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The history of schooling in Alnwick goes back the 15th century, but broadened as the town prospered. By the early 19th century a number of small schools for the children of the freemen had been established in Clayport, Pottergate, and Dispensary Street (others could attend, but had to pay fees). As far as we know, nothing of these various small establishments remains today. Then in 1853 they were brought together when the Borough School was built, to a design by Thomas Robertson. It was admired for its “rural and picturesque appearance”, and its situation as “one of the loveliest in the neighbourhood”.

Alnwick Mercury: 20 September 1852

FOUNDATION STONE OF THE NEW BOROUGH SCHOOLS AT ALNWICK LAID BY HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND. The most intelligent men amongst the Common Council and freemen of the borough of Alnwick have long been aware that their present schools — inconvenient in size, and detached from each other — have stood in the way of any general improvement either in the application of new methods, in giving breadth and completeness to the routine of studies demanded by ths advanced state of society, or in providing a thoroughly systematic discipline and superin- tendence under one directing mind. The rapid advance of education— the schools that were rising around them on every hand, erected both by private enterprise and public subscription — and the increasing conviction among the general body of the freemen of the deficiencies on their own establishments, at length determined tbeir Common Council, who number amongst tbeir body some of the ablest and most eloquent advocates of education in the district, to realise their long cherished wishes. The building of new schools was no sooner determined on, than the resolution was promptly carried into effect. Having no suitable site of their own sufficiently near the town, the Council put themselves into communication with his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, who with characteristic zeal for the dif- fusion of sound education, readily entered into their views, and, after fixing upon an appropriate situation, munificently presented the corporation with a piece of land as a gift for schools, recreation ground, and garden, close on the outskirts of the town, which was valued by competent authorities at upwards of 400/. The schools, which are situated in a field near Pottergate Tower, are in the Elizabethan style of architecture, have been in course of erection during the spring and summer months, and have now made sufficient progress to enable their plan and style to be appreciated ; and we cannot but congratulate the Com- mon Council on the completeness of their scheme, and the taste and ability of the architect, Mr. Thos. Robertson, and the workman-like skill of the contractors, Messrs. Arm- strong and Hudspeth and Mr. Thos. Forster, for the buildings are indeed what his Grace truly styled them, " a conspicuous ornament to the town." His Grace most cordially acceded to the wish of the Council to lay the foundation stone, and eventually fixed upon Wednesday last for the purpose. The day was beautifully fine, and a vast number of persons had ?? to join in the interesting proceedings of the day. The Chamberlain, Common Council, freemen, the children belonging to the several borough schools, with a great many of the townsmen who felt an interest in the noble undertak- ing, met at the Town-hall, and proceeded in the following order, at 11 o'clock, to tbe castle, to conduct their Graces to the building:— Banners, bands, schoolmistress, school girls (107), the schoolmaster, schoolboys (96), the Chamberlains, the Common Conncil, the Rev. Court GranviUe, the archi- tect, the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, accompa- nied by Lord and Lady Lovaine, and Lady Charlotte Gran- ville, the contractors, the freemen with banners, townsmen. On arriving at the schools, their Graces, the Chamberlain and Common Council, &c, ocupied the ground floor, near the place where the stone was to be deposited, in the north -• crn wall of the Grammar School ; a platform ?? raised above the area intended for a class-room, was occupied by and a large one immediately above the floor of the Mathematical School was assigned to the scholars. The architect presented his Grace with the trowel and mallet, and after a bottle ?? sealed had been deposited in a cavity made in the stone, Mr. G. Tate, ?? read a paper, bearing a transcript of that contained in the bottle, from which the following is extracted : — •j T^ foundation stone of these borough schools was laid on Wednesday, the 15th day of September, in the year of our Lord 1852, by the Most Noble Algernon, Duke and Earl of Northumberland," mentioning also his grace's several other titles, "in presence of the Chamberlain and Lommon Council, and of others, freemen and inha- bitants of the town." The Chamberlain and Common _.