NO.120
T H E T R U S T Y S E RVA N T
Graffiti in Chapel Roof…
Suzanne Foster, College Archivist, assisted
by Dr Geoffrey Day, former Fellows’
Librarian, becomes a steeplejack:
names which have provoked the most
interest. Clearly written twice was the
name ‘Harmar’ alongside others dating
from the 1570s, plus a host of other names
from the late 1560s and 1570s. Was this
Warden Harmar?
Memories are sparked by all sorts of
things and can lead both to surprising
discoveries and to an unusual working day
for the College Archivist. In April this
year, Sir Roger du Boulay (Coll, 35-40)
contacted me after seeing my photograph
in the Wykeham Journal, taken on
Muniment Tower stairs: clearly shown are
names scratched into the stonework. It
was this graffiti which reminded Sir Roger
of war-time wanderings as Prefect of
Chapel. He wrote:
‘In September 1940 I was Cap Prae,
charged with the responsibility to devise
and execute all the measures necessary to
preserve the life of the Chapel and its
users. This involved not only rapid but
orderly evacuation plans (and rehearsals –
I enjoyed pushing the dons around), but
also regular and meticulous inspection of
every nook and cranny. I was given the
keys to ensure access. The bombs on
Portsmouth and Southampton were all
too frequently audible.
‘Thus it came about that I found
myself one day in the roof spaces of the
Muniment Tower and the east end of
Chapel. There I came upon a window
overlooking Chamber Court. On the sill
were carved the initials of a person –
presumably a scholar – and the date,
1395. I think the initials were WJ. To
these I added my own, DuB, 1940.
I wonder if they are still there?’
So, a challenge had been presented
and the prospect of finding graffiti as early
as 1395 was a particular draw. I spent a
day in early April checking every window
in Muniment Tower and Chapel Tower –
and found nothing. If it was a window
over-looking Chamber Court, how could
One of these examples is adjacent to
the names of Thomas Wygmore, who
became a scholar in 1565, and of John
Favor, who entered College in 1571. They
neatly bracket John Harmar, who was
second on Roll in 1569. This conjunction
suggests very strongly that the two
‘Harmar’ graffiti are indeed by the future
Warden. Wygmore and Favor are unlikely
to have been in the School at the same
time, so it would appear that they and
Harmar each made individual
expeditions.
the window be in Chapel roof?
Then a flash of inspiration: I
remembered the two tiny windows
situated above the east window of Chapel
which overlooked the Warden’s garden.
Might this be what Sir Roger
remembered?
A call to the Works Department led,
about a month later, to a visit into Chapel
roof wearing a safety harness and
clutching a torch and a camera.
Straightaway I could view the names of
workmen from 1822 painted onto the roof
beams and, as soon as we crawled along
the walk way towards the east end, I could
clearly see a great many names scratched
into the stonework around the two little
windows.
It was only once I worked through my
photographs that I spotted Sir Roger’s
initials – but it was actually the other
6
Their first problem would have been
getting onto Chapel roof. There were
two routes: up a 99-step spiral staircase in
the Muniment Tower, which was lit by
five unglazed slit-windows, varying from
three-and-a-half to four inches wide and
34 to 48 inches high, fitted with oak
shutters with leather edgings to keep out
the weather – and, of course, any light –
and which would have necessitated first
going through Chapel to get to the foot
of the stairs in the vestry. The other
route was via the equally dark Chapel
Tower spiral stairs, which were accessed
via an external door on the south side of
the building. Once up on the roof, it
would have been necessary to climb
across the lead ͱ