PREFACE

 

Bideford Grammar School had a long history, spanning three and a half centuries.  The most reliable starting date is 1617 and the story ends in July 1974 when the school was absorbed within what can only be described as an unsatisfactory reorganisation.  As the school’s last headmaster, I was asked to write an account of the last few years of its existence.  Although it was a sad task, I felt honoured to contribute to the archive.

From a reading of the *Marples ‘History’, it cannot be denied that the school had a colourful and intricate history.  During the first two hundred years its fortunes fluctuated markedly. Even with boarders, pupil numbers did not rise much beyond thirty until the late Victorian period and at one point, there was apparently only one pupil on the roll.  There were several years when the school did not function at all, either for financial reasons or failure to appoint a headmaster.  Headmasters in the early days were clergymen of varied ability.  One was dismissed and gaoled for immorality and one or two appear not to have been up to the job.   There were times when the school had to fight off the challenge provided by the local commercial or technical institutions. A dramatic moment came in 1868 when the Revd Kitchen moved the school to Edgehill, changed its name to Bideford College and tried unsuccessfully to turn it into a public school.

Not many schools can boast quite so many homes. Allhalland Street, Bridgeland Street, Edgehill, Northdown Road, and finally Abbotsham Road are all part of the record.  There are still identifiable traces of the school in the town, although sadly the building in Abbotsham Road disappeared when the present Bideford College arrived and occupied the whole of the site.

For nearly two centuries the early school relied on income from the Bushton estate and throughout its history the school had been rescued on many occasions by the generosity of local donors.  The Bridge Trust had been a source of support from the earliest days and this continued right up to the final years.

The ‘period of eclipse’ (1874 -1879) mentioned by Morris Marples was followed by the gradual emergence of the school in its modern guise. Under the leadership of headmasters Isaacs, Fergusson, Marples, Langford and Stephenson, the school prospered despite two world wars and the depression of the Thirties. With the increasing involvement of Devon County Council, the financial situation became secure.  From the seeds sown by unknown hands in the first Elizabethan era, the BGS grew to become a proud and respected contributor to the life of the town and its surrounding area of North Devon. So, it was a sad moment when, in the second Elizabethan era, changes in educational philosophy and policy brought this story to an end.

John Dare (Headmaster 1970-75)

*Morris Marples, a previous headmaster, published a 74-page booklet in 1937 titled ‘A history of Bideford Grammar School,’ soon after he retired. This was a wonderful and unique record but it was published privately, never republished and can only be found now as archive copies or in rare-book shops.  And until recently an internet search for the School would have revealed only a list of material that was in public or newspaper archives, but such archives are generally open only for research within limited hours on selected days of the week.