A bluecoat school is a type of charity school in England, the first of which was founded in the 16th century. Most of them have closed; some remain open as schools, often on different sites, and some of the original buildings have been adapted for other purposes. They are known as "bluecoat schools" because of the distinctive blue uniform originally worn by their pupils.[1] The colour blue was traditionally the colour of charity and was a common colour for clothing at the time. The uniform included a blue frock coat and yellow stockings with white bands.[2]

History

The first school to be established was Christ's Hospital. This was founded by Edward VI in Newgate Street, London, in 1552, as a foundling hospital with the purpose of caring for and educating poor children. Between the 16th and late 18th centuries about 60 similar institutions were established in different parts of England. These were not connected with Christ's Hospital, but if their pupils wore the blue uniform, they were known as bluecoat schools. The original Christ's Hospital, while retaining its name, has moved its site to West Sussex and developed into an independent school, with much of its costs being met by a charitable foundation.[1]

Schools

NameLocationFoundedClosedNotesRefs
Bluecoat SchoolParish Lane, Penge, Bromley, London18411968Alexandra Nursery (Garden Centre)
St Mary's SchoolBanbury1705A primary school
Basingstoke Blue Coat SchoolBasingstoke1646 by Richard Aldworth1888
Bluecoat SchoolBath1711 by Richard Nelson By 1921The building was replaced in 1859.[3]
Birmingham Blue Coat SchoolBirmingham1722An independent junior prep school
Queen Elizabeth's HospitalBristol (Clifton)1586also known as The City School
Bluecoat SchoolChester17171949Its name has been incorporated in Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School, Chester.
Oliver Whitby SchoolChichester17021949Foundation now supports scholars at Christ's Hospital and at Chichester Prebendal School.[4]
Christ's HospitalHorsham1552 by King Edward VIthe first and oldest surviving Bluecoat school, known as The Bluecoat School
Coventry Blue Coat Church of England SchoolCoventry1714a comprehensive school
The King's HospitalDublin1669also known as The Blue Coat School
The Blue Coat SchoolDudley18691989
Sir Thomas Rich's SchoolGloucester1666a grammar school
Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat SchoolHereford1973
Lincoln Christ's Hospital SchoolLincoln1602/1614Set up under the will of Dr Richard Smith, who died in 1602, but established in 1614 in the St Mary's Guildhall, Moved to Christ's Hospital Terrace Lincoln in 1623 where the boys school continued until 1883, when the endowment was transferred to a new Christ's Hospital Girls school. Became Grammar School in 1906 and a state comprehensive in 1974
Liverpool Blue Coat SchoolLiverpool1708 by Bryan Blundella grammar school formerly at Bluecoat Chambers, moved to Wavertree in 1906
Blue Coat SchoolNorthampton1755 by the Earl of Northampton1811Merged with the Orange School and the Green Coat School to form the Corporation Charity School. In 1923 this closed and funded the Blue Coat Corporation Charity School Foundation[5][6]
The Nottingham Bluecoat AcademyNottingham1706a church school
The Blue Coat SchoolOldham1834
Pilton Bluecoat AcademyPilton, Devona junior school
Reading Blue Coat SchoolReading1646a secondary school
Boys' Charity SchoolSheffield17061939Popularly known as the Bluecoat School
Bluecoat Primary School & NurseryStamford, Lincolnshire 18th century
Stanhope SchoolLewisham1715 by George Stanhope1894Merged with Addey School in 1894 to form Addey and Stanhope School, still extant
Old Swinford HospitalStourbridge1667Formerly sometimes called "Foley's blue coat school [or hospital]"
Old Bluecoat SchoolThatcham17071914Housed in a former chapel built in 1304[7]
York Bluecoat SchoolYork17051947
Blewcoat SchoolWestminster17091926later a National Trust gift shop
The Blue SchoolWells, Somerset1641 by Ezekiel Barkham
Bluecoat School CofE Junior School Durham 1708[8] Founded in 1708 by local traders and began above a pub ("Ye Bull's Head") in the corner of the market place near St Nicholas’ Church and stayed there until 1811. Now housed in a modern building in Newton Hall.
Blue Coat Church of England Academy Walsall 1656 "Founded in 1656 as a charity school for orphans and deprived children in the borough, Blue Coat Academy has a long and rich history of providing an excellent Christian education for its students. Although in the modern world, the lives of our students are very different, the desire for a good education, within a caring family, lives on. As a Church of England school, our ethos and values are based on Christian traditions but our students come from many different backgrounds and faiths, and we use the richness that this diversity brings to enhance learning opportunities."

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Records of Christ's Hospital and Bluecoat Schools (PDF), London Metropolitan Archives, 2010, retrieved 24 November 2015
  2. ↑ A brief history of the school, Liverpool Blue Coat School, archived from the original on 7 July 2013, retrieved 29 May 2013
  3. ↑ Bluecoat House Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Listing, retrieved 28 July 2014
  4. ↑ Oliver Whitby School Chichester, A History. Peter J Hughes. Published by Phillimore.
  5. ↑ "The Corporation Charity School, Northampton, Northamptonshire". Heritage Explorer. Historic England. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Page, William (1930). "The borough of Northampton: Schools". A History of the County of Northampton. Victoria County History via British History Online. pp. Volume 3 pages 61–62. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "History: Recent Years". The Old Bluecoat School, Thatcham. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Blue Coat C of E Junior School Celebrates itsTercentenary | Blue Coat CE (Aided) Junior School". www.bluecoatcofejunior.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
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