Hulme’s hidden treasures

Archive team member Alan Petford with the 17th century New Testament, known as the Bishops’ Bible

School’s time team unearths 400-year-old Bishops’ Bible
A 400-year-old version of the New Testament will take pride of place in an exhibition to celebrate Hulme Grammar’s four centuries of schooling next year.

It has been unearthed by a team of former scholars and teachers who are searching out all the Chamber Road school’s hidden treasures and archives for the school’s 400-year anniversary.

Visitors will also be shown the 1611 datestone from the original, now-demolished, school building in Oldham town centre — thought to be the oldest date stone in the borough — and now preserved as part of the Werneth school.

The exhibition will be the major part of the celebrations, which include a firework spectacular and musical events.

The team is made up of former pupil Alan Petford (1964-72), now a part-time history lecturer; Ian Holt, former physics teacher from 1968-2004, and a pupil in 1955-62; Jean Sanders, former art teacher 1981-98; and Oldham councillor Mike Buckley, a governor and former pupil from 1959-66.

Although the existence of the New Testament was known about, no one was quite sure where it was, until the team unearthed it from an old cupboard.

Known as a Bishops’ Bible, it is a rare replica of one first published in 1585, predating the King James Bible.

It has a translation of the testament by a Catholic scholar on the left and a more puritan Protestant version on the right.

It is dated 1617 and was edited by William Fulke, master of Pembroke College, Cambridge.

The leather bindings and loose pages will now be repaired and restored by Formby’s of Ramsbottom, who bind all the Acts of Parliament passed by the Government and printed on vellum.

The team are also keen to trace paintings of King George V and Oldham MP John Platt which used to hang in the school, and will be appealing for past pupils and teachers to donate old photos, school magazines and sports records for the archive.

Mike Buckley, who is also Oldham Council’s heritage champion, said: “The deed for the school dates back to 1606, but it was endowed in 1611 as Oldham Grammar School.

“The school was set up as a charity and was in School Croft, near the former St Peter’s Church.”

The building was a simple stone one with mullioned windows and two stone fireplaces, and was behind the Dr Syntax public house.

But a report in 1865 said: “It is placed in a filthy lane, inhabited by the lowest Irish settlers and is enclosed by a slaughterhouse.”

The school was also in disrepair and the schoolmaster had to whitewash the building himself. By 1866 it had closed.

However, powerful local trustees decided to revive it with money from Manchester’s William Hulme Trust, which had been set up to fund four poor students at Brazenose College, Oxford.

The industrialisation of the Manchester area had made the investments in this charity incredibly valuable, and the trust granted money to found the new Oldham grammar school, provided the name of Hulme was included in its title.

The new school for boys and girls opened in 1895 and cost £18,000.