Description:
London: Hodder & Stoughton, n. d. First edition. Hardcover. Back-strip a little soiled. Else very good copy. Illustrated by Arthur Garratt. 4to. Buckram with Harrow crest in gilt on front. Pp. xvi, 208. T.e.g., other edges untrimmed. 25 plates. Illustrated by Arthur Garratt.This famous Public School got its Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1571. There appears to have been a school there much earlier, however, and the very first mention of the place in historical records was in 767. Interestingly, there is an extant document from the time of Henry II (r. 1154-89) which speaks of three principal schools in the London area, which may have included Harrow, for "the exercises of the pupils both intellectual and athletic," although by then it was admitted that "cockfighting on Shrove Thuesdays be a thing of the distant past, and attendance at 'bear-fights, bull-fights, and tournaments' be modified to Christmas visits to the pantomime..." It seems, though, that from an early time privileged boys were…
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