 254 MacHutcheon, A. J ., 279, 282 l\fafcking, 353 Magrath, Dr. , 308 Maidlow, J. l\I. , 3-1- Maitland, Ebenezer. 15, 6-1-, 66 l\fanchestf'r, 43. 3-+ 7 - University, 312 l\lann. Abraham, 66 Mansfield, Earl of, 380 - H ouse Settlement, 27::? March, Rev. H enry, prea<'hes at M.H.S., 49; becomes Chaplain, 62, 79, 100 ; diary of, 78-99 Marinier, M., 38 • 1 l\lar!borough College, 5, 264 -1\omnd . 265 1\-Iarnham, .i\Ir. Herbert, 2~2. 31.i. 315 ; gifts of. 3 10, 3 r2, 313, 3 r t{ 336, 337 )Iarten, H. J .. 2 13 - Judge 'ir A. G., q;-, 175. 3+7 - Rev. R. H. , 205. 213, 250 .Marzials. Theodore, 107, J 12, II6 :uason, :\[r., r 7 l\Iathcr, Cotton, 154 - J o eph, 44- :Mayo Gunn, l\Ir. E. H., 289, 29 - Rev. H., 61 l\IcAJ.lardice, ~-, ~6f M.C.C., 251, 252, 265, 276, 278. 2'30, ::? 7, 295, 297, 304-, 356; Yictory over, 359 McClure. Dr. J. D., 252 : on the achievements and pro pects of the school, 7 : headmastership of, 269, 270, et passim, ; as a mu ician, 288, 294, 3or, 329 ; presented with a grand piano, 31+; on the aims of i\I.H.S., 316 - i\Irs., 305 McKinnon \Vood, Dr., 313, 314 l\fcLauglin, Mr., rr7 i\Iedhurst. Sir \Vatter, 256, 345 [eek, l\Ir., 38 Meeting House, Broad treet, 23 Meharr y, Dr., 309 Melbourne, 344 lll erchant of Venice, 290 Merchant Taylors, the, 252, 256, 264, 265, 278, 291, 29-1-, 296, 298, 302, 365 19, 25r, 27.9, 280, 306, 357- Merlet, Professor. 142 lll essiah, The, 288, 329 l\1eyler, :\fr. H . H., 272, 273, 279 M'Gcorge, T. L. , 358 M'Gowan, ~Ir. Jame, 358 l\Iiall, l\LP., Edward, 213, 209 Micklcrn, 1\1.P., :Nathaniel, 237, 245, 34-7, 353 - T ., 153, 213, 245 Midland Railway, 234 Jl.f ids1,1,mmer Nif!,ht's Dream, 290 Af ill H ill Chronicle, 22-1- l\lilll1ilHan, Tiu, 326 ll1ill H ill 11lagazine, 229, 2301 231, 242, 243, 252, 290, 313, 326; founda t ion of, 224 ; first issue, 225 ; register of, 273 ; quoted, 28 r , 2 ::?, 285, 28 , 292, 300, 318; chang-c of title, 29+ :Mill Hill :- Tile ·v illage " Adam and Eve," 27 "Angel and Crown," 29 Arrandene, 235 B elmont, 32 Birkbeck, 20i, 304- Bittacy Hill, 26 M ll Hill : The Village Burton B ank. See ur~d<'r l\lill Hill School ch olera in, 86 Churrh of St. Paul, 2, 32, eo, I 5 Clock H ouse, 29 Cop t Hall, 33 Cricket Club, 187, 280 description of, 24-33 Dissenters at, 24 fair of, 30 Gr oYe, The. 32 Hammer's Hill, 31 H ammer's Lane, 84, 343 "Ha lemere," 2 3 H ighwood Hill, 32, 75, 234, 2 ::!-4, 18, HighwooS I "'DEX 495 Old Gooseberry, 305 Old LPysians, 251, 2 :;6, 265, ?,6 t Old Millhillians, eminent, 40, 61, 63, 91, 147, J 54, 165, 174, 177, 1()9, 205, 207, 20(), ::35, 237, 24-5, 246, 256, 265, 266, 285, 295, 30(), 313, 314, 344-55 ; subscribe to :\Ir. Priestley's portrait, q8 ; Old ·• B l ues," 24 7, 265, 266, 353, 365; Old Boys' Day. 272, 299 ; Old Boys' Week, 314 ; present the ch~peJ, 285 < ld ~lillhillian' Club, 182, 251, 264-, wo, 313, 317, 350: dimH·r-. of, I. 237 - Oriel College, 349 - Queen·s College, 279, 308, 348 • xfunl