Christ's Hospital

Christ's Hospital, Newgate Street, London, was founded on the site of the Greyfriars' Monas- tery, by Edward VI., June 26, 1553, as a hospital for orphans. It is usually called the 'Blue Coat School,' on account of the dress worn by the boys. This consisted of a blue woollen gown or coat with a narrow red-leather girdle round the waist, knee-breeches, yellow petticoat and stockings, a clergyman's bands at the neck, and a small blue worsted cap. The cap, however, was discontinued about thirty years ago, and the petticoat in 1865, but otherwise the dress remains unaltered. Such, with slight variations, has been the costume of the boys since the foundation of the school in the reign of Edward VI.; the persistency in it through successive generations affording a curious instance of the unchangeableness in some of the English usages. Children are admitted between eight and ten years of age, and discharged between fifteen and sixteen, according to their school position, excepting the 'Grecians' (i.e. the highest class of scholars in the hospital), of whom five are sent annually on various scholarships to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Altogether, about 1100 boys and 90 girls are now upon the foundation. The right of presentation is vested in the governors. These are the lord mayor of London, the aldermen, and twelve common councilmen, who are ex-officio governors. Besides these, all noblemen and gentlemen who benefit the hospital to the extent of £500 are governors, or 'donation' governors. Of these there are at present 264. The governors are the patrons of several churches, chiefly in Surrey and Essex. In 1887 the net available income for the purposes of the hospital, and for exhibitions and apprentice fees, was about £58,000, wholly from legacies and benefactions subsequent to the foundation. In addition the governors administer large pension charities, including the Rev. W. Hetherington's Charity to the Aged Blind, which is distributed in pensions of £10 a year to upwards of 700 blind persons over sixty-one years of age, resident and born in England. King Charles II. enriched it by £7000, with an additional annuity of £370, 10s. for the purpose of educating yearly ten boys for the sea-service. Most of the building perished in the Great Fire of 1666; but, through the generosity of the corporation of London and of wealthy Englishmen, it was soon rebuilt, under the superintendence of Sir Christopher Wren. In the course of time the new hospital fell into decay, and in 1825 a third structure was erected by Mr Shaw. The great hall of the hospital is a magnificent room, second only to that of Westminster. Christ's hospital is essentially a classical institution, Latin and Greek being the basis of education; but, to satisfy the wants arising from the changed condition of society, the modern languages, drawing, science, &c. are also taught. In 1863 the governors built a preparatory school at Hertford, where the children are trained till they are advanced enough to be transferred to the London school. The girls, however, remain here until their discharge. It can receive about 450 of both sexes. Many eminent persons have been educated at Christ's Hospital, such as Camden, Stillingfleet, Richardson, Cole-ridge, Lamb, Leigh Hunt, Pngin, Sir Louis Cavagnari, Sir Henry S. Maine, Dr Gordon Hake, and others. In 1885 a scheme of reform received the sanction of the Education Department, according to which the hospital is to be transferred to the country (a site at Horsham was acquired in 1892, the foundation of the new buildings laid by the Prince of Wales in 1897), and a larger number of girls admitted. The boys' boarding-school will have 700 pupils, the day-school 600; while a girls' boarding-school will accommodate 350, and their day-school 400. See Annals of Christ's Hospital, by a 'Blue' (new ed. 1877).