Bridgnorth Endowed School was founded in 1503, in the reign of Henry VII, established as a 'common school' by the Corporation of the Borough of Bridgnorth [REF].
In 1817 the Town increased its subsidy to £30, but in 1821 there were only ten boys, when the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, who had been asked to recommend a candidate, proposed as Headmaster 24-year-old Thomas Rowley of Middleton Scriven, who had himself studied at Christ Church.