Histories of the Nine Clarendon Schools

In 1861 a Royal Commission was established to investigate the finance, management and curriculum of nine leading public schools in England. Selection for the report in effect created a super-league of "top schools", who publicized their status by publishing histories of the schools.

The possible exception is that on Merchant Taylors', one of only two day schools in the group (St Paul's being the other). The Winchester history is by an old boy, the historian of medieval and renaissance education A.F. Leach. Several of the books include information based on contemporary evidence (some of it from oral tradition) which is no longer available. This first set will be follwed by "Histories of the Clarendon Schools" (2). Together, the books in these two sets offer a detailed account of the elite sector within the public schools, produced at the high point of their development. The Clarendon Report will be reprinted by Thoemmes Continuum as "The Clarendon Report: English Public Schools in the Nineteenth Century".

Volume 1 - M.J.F. McDonnell, "History of St. Paul's School" (1909) 496pp, 48 b&
w plates
volume 2 - George William Fisher, "Annals of Shrewsbury School" (1899) 508pp, 34 b&
w plates
volume 3 - John Sergeaunt, "Annals of Westminster" (1898) 303pp
volume 4 - Arthur F. Leach, "A History of Winchester College" (1899) 564pp.