Dictionary, 225, 252 253, 273 - Greek professorship at, 10 - Local Examinations, 206 - enion, 237 p P.l.do-Baptists, 22 Page'. :\Ir. A. F. , 298 - ).Ir. J ., 15, 36, 102, 1Gi Paget, :\Ir. idney, 263, 302, 334 Palmer, Samuel, 12 Paris, University of, 1 8 1 P ,J.rker, Dr., 301 Parkins, Captain, 197 Parkinson, ::\fr. , 379 Parnell, E., 366 Parrv, A. H. , 364 Parson's Green, Fulham, 379 Partington, 1\fr. , I O'.: Patriot, The, 148 Paul Pry, 296 Pawling. S ... , 245, 251 Peacock, 30, 31 Pearce, \V. A ., 2 7 P earse, l\fiss, 369 Pearson, T. W ., 265, 294 , 365 Peary, ) fr., 144 P eckham, 18, 37g, 3 o Peill, R. E. F., 357 P enman, F. G., 306 Penn y, \V. :\I. , 364, 365 P~rpin, :Mr. A. H., '.:? 7 Perreaus, the, '.:!8 Peto, ir . :\L, 196 Petre, Lord, 3.__ 7 Pettit, H., 364 Philadelphia, 383, 389 Phillips, Re,·. ).laurice, 79, roo, n9, r6.i; becomes H eadmaster, 40 -42; retires, 48, 49 ; portraits of, 50 ; death of, 57 - ir Thomas, 149, 173, 334 Pickwick, 348 Piper, :\fiss Ann, 310 - Thomas, treaqirer, 66, 87, 88, 14-9, 151, 153, 214; portrait of, 161, 193 ; resignation of, 192 • death of, 197 Pirate'-;, the, 228 Pitt, \\'illiam, : I , 385 Plymouth, 17;- Pon tefract, 46 Poole, 10 Pope, :'.\Ir., 130 F orson Prize, 15 r Porter, :\Irs., :8 Portland, Duke of, 380 Portland Grammar chool, Ply- mouth, 214 Portsmouth, Duchess of, 28 P owell , 154 - ::\Jes-rs., 339 - :'.\Ir . .1 ames, 245, 267, 289 - l\1r. :\f . C., 272 - Rev. E. P. , 240, 241 Praed, :\Iackwor tb, 173 Prentice, G. R ., 362 Priestley, Thomas, 30, 46, 57, 62, 74, 82, 104, 107, rn, 121, 33q ; head mastership of, n 9-2r, r26, 1401 146, r51, 157, 162, 163, 167-75 ; parting letter of, 165 ; character of, 120, 167, 171, 175, 206; por trait of, 14.8-50, 170, 177, 334, 351 ; pr esentations t o, 148-50 ; para lytic seiznre of, 170 ; honorarium to, 191 ; death of, 206 Primrose Hill, 195 Pritchard, Mr., 140 Publir School Commissioners, 212 Public ·chools, Acts of 1869 and 1871, 4 - closed t o Nonconformists, 6, 9 - definition of, 4 Puckridge, Rev. Oliver, 231 Punch, 328, 331, 351 Purvis, )Iiss )laggie, 293 P ye Smith, C. D., 2S7 - Dr. J ohn, 36, 7, . r, 89, 95, 97, 127,- 192 ; founder of l\Iill Hill School, 15, 16, 19, 65, 66 ; quarterly examinations by, 37, gr, 94, 132, 142; distributes the prizes. --12, 52, 76, 84, 153, 15+; !10norarium of £50 to, 53 ; deli\'ers the charge to Rev. W. Clayton, 109 : bust of, 133, 161 ; death of, 16+, r76; last addrcc;s of, 16+, 165 - Dr. Philip, 1+2, 199, 213, 3+6 - Ebenezer, 133 - family, the, 182, 354- Q Quebec, 389 R Radley's Hotel, 206 Raffl es, ir Stamtord, 32 Raleigh, ir Thomas, 314 - Sir Walter, 141 Rawdon College, 20+, 312 Redpath, Rev. R., 142, 175, 183 Rees, l\lrs., 181, 209, 2+8, 30 - Rev. Thomas, 181, 195, 205, 209 Reid, Sir Hugh Gilzean, 314 Renton, Mr., 52, 74, So, 95, 131, 310, 332 Repton School, 263 Resultant Greek Testanient, 307 Rex, F. N., 362 Reynolds, Dr., 175, 205 - G. P., 249, 251 