About this episode

The episode explores the history of Hawkshead and its Grammar School, highlighting its impact on education and notable figures like William Wordsworth.

…in which we take a midsummer stroll through Hawkshead to learn about the village's deep history and its tiny school that had a big impact – not just locally, but on the world stage. Accompanied by Joanne Heather, director of the Hawkshead Grammar School Foundation, we set out from the meadows above the village to explore Hawkshead’s long history – its Norse roots, the chapelry that served Furness Abbey, and the wool trade that put the market town on the map, long before neighbouring Ambleside, Coniston and Windermere. Visiting the church of St Michael & All Angels, Joanne introduces us to the Sandys family of Graythwaite, and Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York during the reign of Elizabeth I, who founded the school to train new generations of clergy. Arriving at the Grammar School, museum assistant manager Hollie Barker talks us through life at the school: the hours of Latin and scripture; the cock fights and sword fights; the strict rules that allowed boys (no girls) to smoke and drink, but never gamble. In the confines of the school library, we learn about old boy and London vintner Daniel Rawlinson – great grandson of Daniel Hechstetter, the patriarch of Keswick mining –…

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