E is for Edmund Greene

E is for Edmund Greene

Edmund Greene is the first recorded Head Master of Bedford School and joined the school in 1547 at a time when William Harper was looking into the possibility of endowing the school. Before that time there is evidence of a school dating back to 1170 linked to the Priory at Newnham and situated in Schole Lane. William Harper attended this school before making his fortune in London. With the promised backing of William Harper and the support of New College, who appointed the Head Master and Usher for many years, the local town dignitaries petitioned King Edward IV who granted the letters patent in 1552 to teach ‘grammar, literature and good manners’

The letters patent is held by the Bedfordshire Archives and Record Service and there is a framed copy in the Head Master’s study.

This information can be found in A Brief History of Bedford School issued in 1952 in connection with the Fourth Centenary Celebrations.