Richmond, Duke of, 388, 389 Rickmansworth, 204 Riddiforcl, ~1rs., 79, 86, 89, 92 Ridge, E. M., 364 Ridley, Rev. William, 3+9 Rip Van \Vink.le, 226 Rivals, The, 295 Roberts, A. J. R., 236, 296, 299, 300, 364, 365 - Nathaniel, 66 - Sir William, 174, 3+7 Robinson, C. J., 246 -E., 280 -Harry, 297 - Sidney, 353 - family, the, 354 R obinson Crusoe, 7 I Rogers, Henry, 213 Rolt, ir John, 207, 213 Rook, A. F., 364 Rooker, Rev. William, 5 r, 62 Ropes, A. R., 237, 351; songs of, 393 R ose Ill aiden, 288 Ross, Adrian, 317, 352 Rosslyn Park, 266. 280 Rotherham College for Ministers. 40. 42 Rowbotham, R. · ., 365 Royal Academy, 149. 303 Royal Exchange. 197 Royal Indian Engineering Culleg-e, 298 Royal l\Iilitary Academy, 29, Royal . raval School, 229, 291, : q5, 306, 356-65 Royal Photographic Society, 3 ~ 7 Royal Society, 347, 380, 388 Ko~·al Veterinary College, 306 Royston, 159 Rugby, 173 Rule, 150, 152, 153 Russell, Earl, 222 - Lord William, 32 - Mary, 18, 381 - Michael, 18, 25, 33, 38 r - Miss, 85, r28 -Mr., 95, 96 - Rt. H on. G. \V. E., 313, 341 Rutland, Duke of, 380 I<.t.tt, 36 Rydal Mount, 293 Rye H ouse Plot, 32 Ryland. J. E., 62, to, 107, 169 s Sabine, \Villiam, 15, 36, 66 Saffron Walden, 107 Sagar, J. R. , 364 Salisbury, Richard, 18 alisbury Square, 17 Salt, Sir William, 350 Saltairc-, 350 Sandilands, Major-General, 174, 354 Sappho, r79 Satow, S. A. M., 348 - Sir Ernest l\lason, 199, 346, 349 Savill, Rev. J ohn, 15, 36 - \V., 15 Scarborough, 204, 205 Scarborough, T. L., 246 Schmelt, Professor, 189 School for the Sons of l\Iissionaries, 280 Scott, Benjamin, 53, 213, 247, 351 ; recollections of, 67-71 -G. M., 93 - Mr., 170 - Sir Walter, 225 cott-White, l\Ir. A. H., 231 crutton, A., 213 - T . E., 225, 237, 245, 347 -Thomas, treasurer, 271, 35 r ; joins the Committee, 205, 2 ro; his share in the 1 'ew Foundation, zrr, 213, 214-; death of, 285 : portrait of, 334 Seaman, Mr. Owen, 237, 351 eth-Smith, Charles Euan. 345 .. TXDEX hanghai, 345 Shaw, Henry, 31, 48, 309, 34.5 Sheffield, Edward, 355 - Messrs., 207 Shepherd, George, 3 . 52 Sherman, Rev. :\Ir., 354 Sherring, C. A., 344 he Stoops to Conquer, 2<)') Shorter Cateclzism, The, 12, 21, 22 Shrewsbury, 351, 3$3 Sibree, J ., r 34 Simmonds, Mr. J ., 3.1,2 Skcrritt, Dr. E. M., 347 Sk6ich, Tl:e, 317 Slavery, abolition l)f, 3 Sleat, J .. 323 Sloana, Sir Hans, 380 Smcdmore, Rev. J o epn, 20.:,, 213 Smith, Dr. George, 194 ; secretary uf ~!ill Hill School, 205, 214 - Dr. \Villiam, 66, 142, 149, 15-4 , 158, 178 - H . H ., 364 - Rev. Philip, II7, 161, 224 , 246, 250, 346 ; character of, 167, 177, 179, 199 ; headmastership o f, 177, 190, 193- 200; dismissed, 198, 201 ; death of, 256 - R. Howard, 265, 2 8 1, 28-4- - Sir J obn, 378, 390 - T homas, 66 Smithfield Market, 354 Snell, H. E., 357, 358, 359 Snowdrop, 288 Society of Antiquaries, 380 Selander, Dr., 386 Someren, Colonel Van, 354 Somerset Addison, Club, 228 " Song of Miriam,:' 288 Sourton, 231 ~outbgate, 187 Spencer, Earl, 301 - Sir Brocket, II Spicer, C. W., 353 - Douglas, 364, 365 - F. E., 356 - G. E., 363, 364 - H., 245 - ~Ir. Evan, 308, 351 - Murray, 353 - Ronald, 364 - Sir Albert, 2s.4. 