Gresham's School

Gresham’s School stands in the market town of Holt, on the edge of the Norfolk countryside. Founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham, it began as a free grammar school for forty boys after the nearby priory was dissolved. The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers in London still acts as trustee, holding the school’s historic endowments. Over the centuries the site grew from a single manor house to a campus of boarding houses, classrooms and a chapel. Girls were admitted from 1971 and today the school is fully co-educational, running a nursery, prep and senior school together. The school has educated generations of Norfolk families and notable figures, including alumni who later won recognition. In 2025 it was shortlisted by Tatler for Best Public School and went on to win the award. Its library preserves the original Foundation Library from 1555, and the archives at Guildhall Library hold estate records from the school’s earliest days. The Fishmongers’ Company still manages the school’s property and charities, maintaining close links since the 16th century. Visitors walk past the Old School House, the original manor that once housed the whole school. The chapel and library stand among modern teaching buildings, while the market place in Holt still shows the 18th-century buildings saved when the town burned in 1708. The school’s grounds stretch beyond the campus, recalling the acres once granted by Sir John Gresham.