°Tk ' m erectin S these new schools, have been actu- ated by an earnest desire to provide for the youth of this borough a sound and comprehensive education. The former schools were inadequate in size, inconveniently arranged, and separate from each other. These new schools have a more ample area ; and as the whole in- tercommunicate, and are under one roof, it is hoped, that therein a systematic course of classical, mathematical, and commercial education, equal to the demands of the age, may be adopted and ?? carried out. Tn these schools the children of the freemen of the borough will be taught free from charge; and in order to give additional facilities to this district for the attainment of a liberal edu- cation, the children of other inhabitants will be admitted to the schools on payment of moderate fees. The site on which the schools and master's house stands, and the ad- joining recreation and garden grounds, comprehending an area of 4,337 square yards, have in the most generous man- ner been presented to the corporation aa a gift, by his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, to be now and at all times hereafter appropriated to educational purposes, in PF9™ °. f P l 9 Grace s good feeling towards the borough, and of his desire to promote the intellectual and moral improve- ment of the youth of Alnwick and its neighbourhood. Mr lhomas Robertson has been the architect of these schools ; he has drawn the plans and superintended the erection of the works. The school ?? contains four school rooms and a class room; one school room which ia 40 feet by 20, is intended for a preparatory or elementary school ; in the second which is 35 feet by 20, mathematical and commercial education will given; the third which is 30 feet by 20, will be devoted to the classics, to modern languages, and Engliah grain mar and Uterature ; and the fourth, which is 35 feet by 20, will be appropriated to the instruction and training of girls in -emale arts and accomplishments. The erection of the schools and master's house was let by proposal for the total amount of l 004/. lla. 4d. The cost of theae buildings haye been defrayed out of the funds belonging to the corpo- ration : and the schools will hereafter be maintained by endowmenta, by payments out of the corporation revenue, and by fees from non-freemen'a children. The preaent endowments are .-The Crown tolla of Alnwick, granted by the Earl of Northumberland in 1591, and con- firmed in 1649, now let for the yearly sum of 11. 10a. ; rent charge on Lough House estate, left by Mark Forster, yearly, 10/.; interest of 50/. bequeathed to the corporation Dy Benjamin Barton, "for schooling unfreemen's children," yearly, 2/. 10s ; out of Crown rents, yearly, 4/. ls. Bd., but deducting fees, 3/. 12s. 9d. ; house and ridge in Clay- port-street, now occupied by the teacher of the borough scnooj. In endeavouring to improve their present educa- tional institutions, the preaent Common Council feel that they are following the example of their predecesaora. The beneficial effecta of these former efforta have been largely experienced and appreciated, for the educational advan- tagea have been esteemed the moat valuable of the corporate privileges. But new and more vigoroua efforts must be made to keep pace with the progress of society ; and every modern improvement in the art of instruction should be laid hold of to give increased efficiency to the borough schools. The duty of the Common Council to attempt to realise these results waa felt to be important and pressing, because, at the present period more than any other, a liberal and comprehensive education ia essential to a young man's auccess in life, and because alao the peace, the happineaa, and stability of our nation are dependent on the intelli- gence, morality, and religion of the community." The rest ot the document contains a few additional facta relative to the corporation, the names ofthe present Chamberlains and Common Council, and a list of the copper and silver coma deposited m the bottle. Mr. Lake Hindrsarsh then ad- dressed hia grace to the ?? effect :— t? 7 r< l Duke ?? A ? chairman ofthe building committee I have the honour, on behalf of the corporation of thia town, to request that your Grace would add to your former acta of kindness by laying the foundation stone of the new borough schools. And, in doing so, I feel assured that I not only gratify my own feelings and those of the corporate body I represent, but the wishes of the assembled multitude, old and young, for we all feel that to no other could the request be so properly addressed, and by no one else could the ceremony be so fitly and gracefully performed. Long have the corporation been aensible of the deficiencies of their eaucational establishments, and moat anxioua have they te c n n J° „ mpr, £ hea V but the y found - wich their present imperfect and scattered school rooms, that all effectual im- provement was hopeless, and that the first step required of them to take was the erection of new schools capable of admitting all proper arrangements, and of securing the ad- vantage of complete superintendence and control. The a _S! y th f n burred about a suitable aite for the new schools, and as a warm friend of education and holding an honourable relation to the corporation as Lord of the Manor, we yen ured to appeal to your Grace in this emergency, when mn™.