A History of Giggleswick School from its Foundation, 1499 to 1912

by Edward Allen Bell

The Revenues of the said School have for sometime been betwixt three and four hundred pounds a year, but upon the Governors lately re-letting the several farms belonging the School, the Revenues will be advanced to about seven hundred pounds a year.

The Governors have with the privity of the late Archbishop of York for a number of years employed a third Master to teach Writing, and Accompts. As the Revenues of the said School are now so much advanced, viz: from about £350 to £700 a year, the Governors of the sd School are desirous with the consent of the Archbishop of York to make some additional Statutes in pursuance of the sd Charter, authorizing them to engage more assistants at the sd School to teach different branches of literature.

The Governors propose by the new Statutes to be made that the Head Master's stipend shall not be less than £200 a year and the Usher's stipend not less than £100 a year, and then to authorize the Governors to apply such part of the surplus of the Revenues, as they shall think expedient, in the hiring one or more assistant or assistants under such annual stipends as they shall think proper for teaching different branches of literature at the sd School; and the remainder of the money to be by them applied in Exhibitions to be given to any Scholar or Scholars of the sd School going to either of the Universities, as the Governors for the time being shall think best for the good of the sd School, or in any gratuitys to be given to any Scholar or Scholars to create emulation whilst at School.

The Governors think it would be of great use ... if some Annual Exhibition were established of 20 or £30 a year to two or more Scholars going to either of the Universities, who had resided three of the last years of his Education as a Scholar of Giggleswick School. Such Exhibitions to be held for four years, if residing at the University, but they have some doubt how far this can be done, or any gratuity given to any Scholar to create Emulation, whilst still at School, consistent with the Charter. Therefore they desire Mr Withers to give his opinion.

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As the present vicar of Giggleswick the Rev. John Clapham was appointed in 1783 and in 1793 refused to act as Governor, has been a little obnoxious to the rest of the Governors, they wish a Statute may be prepared empowering any two of the Governors from time to time to call a meeting of the Governors respecting the sd School. And that any new elected Governor may be sworn before any two Governors at such meeting to be true and faithful towds the sd School.

The whole of the Governors are perfectly unanimous in this business, except the Rev. John Clapham, the vicar, who has not attended lately the meetings of the Governors, tho' he has always had regular notice given him of every meeting that has been held, and he gives no reason why he does not attend the meetings and concur with the rest of the Governors in the Trust.

Bishop Watson, of Llandaff, was also consulted. He had already been connected with William Paley, the Headmaster's son, and had been his examiner for his degree, and suggested the insertion of the "non," when the Master of Christ's had been scandalized by the subject on which Paley had intended to write his theme.—"Aeternitas pœnarum contradicit divinis attributis." In the matter of the new Statutes his friendly counsel had been sought by John Parker, of Marshfield, Settle, one of the Governing Body. The Bishop recommended that twelve leaving Exhibitions should be established of £30 for four years, and the remainder to be disposed of "at the discretion of the Governors, to such young men as had been distinguished by obtaining Academic or Collegiate Honours during their residence in the University." "Some appropriation of this kind," he added, "if you take care to get a good Master will make Giggleswick School one of the first in the North of England, and I for one prefer a School in the North and situated, as Giggleswick is, out of the way of much corruption, to either Eton or Westminster. As to French and Mathematics being taught at a great Classical School, I do not approve of it; the Writing Master should make the scholars quite perfect in common Arithmetic, and in vulgar and decimal fractions, and that knowledge will be a sufficient basis to build Mathematics upon. Greek and Latin require so much time and attention before they can be well understood, that I think there is no time at School for any other language."—Oct. 18, 1794.

Meanwhile the matter was developing. In January, 1795, the Governors wrote direct to Mr. Withers, and stated that they desired "power to borrow money for building an additional School," or in the "improvement of the Estates." To this Mr. Withers replied that he considered that annual leaving Exhibitions came within the province of the Governing Body, but they could not borrow money without fresh legislation. He further advised them to repeal all the old Statutes.

The additional School buildings that they proposed were a house for the Master. In March, 1796, the Attorney-General gave his opinion that the power to call meetings could not be taken away from the Vicar, "if he remains a corporate" or member of the Body, that the granting of Exhibitions was ultra vires, and that he doubted whether the provision for the Master to teach Writing, Accounts, etc., "is consistent with the Institution itself, doubting whether the School founded is not a School for teaching Latin, etc.," but possibly it might, he added, be upheld, as a court would be hardly likely to censure the Governors for applying a reasonable sum to that purpose.