Harrow School

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Harrow School was founded by John Lyon, a yeoman in the neighbouring village of Preston, in 1571 as a free grammar school for the education of 30 poor children. It was not opened until 1611. ‘Foreigners’, i.e. children from other parishes who paid for their education, were allowed in from 1660 and the school prospered. After a period of decline, the school's fortunes were restored largely by the effort of the eminent headmaster Dr Charles Vaughan (1816–97). Amongst its old boys are four 19th-cent. prime ministers—Peel, Palmerston, Aberdeen, and Goderich—and a 20th-cent. one, Winston Churchill.

Peter Gordon

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