The following lists contain the names of 122 further Old Westminsters (OWW) whose names appear in the ODNB but who are either not recognized there as having been educated at Westminster School, or whose names did not appear in the 1928 edition of the Record of Old Westminsters or in its 1937 Supplement.
They also record the names of 25 individuals for whom there are entries in ODNB, who were probably or possibly educated at Westminster School, and 29 individuals for whom a Westminster School education is less likely.
1: 90 OWW for whom there are entries in ODNB, and who are correctly identified in Record/Supplement, but who have not been recognised in ODNB as having been educated at the School
A (4)
Sir John Gay Alleyne, Bart. (1724-1801)
George Arbuthnot (1802-1865)
Gen.Sir Charles Asgill, Bart. (1762-1823)
Sir Robert Atkyns Kt MP (1647-1711)
B (9)
Rev.Gibbons Bagnall (1719-1800)
William Beckford (1744-1799) (first recorded as OW in Supplement)
John Bradby Blake (1745-1773)
Sir Robert Henry Blosset (Chief Justice of Bengal) (1776-1823) (subsidiary entry)
Samuel Richard Bosanquet (1800-1882)
Gen.Sir Thomas William Browne Brotherton GCB (1782-1868)
Lieut.-Col.Lyde Browne (1759-1803)
Right Rev.William Buller DD FSA (Bishop of Exeter) (1735-1796)
Vice Adm.Hon.John Byron (1723-1786)
C (11)
William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan PC (General in the Army, Commander in Chief) (c.1671-1726)
Hon.Benedict Leonard Calvert FRS (Governor of Maryland) (1700-1732)
William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire PC KG (1671-1729)
Rev.Ralph Church (c.1708-1787) (subsidiary entry)
Right Rev.Robert Clayton DD FSA (Bishop of Clogher) (1695-1759)
William Clerke (1639-1684) (in ODNB as Clarke)
Arthur Thomas Corfe (1773-1863)
Sir Charles Ludowick Cotterell (1654-1710) (subsidiary entry)
Sir Robert Cotton Bart. (c.1670-1749) (subsidiary entry)
Hon.and Very Rev.Spencer Cowper DD (Dean of Durham) (c.1713-1774)
Richard Francis George Cumberland (c.1793-1870)
D (9)
Robert Davies (1659-1710)
Edward Hussey Delaval FRS (1729-1814)
Maj.William Denny (Lieut.-Gov.Pennsylvania) (1709-1765)
Major-Gen.Sir Robert Henry Dick KCB KCH (1786-1846)
West Digges (c.1726-1786)
John Dolben MP (1662-1710)
Capt.John Donellan (1737-1781)
Lieut.-Gen.Sir Charles William Doyle GCH CB (c.1778-1842)
Rev.Charles Dunster (1750-1816)
F (3)
Thomas Falconer (1736-1792)
Abraham Farley (1712-1791)
Sir Samuel Fludyer Bart MP (1705-1768)
G (1)
Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Hall Gage GCB GCH (1777-1864)
H (10)
George Henry Harlow (1787-1819)
Right Rev.Humphrey Henchman DD (Bishop of London) (1592-1675) (first recorded as OW in Supplement)
George William Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol PC (1721-1775)
Sir Arthur Hesilrige Bart MP (c.1591-1661)
John Hindle (c.1761-1796)
Henry Hoare MP (1705-1785)
Sir Richard Hoare (1709-1754) (subsidiary entry)
Vice Adm.Hon.Sir Henry Hotham GCMG KCB (1777-1833)
Thomas Jones Howell (1793-1858) (subsidiary entry)
J (1)
Sir George Jackson KCH (1785-1861)
L (4)
Gen.Sir John Lambert GCB (1772-1847)
Rev.John Layfield DD (c.1559-1617)
William Lewis MB FRS (1708-1781) (first identified as OW in Supplement)
Rev.William Loe (c.1603-1679) (subsidiary entry)
M (4)
Admiral Mark Milbanke (c.1724-1805)
John Monson, 2nd Baron Monson (1727-1774) (subsidiary entry)
Sir James Montagu (1666-1723)
Lieut.-Col.Roger Morris (1727-1794)
N (1)
Hon.George Richard Savage Nassau (1756-1823)
O (1)
Thomas Onslow, 2nd Earl of Onslow (1754-1827) (subsidiary entry)
P (9)
Gen.Hon.Sir Edward Paget GCB MP (1775-1849)
Sir John Pakington Bart MP (1649-1688) (subsidiary entry)
Rear Adm.Hon.Frederick Thomas Pelham CB (1808-1861)
Hon. and Right Rev.George William Frederick Pelham DD (Bishop of Exeter) (1766-1827)
John Perceval, 1st Earl of Egmont (I) PC(I) MP (1683-1748)
Sir Richard Perryn (1723-1803)
Danby Pickering (1717-1781)
Walter Pope MD FRS (c.1627-1714)
Rev.William Price (c.1597-1646)
R (6)
Admiral Sir George Granville Randolph KCB (1819-1907)
Samuel Revans (1808-1888)
Sir Thomas Robinson Bart (c.1618-1683)
Thomas Robinson (1714-1747)
Admiral Lord Edward Russell CB MP (1805-1887)
John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford KG PC (1766-1839)
S (12)
Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers PC (d.1712)
Sir Robert Sawyer KC MP (1633-1692)
Sir William Scroggs KC (1651-1695) (subsidiary entry)
Sir Adrian Scroope KB MP (1615-1666) (subsidiary entry)