303, 312, 31-4, 350_ 352, 353 - fam.ily, the, 182, 3,54 Stackhouse, Mr., 46 tainton, 152 St. Albans, 50. 196 Stamford, Earl of, 272 St. Andrews University, 283 Stanley Club, 231 . ·tanJey of Alderley, Lord, 3 r I - Sir H. M., 352 Stanley's Lile of Arnold, 173 ' tanmore, 306 Stan ton, Mr. 85 Starr, :\Ir., 288 Staveley, 378 St. Dunstan's, 2z9 Steane, Dr. Edward, 109, 14 2, , 75, 2 0 Stevenson, 152, I 53 - G. C., 224 - Gr()rge, 66 tewart, Rev. A .. rn') St. Germains, 384 St. Giles' Pound, :6 St. J ames's, 349 St. J obn's \Vood, 195 St. Louis, 11issouri , 49, 345 - Louisiana Purchase lixpos.ition, 309 St. Mark's. Chelsea . . H9 St. Michael's, ChaptJ of, 50 Stock, Dr. Frederick. 24 9, 2 .1A Stoics, the, 265 Stonard, Mr. , 15 Stor ey, L. H. T., 362 Storrar, Dr. J ohn, 213, 249, 256 - T homas C., 130, 162, 171 St. Pancras Church, 26 St. Paul's, London, Ont., 348 St. Paul' s School, 19, 256, 263, 361-6 Stratten, A. C., 213 Sueur, M. Charles, 1451 180, 180 Sugden, R., 287 Summers, Mr. William, 251 S1m, The, 224 Sunday Schools, founc.ia tion of, 64 Swain, A. T., 364 Swallow, Canon, 314 Swift, Augustin, ro - Richard, 24, 25, 28, 33, 317 : career of, 10, 11 Swiss Family R obi1.s01-i, 71 Sydney, 344 Sykes, G. F. H., 180, 183 Symons, C. W., 245 T '!'ahiti, 140 Tal fourd . Sir Thomas N()on, 40, 148 164, 165, 174. 348 Tancre, M. Charles, 38 Tangier, 346 Tanner, J. R., 23i - family, the, 354 Tapp, Mrs., ~07 Taunton College, 2C'4 Tavistock, s r Tayler, Lloyd, 3-44 Taylor, J . H ., 215 Taylor, Mr. Frank, 309 T eignmoutb, 349 Temperley, Robert, 250 Terence, Andria, 179 Tettenhall College, 315 Teynham, Lord, 151 Thackeray, W. M., 173 31 .. 198 INDEX Tbackrah, C. G., 359 Thomas, Rev. Arnold, 295, 297, 349 - Rev. H . Arnold, 3r4 - w. s., 362 Thompson, r88 - Rev. J . Radford, 264 Thorne, Sir Richard T horne, r99, 280, 346 Thorowgoo4 - Dr., 40, 42 - :\Ir. A. J ., 315 - Rev. De Kewer. 247, 248 vVilliamson , Mr. D avid, 242 \Vills family, the, 354 -1\'fr. Arthur, 293 - l\fr. Frank, 341 - Mr. H. W. S., 280, 281 - Sir W. H. See LorJ Winterstoke \Vilson, J ., r 5, 153 \,Vinchester College, 4, 173, 227 ; History of, 4 \Vinchmore Hill, 17 \Vi11dermere. 378 Windsor Castle, 76 Winter, Mr .. 30 - Dr., 164 Winterstoke, Lord. 174, 299, 308, 311 , 352, 354 ; presents the prizes, 239 ; portrait of, 302, 33+, 34r, 350; gifts of, 289, 295, 313, 318, 339, 3+ r. 350 ; lays foundation-stone of Collinson H ouse. 305 Wintringham, J. F. , 252 W olverhampton, 350 Womersley, D . ., 362, 36~ W ood, J ohn, 30, 38, 40, 46, 49, 90, 93, r..t-3. 