Page:VCH Rutland 1.djvu/334

 A HISTORY OF RUTLAND Is clear, still drew its pupils from all classes. The majority of the 26, as no doubt holders of Johnson scholarships at the college, naturally entered the church ; one became a physi- cian, one a barrister, one died at Cambridge soon after taking his B.A. degree, and the after careers of three are unknown. The gaoler's son, John Oliver, who took orders, afterwards became master of Barrow School, Leicestershire. Ad- cock's mastership was an era of expansion. At the time of his appointment the restoration of the Old School and of the hospital buildings, commenced under his predecessor, was still in progress, and in his first year a Mr. Samuel Adcock received a gratuity of £$ from the governors, ' for his trouble in looking after the rebuilding of Oakham School,' and in the following year an additional sum of 3 guineas. Between 1725 and 1 73 1 the head master took over certain houses adjoining the hospital, and the property of the trustees, which had previously been let as shops,'^ no doubt for the accommodation of boarders. The presence of boarders is implied in a decree made by the governing body in 1726*" : — Whereas three boys have lately run away from Oakham School, so many of them be expelled out of the said school as Mr. Adcock does not think con- venient to admit again into it at their return. Probably at about this time the hospital build- ings, at Oakham as at Uppingham, were con- verted into a boarding house for the head master, the poor people being allowed to receive their allowances while living at home. The exact date when this change was made cannot be fixed. The Commissioners appointed to inquire con- cerning Charities and Education found in 1820 no reference in the Governors' minute books to the residence of any poor people at either of the hospitals during nearly the whole of the previous century,^^ and the time at which such references cease probably marks the date of the conversion of the hospitals to scholastic uses. Mr. W. L. Sargant, the present head master, suggests''^ that the absorption of the hospital buildings at Oak- ham by the school probably took place during the Ciil War — a most unlikely event, since the ^ W. L. Sargant, op. cit. 9. Two houses adjoin- ing the hospital, built in the same style, were in 1820 let to tenants other than the head master at rents of £11 andj^S respectively, the former on a twenty-one yean' lease from Lady day i8g8. Three small ground rooms in the hospital itself were also sub-let as shops by the master {Char. Com. Rep.). " Ibid. " Char. Com. Rep. " Op. cit. 5. The statement by the two governors already referred to {supra, p z68) says that in 1665 ' there are two Schoole Houses, two Hospitalls, t^vo fayre houses for the Schoole Masters.' The hospitals at that time were clearly not used as boarding- houses. Civil War, though it does not seem to have much decreased the entries from Oakham or Uppingham at St. John's College, must have certainly been a time of depression here as else- where. It is much more likely to have happened in Wright's or Adcock's time, when Oakham was in a most flourishing condition. The hos- pital subsequently became known by another name also, the Old Schoolhouse, and remained in use in that capacity until the middle of the 19th century, when it was demolished to make way for the present modern building. An excellent drawing of the old hospital is reproduced as frontispiece to The Book of Oakham School. In the same year, 1726, a decree was passed with reference to the founder's exhibitions at the university : — *' That whereas several of our Founder's Exhibitions in the University have lately been given to lads of other schools for want of scholars from either of our schools to take them, in order to prevent such prac- tice for the future and that the scholars from our schools may receive all the advantages designed for them by the founder and enjoy the exhibitions they are entitled to both from the school and College, it is decreed that if there be a vacancy in the exhibitions of either of our schools, and no scholar in the said school qualified for the University to fill up the said vacancy, it be filled up by a scholar in the other school that appears to be duly qualify'd. Provided always that amends be made to the school where the deficiency was by giving the preference to a scholar or scholars of the said school, if qualify'd for the Uni- versity (till the number of seven appointed by the founder be compleated) at the next vacancy in the exhibitions. And that letters be wrote to the Masters of the four colleges to desire them to send notice to the schools, whenever an exhibition appro- priated to the said schools becomes vacant in their respective colleges. The ground of complaint seems to have been twofold. First, that the fourteen scholarships to either university from the two schools, estab- lished by the statutes, were not always filled up by Oakham and Uppingham boys, because there were not always suitable candidates forthcoming from both schools. The scholarships being ordinarily tenable for a period of seven years, there would be a vacant scholarship for each school every year.^* The decree made it possible, if there should be two suitable candidates in one school in any year, and no suitable candidate in the other school, for both scholarships to be awarded to the one school ; but in subsequent years every attempt was to be made to redress the balance. Secondly, that as a consequence of not sending two school exhibitioners each year to the university, the schools did not get their fair " W. L. Sargant, op. cit. 10. were awarded, i.e. about two a year. This seems to indicate that in most cases they were relinquished by the holders after taking the bachelor's degree. 274
 * ' Between 1 706 and 1 726 inclusive forty exhibitions