Sir Carr Scroope Bart (1649-1680) (in ODNB as Scrope)
Henry Seymour MP (c.1729-1807)
William Shippen MP (1673-1743)
Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers (1720-1760)
Hon. and Rev.Walter Shirley (1725-1786)
Washington Shirley, 5th Earl Ferrers FRS (Vice-Admiral in Navy ) (1727-1778)
William Stafford (1593-1684)
Admiral Sir James Stirling (1791-1865)
W (6)
James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave KG PC LLD FRS (1715-1763)
Vice-Adm.Charles Watson (1714-1757)
Adam Whitford (c.1624-1647) (subsidiary entry)
Ralph Willett FRS FSA (1719-1795)
Sir Charles Wolseley Bart (1769-1846)
Right Rev.John Wolton DD (Bishop of Exeter) (c.1537-1594) (in ODNB as Woolton)
2: 14 OWW for whom there are entries in ODNB, whose names do not appear in Record/Supplement or who are not properly identified in Record/Supplement, but who have been recognised in ODNB as having been educated at the School
Sir William Becher MP (1580-1651) (Camdeni Epistola, 1691, 207-8, 209-10)
William Bowyer (c.1535- c.1570) (his will indicates that he was at school under Nowell)
Lieut.-Gen.Sir John Cope KB MP (1690-1760) (English Historical Review lxxviii, 656)
William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper PC FRS (Lord Chancellor) (c.1665-1723) (memorandum in his handwriting cited in ODNB entry)
Sir Edward Dering Bart MP (1598-1644) (M.E.Bond, ed., The Diaries and Papers of Sir Edward Dering Second Baronet 1644 to 1684, 109)
Rev.James Gardiner (c.1677-1732) (Venn, Al.Cant.)
Ven.Robert Newell DD (1576-1642) (Oxford diocesan papers)
Rev.William Norris FSA (1718-1791) (adm.1729, but not otherwise identified in Record)
Paul Panton (1727-1797) (adm.1740, left 1744, but in Record as Patton and therefore not identified)
Sir John Philipps Bart MP (c.1667-1737) (KS 1679, but not fully identified in Record)
Edward Phillips (1709 – living 1730s) (not fully identified in Record)
John Scudamore, 2nd Viscount Scudamore (I) MP (1649-1697) (subsidiary entry) (letter from grandfather printed Nichols, Literary Illustrations, iv. 395, wrongly assumed in Record to relate to another member of his family)
Major-Gen.Alexander Spotswood (1676-1740) (Spotswood MSS)
John Trussell (1575-1648) (refers to William Camden as his “ever to bee reverenced and remembered schoolmaster”)
3: 18 OWW for whom there are entries in ODNB and whose names do not appear in Record/Supplement or who are not properly identified in Record/Supplement, and are also not identified as OWW in ODNB, but who were nonetheless educated at the School
Hugh Stuart Boyd (1781-1848) (evidently Boyd, Christian name not stated, in Grant’s house list 1797 ; a letter to him from Elizabeth Barrett Browning refers to his gift to her of “two books you had used at Westminster”)
Rev.Isaac Colfe (c.1559-1597) (Minor Candidate 1576)
William Courten (or Curteen), otherwise Charleton (1642-1702) (in school lists 1656 as Curteen, Christian name not stated, and referred to by Leonard Plukenet (qv) as a schoolfellow)
John Anthony De Grenier Fonblanque KC MP (c.1759-1837)
Rev.George England (1707-1740) (Supplement provides his date of death but no career details)
Capt.William Blennerhassett Fairman (c.1774-1844) (William Fairman who was admitted to the School in 1783 and left in 1785 ; letter in Morning Chronicle newspaper dated 11 Dec 1807 enables this identification)
Richard Nichols (c.1623-1672) (in ODNB as Nicolls) (not fully identified in Record)
Laurence Nowell (c.1531- living 1569) (KS, left 1549, not otherwise identified in Record)
Vice-Adm.Christopher Parker (1761-1804) (subsidiary entry) (adm.1773, left 1777, not otherwise identified in Record)
Capt.Sir Peter Parker Bart RN MP (1785-1814) (adm.1797, left 1799, John Smith MSS, Leeds University Library)
Sir William Parsons DMus FSA (c.1746-1817) (Tomahawk, 1795, p.373)
Henry Rowles (1777-1840) (adm.1785, not otherwise identified in Record)
John Skeffington, 2nd Viscount Massereene (I) PC(I) (1632-1695) (Newdigate, Cavalier and Puritan in the days of the Stuarts, 1901, p.149, where Skeffington describes himself as a schoolfellow at Westminster of Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu)
Frank Hall Standish (1799-1840) (adm.1812 as Frank Hall, not further identified in Record but see Baker Baker MSS, Durham University Library)
John Stone (d.1667) (subsidiary entry) (Vertue, Notebooks, I, 93)
William Tyler RA (c.1728-1801) (adm.1737, left 1743, not otherwise identified in Record but see Farrington, Diary, ii, p.614, entry for 20 July 1796)
