"Ormesby and North Yorkshire Area"

In 1823, Ormesby was described as: "A parish in the wapentake and liberty of Langbargh; 6 miles W. of Guisborough.   Ormesby hall is a neat modem mansion, situated upon a gentle rising eminence, at a little distance from the village, towards the south, and commands a pleasing prospect of the winding course of the river Tees, with a view of the sea, and the southern part of the county of Durham.   The church, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, stands near the mansion, and is a small, and very ancient structure; the living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Archbishop of York.   Here is a public school, supported by voluntary contributions.   Population - 349. The family of the Pennymans it is said, came from Saxony, before the conquest, and settled in Kent.   Sir William Pennyman of Marsk, was the first baronet, so created by Charles I but we don't find them settled at Ormesby till the latter part of the reign of queen Elizabeth, when it appears they were in possession of the manors and principal estates here. James Pennyman, was a loyalist in the time of King Charles I

and had a large sum levied upon him for his loyalty, by the sequestrators.  To defray the expense, he was obliged to dispose of a part of his estate, at Ormesby which was sold to Mr. Elwes, for the sum of £3,500.   As a proof of the rapid improvement and advance in the value of landed property in England within 50 years, it may be remarked, that this estate was purchased about the year 1720 by Ralph Robinson, for the sum of £7,500.   In the year 1770, it was sold by his nephew, Marshall Robinson, to the late Sir James Pennyman, Bart. for the sum of £47,500."  (From Langdale's Yorkshire Dictionary (1822) and Baine's Directory of the County of York (1823))

"John Hymers - Founder of Hymer's College"

"Robert Hymers - Brother of the Founder of the College"

John Hymers, the man who laid the financial foundations of Hymers College, hardly confirmed to the typical image of a benevolent philanthropist.   Born in 1803, the son of a tenant farmer, he was educated at Sedburgh School and went on to Cambridge.   Here hard work and a brilliant intellect enabled him to gain the scholarships which helped ease the circumstances of a period of hardship. Although ordained as an Anglican he initially pursued a successful career as a Cambridge mathematician.   In 1852, however, he resigned his fellowship at St. John's College to become Rector of Brandesburton.   It was a radical move for a man in his 50th year with more experience in the academic world than agricultural.   To ease his isolation he took frequent train journeys around the country, and his enthusiasm for rail

travel sowed the seeds for the creation of Hymers College.   In addition to patronising the railways as a passenger John Hymers invested shrewdly in them, and thus accumulated considerable wealth.

Aware from his own experience of the inadequacy of secondary education in Hull, Hymers decided to contribute to its improvement.   When he died in 1887, at the age of 83, he left the greater part of an estate of £170,000 "to found and endow a school for the training of intelligence in whatever social rank of life it may be found among the vast and varied population of the Town and Port of Hull".

Ironically the home-made will containing this meticulous direction was in fact fatally flawed.   Hymers had instructed that the funds for the school's foundation should be generated through the sale of his land, but property law forbade a testator to devote land to charity after his death.   This will was thus invalid and John Hymers' brother Robert became the unintended beneficiary.

John Hymers's dream could have ended there but fortunately Robert Hymers was prevailed upon to honour the wishes of his brother and donated £50,000 to found the school.

Fortuitously Hull's Botanic Gardens closed around this time, which enabled its artistically landscaped park to be purchased as a site for the new school.   Even as the building was being constructed, controversy broke out over the intention to confine the Hymers scheme to boys.  Two schoolmistress sisters, Janet and Christina Bremner, argued strongly against this restriction but their appeals were eventually dismissed.

The school's first headmaster, C. H. Gore, was an able administrator, a gifted teacher and a cultured gentleman with a love of music.   He was also a man of the highest principle, and under his direction Hymers College rapidly established a reputation as a school of distinction.

He was followed in 1927 by W. V. Caville, regarded by some as the archetypal strong headmaster.   He demanded the highest standards in both work and games and enforced a rigid discipline on staff and boys alike.   Although occasionally jovial and capable of many unpublished acts of kindness he was autocratic in his approach and never reluctant to wield the cane.

Since Cavill's departure in 1951 only four men have occupied the headmaster's study: Harry Roach; John Ashurst; Bryan Bass; and now John Morris.

In 1971 one Hilary Atkinson formed a small niche in the school's history, for in 1971 she gave the sisters Bremner the last laugh by becoming the first female pupil at Hymers.   Initially girls were restricted to the Sixth Form but today the school is fully co-educational.

With its first century now behind it Hymers College looks to its second century with admirable optimism.   Traditional values and studies are still highly regarded but a wide range of new subjects has been introduced to prepare pupils for the demands of the future.   Such far-sightedness would no doubt gain the approval of John Hymers, whose appreciation of the potential of the newly developing railways made all this possible.