187 ; domestic superintend ent of Mill Hill School, 51, 58, 59, 72, 74 ; the guiding spirit, too - T. McKinnon, 35 I, 353 Woolley, A. M., 353 - Mr., 122 Wrench, Mr., 379 " Wrens," 315 \Vright, .Mr. F. A., 273 \Vykeham, William, 227 y Y ockney, Rev. J ohn, 64, 66, 81, gr, 94- 6, 142, 149 York, 42 Young, Mr. F. S., 279, 29r, 293, 297, 298 - Sir George, 264 -W. S., 2g7 i\.DDITIO A I 1 I DEX. A Aden ey, P rofessor, 406 Adkins, Sir W. Ryland D., ICC., 404, 406,408, 420 Albert H all, K ing and Qneen at , 4 17 Andrews, W . H., 401, 415 Armistice, 4 r 7 t hletks, 464- 469 B Bain , W. A., 420 Ballan ce, Sir H . A., 419 Balliol College, Oxford, l\Iaster of, 413 Baptist Union, 4 I 9 Barkby, Scholarship, 418 Barnett, Canon , 409 Beadel, Dr., 411 Belmont, 404, 407, 4 17 Benson, Dr . A. C., 4 12 Briggs, M . S., 403 Brown, W . H ., 427 Bryce, Viscount, 409 Buckland, R . W . B., 433 471 Buckley, Mr. W. H ., 414 Burton Bank, 423 C Cane, L. A., 401, 424 Carli~lc, H . H ., 4 19 Carter, H . C., 444 Casualties, 4 10, 436, 460, 472 Champion, W . T ., 421 Chapel, 4 2 2 5 0 1 Cerisier, A. G., 420 Coates, H ., 413 Calcutt, T ., F.R.I.B .A., 403 Collins, Sir William, 406 Collinson House, 424 Collinson , Peter, 406, 414 Compton, R . H ., 4II Congregational Union, 418, 443 444, 445 ulpepper, E. B. de, 422 Curriculum, 427 Cnrzon, T ., 411 D Dale, Sir A. W. W ., 4 t 3 Daniels, Sir Percy, 419 Darlow, T. H ., 422 Daw. on , E . Bousfield , 41 3 E E lliott, V . A., 406, 42 5 E lliot t, George, 402 E t on , P rovost of, 420 Evans, Rev. W. H ., 4r4 F Findlater, Dr., 4 11 Fire at School, 402 Fisher, Rt. Hon. H . A. L .. 437 Fitch, Sir C. E ., 419 F oundation Day, 401, 408, 42~ Franklin, Benjamin, 414 502 ADDITIONAL INDEX. G L Gemmell, K. T., 405 Gilhert, F. 1'1., 402 Gilray, C. M., 403 Glunicke, Lieut.-Col., 450, 457 Goodman, N . M ., 411 Governors, 403, 426, 427, 438, 471, 472 Gra-nhic, Dai ly, 424 Grove, 401, 413 Gundry, E.W., 471 Gunn , E. H . Mayo, 413 Gurney, Rev. T . A., 41 8 H Haldane, Viscount, 40 ~ Halliday, H . E ., 405 H allifax, E.W., 407, 425 H anson, J ., 417, 420 Hamp, S., 401, 41 9 H are, Sir S. W., 420 H arre, R . W., 402 Harrison, G. I~ee, 401, 405 Hartley, Sir William, 41 8 H aydon , J. H., 405, 420 H enerie, J . E. S., 420 Herring-Browne, Miss, 414 H onour, Gat e of, 419 Home, General Lord, 419 Home, Professor E. A., 404 B"orseman, J. V-.l ., 420 Howard, J . P ., 4 1 r Hughes, Sir Thomas, 4 I 2 Hutchesson , J . F ., 422 I Ince, S. R .. 420 Inspection, 420, 451, 456 J J ackson, T. F ., 427 Jacks , :Maurice L ., 4 23, 427 Jones. C. J ., 407 K h- cm p , Sir George, 40 2, 404 Kini H . M.the, 417 Keynon, Sir Frederick, 424 Laboratories, 427 Lamont, John, 471 Lamont, G. S., 413, 46o Lamont , Shield, 460 Lane, Mrs. John, 414 Lapthorn, F. D., 471 Lawrence, Mr. Justice, 421 Lever, H on. vV. H., 413 I,ink, H . A., 406 Lord Chief Justice, 421 1\1 Macali ter, Sir Donald, 413 :McClure, Sir J . D ., 400, 407, 408 419, 422, 429-449. lHcClnre, Lady, 407, 430, 435 :McKinnon vVood, Rt. Hon . 