Treasures of King's Bruton

King's School Bruton is remarkable in many ways, not least because it has lost so little of its 500-year heritage. In this lavishly illustrated celebration of the school's rich history, former King's master Charles Oulton draws on meticulous archive scholarship to place the school's most enduring treasures in their social, educational and historical context.

Although the King's School has existed since the early sixteenth century, attention has only recently been focused on the exceptional archive that the school possesses, the finest of any West Country school. Brought to life through striking photography, the documents, artefacts and buildings highlighted in Treasures of King's Bruton include the school's foundation document of 1519; the original Schoolhouse that is still in use today; the 1297 copy of the Magna Carta, formerly in the possession of the school, and sold to the Australian government for £12,500 in 1952; a handwritten letter by Old Brutonian R. D. Blackmore, the author of Lorna Doone; and a King's sports trophy buried for five years in Malaya during the Second World War to keep it safe from the Japanese.

Order your copy from King's Bruton at www.kingsbruton.com/old-brutonians/merchandise

'This book brings together a rich collection of our best-loved treasures, and in the process conjures up what we love about this fine school of ours. Treasures of King' Bruton admirably combines our past and present (demonstrated by our new 500th anniversary music school) in a rich historical continuum. We all look forward to the next 500 years.'

– Ian Wilmshurst, Headmaster