List of masters of Gresham's School - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This is a list of the Masters (later Headmasters) and Ushers (later Second Masters) of Gresham's School

Gresham's School

Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...

, Holt

Holt, Norfolk

Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...

Masters, 1562-1900

1560s: Master Robinson
1570s: Master Harrison
1584-1602: Christopher Williams
1602-1605: Reverend Richard Snoden MA (Cantab.)
1605-1606: Reverend Francis Catlyn MA (Cantab.)
1606-1639: John Tallis MA (Cantab.)
1639-1640: Reverend Nathaniel Gill
1640: John Tallis MA (Cantab.) (again)
1640-1644: Sir Thomas Witherley
1644-1646: John Fenn
1646-1659: Reverend Francis Wright MA (Oxon.), fellow of Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
1659-1660: Reverend William Hickes MA (Cantab.), previously Master of Oundle
Oundle School
Oundle School is a co-educational British public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire. The school has been maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation in 1556. Oundle has eight boys' houses, five girls' houses, a day...
1660-1665: Reverend Henry Mazy MA (Cantab.)
1665-1667: Reverend John Goodman (acting Master)
1667-1692: Reverend Thomas Bainbridge MA (Cantab.)
1692-1716: Reverend William Reynolds MA (Oxon.)
1716-1729: Reverend David Duncombe MA
Master of Arts (Scotland)
A Master of Arts in Scotland can refer to an undergraduate academic degree in humanities and social sciences awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, while the University of...

(St Andrew's) (d. 1729)
1730-1760: John Holmes
John Holmes (schoolmaster)
John Holmes , was an 18th century schoolmaster and writer on education, Master of Gresham's School in Norfolk.-Life:Holmes is described in a 1729 broadsheet of his Latin verses as ex schola Holtensis....

- writer of textbooks on grammar, rhetoric and astronomy
1760: John Knox
1760-1787: James Smith
1787-1806: Thomas Atkins
1806-1807: Reverend Mr Babington (acting Master)
1807-1809: Thomas Atkins (again)
1809-1857: Reverend Benjamin Pullan, alias Pulleyne, MA (Cantab.), fellow of Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
1858-1867: Reverend Charles Allen Elton, MA BD
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....

(Cantab.), fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England.The college was founded in 1596 and named after its foundress, Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex. It was from its inception an avowedly Puritan foundation: some good and godlie moniment for the mainteynance...
1867-1900: Reverend Reginald Jolliffe Roberts, MA (Cantab.)

Headmasters, 1900 to date

1900-1919: George William Saul Howson
George Howson
George William Saul Howson MA was an English educationalist and writer, reforming headmaster of Gresham's School from 1900 to 1919.-Early life:...

, MA (Oxon.) - formerly of Uppingham
Uppingham School
Uppingham School is a co-educational independent school of the English public school tradition, situated in the small town of Uppingham in Rutland, England...

, reforming headmaster
1919-1935: James Ronald Eccles, MA (Cantab.)
1935-1944: Philip Staniforth Newell, MA (Cantab.)
1944-1955: Martin John Olivier, MA (Oxon.) - previously of Rossall
Rossall School
Rossall School is a British, co-educational, independent school, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College which had been founded the previous year...

, later head of Guthlaxton College, Wigston
Wigston Magna
Wigston Magna also historically referred to as Wigston Two Steeples or Great Wigston , is a town within Leicestershire, England just to the south of Leicester, on the A5199 road which leads to Northampton....
1955-1982: Logie Bruce Lockhart
Logie Bruce Lockhart
Logie Bruce Lockhart MA , is a British writer and journalist, formerly a Scottish international rugby union footballer and headmaster of Gresham's School.-Background:...

, MA (Cantab.) - international rugby footballer
1982-1985: Dr Timothy Phillips Woods
Timothy Woods
Timothy Phillips Woods DPhil , known as Dr Tim Woods, is a South African schoolmaster and educationalist.One of the sons of Arthur Phillips Woods and his wife Katherine Isabella Woods, he was educated at Cordwalles Preparatory School, Natal, Michaelhouse, Natal, Rhodes University, where he...

, MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

(Rhodes
Rhodes University
Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, established in 1904. It is the province’s oldest university, and is one of the four universities in the province...

) DPhil (Oxon.)
1985-1991: Hugh Raymond Wright
Hugh Wright
Hugh Raymond Wright is an English schoolmaster and educationalist who was chairman of the Headmasters' Conference for 1995–1996.-Early life:The son of the Rev...

, MA (Oxon.
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

) - later Chief Master of King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...

(1991–1998) and Chairman of the HMC
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference is an association of the headmasters or headmistressess of 243 leading day and boarding independent schools in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and the Republic of Ireland...
1991-2001: John Hardy Arkell, MA (Cantab.) - formerly head of Wrekin College
Wrekin College
Wrekin College is a co-educational independent school located in Wellington, Shropshire, England. It was founded by Sir John Bayley in 1880 and was known as ‘The School in the Garden’ owing to its extensive gardens and playing fields...
2001-2008: Anthony Rory Clark, MA (Cantab.) - formerly head of St Andrew's College, South Africa
St. Andrew's College (Grahamstown, South Africa)
St Andrew's College is a private senior school for boys located in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, one of the 23 elite, influential and prestigious Milner Schools. It offers boarding and day options for its pupils. The premium Anglican boarding school caters for 450 pupils from across the...
2008- : Philip John BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

- formerly head of King William's College
King William's College
King William's College is a leading world International Baccalaureate HMC independent school for ages 3 to 18, situated near Castletown on the Isle of Man...

, Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

Ushers

1602-1606: Nicholas Stephenson
to 1621: Reverend John Watson
1627-1632: Reverend Thomas Cooper
1632-1638: Nicholas Davie
1638: Reverend Thomas Cooper (again)
1638-1639: Henry Luce
1640: Henry Luce (again)
1640-1643: Timothy Cutler
1643-1644: Reverend Thomas Cooper (again) - hanged in 1650 as a Royalist rebel
1658-1660: Reverend Henry Mazy
1661-1665: Reverend John Goodman
1689-1692: Thomas Kellway
1692: William Chambers
1692-1695: Thomas Garrett
1695: William Rowland
1696-1697: Thomas Turner
1697-1704: Thomas Plumstead

1705-1708: John Reynolds
1708: John Fox
1708-1713: William Selth
1713-1714: John Spurling
1714-1715: William Chaplyn
c. 1718: John Brooke
c. 1725: John Holmes
1729: Edward Read
1770s: Christopher Stangroom
1796-1801: David Kinnebrook
1810-1811: Reverend Robert Davies
1811-1813: Peter Barney
1813-1821: Daniel Carr
1821: James Sturley
1821-1828: Reverend Thomas Beckwith
1828-1843: Reverend William Robert Taylor
1843-1851: John Slann (first Second Master)

Second Masters

1843-1851: John Slann (last Usher)
1851: William Allen Rudkin
1851-1857: John Hubbert Kent
1858-1860: J. Rodney Phillips
1860: Berney Wodehouse Raven
1860-1862: Charles Frederick Furbank
1862-1863: Frederick Roy Dowson
1863-1864: Rev. George W. Anstiss
1864-1865: Henry David Jones
1865-1866: William Henry Hooper
1866-1867: Matthew Walter Tunnicliffe
1867: William Remington Backhouse
1867: John Robinson Wells
1867-1869: Robert Stokes

1869-1871: Robert Campbell Conolly
1871-1872: John Lowndes>
1872-1880: Stephen Bousfield
1881-1900: John Henry Howell
1900-1907: John Goodrich Wemyss Woods
1907-1919: James Ronald Eccles
1919-1928: John Chambré Miller
1928-1942: Joseph Foster
1942-1963: A. Bruce Douglas
1963-1970: Bernard Sankey
1970-1977: Paul V.A. Colombé
1977-1985: John Coleridge
1985-2001: Richard N.K. Copas

Chaplains

to 1946: Rev. Edward Francis Habershon
1946-1950: Rev. Charles L. S. Linnell
1951-1959: Rev. Dr. Wilfred Andrews MA DPhil
1959-1974: Rev. Douglas C. Argyle MA
1974-1975: Rev. Percival Hallewell Rogers OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

MA (previously Headmaster of Portora Royal School
Portora Royal School
Portora Royal School for boys, and some 6th form girls, located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is one of a number of 'free schools' founded by Royal Charter in 1608, by James I...

, Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...

, 1954-1973)
1975 - 1983 Rev. Ray Bowen RAF
1983-[ ]: Rev. A. Wadge
currently: Rev. B. R. Roberts BD
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....

Headmasters of the Junior School

1954 to 1969: John B. Williams OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

MA (Cantab.)
1969 to 1979: Michael Hughes
1979 to 1984: Neville Jones

The Junior School was reorganized into the Preparatory School and the Pre-Preparatory School in 1984.

Headmasters of the Preparatory School

1984 to 2003: Tony Cuff
2003 to date: James Quick BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

PGCE
Postgraduate Certificate in Education
The Postgraduate Certificate in Education is a one-year course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for undergraduate degree holders that allows them to train to be a teacher....

Heads of the Pre-Preparatory School

1984 to 1991: Penelope Moore
1991 to 1997: Lesley Gillick
1997 to 2002: Daphne Dawson-Smith
2002 to date: Janette Davidson

Housemasters and staff, 2011

Boys' houses

House	Housemaster	House Tutor	Matron
Howson's	Mr A. Stromberg BSc BSC BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...	Mr C. Reed BSc BSC BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...	Mrs S. Lancaster
Farfield Farfield Farfield is one of the seven boarding houses at Gresham's, an English public school at Holt, Norfolk. It was opened in 1911, as part of a surge of renewal and expansion at Gresham's led by George Howson, and the first housemaster and boys were transferred there from a smaller house called Bengal...	Mr J.R.P. Thomson BEng Beng Beng may refer to:Beng Spies, a voice actorKwek Leng Beng , Singaporean billionaireLim Eng Beng , former Philippine Basketball Association playerOng Beng Hee , professional squash player...	Mr. D. Saker	Mrs J. Straton
Tallis	Mr P. R. Kelsey BEd Bed A bed is a large piece of furniture used as a place to sleep, relax, or engage in sexual relations.Most modern beds consist of a mattress on a bed frame, with the mattress resting either on a solid base, often wooden slats, or a sprung base...	Mr P. Plummer	Mrs B. Aldridge
Woodlands	Mr F.J.V. Retter BA (Exeter)	Mrs. S. Ellis-Retter	Mrs C. Day

Girls' houses

House	Housemistress	House Tutor	Matron
Edinburgh	Mrs S. Radley BEd	Miss L.B. Roberts BA Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both... , ARCM Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...	Mrs F. Daplyn
Britten	Mrs J.E. Moore	Miss E. Delpech BA (London)	Mrs V. Payne
Oakeley	Miss F.M.A. Gathercole BA Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...	Mrs F. Read BSc (Kent)	Mrs D. Powles

Notable masters

John Holmes
John Holmes (schoolmaster)
John Holmes , was an 18th century schoolmaster and writer on education, Master of Gresham's School in Norfolk.-Life:Holmes is described in a 1729 broadsheet of his Latin verses as ex schola Holtensis....

(Master, 1730-1760) - writer of textbooks on grammar, rhetoric and astronomy
George Howson
George Howson
George William Saul Howson MA was an English educationalist and writer, reforming headmaster of Gresham's School from 1900 to 1919.-Early life:...

(headmaster, 1900-1919)
Dr Geoffrey Shaw (music master, 1902 to 1910) organist and composer
C. V. Durell
C. V. Durell
Clement Vavasor Durell was an English schoolmaster who wrote mathematical textbooks.-Background and early life:...

(assistant master, 1904-05) - writer of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

textbooks
Warin Foster Bushell
Warin Foster Bushell
Warin Foster Bushell MA FRAS was a schoolmaster and educationalist who was headmaster of leading schools in England and South Africa and a President of the Mathematical Association.-Early life:...

