the other burgesses intended to purchase the mansion for the same purpose after Medworth's death at a reduced price). As a result, Medworth demolished Thurloe's mansion and erected the present Wisbech Castle building in 1816. An 1868 inspection by Henry Richmond of the Schools Inquiry Commission notes that the school was in a poor state of repair; the school once had many boarders, but this was no longer possible because the largest dormitory needed extensive repairs. As a result, attendance had fallen from 60 to 22 scholars. Richmond records that the upper boys were reading Cicero, and their knowledge of Latin grammar was "satisfactory". He also records the teaching of Greek, algebra, and English language, noting that French was taught as an extra. The inspector suggests that the reason for its decline may have been a nearby commercial school, and hints that the feeling in the town was that the largely Classical curriculum was "irrelevant". He also implies that the state of the building may have been the result of differences between the headmaster and the corporation. The school was reconstituted in 1878. The school continued to use the former guildhall site in Hill Street until 1898, by which stage the medieval building was much altered and in a dilapidated condition. At this point, the school moved to an 18th-century house on South Brink. A fundraising campaign was launched to pay for the house, but after insufficient funds were donated, the cost of purchase was met by Alexander, Baron Peckover. The house and its grounds was originally intended to be the headmaster's residence and provide lodgings for a few boarders, but soon expanded to accommodate the entire school with the construction of classrooms and a hall. The central block of the 18th-century town house was used as a panelled library. An unusual feature of the old town house is the cupola on the roof, evidence of the town's sea-based prosperity. The new building included spacious school-room, class-rooms, laboratories and workshop, all furnished in a modern manner and was formally opened on 20 January 1898 and the key presented to the Headmaster Mr A.W.Poyser. In his 1939 history of the school, headmaster H. Lawrence White opines that the purchase of this 18th-century house was a "grave mistake", as it was "constantly needing repairs" and was "difficult to warm". He suggests that for the eventual price of conversion, a purpose-built school would