Sir Henry George Ward GCMG MP (1797-1860) (adm.1808, left 1810 to go to Harrow School)
Gen.Sir Henry Warde GCB (1766-1834) (Steward of OW Anniversary Dinner at Madras for 1811, presumably Henry Ward who was adm.1777 and left 1785)
THUS 122 INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE EDUCATED AT THE SCHOOL BUT ARE ONLY IDENTIFIED AS SUCH IN ONE OR OTHER OF THE OWW RECORDS OR ODNB.
4: 9 individuals for whom there are entries in ODNB, and who are claimed as certain or possible OWW both in Record/Supplement and in ODNB, but for whose education at the School further evidence would be helpful
Sir Edward Bacon MP (c.1549-1618) (subsidiary entry) (see doubts expressed in ODNB)
Rev.Robert Beaumont DD (c.1520-1567) (no specific evidence for his education at the School traced)
Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, Bart. (1571-1631) (no specific evidence for his education at the School traced)
John Crosdill (c.1751-1825) (chorister at Westminster Abbey, so likely to have been educated at the School, but, as observed in ODNB, his education at the School is only “reputed”)
Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel (1586-1646) (earliest reference to him having been educated at the School is a not very specific statement by Lloyd, Memoirs, 1677, p.284, that he was “bred … at Westminster near London”)
Right Rev.William Morgan DD (Bishop of St Asaph) (c.1545-1604) (earliest reference to him having been educated at the School is by Browne Willis, Survey … St Asaph, 1720, p.83)
Gen.Sir James Murray-Pulteney, Bart. PC MP (d.1811) (no specific evidence for him having been educated at the School traced, although his half-brother, Gen.Sir John Murray, was certainly an OW)
Robert Paston, 1st Earl of Yarmouth (1631-1683) (earliest reference to him having been educated at the School seems to be by Blomefield, History of the County of Norfolk, 1769, iii, 699)
Hon. and Right Rev.Richard Trevor DD (Bishop of Durham) (1707-1771) (for his education at the School see Nichols, Literary Anecdotes, ix, 241-50, which ought to be a reliable source, but it is puzzling that his name is not in the admission register or school lists)
5: 4 individuals for whom there are entries in ODNB, and who are claimed as OWW in Record/Supplement, but who are not claimed as OWW in ODNB, for whose education at the School further evidence would be helpful
Rev.William Heale (c.1581-1628) (stated in Record to have been at school under Camden and Ireland, but no specific evidence for this traced)
Nathaniel Lee (1653-1692) (earliest reference to him having been educated at the School is by Baker, Biog.Dram., 1812, i, pt.ii, p.448)
David Lewis (c.1681-1760) (no specific evidence for his education at the School traced)
Gen.Sir John Wilson KCB (c.1780-1856) (his inclusion in Record is based on a statement in Illustrated London News, xxxix, pp 7-8, but ODNB records him as having been educated at Harrow School)
6: 6 possible OWW for whom there are entries in ODNB, who are not claimed as OWW in Record/Supplement or who are not properly identified in Record/Supplement, but who are claimed as OWW or possible OWW in ODNB
William Bridgeman FRS (d.1699) (maybe Bridgeman, Christian name not stated, in school lists 1656)
Henry Fitzgeffrey (d.1640) (presumably Henry Fitzgeofry (sic), who was a KS and elected to Trinity Coll.Cambridge in 1611)
Henry Higden (1645- living 1693) (maybe one of two Higdons in school lists 1656)
John Hoddesdon (d.1659) (not in Record/Supplement but divinably a school friend and contemporary of John Dryden)
James Murphy French (1725-1758) (subsidiary entry) (claimed as OW in ODNB on basis of a statement to that effect in Jesse Foot’s The Life of Arthur Murphy, 1811, and maybe therefore James French, adm.1737, left 1740, but Murphy French’s father was Richard Murphy, and it would be slightly surprising if his son had already adopted the additional or substitute surname French by as early as 1737)
William Wade (1735-1809) (claimed as OW in ODNB, no evidence cited and not in admission register, but maybe Wade, Christian name not stated, in school list 1742)
7: 6 possible OWW for whom there are entries in ODNB, who are not in Record/Supplement or who are not properly identified in Record/Supplement, and are also not claimed as OWW in ODNB, but for whom an education at the School can be suggested
Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway PC FRS (c.1623-1683) (recorded as an OW by the late J.B.Whitmore, but his evidence for this has not so far been traced)
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich PC FRS FSA (General in Army) (1718-1792) (styled Lord Montagu to 1729 and quite possibly “Lord Montague” whose name appears in under school lists 1726-7, before going on to Eton, where he was adm.1728 ; an alternative suggestion that “Lord Montague” recorded in the under school lists was Lord Montagu Bertie (adm.1724) seems less likely)
Henry Purcell (c.1659-1695) (a Henry Purcell appears in the Abbey accounts as a Bishop’s Boy in 1678-80 ; if this was the celebrated Henry Purcell, he would have been too old by then to have attended lessons at the School, but he may have been treated as a pupil for book-keeping purposes so that he could receive the maintenance payments allotted to Bishop’s Boys)
Richard Suett (1755-1805) (Suett, Christian name not stated, appears in school list for Feb 1767, and it seems very probable that this was Richard Suett, known to have become a Westminster Abbey chorister in 1765)
Sir William Vaughan (c.1575-1641) (his best-known book, The Golden-Grove, Moralized in Three Bookes, 1600, 2nd edn. 1608, apparently provides evidence that he was educated at the School, but this needs verification)
Richard Warner (c.1713-1775) (maybe Richard Warner, adm.1722, still in school list 1729, but positive evidence for this identification is lacking)
TOTAL PROBABLE OR POSSIBLE OWW THEREFORE 25
8: 6 individuals for whom there are entries in ODNB, who are claimed as OWW both in Record/Supplement and in ODNB but who were not or were not proveably educated at the School
Rev.Daniel Burgess (c.1646-1713) (he was a scholar at Winchester Coll. rather than at the School, see JRSAI 1958)
Sir John Hynde Cotton, Bart. MP (1686-1752) (included in Record as having been appointed Steward of the Westminster Anniversary Dinner for 1753, but he was already dead at the date of the Anniversary Dinner in 1752, when Stewards would presumably have been appointed for the following year, and the list of Stewards for 1753 printed in Record is in any case unreliable)
Andrew Drummond (c.1687-1769) (included in Record as having been Steward of the Westminster Anniversary Dinner in 1753, but the Steward for this year was his son John Drummond)
Robert Hampden-Trevor, 1st Viscount Hampden FRS FSA (1706-1783) (included in Record as having been Steward of the Westminster Anniversary Dinner in 1770, but not in admission register, and the Steward in 1770 was his son Thomas Hampden-Trevor, 2nd Viscount Hampden)
Edward Harley MP (1664-1735) (included in Record as having been Steward of the Anniversary Dinner in 1728/9, but he was at school in Oxfordshire until c.1681 and the Steward in 1728/9 was more probably his son Edward Harley, later 3rd Earl of Oxford)
Gen.Charles O’Hara (d.1802) (jncluded in Record as having been Steward of the Anniversary Dinner in 1771, but not in admission register, and the Steward for this year is to be identified as Charles O’Hara MP (1746-1822))
9: 16 individuals for whom there are entries in ODNB, whose names do not appear in Record/Supplement, but who are claimed in ODNB to have been OWW or possible OWW, who were not or not proveably educated at the School
Maj.John André (1750-1780) (ODNB notes a report in the Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser, 24 Nov 1780, that André was at the School “towards the latter end of Dr Markhams time”, but some supporting evidence for André having been at the School is required)
Robert Bensley (c.1741-1817) (ODNB suggests that Bensley “may have attended Westminster School”, but cites no supporting evidence)
Rear-Adm.Sir Richard Bickerton Bart. MP (1727-1792) (ODNB states that he was educated at the School but this seems to be a confusion with his brother Henry Bickerton (adm.1736))
Christopher Brooke (c.1570-1628) (ODNB suggests that “it is possible that he studied at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, like his younger brother Samuel Brooke”, but although Samuel Brooke was at Trinity College, Cambridge, there is no evidence that either Brooke brother attended the School)
Rev.Thomas Browne (Head Master of Westminster School 1564-70) (c.1535-1585) (ODNB states that he was a KS at Westminster School c.1546-50, but he does not feature in Record as an OW, and since he was subsequently a scholar at King’s Coll.Cambridge, he must in reality have been a scholar at Eton College rather than at the School)
