Hugh Squier (1625-1710) of Petty France, Westminster, was a wealthy merchant best remembered as a generous benefactor to the town of South Molton in Devon, the place of his birth, where in 1684 he founded a "free school"."Free school", as referred to in Hugh Squier's will.
Origins
He was the 4th son of William Squier (c.1581-1653) (son of Christopher Squier (d.1629) of Townhouse), a yeoman, of Townhouse, South Molton, then what Hoskins (1959) calls a "mansion",Cock, p.173Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959 (first published 1954), p.98: "The mansion was usually the centre of a barton farm of two, three or four hundred acres" today a farmhouse situated about 1 3/4 miles west of the centre of the town of South Molton, on the road to Chittlehampton. William Squire was educated at Lyme Regis and at Caius College, Cambridge.
Hugh's mother was Jane Roberts, 3rd daughter and co-heiress of Richard Roberts (d.1622) of Combe Martin, Devon.Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.502, pedigree of Roberts (shown within pedigree of Buryott) Richard Roberts, whose mural monument survives in Combe Martin Church,Vivian, p.502 was the owner of the demesne of the manor of Combe Martin and was patron of the churches of nearby Berry Narbor, Devon and of Chew Magna in Somerset. Hugh Squier's uncle-by-marriage was the Devon historian Thomas Westcote (c.1567–c.1637), married to Mary Roberts (d.1666), his mother's elder sister.Vivian, p.502, pedigree of Roberts; p.778, pedigree of Westcott of Raddon
Brothers and Sisters Hugh had four sisters and three elder brothers as follows: Christopher Squier (d.1693) of Townhouse, eldest brother and heir to his father. In 1648Cock, p.174 for the sum of £900 he purchased the manor of South Molton from Sir George Whitmore (d. 1654), Master of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers 1621-2 and Lord Mayor of London in 1631. This entitled him to various customary income due to the lord of the manor from tolls, fairs, markets and other profits. In 1654, the year after his father's death, he granted a 99-year lease of the manor of South Molton jointly to his mother and to his brother Hugh Squier, at an annual rent of £20 7s.Cock, pp.174/5 The manor formed a large part of Hugh Squier's benefaction to the town. Christopher was one of the founding trustees or governors of Hugh Squier's School, appointed in 1686 by his brother the founder. His son was William Squier (d.1699), later also a governor,Cock, p.184 father of John Squier (1694-1715), in 1710 appointed a governor in place of his deceased great-uncle, whilst still a schoolboy at Eton College. John was the last in the male line of the Squire family and died aged 21 without progeny. He and his sister Elizabeth Squire (d.1734) were the main beneficiaries of the will of Hugh Squier.Morey, p.9 Elizabeth died unmarried, having lived all her life at Townhouse and having been a donor to the Blue Coat School in South Molton and other charities in South Molton.General Index to the First Fourteen Reports of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire Concerning Charities in England and Wales, House of Commons, 1827 , vol xi, pp.122, 126 Richard Squier (d.1669), 2nd elder brother, a soldier who died unmarried. William Squier (d.1681), 3rd elder brother, who married a certain Priscilla by whom he had two daughters.
Career His eldest brother was their father's heir, so Hugh "had the younger son's portion: the privilege of leaving home to make a home for himself". He soon established himself in London as a prosperous merchant, although little if anything is known of his mercantile career. He is known to have had dealings with the East India Company,Morey, p.7 established in 1600.
Founds South Molton School
His children having all died young and having no heirs he thus decided to devote his wealth to philanthropical causes in his native town. In 1686 he built and endowed a school in East Street, South Molton, known as Hugh Squier's Free School. The original Deed of Endowment and Appointment of Trustees is held at North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple. The school's running expenses were mainly funded by income from Northam estates held on a rolling lease from the Dean and Canons of Windsor. In 1867 the South Molton trustees were notified that the leases would terminate in 1881. The trustees saved £2823 during the period of notice. £2315 was invested in Government stock and £508 was held in the bank. The Charity Commission issued an order dated 12/01/1883 "that the clear amount of the annual income .. after all proper outgoings and expenses shall be expended … on highways maintenance or suitable public works". He also bequeathed income from his estate in the parish of Swimbridge.
The original "Deed of Endowment and Appointment of Trustees" dated 1686 survives in the archives of the North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple, summarised as follows: "Parties: 1 Hugh Squier of St Margaret's, Westminster 2 Christopher Squier, William Squier of South Molton, John Haach, Anthony Pawle, Humphrey Shobrook, nominated by Hugh Squier as trustees. Premises: house and building lately known as Free School for writing and arithmetic, and one house for the schoolmaster, which was erected by Hugh Squier where Hunt'sAlmshouses were formerly situated. Capital: £1,000, in money or land, to be settled on trustees for maintenance of buildings, etc. Instructions to Trustees: 20 children of poor people of South Molton to be chosen by the trustees to be educated freely at the school in writing and arithmetic. Children of gentlemen may also attend. Latin may be included. Aim of the school 'to promote the arts of good writing and arithmetick and for the good of the poor, more than the science of grammar or Latin for the good of the rich'. Salaries: writing schoolmaster to be paid £20 p/a plus dwelling house adjoining school; Latin schoolmaster to be paid £20 p/a. Schoolmasters and Trustees to dine together twice yearly. Other instructions to safeguard perpetuity of trust".
