History

Merchant Taylors’ School was founded by Liveryman and former Lord Mayor of London, Sir Thomas White of the Merchant Taylors’ Company, for only 250 boys, of whom 100 should be ‘poore men’s sons’ to be educated without fee and another 50 on half fees.

The School’s first Head Master was Richard Mulcaster who wrote two famous books on education: Positions (1581) and Elementarie (1582). His pupils performed drama at the court of Elizabeth I, and he encouraged music and exercise as well as the more traditional subjects of Latin and Greek. Mulcaster was ahead of his time for his views on the role that exercise played in children’s education. At this time Merchant Taylors’ was one of the largest schools in the country.

Amongst its more well-known pupils were Renaissance playwright Thomas Kyd (who wrote The Spanish Tragedy), the poet Edmund Spenser (author of the Fairie Queene), and Lancelot Andrewes (translator of the Authorised Version of the Bible, 1611).

The School’s first premises were in Suffolk Lane, in the parish of St Lawrence Pountney, where the Merchant Taylors’ Company purchased the Manor of the Rose to accommodate the School. A plaque now marks the site in Suffolk Lane and there is a reference to the place in Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII. The staff in the early years comprised only a school master and three ushers.

The School suffered greatly during the early seventeenth century due to outbreaks of the plague and closed for a year between 1636-37. Again, the Great Plague of 1665 caused disruption and in 1666 the School’s buildings were completely destroyed by the Great Fire which started near to Suffolk Lane. The Head Master at the time, John Goad, managed to rescue the books from the School’s Library, which he had recently founded in 1661 [see more]. The School continued with a greatly reduced cohort (only 155 boys) in temporary accommodation and finally returned to rebuilt premises in Suffolk Lane in 1675. It remained there for 200 years.

Goad had the happy talent of being able to keep both boys and staff in contented order, but he fell victim to the wave of anti-Catholic hysteria generated by Titus Oates’ bogus “Popish Plot” and was dismissed by the Company in 1681 for his alleged Catholic sympathies.

It was during this century that the process of ‘probation’ started whereby students were inspected by the Court of the Merchant Taylors’ Company. This involved students transcribing and translating passages in Greek and Latin dictated by the Head. During this time the school day started at 7.00am and the curriculum was purely based on the teaching of Greek and Latin languages and literature rather than mathematics or science.

Despite dwindling numbers in the early eighteenth century, the School gained a reputation for offering a first-class education, and under the Headmastership of James Townley from 1760-78, the school’s fortunes were revived. Townley staged several Latin plans at the School to packed houses. Samuel Bishop was Head from 1783-95 and according to his wife claimed that ‘there was no revolt or riot during the whole time of his continuance at the school’. Thomas Cherry, Head Master from 1795 to 1819, proposed setting up an arithmetic and writing school, but his proposal was deferred then dropped. It was to be a further 15 years before mathematics was finally admitted into the school curriculum.

At this time the prefect system, still in place today, began with nine prefects in Upper Sixth being elected to ‘The Table’ with a School Captain at the Head, and eight prompters who sat on ‘The Bench’.

Throughout the early 19th century there was an increasing realisation that the School must move away from the cramped setting of Suffolk Lane to larger premises at a new site. The decision was made in 1866 to move to Charterhouse Square near Smithfield Market and the former buildings of Charterhouse School, which had recently moved to Godalming, were purchased. The decision was led by Head Master James Hessey (1845-70), who also introduced school lunches.

Head Master William Baker oversaw the building of new school buildings which begun in 1873 and was completed in 1875. Numbers increased from 350 to 500 and a more modern and rigorous curriculum was devised to include modern languages, science and commerce. Students were either on the Modern side (focusing on language skills) or the Classical side (focusing on Latin and Greek studies), a structure that continued until the 1960s.

In Baker’s time, chemistry and physics were introduced and a new science building was finished in 1891. Baker also ensured the introduction of biology as an extra in 1900. Finally, he recommended the adoption of the newly established Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examination Board for examination of higher work which for the first time provided a means of comparison between schools.

Rugby and cricket became established and successful, and the School rowed in competitions on the Thames. The School produced some outstanding sportsmen at this time, most notably brilliant all round sportsman J.E. Raphael and England Rugby Union player E.R. Cove-Smith. Clubs for the sports were established in the nineteenth century and the School magazine, The Taylorian, was first published in 1878.

Although there was expansion at Charterhouse Square, with new facilities such as laboratories, a school museum and an outside space to conduct sporting events, the site was increasingly inadequate, surrounded by noise and pollution. After much debate, Head Master Spencer Leeson convinced the School Committee of Merchant Taylors’ Company that a move to a larger premises out of London was indeed essential for future growth. Land at Sandy Lodge near Northwood would provide spacious buildings, playing fields and proximity to the homes of the 75% of boys who lived north of the Thames. For the first time there could be a proper boarding house, whilst the growth of ‘Metroland’ would compensate for any loss of pupils unable to travel to the new site.

The move to Sandy Lodge was completed in March 1933, with a farewell service to the City held at St. Paul’s Cathedral on 20 March. The first new term at Sandy Lodge began on 4 May. The move from the City of London to the suburb of Northwood was probably the greatest single event in the history of the School.

The new buildings were designed by the architect W.G. Newton, who blended neo-Georgian and Swedish Modern elements. The plan of the buildings is shaped as a pair of compasses, and symbols of the Company were placed everywhere, even in the rainwater heads. A few reminders of the past transferred to the new site included the statue of Sir Thomas White, the Goad Library, the War Memorials and commemorative tablets, the five Masters’ wooden chairs originally from Suffolk Lane, as well as many Monitors’ tables and Prompters’ benches.

In common with all independent schools, Merchant Taylors’ has been influenced by developments in teaching and examining of all subjects in a way that would have been inconceivable in the past. The headmastership of Hugh Elder (1946-65) saw the expansion of games and the consolidation of Houses into the present eight. The Quarter centenary was celebrated in 1961.

A dedicated art block was built in 1961, and under David Skipper (Head Master 1982-91) a Sports Hall was built (1986) together with an indoor swimming pool, and the old gymnasium was converted into a studio theatre. This building now forms part of a much larger complex constructed during the headmastership of John Gabitass (1991-2004) when a Modern Languages building was built together with a new Art building, a Lecture Theatre and classrooms.

The last decade of the twentieth century also saw major changes in the life of the School including the abandonment of the six-day teaching week, and boarding in the Manor of the Rose came to an end with the Millennium.

In 2002, the area beneath the Great Hall together with the open cloister was converted to accommodate a spacious entrance and reception area, with offices and a sixth form common room. In 2011 the OMT War Memorial Facilities, including a clubhouse, cricket pavilion, rugby and cricket fields were relocated from Durrants in Croxley Green to the Sandy Lodge site.

The new Design Centre was opened by the Duke of Gloucester in 2016, providing high-tech equipment and a new structure for Design, Technology and Engineering pupils. In the same academic year Northwood Prep joined Merchant Taylors’ School to become Merchant Taylors’ Prep, and for the first time the School offered a 3 to 18 education with a nursery school opening on site.