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In March, the School Archive threw open its doors to celebrate School Archives Day, marked nationwide on 12 March. After last year’s success, we planned a three-day programme — but enthusiasm quickly outpaced expectations. The exhibition ended up running for two full weeks, welcoming more than 280 pupils, staff, OMTs, and members of the Worshipful Company of Î÷Ê©Ö±²¥â€™. Recently unseen treasures were brought out of the boxes, sparking fascinating conversations, fresh ideas, and a real buzz of curiosity and engagement throughout the school community.

The exhibition opened with a striking display of early maps dating from before the Great Fire of London, each illustrating the School’s first home, the Manor of the Rose, which was destroyed on the fire’s first day. The building appears clearly on the Agas Map (1553–1559), the Copperplate Map of the 1550s, and in several pre-fire views of London by Visscher, Wyngaerde, and Hollar. Alongside these maps, a book on the parish of St Laurence Poultney was shown, listing many members of the School community buried there — including Silvanus and Katherine Mulcaster, children of the School’s first Head Master, Richard Mulcaster. Visitors were also able to see an image of the medieval crypt beneath the School; the only surviving remnant of the Manor of the Rose to outlast the Great Fire (though later demolished in 1894).

The next section explored the School building that once stood on Suffolk Lane from 1675 to 1875, designed by the City Surveyor Robert Hooke. The image shown below depicts a model of this long-lost building. With this image, together with architectural plans owned by the Worshipful Company of Î÷Ê©Ö±²¥â€™ held at Guildhall, it is hoped that members of the DT Department here at Taylors’ will be able to create a new, accurate model of the structure, which will sit alongside our model of Sandy Lodge from the 1930s near the Great Hall.

Images of Taylors’ in the Victorian era were displayed with many photographs of classes and staff from this period. One pupil used AI to suggest that the wallpaper from the former Great Hall at Charterhouse Square was blue and gold – sparking an idea that we could recreate the wallpaper again.

Material related to Head Master, Hugh Elder (HM 1946–65), was selected by our archive volunteers Sam and Karen, who picked several original documents from the 1950s.  Elder became Head Master in a difficult period following the end of WW2. However, as well as overseeing a School Inspection in 1949, his tenure was characterised by significant modernisation.  He reorganised the House system, creating four new Houses, each with a housemaster and tutors, to help oversee pastoral care of the boys. The Manor of the Rose was created as the boarding house.  Elder made team games compulsory to foster school spirit, and during his time, music and drama expanded hugely, as well as swimming, athletics, lawn tennis, golf and fencing.  In 1958, the Lun opened and in 1959, hockey was played for the first time.

Following Archives Week, an ever-growing group of pupils now visits the archive regularly. To support this enthusiasm, two pupils in the Lower Sixth will run a new society dedicated to the School Archive and the history of the school. Aimed initially at pupils in the Lower School, the society will offer wonderful opportunities to handle genuine historic artefacts, learn new skills, and deepen their understanding of the School’s rich and varied past. Alongside this, the Archaeological Society for Divisions boys continues to flourish, with exciting metal detecting activities planned for the summer term, thanks to a successful bid to the Clubs and Societies Fund, supported by generous donations from OMTs, parents and friends.

Finally, interest continues to grow in the restoration of our portrait of Edmund Spenser. The archivist has even applied to The Repair Shop in the hope that it might be selected for the programme. As this remains unlikely, a further quote has now been requested from a qualified paintings conservator. If you would like to learn more about this intriguing artwork, please do get in touch with Isabel (isjh@mtsn.org.uk). In case you missed it, you can also read Isabel’s article about portraiture at Î÷Ê©Ö±²¥â€™ School in the December edition of Concordia. To request a copy, please contact the Development Office (development@mtsn.org.uk).