Hutton Grammar School - History

History

The school can trace its antecedents back to 1517, with the school building site being personally approved by Henry VIII in that year. In 1520, the school was granted permission, by William Walton, a former priest of Longton, to all boys in the area. It was William's personal investment, to provide for his family and give the local children a chantry-school to attend.

In 1545, when William Walton, the co-founder of the chantry had died, Henry VIII, near to death, ordered the dissolution of all chantries and the confiscation of their property. The desired building, in Hutton, was, at the time, even though confirmed by Henry VIII, 28 years before, would be demolished if it was reported to be still standing. However, the man appointed to supervise the dissolution of the Lancashire chantries was Sir Henry Farington, a former benefactor of St. Andrews Church in Longton. He falsely reported that he could find no chantries in that part of the county, in order to save the demolition of various buildings in the area.

To avoid suspicion of using a chantry for a school, although the false statement was given, they started to use a small cottage down School Lane, in Longton to educate the local children.

In 1552, William's nephew Christopher Walton of Little Hoole, used a part of the original endowment to found the grammar school, down School Lane in Longton. According to the law at the time, a priest must be in charge of a school, traveling inspectors could have closed it down they saw that a commoner was in charge. Therefore, in 1554, Ralph Garstang, priest of St. Andrews Church, was appointed as the schoolmaster of the school.

For the next few centuries, from 1560 to 1746, it was known as Longton Free School. It wasn't until 1747, that the roles of schoolmaster and priest were finally disconnected. The school was then rebuilt, at Hutton on its present site, built on land that had been a part of William Walton's original grant. Henceforth, it became known as Hutton Grammar School and by 1891, it had become an all-boys school.

The original building, built around 1750, had to be entirely rebuilt in the 1960s. Of the current building, some sections are more than a hundred years old, but most were built during the last century.

The school to this day still retains its grammar school ethos, enabling it to produce results which are amongst the highest in the area. Sports play a serious role at Hutton such as rugby and cross-country running, with Hutton sometimes defeating local independent schools such as Arnold School, Kirkham Grammar School, Rossall School and Stonyhurst College.