Old Blundell's School

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Blundell's School was founded in 1604 by Peter Blundell, a wealthy clothier from Tiverton, Devon. Blundell was a devout Christian and wanted to create a school that would provide a good education for boys from all walks of life. He left £20,000 in his will to build and endow the school, which was a significant sum of money at the time. The school opened in 1604 with around 150 pupils. The school relocated to larger premises on its current site in 1882.

The school has two schoolrooms, the upper one measuring 17m x 7.5m and the lower one measuring 15m x 7.5m. These are separated by a 2m wide passage that leads to the under-masters' quarters. The roof is thought to be a copy of the chapel roof at Frithelstock Abbey near Torrington. It has a cupola and bell, which various sources date to 1840 or 1740. This replaced an earlier bell and cupola from 1613.

Each schoolroom has a porch that opens onto the Green. Above the door is the inscription "P. 1604 B.", a reference to Peter Blundell, the clothier who founded the school. Another porch leads to the dining hall, which is almost 11m long. The headmaster's rooms are at the end of the building.

Text about the history as explained on this page.

The Green is walled around and enclosed by iron gates (100074) that replaced wooden gates in 1695. At the same time, the porters' lodges were built and the Green was planted with lime trees. In 1773, the floors and wainscoats inside the schoolrooms were removed. There is a tradition that some of the wood used to build the schoolrooms came from the wrecks of the Spanish Armada, which sank a dozen or so years before the school was built, but this is unlikely to be true.

Further modifications were made in 1836-7, but the basic structure of the school remained unchanged. In 1844, an oak floor replaced the stone paving in the dining hall.

In 1954, the Governors of Blundell's School, with the help of the Pilgrim Trust and the Goldsmiths' Company, donated the school and three acres of land to the National Trust.

Address: Old Blundell's School, 4 Blundell's Road, Tiverton, Devon EX16 4LD

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