OWEN'S SCHOOL
In her youth Alice Wilkes narrowly escaped death
in the fields at Islington when a carelessly discharged
arrow pierced her hat. In 1608, ten years after the
death of her third husband, Sir Thomas Owen, a
judge of the Common Pleas, Alice founded almshouses for ten poor widows in gratitude for her
escape many years earlier. In 1609 the charity was
vested in the Brewers' Company, of which Henry
Robinson, her first husband, had been a member. (fn. 94)
In 1610 she obtained from the Crown a further
patent to establish a free school on the same site and
in 1613, a month before her death, Alice made
rules for the almshouses and the free school. The
schoolmaster was to have a house and £20 a year for
teaching grammar, writing, arithmetic, and casting
accounts to 30 children, 24 from Islington and 6
from Clerkenwell. The original building stood on
the east side of St. John Street until 1841; part of
Alice's own memorial, removed from the church of
St. Mary, Islington, in 1751, is preserved at the
school. (fn. 95)
One of the early masters, William Smith (1666-
78), was involved in the Popish Plot. The Lords did
not accept the evidence against him, but nevertheless
his licence to teach was revoked. (fn. 96) In the first few
years of the 18th century there was local criticism of
the administration of the charity, but in 1717-18 a
prolonged lawsuit brought by the Islington vestry
was decided in favour of the Brewers' Company. (fn. 97)
Nevertheless the school suffered a number of misfortunes. Thomas Dennett (master 1717-31) ran
away, leaving the boys to their own devices, Henry
Clarke (1731-8) retired through ill-health, Richard
Shilton (1738-50), although at first successful, had
disputes with the Company, the almswomen, and the
boys; but under David Davies (1750-91) the school
flourished, bringing the master the reward of an
annual gratuity of ten guineas. Alexander Balfour
(1791-1824) at first maintained his predecessor's
high standards, but soon there were complaints of
inattention, irregularity, over-severe discipline, and
the neglect of foundationers in favour of fee-payers. (fn. 98)
In 1818 the Charity Commissioners found that
there were 30 foundationers and 25 private pupils,
two or three of whom boarded with Balfour. The
private pupils were taught Latin and French; Latin
was also available for the foundationers, but none
required it. The school was in good order and Bell's
monitorial system had lately been introduced;
Church of England prayers were read every weekday, but on Sundays the schoolroom was let to the
Baptists for £20 a year, an arrangement apparently
made by Balfour and which he was subsequently
required to discontinue. In his evidence Nicholas
Charrington, Junior Warden of the Brewers' Company, agreed that the school was going well and that
the boys knew the catechism, but he hinted that
Balfour's conduct was not always considered satisfactory, for which reason the customary ten guineas
gratuity had been withheld the previous year. The
master's salary was £30 with house; direct expenditure on the school in 1816-17 was £84, the total
income of the charity being £453 and expenditure
£294 a year. (fn. 99)
The increased value of the property enabled a new
scheme to be drawn up in 1830 under which a larger
share in the income was allotted to the school. Ten
years later a new almshouse and school for 120 boys
was erected in Owen Street at a cost of over £6,000,
and the original buildings were demolished. (fn. 1)
John Hoare (1833-79) was a good disciplinarian
and a successful organizer. The governors' appreciation was shown in the rapid increase in his own salary
and gratuity, although later his efficiency seems to
have declined. (fn. 2) In 1865 there were 100 boys from
Islington and 20 from Clerkenwell, all aged between
seven and fourteen. The school was understaffed,
since there were only Hoare and his son to take six
classes; visiting French and drawing masters taught
40 and 16 boys respectively. The pupils were weakest
in the elementary subjects, but results were 'pretty
fair' and there was certainly keen competition to get
in-44 candidates for 7 Islington places and 16 for 4
Clerkenwell vacancies. The master received £200 a
year, his assistant £150, and books and stationery
cost £36. (fn. 3)
In 1878 a revised scheme was drawn up. John
Hoare and his son were both retired on pension, the
school was enlarged to take 300 boys for each of
whom a fee of about £3 a year was to be paid, and
the almshouse was demolished to provide space for
a playground, the former inmates receiving pensions
by way of compensation. The new headmaster, John
Easterbrook (1881-1909), proved to be a second
founder, establishing high academic standards, a
wide curriculum, and firm discipline. Further extensions in 1895 enlarged the school to take 420 boys.
A new development in 1886 had been the opening
of a girls' school in Owen's Row, with Miss Emily
Armstrong as headmistress. (fn. 4)
R. F. Cholmeley (1909-27) acquired playing
fields at Oakleigh Park, where he also established a
camp school in half-a-dozen army huts; throughout
the year groups of boys received lessons in the
morning there and played games in the afternoon-
a system which continued until 1939. The crowning
achievement of his headmastership was the new
Assembly Hall, opened in 1927. The Revd. H. N.
Asman (1929-39), who was promoted from second
master, both maintained high academic standards
and encouraged music, art, and drama. O. W.
Mitchell (1939-48) faced the problems of wartime
evacuation to Bedford, during which the school
acquired a new sport, rowing, and of return to empty
and battered buildings. (fn. 5) In 1951 the school was
granted voluntary aided status. In 1963 there were
more than 600 boys in the school, of whom over
100 were in the Sixth form. (fn. 6)