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The School finally closed in 1885 and was amalgamated
with the Nantwich Grammar School (which by this date
included the Blue-Cap School ).
Its last few years were not particularly successful
and, at the time of its closure, the School was in debt
to the sum of £39. 14s. 2d. This debt was paid
off by the Governors of the newly-formed Nantwich and
Acton Grammar School who sold the Acton School to the
Churchwardens of Acton Church for £400. The School
was later demolished and the site now forms part of
the Burial Ground, though the steps leading up to the
entrance to the building can still be seen.
Blue Cap School
THE third school to contribute to our history was the
Blue-Cap or Charity School, the first mention of which
was in an account of the Charity Schools in Great Britain
and Ireland in 1712. "Forty boys taught, who wear
blue caps that their behaviour may be better observed
abroad.
An account of the School written in 1860 in the History
Gazetter and Directory of Cheshire said that the boys
were admitted at the age of eight and remained until
they were "fit to go out to business, which is
most frequently shoemaking, the staple trade of the
town.
The move to Welsh Row
The year 1860 sees the joining together of the Nantwich
Grammar and Blue-Cap Schools on the 22nd March of that
year when the two sets of Charities were amalgamated
by an order of the High Court of Chancery. The schools
now moved into their new buildings in Welsh Row, now
the Headmaster's house, which were endowed by George
Wilbraham of Delamere, who gave £500, and the
Right Honourable Hungerford Lord Crewe who transferred
£200 from the Blue-Cap School . "All Boys
residing in the parish of Nantwich, of the age of five
years or upwards" were allowed to attend but were
not allowed to stay at the School after reaching sixteen.
Herbert
Rowsell
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