(assistant master, 1907-1912), later headmaster of Michaelhouse
Michaelhouse
Michaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan valley in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.- History :...

and Birkenhead School
Birkenhead School
Birkenhead School is an independent, selective, co-educational school located on the Wirral Peninsula in the northwest of England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.-Overview:The school is subdivided into...

and President of the Mathematical Association
Mathematical Association
The Mathematical Association is a professional society concerned with mathematics education in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1871 as the Association for the Improvement of Geometrical Teaching and renamed to the Mathematical Association in 1897. It was the first teachers' subject organisation...
Dalziel Llewellyn Hammick
Dalziel Hammick
Dalziel Llewellyn Hammick FRS , was an English research chemist. His major work was in synthetic organic chemistry. He promulgated Hammick's rule, which predicts the order of substitution in benzene derivatives, while the Hammick reaction is used in the synthesis of larger molecules.-Early life:The...

(assistant master, Chemistry, 1910-1918) - research chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
Walter Greatorex
Walter Greatorex
Walter Greatorex was an English composer and musician. He is probably best remembered for his hymn tune Woodlands which has been used with hymns such as Henry Montagu Butler's Lift Up Your Hearts! and Timothy Dudley-Smith's Tell Out, my Soul.-Education:Born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, the son...

(Director of Music, 1911-1949) - composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Arnold Powell
Arnold Powell
Arnold Cecil Powell was an English schoolmaster, educationalist and clergyman who was head master of several schools successively, ending his career as Custos of St Mary’s Hospital, Chichester.-Early life:...

(assistant master, early 1900s), later head of Bedford Modern School
Bedford Modern School
Bedford Modern School is a British co-educational independent school in the Harpur area of Bedford, in the county of Bedfordshire, in England.Bedford Modern comprises a junior school and a senior school...

and Epsom College
Epsom College
Epsom College is an independent co-educational public school in Epsom, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 13 to 18. Founded in 1853 to provide support for poor members of the medical profession such as pensioners and orphans , Epsom's long-standing association with medicine was estimated in 1980 as...
Frank McEachran (assistant master from 1924) - author
Denys Thompson (assistant master, English, 1930s) - editor of the quarterly Scrutiny with F. R. Leavis
F. R. Leavis
Frank Raymond "F. R." Leavis CH was an influential British literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century. He taught for nearly his entire career at Downing College, Cambridge.-Early life:...

and of the journal The Use of English
Professor Richard D'Aeth
Richard D'Aeth
Richard D'Aeth was a British educationalist and President of Hughes Hall, Cambridge, from 1978 to 1984.-Early life:...

(assistant master, 1938-1940)
Charles W. Lloyd
Charles W. Lloyd
Charles William Lloyd was an educationalist and was Master of Dulwich College from 1967 to 1975.-Early life:...

(assistant master, 1946-1951), later Master of Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
Logie Bruce Lockhart
Logie Bruce Lockhart
Logie Bruce Lockhart MA , is a British writer and journalist, formerly a Scottish international rugby union footballer and headmaster of Gresham's School.-Background:...

(headmaster, 1955-1982) - Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...

rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

er
Hugh Wright
Hugh Wright
Hugh Raymond Wright is an English schoolmaster and educationalist who was chairman of the Headmasters' Conference for 1995–1996.-Early life:The son of the Rev...

(headmaster 1985-1991) - later Chief Master of King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...

(1991–1998) and Chairman of the HMC
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference is an association of the headmasters or headmistressess of 243 leading day and boarding independent schools in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and the Republic of Ireland...
Patrick Thompson
Patrick Thompson
Hugh Patrick Thompson, known as Patrick Thompson, is a British Conservative Party politician. Educated at Felsted School and Cambridge University...

(assistant master, Physics, 1965-1983) - Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Graeme Fife
Graeme Fife
Graeme Fife is a prolific English writer, playwright and broadcaster. His first career was as a schoolmaster and university lecturer.-Education:...

(Classics master, 1970-1979) - writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

and broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...