A rich, royal history

The King's School has a proud history which forms the bedrock of the current modern, dynamic school. The school was founded in 1541 by by King Henry VIII following the dissolution of St Werburgh's Abbey, which became Chester Cathedral. The statutes provided that there should be "24 poor and friendless boys between the ages of 9 and 15". The School was housed in the former Monastic Refectory for most of its the next 400 years until 1869. The school was variously called "The Free School" and "The Grammar School". It was not known as The King's School until the mid 19th century when it was referred to as the "Grammar School or King Henry VIII". Dedicated school buildings were opened by Gladstone in 1876 adjoining the North West corner of the Cathedral. We celebrate this history with a cathedral service every term and continue to have strong links with the Cathedral. Little is known about the school during the Civil War, but King's pupils were known as 'Roundhead Scholars'.

From the late 19th to early 20th century, the school ran a Boarding House under the charge of one of the masters. In 1885, this was located at 98 Watergate Flags, but later moved to Eaton Road.  By 1911, the governors had acquired new premises at Arnold House, Walpole Street, which became the Junior School and school boarding house. The latter was closed in 1931 due to the lack of pupils wishing to board.

During the Great War, games sessions were replaced by military training. A Cadet Corps was founded in 1916, and shooting practice took place every day of the week. Rough grass land at Arnold House was dug and planted with potatoes, whilst senior boys assisted with the hay harvests and with the national re-afforestation programme.

The inter-war years saw the arrival of typewriters, the installation of electricity in 1922, a telephone exchange and new tuck shop. Major changes became necessary during the Second World War. Parts of the Cathedral were adapted as air raid shelters, whilst some of the playing fields were ploughed up and used to produce crops. Pupils contributed towards the war effort in many ways; helping out on local farms, collecting scrap metal, and training as First Aid workers.

As pupil numbers rose during the 1940s, The King's School took over part of the former Bluecoat School buildings on Upper Northgate Street. By the early 1950s, a 999 year lease had been secured with the Eaton Estate for the current 32 acre site on Wrexham Road on the outskirts of the city. Designing the buildings started in 1956, and in 1960 the whole school moved to the new site, and the royal connection continued when the school was opened by Her Majesty The Queen Mother. Further building extensions, including a sixth form centre and sports hall, were subsequently opened by HRH Princess Margaret in 1989.

In recent years, the school has further developed:

• The first girls joined King's in the Sixth Form in 1998 and by 2003 King's had moved fully to co-education welcoming girls from 7 to 18 years of age. We now have around 35% girls in the school.
• In 2007 the Music School was opened.
• During the expansion of the school to embrace co-education a floodlit astroturf pitch was built enabling the addition of a range of games to the girls' curriculum.
• In June 2011 the Vanbrugh Theatre opened its doors for the first time after a £1.3m renovation of the original school hall to a modern well-equipped theatre.
• In September 2012 the new Sixth Form Centre development opened.

The School Archives Collection

The school archive collections document the history of the school from its foundation in 1541. They include the records of associated bodies such as the Mothers' Guild, Fathers' Association and the Chester Association of Old King's Scholars (CAOKS). The King's School Archives Collection was formally created in 2000 on the retirement of the headmaster, Mr A.R.D. Wickson. Records held by various departments and individuals have since been amalgamated and are now managed by The Wickson Library.

The collection contains original documents dating back to the late 18th century. It also includes hundreds of photographs from the 1870s onwards, including school and form photographs, as well as photographs of buildings, school trips, sporting activities and school events. Videotapes, audio tapes and CDs record some of our 20th century history. Silver cups, medals, school uniform and other artefacts are also held. There is a complete collection of issues of the school magazine, which started publication in 1885. Our school registers list names of pupils dating back to 1541. Other pupil records include prizegiving lists, blue books (school lists) and destinations of some former pupils. Clerk to the Governors' collections contain cash books, ledgers, boarding house books, architectural plans and drawings. Press cuttings from local newspapers detailing school events, developments and former pupil's successes and achievements have been incorporated into scrap books.

Many of the new records are received in electronic format. Secondary sources detailing sections of the school's history have also been added to the collection.

The earliest records mentioning the school and its foundation are stored in the National Archives and in the Chester Cathedral Archives held in the Cheshire and Chester Record Office. A brief summary of the most important resources elsewhere has been compiled.

Students and teaching staff use the archives for assemblies, research for history field trips, school magazine articles and other related work. Requests for information from OKS and external researchers are regularly received. There are permanent archive displays in the Old Library and in the Wickson Library and an annual exhibition is prepared for the January dinner of CAOKS. Items have been lent to outside organisations for exhibitions at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester Heritage Centre and Liverpool Art Gallery.

In 2003, The Parents' Association and the ICT Department jointly funded the purchase of Archive Server (a web based archive management system) and the work of cataloguing and recording our holdings is now well underway, including the scanning and cataloguing of all the photographs in the collection.

The catalogue can be accessed at http://archives.kingschester.co.uk
(no username and password required)

Contact

Email :
Website: Library Page
Telephone : 01244 689550

© The King's School Chester, Wrexham Road, Chester, CH4 7QL Tel: 01244 689500 Registered Charity: 525934