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Hereford Cathedral School

school in Herefordshire, England

Layered newspapers, civic records and oral-history reels arranged as chronological evidence
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 2, 2026
Entity authorityQ5737962 ↗
Source-derived summary

Hereford Cathedral School is a private, co-educational boarding and day school for pupils of ages 3 to 18 years, from nursery to sixth form. Its headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school's premises are next to Hereford Cathedral in Hereford.

History

There was probably a school associated with the Cathedral from the time of the foundation of the see in the late 7th century. Thus Hereford Cathedral School is likely to be among the oldest in England. The earliest documentary record of its existence dates from 1384 when Bishop John Gilbert appointed Richard de Cornwaille as school master and authorised him to rule over the school with birch and rod. The school's library is named after Bishop Gilbert and Cornwall house is named for Richard de Cornwaille.

During the following centuries the school attracted generous benefactors. It was rebuilt under the reign of King Edward VI, and it received considerable emoluments from Queen Elizabeth I in 1583. During the 17th century Dean Langford, Roger Philpotts, a former Mayor of Hereford, Sarah, dowager Duchess of Somerset (wife of John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset), and King Charles I all gave to the school for the foundation of scholarships and the purchase of buildings.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Hereford Cathedral School” as school in Herefordshire, England. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hereford, Cathedral and School.

Editorial reviewMost valuable as an event-and-institution map that identifies actors, dates and record creators for deeper historical inquiry. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1384, 1583—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1980-09-30. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Hereford, Cathedral and School providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Hereford Cathedral School”, the useful work is to connect “school in Herefordshire, England” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5737962. VIAF identifies the subject as 145821352. The Library of Congress control number is no2010026203. Authority coordinates are 52.054, -2.714. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1384 and 1583.

Critical limits

Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.

Best used for
  • Event chronology
  • Institutional context
  • Locating named record creators
Verify next

Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Hereford Cathedral School”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Hereford Cathedral School primary sources, Hereford Cathedral School archive and Hereford research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hereford Cathedral School”?
  2. Who created the surviving record, and for what administrative purpose?
  3. What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Hereford Cathedral School” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.