1'., 404, 406, 403 l\IcLellan, Major F. R . H ., 405 , 42 I' 42 5 Mamham, H erbert , 418, 4 21, 433 Martin, B. K ., 423 Martin, Dr. and lVIrs., 411, 422 Memorial, War, 416, 419 Micklem, Nath ., 472 Middlesex Regiment, 451 Miers, Sir H enry, 407 Milner-Barry, E . L., 414 Murray, Sir J. A. H ., 402, 409, 412 Music School, 407 N Natural History Society, 411 Nicoll, Sir W . Robertson, 408 Numbers, 403, 409, 413, 4 20, 424 Nyman, K . A., 421 0. Officers' Training Corps, 400, 40 5, 410, 424, 450-463 Old Boys, 400, 470-474 Owen Scholarship, 4 18 ADDITIO AL INDE . p Palmer, Rt. Hon. G. W., 409 Parliament, Me1nbers of, 404 Pearse, :Miss, 420 Pegrum, H. B., 427 Phillips Warren, 427 Powell, Rev. E. P., 418, 419, 422 Priestley, H. J ., 404 Q Queen, Ii.M. the, 417 R Raleigh, ir Walter, 416 Ramsey, Dr., 419 Rayner, R. M., 411, 414 Record, 413 Reed, T. G., 410 Ridgeway House, 404, 406, 469 Rifle Club, 401 Roberts, A. J. Rooker, 407, 417 Rochdale, Lord, 413 Ross, Rev. Prebendary, 414 Rowell, Sir H., 419 Rowland, . C., 417 Scholarships, 401, 418 chool House, 407, 423, 425, 469 cience Schools, 42 7 Scrutton, Lord Justice, 404 eaman, Sir Owen, 409 'elbie, Principal, 41 3, 442, 444 Senior, Rev. \V. S., 420 Shackleton, Sir Ernest, 420 Shaylor, lvir. and Mrs., 427 ~immonds, Ivlr., 427 :nap-Shooting Trophy, 424 ~panish Teaching, 41 r Spaulding, G. F., 420 Spicer, Rt. Hon. Sir A., 402, 404, 405, 408, 419 ~picer, Sir H\·an, .p 2 ~umncr, I,ord, 422 Sylvester, 1\1:rs., 427 T Tales, Miss, 427 Taylor, E., 420 Temperley, Major, 450 Te1nple, Dr., 413 Thomas, Rev. H. A., 419 Thomson, Sir J. J ., 413 Todd, J. H., 47 I Trevethin, Lord, 421 Trinity College, London, 446 Trustees, 413 Turner, F. J ., 406, 420 V Vincent, ~Ir. G. W., 4 r 7 \V \Valker, Professor E. A., 406 \Var, 410, 472 War lYiemorial, 416, 419 War Record, 472 Watson, D., 434 Way, Dr. A. S., 408 vVells, Rev. R. J ., 418 West, lYir., 427 \Vhitehead, J . E., 421 Window, Memorial, 424 \Vills, Dame Janet Stancomb, 405 \Villia1ns, A. J ., 407, 423 \Villia.ns, T. Arthur, 421 \Vinterstoke, Lord, 404 \Vireless, 402 \Volverhamptou, Lord, 401 \Vright, F. A., 408 Cover Preface Contents List of Illustrations Introduction The Foundation of the School The Description of the Village Early Days The Last Days of the Old School The Chaplain's Diary The Interregnum Mill Hill Under Priestley Appreciation of Priestley Mill Hill Under Phillip Smith The Collapse of the Old Foundation The New Foundation Mill Hill under Vince Mill Hill under Dr. McClure 1903-1908 The Life of To-Day The Buildings The Old Millhillians Athletics of the Last Six Years List of Masters, etc Peter Collinson, the Botanist of Mill Hill School Songs 1909-1923 Sir John McClure The Officers Training Corps Athletics from 1909-1922 The Old Boys Club Appendix to Lists of Masters, &c Additions to the Early History Index Additional Index Back

The History of MHS 1807-1923, N G Brett-James

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Mill Hill School Foundation

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