This article is about Sheffield (Royal) Grammar School (1604–1905) in Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Sheffield Grammar School

Grammar school

A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...

began in 1604 as 'The Free Grammar School of James King of England within the Town of Sheffield in the County of York' in buildings in the Townhead area of Sheffield, resulting from the benefaction of John Smith of Crowland. In the "Gazetteer and General Directory of Sheffield and Twenty Miles Round", by William White, published in 1852, the author refers to the "FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL", noting that it "is a commodious and handsome stone building in Charlotte Street, erected by subscription in 1825, in lieu of the ancient school which stood near the top of Townhead Street. It was founded by letters patent of James I in 1604, and the Vicar and Church Burgesses are the trustees and governors".

It led a nomadic existence on various sites before taking over the Sheffield Collegiate School

Sheffield Collegiate School

Sheffield Collegiate School began in 1836 in new buildings on the corner of Ecclesall Road and Collegiate Crescent...

 on Collegiate Crescent in 1884.
James A. Figorski describes the premises at St. George's Square, which the school occupied in 1868, as follows "It was a stone building which I think was in keeping with St. George's Church. From St. George's Square you entered through a stone archway and there to the left was the small caretaker's house, and then the pathway went round to the porch, into which the main door opened to the large main room of the school. The floor was stone flagged and was very cold in winter. A stove stood in the centre of the room, cracked and worn. We had no gas, and water was turned on into an old stone trough at play-hours outside the school".

The school, at its Collegiate Crescent site, was renamed Sheffield Royal Grammar School (SRGS) in 1885. SRGS's motto was "Verbum tuum lucerna pedibus meis" – "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet".

In 1905 Sheffield City Council acquired both Wesley College

Wesley College, Sheffield

Wesley College, a school to educate the sons of the laity, opened in 1838 in new buildings designed by William Flockton on Glossop Road, Sheffield, England. It was founded by Rev...

 and SRGS and they were merged on the site of the former to form King Edward VII School (KES)

King Edward VII School (Sheffield)

King Edward VII School is a secondary school and language college located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. KES, named after the reigning monarch, was formed in 1905 when Wesley College was merged with Sheffield Royal Grammar School on the site of the former on Glossop Road...

, named after the reigning monarch.

Headmasters of Sheffield Grammar School

1604–1606	John Smith	1648–1651	Peter Lanfitt, B.A.	1759–1776	John Smith, M.A.
1606–1608	Henry Saxton, M.A.	1651–1658	William Whitaker, M.A.	(1776 Acting	Edward Goodwin).
1608–1615	John Hancock, M.A.	1658–1663	Francis Potts, M.A.	1776–1809	Charles Chadwick, B.A.
1615–1619	George Young, B.A.	1664–1696	Thomas Balguy, M.A.	1809	Joseph Richardson, M.A.
1619–1622	Andrew Wade, M.A.	1696–1698	Charles Daubuz Charles Daubuz Charles Daubuz or Charles Daubus , was a Church of England clergyman and theologian.Daubuz was a French Protestant divine, who became vicar of Brotherton. In his youth, he removed to England on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes . He was the author of a few theological works, most notably of A... , M.A.	1810–1818	Joseph Wilson, B.A.
(1622 Acting	George Wade).	1698–1703	Marmaduke Drake, M.A.	1818–1830	William White, M.A.
1623–1625	Godfrey Mason.	1703–1709	George Lee, B.A.	1830–1863	Percival Bowen, M.A.
1625–1644	Thomas Rawson , B.A.	1709–1720	William Humpton, M.A.	1863–1884	Joseph E. Jackson, M.A. Ph.D. D.CL.
1645–1648	William Young, B.A.	1720–1734	Christopher Robinson, M.A.	1884–1899	Edward Senior, M.A.
1648	Roger Steare , B.A.	1734–1748	John Cliff, B.A.	1899–1905	Arthur B. Haslam, M.A.
		1748–1759	Thomas Marshall, B.A.

Notable old boys of Sheffield Grammar School

• John Balguy
  John Balguy
  John Balguy was an English divine and philosopher.-Early years:He was born at Sheffield and educated at the Sheffield Grammar School and at St John's College, Cambridge, graduated BA in 1706, was ordained in 1710, and in 1711 obtained the small living of Lamesley and Tanfield...
  
   (1686–1748) – divine and philosopher (NB His father Thomas Balguy was Head 1664–1696)
• Charles Sargeant Jagger
  Charles Sargeant Jagger
  Charles Sargeant Jagger MC was a British sculptor who, following active service in the First World War, sculpted many works on the theme of war...
  
   MC
  Military Cross
  The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
  
   (1885–1934) – war memorials sculptor
• Edward Keble Chatterton
  Edward Keble Chatterton
  Edward Keble Chatterton was a prolific writer who published around a hundred books, pamphlets and magazine series, mainly on maritime and naval themes.-Biography:...
  
   (1878–1944) – prolific author on maritime and naval themes
• Robert Murray Gilchrist
  Robert Murray Gilchrist
  thumb|Robert Murray Gilchrist was an English novelist and author of regional interest books about the Peak District. He is best known today for his decadent and Gothic short fiction.- Biography :...
  
   (1867–1917) – novelist and Peak District author
• Kenneth Kirk (1886–1954) – Bishop of Oxford from 1937–1954
• John Roebuck
  John Roebuck
  This article is about the English inventor. For the 19th century British politician, see John Arthur Roebuck.John Roebuck FRS was an English inventor who played an important role in the Industrial Revolution and who is known for developing the industrial-scale manufacture of sulfuric acid.-Life...
  
   (1718–1794) – inventor
• Reverend Walter Stanley Senior
  W. S. Senior
  Reverend Walter Stanley Senior was an English scholar, poet and member of the Church Missionary Society. Popularly known the "Bard of Lanka", his works are still widely read in the island nation. He was also Vice Principal of Trinity College, Kandy, Sri Lanka.-Early life:Walter Stanley Senior was...
  
   (1876–1938), the "Bard of Lanka
  Sri Lanka
  Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
  
  ", SRGS pupil from 1888 to 1891

External links

• King Edward VII School and Language College
• Old Edwardians – site for alumni association + archive material
• Sheffield Collegiate School – Sheffield Collegiate School history on Sheffield Collegiate Cricket Club's site