THERE ARE four out-of-print histories of Leeds Grammar School. Three of them are re-published in full on this web site. And of course, this being the internet, for the first time the books are fully searchable (see below).
In addition, two “admission books” exist; the first, compiled by J H D Matthews and Vincent Thompson Jnr., dates from 1897, with a second published in 1906. Tony Potts O.L. (1934-43) has kindly loaned me his valuable copy of Edmund Wilson's 1906 Admission Book, and the history sections from both these volumes are also reproduced here in full.
A C Price’s excellent “A History Of The Leeds Grammar School” was published in 1919. It’s a necessarily detailed volume, and covers the full period from the School’s Foundation in 1552 up to 1918. Teachers will be particularly intrigued by his ‘Postscript’…
P H Kelsey brought out his “Four Hundred Years” in 1952 to commemorate the quatercentenary celebrations. This is the ideal jumping-off point for anyone seeking a quick overview of the life and times of LGS. Nice pictures, too!
Hilda M Christie’s “Please” is a remarkable personal reminiscence of HMC’s thirty-seven years teaching in the Junior School. It was published in 1955. Miss Christie began her long career at Leeds Grammar School in 1915 – three years before the completion of A C Price’s “History…” (She remembers ‘Cappy’ Price as a ‘woman-hater’…!)
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J H D Matthews and Vincent Thompson Jnr published the first real attempt at a complete listing of LGS pupils in their “Register of the Leeds Grammar School 1820-1896” (1897). Articles of particular interest are the “Short Account Of The School” and “Exhibitions And Scholarships”, though it’s listings section isn’t quite as comprehensive as Edmund Wilson’s later effort. Speaking of which …
Edmund Wilson appears rather tetchy in the extensive introduction to his 1906 “Leeds Grammar School Admission Books – 19th Century” (“It is more than half a century since my direct connection with the School ceased, and I am glad to say that I have never had anything to do with its management.”). That said, he does provide interesting insights into the running of the School, its overall purpose, and its Founder. (Not Sir William Sheafield, by the way, but the Rev. Wm. Sheffield. “‘Sir’ was a courtesy title given to priests, as every reader of Shakespeare knows…”)
THE ONLY out-of-print “history” that (presently) eludes me is the Rev. John Sheepshanks’ “Brief History of Leeds Grammar School” (1822).
If by any chance anyone has this volume on their bookshelf - and would be prepared to let it out of their sight for a couple of months - I’ll happily hand-collect and hand-return it anywhere within mainland UK. Just e-mail!
I HAVE TRIED - with limited success, it must be said - to contact any surviving family of my authors.
Whilst Mr Kelsey’s and Miss Christie’s books are some fifty years out of print, and the Price, Wilson, and Matthews and Thompson tomes are in all probability more than forty years out of copyright, still it would be courteous to let the families know that their relatives’ endeavours are again available for general study. Hopefully, when I track them down, they’ll approve!
So, if anyone knows the whereabouts of any members of the Price, Kelsey, Christie, Wilson, or Matthews and Thompson families, again please e-mail.
THERE ARE three excellent “Histories” currently in print; one photographic, two written.
John G Davies’ “Leeds Grammar School - A Pictorial History” (1991), James W D Marshall’s “Floreat Per Saecula” (1997) and John G Davies’ “From Bridge To Moor” (2002) are highly recommended, and can be obtained from School.
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FINALLY, if you’d like to know more about your shadowy Webmaster, click here.
Thanks for visiting, and enjoy your travels through the Histories of Leeds Grammar School – “the finest school in the North of England”.
Trevor Midgley O.L. (1954-62)