Warminster School - Arnold, Denys and Ken

Arnold, Denys and Ken

The pupils of Warminster School are split between three competitive 'houses' across all ages and boarding houses; Arnold, Denys and Ken.

• Arnold; named after Thomas Arnold an Old Verlucian of considerable note, he was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. Arnold's appointment to the headship of the renowned Rugby School in 1828, after some years as a tutor, turned the school's fortunes around, and his force of character and religious zeal enabled him to turn it into a model followed by the other public schools, exercising an unprecedented influence on the educational system of the country. He is portrayed as a leading character in the novel Tom Brown's Schooldays.

• Denys; named after the order established by Rev. Philipps which led to the creation of St. Monica's School for Girls and St. Denys House. St Denys (Denis) is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred in approximately A.D. 250, and is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as patron of Paris, France and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The medieval and modern French name "Denis" derives from the ancient name Dionysius. Denis, having alarmed the pagan priests by his many conversions, was executed by beheading on the highest hill in Paris (now Montmartre)

• Ken; named after Bishop Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, who was considered the most eminent of the English non-juring bishops, and one of the fathers of modern English hymnology. He was influential in the founding of Lord Weymouth's School when in retirement, he found a congenial home with Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth, his friend from college days, at Longleat in Wiltshire. His death took place there on 19 March 1711 only four years after helping found the school. He was buried at the Church of St John the Baptist, Frome where his crypt can still be seen. He is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 8 June. Ken is also honoured with a feast day in the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church on March 20.