Recollections of a Busy Life: Being the Reminiscences of a Liverpool Merchant 1840-1910Forwood, William Bower, Sir
History
Recollections of a Busy Life: Being the Reminiscences of a Liverpool Merchant 1840-1910
Forwood, William Bower, Sir
Forwood, William Bower, Sir, 1840-1928; Merchants -- England -- Liverpool -- Biography
The Earl of Northbrook, when First Lord of the Admiralty, stayed with us
at "Ramleh," and remarked that when he looked out of his bedroom window
in the morning he was amazed at the lovely view expanded before him, and
could not resist getting up, although it was only seven o'clock, and
taking a walk along the terrace in front of the house. At breakfast he
told us he knew of no marine view so charming except the Bay of Naples.
Of course, it is not possible to compare the two places; each has its
points of attractiveness.
"Ramleh" was a fine, commodious house, on the sea front. We bought it
partly built; its completion and the various additions we made gave us
much pleasure and delight, and we were greatly attached to it.
CROSBY GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
We had in Crosby an old school, endowed some three hundred years ago by
a Crosby boy who made his fortune in London, a part of which he handed
to the Merchant Taylors' Company for educational purposes in the village
in which he was born.
The school was established, the old schoolhouse erected, and it was
carried on with varying, but no great success, for over two hundred
years. At one time when the Merchant Taylors came down to inspect it,
they found it had been closed for some years, whilst the head-master was
living at Sefton quietly drawing his salary. Within my recollection the
scholars numbered only fifteen to twenty, and the head-master frequently
adjourned the school in the afternoon to go rat-hunting. But when Canon
Armour was appointed head-master, he at once sought to bring about a
change and extend the area of the school's usefulness. The city property
belonging to the school had meantime greatly increased in value, and the
opportunity appeared favourable to make the school a great middle-class
institution. In this I was in hearty accord with Canon Armour. We called
meetings of the inhabitants to promote a petition to the Charity
Commissioners in favour of our project. The Vicar of Crosby offered very
strong opposition on the ground that we were robbing the poor man of his
school. In the end we were successful, the present schools were built at
a cost of £37,000, and were soon filled with 250 pupils, and under Canon
Armour's able guidance quickly took a leading position for scholarship,
and became celebrated for the success attained by the pupils at Oxford
and Cambridge. Canon Armour made this school his life's work, and right
well he did it.
BROMBOROUGH.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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