Thomas Browne, 4th Viscount Kenmare (I) (1726-1795) (ODNB notes that he was “reportedly educated at Westminster School” (on the basis of a contemporary affidavit among the Kenmare MSS, apparently recording his presence at the School in July 1736), but his name is not in the admission register or school lists, and since he was a Roman Catholic a Westminster education for him seems very unlikely, especially as he was at Douai School, a Roman Catholic establishment, 1736-40)
John Talbot Dillon (1734-1806) (ODNB states that he was at the School c.1742-7 but his name does not appear in the admission register)
Sir John Coke MP (1563-1644) (ODNB states that “he may have attended Westminster School” but cites no supporting evidence)
William Dundas PC MP (1762-1845) (an intention to send him to Westminster School in the early 1770s is documented, but his name does not appear in the admission register, and it may have been decided that he would not after all be entered at the School)
George Ellis MP (1753-1815) (ODNB states that he was educated at Westminster School and Trinity Coll.Cambridge, but the statement about Trinity is erroneous and the entry on him in History of Parliament, House of Commons 1790-1820 suggests that he may have been at Eton College 1764-70)
Gen.Hon.Henry Edward Fox (1755-1811) (ODNB states that he was educated at Westminster School, but he was in fact educated at Eton College)
Rev.John Hygdon (d.1532) (ODNB records him as “attending Westminster School”, but this would have been the pre-Dissolution school attached to the Abbey, and no supporting evidence is cited)
Henry Bilson Legge PC MP (1708-1764) (ODNB notes a report that he was attending the School in 1724, but his name does not appear in the admission register or school lists)
Rev.Michael Lort DD (c.1725-1790) (ODNB records a claim by his contemporary Rev.William Cole that Lort was educated at the School, but his name does not appear in the admission register or school lists)
Anthony Stafford (c.1587- living 1645) (ODNB states that “he may have received his early education at Westminster School”, but cites no supporting evidence)
James Tobin (1737-1817) (ODNB states that he was educated at the School, but his name does not appear in the admission register)
10: 7 individuals for whom there are entries in ODNB, who are claimed in Record/Supplement to have been educated at the School, but who are not identified as OWW in ODNB, and who were not or not proveably educated at the School
Lieut.-Col.Henry Cadogan (1780-1813) (claimed as OW in evidence of Rev.T.W.Weare to Public Schools Commission 21 Jun 1862, but stated in ODNB
to have been educated at Eton College, and he was certainly at Charterhouse School 1788-90)
William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury (1591-1668) (claimed as OW in Record, but he was at Sherborne School in 1600 and there is no reliable evidence for him having been at Westminster)
Robert Johnson (Governor South Carolina) (c.1676-1735 ) (claimed as OW in Record on a misinterpretation of a passage in a letter of 23 Jun 1732, printed Autobiography of Mrs Delaney, i, 359)
Most Rev.Peter Lombard DD (RC Archbishop of Armagh) (c.1554-1625) (claimed as OW in Record on the basis of a letter from William Camden in which he claims to have taught a Peter Lombard, but the chronology of the RC Archbishop’s career does not allow him to have been at the School while Camden was teaching there, and the Peter Lombard referred to in the letter may have been a relative of the same name)
Rev.Abraham Robertson DD FRS (1751-1826) (claimed as OW in Record on basis of his entry in DNB, but the suggestion that he was educated at the School is not repeated in ODNB, and the facts and chronology of his career make an education for him at the School unlikely)
Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland KG PC (1675-1722) (claimed as OW in Record on basis of a letter of 15 Jun 1710 printed HMC 12th Report, Appendix v, p.190, but the OW referred to there is not Lord Sunderland but William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth)
Thomas Worsley MP (1711-1778) (claimed as OW in Record on a misunderstanding of a statement in The World, 31 March 1787, but not in admission register or school lists, and he was at Eton College 1725-8)
TOTAL LESS LIKELY OWW OR NOT IN FACT OWW THEREFORE 29