Laxton Grammar School was a historic school located in

Oundle Oundle () is a market town on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 5,735 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. It is north of London and south-west of Peterborough ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, founded after the death of Sir William Laxton (Lord Mayor of London) in 1556. It was finally subsumed into

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...

in 2000 under the name Oundle School.

The Gild School

Oundle had a grammar school, called the Gild School, since at least 1485. In 1499, Dame Joan Wyatt had purchased a licence to refound the Gild, properly authorizing its existence. It was to be known as the Gild or Fraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the "Gildhouse" stood within the churchyard o
St Peter's
parish church. The Gild was affected by the Abolition of Chantries Act and, in 1548 its assets were seized and it was taken over as a grammar school by the Commissioners for the Continuance of Schools."A History of the Oundle Schools", William George Walker, printed for The Grocers' Company by Hazell Watson & Viney Ltd, London, 1956

Sir William Laxton

William Laxton was educated at the Gild School and became an apprentice to the

Worshipful Company of Grocers The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London and ranks second in order of precedence. The Grocers' Company was established in 1345 for merchants occupied in the trade of grocer and is one of the Gr ...

in London, until he gained his livery in 1519. In 1536, Laxton became Upper Master of the Grocer's Company and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

in 1544. Sir William Laxton died in 1556 and, in his will, left property to the Grocer's Company in London, on condition that they supported a new school, to replace the old school which he had attended.

400th anniversary

In 1956,

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

attended Laxton Grammar School's 400-year celebrations. A plaque commemorating this event was installed in the Long Room.

Oundle School

Owing to its success, in 1876 headmaster Henry St. John Reade and the Grocers Company decided to split the school into two: "The Laxton Modern School" for local day boys and the renowned “

”, a

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

for pupils intending to progress to university. In 2000, the governing body decided to reunite Laxton Grammar School into

as a house for day pupils, to be known as Laxton House.

Notable pupils

Iain Henderson William Iain Henderson (born 21 February 1992) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays lock for Ulster, Ireland, and the British and Irish Lions. He has been the captain of Ulster since the 2019, and first captained Ireland in 2021 ...

(born 1967), cricketer

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Old Laxtonian Club

Oundle School

English Heritage - National Monuments Record

British Listed Buildings - Laxton Grammar School

Charity Commission - Free Grammar School of Sir William LaxtonThe History of St Peter's Parish Church Oundle
Educational institutions established in the 1550s Oundle 1556 establishments in England