Our Deputy Head, Academic, Dan Cupit, reflects on some of King's Bruton's greatest treasures

September 30th 2024

Our Deputy Head, Academic, Dan Cupit, reflects on some of King's Bruton's greatest treasures...

As I start my 13^th year at King’s Bruton, I always remind myself how lucky I am to work in such an amazing place. A place steeped in incredible history. Recently, I was speaking to a colleague about some of the History of the School and some of the things around us that we see and maybe don’t fully understand what they are. We are also finding more about the School and its treasures the whole time. For example:

Ms King found some very old documents in the costume cupboard a few years ago. These were over 400 years old and mapped out parts of the School at the time.
Digs on Abbey Field have revealed artefacts and the boundaries of the Abbey/Berkeley mansion.
Auctioneers found that the counters used in Board Game Club (many years ago) were actually valuable Roman coins, thought to have come from the hill fort on Creech Hill.
There is also a mystery room in the School that no one can get in to. We can see the windows from the outside and see that there is a room there, but there is no door into it.

There is an amazing book, which was commissioned for our 500^th Anniversary called ‘Treasures of King’s Bruton’. Written by Charles Oulton a King's English Teacher, now retired. This book tells the story of 50 treasures of King’s Bruton and paints a fascinating History of the School.

I could pick any from this book to tell you about, as well as others not in the book, but I have chosen just a few. Did you know:

The School has a Site of Special Scientific Interest. A section of rock (or for geologists - fossiliferous strata) that runs through Bruton station and in to Hyde is of international importance for helping to identify and date sequences of rock. It also runs up through top field to an embankment where a rare orchid grows.
That Robinson Crusoe might not have been written without the exploits of Old Brutonian and explorer William Dampier. England’s finest seamen, sailed around the world 3 times, led the first recorded party of Englishmen to Australia, 80 years before Cook, mapped the worlds ocean currents and winds, whilst also writing about the wildlife on the Galapagos Islands 150 years before Darwin.
King’s has an extensive moth collection that has been beautifully preserved. (Approximately 5-6000 moths)

I want to tell you about what I think are the two biggest treasures of King’s.

The Magna Carta

The biggest treasure, and arguably the School’s biggest mystery is that surrounding the Magna Carta. Arguably the Magna Carta is one of the most important documents in British History and is amongst the most important documents ever produced. The Magna Carta (Latin for “Great Charter”) was a document that gave certain rights to the English people. King John of England agreed to it on June 15, 1215. The Magna Carta stated that the King must follow the law. He could not simply rule as he wished. It was one of the first documents to state that citizens had such rights.

It first came to light in the 1930’s when Mr Tremlett, the Head of History at King’s, found it in the School records. He hid the document under a bed during the second world war. It later resurfaced in 1950 at an exhibition of the History of the School, before Lord Blackford sold the copy of the Magna Carta in 1952 to the Australian government, where it was displayed in Parliament House, Canberra.

'All citizens, including those in power, should be fairly and equally ruled by the law.' The first time equality had ever been introduced.

The Foundation Deed

Roger Gallannaugh (architect, ex-governor and Old-Brutonian) has just finished research looking at the signing of the Foundation deed on 29^th September 1519. This document, signed by Richard Fitzjames (Bishop of London), Sir John Fitzjames and Dr John Edmondes 505 years ago was where the School began, as it allocated lands in Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset that would be used to Finance a free school in Bruton.

It sounds like an incredible day with the event deliberately taking place on St Michael’s Day. This is an extract from the account:

‘The day had been well planned in advance to take place on the most significant day in the liturgical, accounting and educational day of the year. It was the day celebrated by the church when St Michael slew the devil in heaven. It was the commencement of the Michaelmas term in law and education. It was when accounts were drawn up from the harvest and rents and debts were settled. It was also the day of the Michaelmas Fair, a poultry fair, when the geese, fattened from the grain scattered in the stubble, were the centrepiece on dining tables of the country.’

It was this remarkable day 505 years ago that saw the creation of the School. The creation of the School which has grown into the School we know today. One with an outstanding community that is diverse, supportive, positive, respectful, and accepting. It is up to us to maintain those values and to foster the sense of community and reinforce those values that we all hold so dear.