1. c1670 An Account of State of Old Malton School
2. 1779 Notes on appointments of two Masters
3. 29 March 1834 Copy of note from Archdeacon Todd to Archbishop of York
4. 1 April 1834 Advert for Master
5. 4 April 1834 Letter from the of Archbishop of York to the " gentlemen" who placed the advert for a master.
6. 26 April 1834 Letter to the Archbishop from Malton inhabitants
7. 27 August 1834 A note from Mr Lonsdale and a book list
8. 27 August 1834 A note from Mr Todd to Mr Walker
9. 6 November 1834 Mr Allen's proposals
10. 1834 Enquiry into the Foundation of the Free Grammar School. A 20-page printed document.
11. 1836 Petition from Norton inhabitants
12. 3 March 1836 Letter from Sir C Pepys MP giving his opinion on the Foundation deed
13. 14 November 1837 Letter from Archdeacon Todd to William Pound
14. 19 January 1837 Letter from Archbishop of York (Harcourt) to Master
15. 1837 Note from Archbishop, probably to William Pound
16. 1837? Draft case as to opinions on the removal of the school to Norton
17. 4 May, 12 July, 24 July 1840 4 letters from William Pound to Sir E Wilmot
18. 17 June 1840 Amended Bill for improving Grammar Schools, by Sir Eardley Wilmot and Mr George Hope
19. 7 August 1840 The Grammar Schools Act 1840
20. c1846 Notes by William Pound on the Account of State of Old Malton
21. c1846 Extract from the Grant of the Priory to Holgate
22. 9 February 1847 A report on the School by Archdeacon Todd
23. 11 February 1847 Letter from W Pound to the Archbishop of York, defending himself against a Malton parishioners' petition
24. 27 April 1867 Letter from the Charity Commission to W Garrett
25. 18 - 23 July 1932 Ephemera - 21st celebrations ticket, programmes, postcards
26. April 1932 A booklet on the Founder of the Free Grammar School by G F Newey (an extract from the Maltonian)
27. 1932 A typescript about the Masters of the Free Grammar School
28. ? Transcribed copy in Latin of the Foundation document
29. ? Copy of a translation of the Foundation Document

John Estill's former office, 4 Old Maltongate

In 2024 a set of papers from the office of John Estill, a Malton solicitor, appeared for auction on eBay. The seller, Iain Colquhoun, was kind enough to alert me to these, and I was able to download the numerous photos he posted on eBay of all the documents. There are folds and shadows, some are a little blurred, some are faint; handwriting is very variable, language is at times archaic, with many abbreviations thrown in, all increasing the difficulty in deciphering them. Bearing all this in mind, I have done my best to transcribe them, put them into some kind of order, and try to make sense of the reason for their existence and what they add to the picture of the history of the school.

Most of the documents come from a turbulent period in the School's history, in the 1830s and 1840s. The inclosure acts and poor management had resulted in some of the endowed lands being lost (for example Yedingham in 1769 and 1770 is mentioned in a Charity Commission letter), and the very prescriptive terms of the Foundation document severely restricted what a school could offer - for example, currency inflation had eaten away the value of the rents and stipend specified in the Foundation, and a school offering only Latin, Greek and Hebrew, was out of place in a world where arithmetic, reading and writing were becoming of more importance to an emerging business class. The fact that this was a problem across the country is is reflected in the Grammar School Act passed by parliament in 1840, which is included in these papers.

A number of letters are to and from William Pound, the schoolmaster from 1835 to 1866, defending himself against objectors, and putting considerable effort into researchng the school and its foundation, and to improving the school and his position as its schoolmaster, which he did presumably with some success, remaining in post over 31 years. He moved the school to Sutton Grange, Norton, in 1836, at the same time widening the curriculum beyond Latin and Greek. He defends his reasoning, and offers letters of support, not least from the Archdeacon of Cleveland. Despite some controversy and negative press, he probably did a good job in saving the school from dying the death so many other endowed grammar schools suffered during this period.

A letter in 1867 from the Charity Commission to his successor, Revd Harry Garrett, shows that the school finances remained a problem at this time.

There is one document, (probably a copy of a document lodged at Bishopthorpe Palace) from the 1700s, no doubt included because it relates to an 1840s document written by William Pound.

Additionally there is a group of articles and ephemera from the 1930s, when the School was celebrating its 21st anniverary since its rebirth on Middlecave Road.