This is not perhaps the proper place to give any detailed account of the Ashburnham House row – The main facts were this – By the arrangements of the Public School Commissioners Ashburnham House was on the death of the Rev Lord John Thyme (fifty years canon of Westminster and of late Sub-dean) to devolve on the School who were to pay £4000 for the premises. Early this year Lord Thyme died; and the Chapter wishing to retain his house for Dr Barry the newly appointed Canon managed to persuade the Governors or rather a bare majority of them to resign their claim and accordingly the Chapter put forth the most extraordinary rants and mis-statements alleging among other ‘facts’ that the School wished to pull down the wall of Cloisters; Dr Scott with Mr Bovill and others of the masters whose firmness and patriotism it is impossible to commend too highly made some determined stand and got a memorial largely signed by parents and others which pointed out clearly the inadequacy of the mangy little strip of College Gardens offered us by the Chapter as an equivalent for Ashburnham House. The motives of the Chapter were pretty well gauged by a clever epigram read up School by G. Larvie T.B. which I think is worth quoting –
‘Thy moving appeals to ‘Sermons in Stones’
The Chapter their purpose may carry
But all there [sic] regard for In-i-go Jones
Are simply for ‘Inigo’ Barry’
On July 12th the O.WW rallied at the rooms of the Asiatic Society and nominated the following deputation to address the Commissioners on the subject –
| The Duke of Richmond and Gordon | Mr C.W.W. Wynn |
| Lord Wilton | Mr S.C. Evans Williams M.P. |
| Lord Ebury | Admiral Phillimore |
| Sir W.W. Wynn M.P | Canon Jeffrey |
| Rt Hon Jus Lowther | Canon Ball |
| Lord Richard Grosvenor M.P. | Mr Hurst |
| Sir George Macleay | Mr O.C. Waterfield |
| Sir Patrick Colquhoun | Major-General Randolph |
| The Bishop of Moray & Ross | Mr Ralph Barnes |
|
Mr WheelerX |
|
At last Justice triumphed and the School gained possession of the house.
Floreat
XI have recorded their names as a memorial of their patriotism and as an encouragement to all future OWW to ‘go and do likewise’.