The Old Grammar School (Feb.2024)

The Old Grammar School

Anyone who knows Market Harborough will know of the Old Grammar School, which stands in the Square adjacent to St Dionysius’ Church in the centre of the town.

The money to pay for the Grammar School building was endowed by Robert Smyth, a London merchant who had a number of links with Market Harborough, and today has a school named after him.

What is unusual about the old school building is that it has five Bible texts carved into its walls. Of these five texts, three are from the Old Testament and two from the New. Of the three Old Testament texts, two are from the Psalms and one from a biblical prophecy. Of the two New Testament texts, one is from a Gospel and one from the book of Revelation.

Taken together, what is important is that they are all from the word of God, and convey to us the message that God wants us to hear and heed today, in 2024, 413 years after the King James Version of the Bible was published. It reminds us that God’s message to mankind does not change.

The Old Grammar School was built in 1614, and the texts displayed on it are from the King James version of the Bible, completed in 1611.  The translation could not have been more recent.

The two texts from the Psalms which are displayed are Psalm 122:1: I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” and Psalm 127:1: Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.  The text from the Gospel of Matthew is from Chapter six, verse 33: Seek ye first the kingdom of God.

These verses contain principles which are fundamental to the relationship we are meant to have with the ever-living God.

Let us make sure that we are taking God’s word to heart. It is not meant to be merely a decoration on the outer walls of old buildings, but is meant to be observed and followed every hour of every day. None of us can afford to neglect this.   Every one of us is accountable to the God who rules this world.