As part of the National Heritage Open Days, the 1852 building was open to visitors and alumni alike. As ever, the most popular attraction was the Tower, accessed by 59 steps in a rare anti-clockwise spiral staircase via T1 and T2, both of which were condemned as not being suitable for teaching in 1907 but still in use today. Many of our visitors were combining the school with a visit to Taylor’s Bell Foundry and they were delighted to find at the top the school bell given by John Taylor to the school in 1900 in appreciation of the school educating his six sons and the bells and chimes given by Headmaster Turner in memory of his son, Roger Bingham, killed in 1916 aged 20.
Greater detail of the school’s bells can be found here.
In addition, there were many displays of archive material and a special exhibition marking 30 years since the visit of the late Queen. Visitors were shocked to discover just how much planning goes in to planning such a visit.
Greater detail of the Queen’s visit can be found here.
