The Mercers' School was a private school in the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, with a history going back to at least 1542, which closed in 1959.

After the disestablishment of the Hospital of St Thomas of Acon in 1538, the hospital's land was bought by the Mercers' Company (Worshipful Company of Mercers

Worshipful Company of Mercers

The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the premier Livery Company of the City of London and ranks first in order of precedence. It is the first of the so-called "Great Twelve City Livery Companies". It was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1394...

), and the school was founded in 1542 under a deed of covenant with King Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

. It is possible that the school continued one that had been established in the hospital by Act of Parliament in 1447, and which may have dated back to the foundation of the hospital in 1190. The school existed in several locations in the City of London: Cheapside

Cheapside

Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...

, Old Jewry

Old Jewry

Old Jewry is the name of a street in the City of London, in Coleman Street Ward, linking Gresham Street with The Poultry.William the Conqueror encouraged Jews to come to England soon after the Norman Conquest; some settled in cities throughout his new domain, including in London. According to Rev....

, and College Hill (Dowgate

Dowgate

Dowgate is a small ward of the City of London. The ward is bounded by Swan Lane, the River Thames, Cousin Lane and Cannon Street. Dowgate is where the Walbrook watercourse entered the Thames....

); it moved to Barnard's Inn

Barnard's Inn

Barnard's Inn is the current home of Gresham College in Holborn, London.-History:Barnard's Inn dates back at least to the mid 13th century — it was recorded as part of the estate of Sir Adam de Basyng, one time Mayor of London. It passed on to John Mackworth, the Dean of Lincoln who in turn passed...

, a site on the south side of Holborn

Holborn

Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...

 in 1894.

Alumni

Those educated at the school include:

• Barnes, Sir Thomas James (1888–1964)
• Boevey, James (1622–96)
• Cheyney, Peter Southouse (1896–1951)
• D'Aeth, Frederic George (1875–1940)
• Darlington, Cyril Dean (1903–81)
• Ellis, Sir Henry
  Henry Ellis (librarian)
  Sir Henry Ellis was an English librarian.He was born in London and educated at the Mercers' School and St John's College, Oxford, where he acted as an assistant at the Bodleian Library...
  
   (1777–1869)
• Gilbert, Sir Alfred (1854–1934)
• Gomme, Arthur Allan (1882–1955)
• Kennedy, Douglas Neil (1892–1988)
• Lloyd Webber, William
  William Lloyd Webber
  William Southcombe Lloyd Webber was an English organist and composer.-Life and career:Lloyd Webber was born in London...
  
  

Sources

• "Mercers' School", The Times
  The Times
  The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
  
  , 4 December 1933, p. 9.
• "Death of a School", The Times, 24 March 1958, p. 5.

See also www.oldmercersclub.org.uk/schoolhistory.htm