that of an usher" and stated that pupils were frequently beaten. Until 1831, the schoolmaster was always a clergyman. In 1836, the Charity Commission recorded eight charity pupils, who received free education, nine boarders and fifty day pupils. The total annual endowment at this date amounted to £10 12s 0d, which was considered "very small". The 19th century saw the school experience problems recruiting a schoolmaster due to the low salary and the lack of a house, and the school closed in around 1858. The schoolhouse was demolished soon afterwards, when St Mary's was undergoing restoration. Blue Cap Charity School A Blue Cap School, a type of charity school, was founded in the town in the late 17th century or early 18th century. It is first mentioned in a pamphlet of 1712, which stated that the school taught forty boys "who wear blue caps that their behaviour may be the better observed abroad". There was a separate establishment for thirty girls, about which little is known. The school took boys from age eight. In general such charity schools taught reading, writing and arithmetic, and additionally prepared pupils for apprenticeships. However, Joseph Partridge, the schoolmaster in 1772–96 and author of the first history of Nantwich, mentioned only tuition in English and writing. The Nantwich Blue Cap School rented rooms from a house in Pepper Street, now demolished, and no specific schoolhouse was ever built. The principal original donors were Randle and Stephen Wilbraham, and the Wilbraham family of Townsend House administered the school, selected the charity pupils and also paid for their clothing. Each charity boy received annually "a stout drab jacket, a blue cloth cap, a band, a pair of shoes and a pair of stockings". By 1774, John Crewe (later the first Baron Crewe) of Crewe Hall was also contributing to the master's salary, which was £16 in 1836. By 1836, in addition to the forty charity pupils, there were thirty paying pupils. The "old-fashioned and eccentric" John Thomson held the post of schoolmaster for 55 years from 1797 until 1851, when he retired aged 86 or 87. His successor lasted only around six months, and the school then closed. New Grammar School: 108 Welsh Row History The new grammar school and headmaster's house at 108 Welsh Row were built by George Wilbraham of Delamere to replace the closed grammar school in around 1860. The newly founded school amalgamated