^ 88 e 7u ry ?? most BMciotßly met, but much morewas done than we could have either asked or expected, iUT Gt& A- eS """ficmtly granting the present spacious and commodious site as a gift to the corporation, thereby leaving the whole available funda to be appropriated to the erection of the present handsome building, long? I hope to remain a monument to your Grace'a liberality, nnd to the tinn g »n e rf n »i d T 1 ° f the co ?P°r*tion in promotion of educa! tion and alao aa a source of much advantage to the children of the present and succeeding generations. ?? ?? 6 ?? 11 -"' incumbe ?t of St. Michael's vice— following appropriate foundation ser- Prayer -OT^V £? V ? "J"* u P° n U9 - The Lord's art th; EJrfi Je w 3 C^™?' Son of 'be Living God, which ?? &£ mi , h _l y ?? God ' _- h 5 bri «btnesa and express vt thL 7h£f C ° al Father and Everlasting Life, Thou who ?? vi , c ?? ner Btone and immovable foundation of Thy church, bless this stone which is now to be laid in Thy name. Uel hou, we pray Thee, the beginning and ending of this wort, which we take in hand to the praise and glory of Thy name ; and grant that whosoever, with pure anddevout mind shall render assistance in this good work, may receive Thy heavenly benediction, who, with the Father and the Holy P Th ' n T l 3t 68 ?? one God > w orld without end. The Duke of Northumberland then laid the stone in the name of the Father Son, and Holy Ghoat. After wh eh The Rev. Court Granville said, Let ua pray.-O Lord our God, we beseech Thee let Thy Holy Spirit descend to bleas thia our work; to sanctify our offering; an d tocleanS and pnnfy our hearts, through Jesus Chriat our _X Prevent ua, O Lord, in aU our doings with Thy mo** 2!?* cious favour, and further us with Thy continuous hX ?h*"t in all our worka, begun, continued, and ended in Th~7 may glorify Thy name, and finally by Thy ?? &* c everlaating life, through our Lord Jeans Chriat tLp" l of our Lord Jesua Chriat, the love of God and l thn in F° of the Holy Ghoat, be with you aU now and for ever P His Grace, was received in the moat enthnaiaanJ T„ After which, Mr. Geo. Tate briefly thanked l hia G™ "f"^' kindness and condescension, and said — M and spirit of the Chamberlain and r? glea and enlightened borough, and of iheir laudable effn« II) ! BOn Cou ncil of tha generation the blessing of a 3o "J 8 t0 «cure to the riainz and I trust they will g e suJpSS » d UBeful education! endeavours to promote so desirable »n v seconded in their may be distinguished by their com n u* ,e Ct * and th *t they success. To the applications I have hid£ l ,". nd . perro anent Chamberlains and Common Council fortS to me b ? the schools, and for the purpose of ?? 610^"* raising the standard of education, I havl , ! y e mea ns and est pleasure in acceding, they ao complete! v ** th , e ««*- -my own views on the importance of that ,1 incided "ith my most sincere and heartfelt wiah that the ni!"' and il is wiU realise the expectations of their best m£T* "*»»h Their graces and Lord and Lady LSLS^ft rter9- courteous manner bowing to the assembled cro»? t | ,e _ mo9t building, and were conducted as they came T 7 left th e gates by the Chamberlains, Common Council bL c ?? in the same order as before. freemen, Ue., The Common Council have distributed half-a „„ each freeman and freeman'a widow resident in th? nto IB commemoration of the auapicious event. Ti " m<LT' sh ' the corporation and several friends afterwards s a tl ber3 of dinner at the house of Mr. H.Atkinson, "hose £? t0 widely known and admired, to a most umptuous l? I 3 The chair was occupied by Edward Thew F™ ?ast- delivered by the last named gentleman waa a m o3t ' 1 h ? 1 .ng one, giving an historical account of all the doin^f corporation with respect to education, from t „8 _ the record to the present time. Th"chUdrell^f fh. e "; he,t were regaled with tea and cake in th Town- ha 1 O,S joyed themselves as children "know how" on Lh ?? aions, while the workmen engaged on the hnii/i;.. occa * number-of about 80, terminated the day's nrl ' f ' to the supper at the Queen'a Head, under the P UiZ"ft by a Tate and Robertson. We cannot concede Thl \ * Mfssrs- account of what we consider one o ' S ?™ l?°™ hast^ events in the history of the town of Alnwick iW O,W pressing a wish that these splendid bdS,™ ' unimpaired by time for ages to come • th*t F "R rema,n and good manners may efer SSimtSt ft""™! that generation after generation a noh « I T walls; and of both sexes may issue from?h_ ° wi th SST 7 th . minda^xalted by sound and pure ajgHfitS