Edward Meyrick's School, Ramsbury

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In 1786 Edward Meyrick became vicar of Ramsbury and moved his school there from Hungerford, where he had established it in 1775. He rebuilt Ramsbury vicarage, and this was the first site of the school. It later moved to Bordorgan House (now Ramsbury Hill), where there were classrooms under the garden wall and nine horses were kept for the use of the boys. Its third home was at Parliament Piece. From 1811 the school was kept by Edward's son, Arthur. This was a boarding school for the middle classes, which also took some members of the Wiltshire aristocracy, including Lord Paul Methuen. It had a good academic record, with boys winning scholarships to Oxford and Cambridge, and also specialized in outdoor pursuits. The boys swam, played cricket and football, and also grew food in their own plots of land. There were between 60 and 70 pupils around 1840 but the school was greatly affected by the opening of Marlborough College in 1843, moving to Chiseldon in 1851, and then to Amesbury where it faded out.