Masters
John Cruse (d.1692) The mural monument of John Cruse (d.1692, N.S.), the first Master of the school survives in St Mary Magdalen's Church, South Molton, inscribed as follows: Near this place lyeth the body of M(aste)r John Cruse curat(e) of this church and first Master of the new school founded & endowed by Hugh Squire Esq., of the City of London, who died the 24th of March 1691 and was buried ye 29th day of the same month 1692.At this time the Julian Calendar was still in use and the New Year did not start until 25th March, the Feast of Assumption, see Old Style and New Style dates Qui eximia vitae pietate et labore pastorali indefesse anhelabat & tandem per varios morbos immedicabiles aspirabat aeternitatem ("Who having been unwearied by distinguished piety and labour of a pastoral life was panting for and at last through various incurable diseases breathed-in, Eternity").
Rev. John Coleridge (1719-1781) Rev. John Coleridge (1719-1781) was ordained a deacon in 1749 and in 1750 was ordained a priest and was appointed Master of Hugh Squier's School and Lecturer of Molland. In 1760 he moved to Ottery St Mary, where he served as vicar and Master of the King's School. By his wife Anne Bowden (1726-1809) (probable daughter of John Bowden, Mayor of South Molton in 1726), he was the father of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.Unsworth, John, The Early Background of S.T. Coleridge, published in The Coleridge Bulletin, No 1, Summer 1988, pp 16-25 . Lecturer of Molland was an office established and funded by a member of the Courtenay family, lords of the manor of Molland, and involved preaching sermons in Molland Church, possibly also in Knowstone Church adjoining
Amalgamation
In 1877 it was amalgamated with the Blue Coat School, founded in 1711, and with the National School, founded in 1833. The combined school was known as South Molton United Schools.Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959, p.438 A 19th-century memorial brass tablet situated above the fireplace in the school-hall of South Molton Primary School, North Street, is inscribed as follows: "The South Molton United Schools. These schools were united in 1877 and consist of: I: Squier's School, endowed by Hugh Squier in 1682; II: the Blue-Coat School, established in 1711 and endowed by Henry Blagdon, Elizabeth Squier, Thomas Tepper, Elizabeth Northcote, Sarah Aram, Rev. J. Hole, Elizabeth Bryan and Elizabeth Amory. III: The National School, established in 1833. The Rev. Hugh Mare Passmore bequeathed £3,000 and Mr John Brown £19 19s to the schools. Mr Brown also gave £5 and Mr G, Cock £20 to the Church Sunday Schools held in this building".
Partial demolition The school building survived intact until the 1960s when purchased by George Wallace for use in his Honey Farm, when he demolished one third of the structure to provide an entrance for articulated lorries. In 1978 the Honey Farm was moved to the old Union Workhouse in North Road and the remaining structure of the school was converted into a private dwelling in which form it remains today.
Notable pupils John Cunningham Saunders (1773–1810), ophthalmic surgeon.
Other charitable donations Other charitable donations made by Hugh Squier, mainly in his will, include:General Index to the First Fourteen Reports of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire Concerning Charities in England and Wales, House of Commons, 1827 , vol xi, p.115 Donation to the Vicar of Northam, Devon Donation to the almshouses in Westminster established by George Whicher (d.1682, new style), who was buried in the east cloister of Westminster Abbey. His marble mural monument survives there inscribed as follows: "Here lieth the body of Mr George Whicher, Yeoman of His Ma(jes)ties Chappel Royal, who died 4 Feb. An(n)o 1681 & built & endowed an Almshous for 6 poor men in this parish of St Margarets Westm(inste)r." Whicher was the youngest Yeoman of the Vestry at the Chapel Royal in 1660 but died as the eldest. He seemingly died unmarried. The almshouses he built were demolished in about 1840 and occupied a site on the present Caxton Street. The funds of the almshouses were used to acquire new houses in Lambeth, which still exist. His charity was eventually amalgamated with one established for women by his relative Judith Kifford. Donation to the Mayor of South Molton for repairs of the School and of highways, especially the road between the bridge over the River Mole and the school. Several of the footpaths in the streets and through the churchyard were much improved in the year 1894 by the South Molton municipal charity trustees at an outlay of about £500, out of funds in their hands belonging to Hugh Squier's charity. Donation to the trustees of his school
1st President of Grey Coat School He was the first President of the Grey Coat School School, in the parish of St Margaret's Church, Westminster, founded in 1698 by 8 local tradesmen and supported by voluntary subscriptions, whose aim was to educate "40 of the Greatest Objects of Charity (orphans and neglected children) in the principles of the Christian religion, teaching to read and instructing them in the Church catechism, the discipline of the Church of England as by law established, and for teaching to write and cast accounts" and (when fit) "binding them apprentices to honest trades and employments". As premises the school was granted rent-free by the Vestry of St Margaret's Church use of the large building of the "Grey Coat Hospital" in Tothill Fields within the parish. the true owner of the freehold of Tothill Fields was disputed between the Vestry of St Margarets, the Vestry of St John's and the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey. In 1696 the Dean and Chapter asserted their claims to the freehold and a committee, consisting of Mr. Justice Railton, Mr. Hugh