• History Trail

    The Scott Library by Benedict Randall Shaw

    In 1879, an article in the Elizabethan set forth the case for a Library. In 1881, Lord John Thynne died and the school purchased Ashburnham House. A decision was taken to convert part of the first floor into a library and museum. The masters contributed £170 plus £50 yearly. However, this was not enough. An appeal for additional funds was…

  • History Trail

    The John Sargeaunt Room by Iskander Mathews

    In the brighter areas of the Library, beyond the Book Stack and Milne rooms, there stands a room with 2 tables and a collection of chairs, along with large numbers of historical and literary books. It is in this room that the Library Committee holds its meetings and it was in this room that that great Master of the VIth…

  • History Trail

    The Armada Tables? by Ben Goodrick-Green and William Mirza

    College Hall is one of the oldest and perhaps most remarkable parts of Westminster School. It has survived over six hundred and fifty years, encompassing different ages, social upheaval and times of both prosperity and hardship at Westminster, to be the place where much of the school eats its breakfast, lunch and dinner today. It is claimed by Westminster Abbey…

  • History Trail

    In Defence of Walter Hamilton by William Mirza

    Walter Hamilton, of all 20th Century Westminster headmasters, has always been the one most considered to be an outsider. He came to the school with a great academic reputation but following his short tenure of seven years and his departure for Rugby College and subsequently Magdalene College, many have been led to say that this particular head never quite fit…