Historical Note—The School in 1589

To The Editor of "The Peterite". Dear Sir,

It was with some regret that I read in the last edition of "The Peterite" that Mr. R. D. Wheatley had chosen to plague us with yet another poll. By all means, let him emulate Kipling's elephant-child and "satisfy his 'satiable curtiosity"; but must he make public his conclusions? He claims that his poll was "fairly representative"—yet he interviewed no School Monitors. Typical of his conclusions was that the number of boys intending to study Law has dropped in four years from 50 to 12; this was duly noted and, indeed, head-lined by a national newspaper. In actual fact, there are no fewer than 13 candidates for the legal profession in the Sixth Form alone.

My real grievance, however, lies in the inclusion of Question X :- "Do you think the scope of the Music Society should be widened to include modern popular music?" Now, if Wheatley had troubled to make any inquiries at all, he would soon have discovered that the aim of the Music Society is "to provide its members with good music,

which they would not otherwise have the opportunity of hearing". These last words clearly rule out what Wheatley euphemistically terms "modern popular music", which, as everybody knows, is the regular fare of the typical common-room. The tastes of Mr. Wheatley and his friends are indeed well catered for.

It goes without saying that, as there is adequate opportunity for enjoying "modern popular music", it does not fall within the province of the Music Society. In short, Wheatley had no right at all to ask his question, since it was tantamount, not to widening the scope, but to altering the constitution of the Society, and changing its aims. By the same token, Wheatley would no doubt wish to widen the scope of the School Library by the regular provision of the latest comics. How true were his words "de gustibus non disputandum". Yours, etc., D. G. HILTON.

HISTORICAL NOTE

THE SCHOOL IN 1589

Dr. J. S. Purvis, the Minster Archivist, has sent us a copy of a letter of 1589, preserved in the Diocesan Register, from the then Archbishop of York to the Chief Judge of the Queen's Exchequer Court. The letter, a hitherto unnoticed document, is concerned mainly with the School's title to the Rectory of Stillingfleet, but its principal interest is the light which incidentally it sheds on the repute and numbers of St. Peter's School at that date. It comes as a surprise to find that in the year 1589 there were as many as "two hundred scholars or there- 27

abouts" attending the School. And the Archbishop's description of St. Peter's as "the only good school in this great city" is decisive refutation of the belief that in this period the School was eclipsed by the comparatively recent foundation of Archbishop Holgate (1547). Furthermore it would seem that, circumstantially at any rate, here is further evidence to rebut the argument, used by Knight in his History of York, that St. Peter's went out of existence between the confiscation of St. Mary's Abbey in 1540 and the Charter of Philip and Mary of 1557 endowing the Horsefair School. It is hardly reasonable to suppose that starting, as it were, from scratch, and with the rival free school of Archbishop Holgate already ten years established, a new St. Peter's would have reached such numbers and reputation within 30 years and justified the Archbishop's observation that it "hath been verie well used these many years".

The revenues of the Stillingfleet living appear as a frequent subject of contention in the School's history. A further unsuccessful attempt was made to wrest them from the Dean and Chapter, who held them in trust for the School, in 1621, when, however, James I confirmed the title originally conferred by Philip and Mary. And they crop up at intervals throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. These revenues were a valuable portion of the Endowment, and, indeed, it was the reletting of the tithes in 1820 (when a long lease expired) at a rental much nearer their true value which saved the finances of the School in a difficult period and ensured the prosperity of the 19th century.* It is intriguing to find that in 1589 the Moyser family were already in possession of the Stillingfleet living. They held it, from father to son, at least until 1698, on long leases, at ridiculously low rentals. At the re-leasing of 1820, referred to above, tithes which had brought in a yearly rental of £50 could be relet at £1,200 per annum. Until the discovery of this letter by Dr. Purvis our earliest date for the connection of the Moysers with Stillingfleet was 1621, when they defended the School's title at an expenditure of £100 of their own money—as well they might, since they enjoyed the lands for a paltry £70 p.a. rental, of which the •Dean pocketed £50 before anything reached the School. It appears now that they had already been entrenched for some thirty years.

The following is the text of the letter :- "My verie good L. As I am informed, ther is a sute commensed and now dependinge before you and the rest of the barons in her Maiesties Courte of Exchequor by some pretendinge her highnes tytle to the Rectorie of Stillingflete in this countrie as a thing conceyled. it may please you thusmuche to knowe, that the same

* The history (alas, largely of their misuse) of the endowments is fully dealt with in an article in "The Peterite" for May, 1948. 28