The Mercers' School was an

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, England, with a history going back at least to 1542, and perhaps much further. It was operated by the Worshipful Company of Mercers and was closed in 1959.

History

After the dissolution of the Hospital of St Thomas of Acre in 1538, the hospital's land was bought by the Mercers' Company, and the school was founded in 1542 under

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

of King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

dated 18 April 1542. It is possible that the new school continued one that had been established in the hospital by an Act of Parliament of 1447, which may have dated back as far as the foundation of the hospital itself in 1190. At different times the school had several different homes in the City of London:

Cheapside Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, England, which forms part of the A40 road, A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St Martin's Le Grand with Poultry, London, Poultry. Near its eas ...

, Old Jewry, and College Hill ( Dowgate); in 1894 it moved to

Barnard's Inn Barnard's Inn is a former Inns of Chancery, Inn of Chancery in Holborn, London. It is now the home of Gresham College, an institution of higher learning established in 1597 that hosts public lectures. Over the centuries, it has served as a sch ...

, a site on the south side of

Holborn Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...

. The school was admitted to the Headmasters' Conference in 1935. It finally closed in 1959. The passageway leading to the Mercers' School's porter's lodge and playground with Queen Anne headstone (which traditionally new boys were forced to kiss), the Headmaster's rooms and dining hall, with early flags and inscribed panel walls giving the names and dates of headmasters over the centuries, still exist at the Barnard's Inn buildings in Chancery Lane. The Guild of Mercers' Scholars was established 1947 as the "Civic Guild of Old Mercers", with the aim of encouraging former students to become Freemen of the City of London and join

livery companies A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are Style (form of a ...

pertaining to their trades or professions.

Former pupils

Those educated at the Mercers' School include: * Sir Thomas James Barnes (1888–1964), lawyer * James Boevey (1622–1696), merchant, lawyer and philosopher * Peter Southouse Cheyney (1896–1951), crime writer * Frederic George D'Aeth (1875–1940), social administrator and lecturer * Cyril Dean Darlington (1903–1981), biologist * Stanley Clinton Davis, Baron Clinton-Davis (born 1928) * Sir Henry Ellis (1777–1869), librarian * Sir Alfred Gilbert (1854–1934), sculptor * Arthur Allan Gomme (1882–1955), librarian and president of

The Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a registered charity under English law based in London, England for the study of folklore. Its office is at 50 Fitzroy Street, London home of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. It w ...

* Sir Bradford Leslie (1831–1926), civil engineer * Douglas Neil Kennedy (1892–1988), folk musician and dancer * Peter Nailor (1928–1996), academic * Robert Paynter (1928–2010), cinematographer *

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg ( ; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance (film), Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout (film), Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973) ...

(1928–2018), film director * William Lloyd Webber (1914–1982), organist and composer * Edward Wynn (1889–1956), bishop * John Young ( 1532–1605), bishop

References

* "Mercers' School", in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 4 December 1933, p. 9

External links

Mercers' School History
1542 establishments in England Educational institutions established in the 1540s Defunct schools in the City of London Buildings and structures in the City of London 1959 disestablishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1959 {{London-school-stub