ULAS
University of Leicester Archaeological Services

Free Grammar School, Leicester - building survey

The earliest illustration of the Free Grammar School is this engraving published in 1815. The school master’s residence, behind the horse and carriage, was demolished in the nineteenth century.

A school providing education for boys in Leicester, free of charge, was founded in the mid 16th century with a bequest from the estate of William Wigston, a prosperous local merchant who was twice Mayor of Leicester. The school was re-founded in 1564 when Queen Elizabeth I made an annual grant of £10 towards the upkeep of the master; the school is often referred to as Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School. The school was initially housed in the south aisle of the Church of St Peter, which was repaired and fitted out for use as a school room. One of the church bells was sold to pay for the repairs.

St Peter’s seems to have fallen out of use as a church some time before this, as there is a reference to stone being taken from the church to repair the town wall in 1555. The medieval fabric of St Peter’s Church continued to deteriorate and further repairs were made in 1568-9. A survey of the church was made in 1572 by which time the lead covering had been stripped from the roof and the roof timbers removed, except for the south aisle where the school was housed. In the following year, 1573, the decision was made to dismantle what remained of the church and to use the stone and timber to build a new school; this is the building which stands on the corner of Highcross Street and St Peter’s Lane and is known to this day as the Free Grammar School.

Fifteenth century roof timbers from St Peter’s Church reused when the Free Grammar School was built in 1573

Construction of the school was completed in 1574 and the new building included accommodation for the school master. The school house was a two-storey building with younger boys educated in the ‘lower school’ on the ground floor and older boys in the ‘upper school’ on the first floor. The Town Council was responsible for maintaining the school and expenditure on repairs and alterations to the building is recorded in the Chamberlain’s Accounts from the time of its construction until the school closed in 1841. For example, it is recorded that desks and seats were made in 1575-6 along with a wooden plaque bearing the Queen’s Arms ‘in golde and colours’. In 1606-7 a stone plaque bearing the names of various benefactors was erected at a cost of six shillings. In 1775 fireplaces were installed to keep the boys warm at a cost of £10.

The Free Grammar School shortly before the alterations carried out in the 1960s

As part of the Highcross Quarter development, the Free Grammar School has been renovated and will eventually become a restaurant. A detailed survey of the building was made during the renovation works. Modern partition walls and other recent fittings were removed, exposing the earlier structure. Highly decorated roof timbers were revealed when modern ceilings were removed. These timbers were evidently reused from St Peter’s Church and, based on their dimensions, almost certainly came from the roof over the nave or chancel. Tree-ring dating indicates that the church roof was replaced in the late 15th century. 

Detail of decorated roof timber

A fairly unsympathetic restoration of the building had been undertaken in the 1960s and it appeared that most of the original stone window and door surrounds had been replaced with concrete. However, during the survey it was found that many of the windows had merely been coated in concrete and the original stone surrounds survived intact beneath this. The concrete was removed in the course of the renovation and the original stone surrounds exposed and repaired.

Excavations on the site of St Peter’s Church were undertaken at the same time as the restoration of the Free Grammar School. Stone excavated from the foundations of the demolished church was ideal for repairing the walls of the school. More than 430 years after the church was demolished it once again provided building materials for the Free Grammar School.