Eton

Eton, a town in the county of Buckingham, on the left bank of the Thames, which separates it from Windsor, the two towns being united by an iron bridge. Eton College, one of the chief public schools of England, was founded by Henry VI. in 1440, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. Besides the college, which has a Provost and fellows and seventy scholars, there is a varying number - generally about 900 - of Oppidans ("town-boys"), as the pupils not on the foundation are called. The scholars are lodged in college, but the Oppidans are distributed among boarding houses kept by masters, "dames," or others, in various parts of the town. Candidates for scholarships must be between 12 and 15 years of age, while Oppidans are admitted between the ages of 10 and 14. There are scholarships and exhibitions to Oxford and Cambridge. The college, parts of which date from the years immediately following the foundation, is chiefly Perpendicular, but additions are constantly being made according to the requirements of modern education. The older buildings consist of two quadrangles, containing chapel, upper and lower schools, masters' rooms, provost's lodge, fellows' apartments, and library. Till comparatively recent times the curriculum was entirely classical, but now the ordinary subjects of a liberal education are also admitted. The playing fields of Eton are famous, and its cricketers often win renown afterwards at Oxford or Cambridge and elsewhere, while the facilities for boating on the Thames make the Etonian oarsmen valuable recruits for College and University eights. There is also a numerous cadet corps, which forms a battalion of itself. The old custom of Eton Montem has been abolished. [Montem.]