William Price: A Fareham Legacy That Still Lives On

More than three hundred years ago, a Fareham businessman made a decision that would shape education in the town for generations. His name was William Price, a successful timber merchant with strong connections to the parish of St Peter & St Paul. Through his will, written in 1721, Price provided for the education of poor children in Fareham and created a charitable legacy that continues to support young people in the town today.

William Price was born in Fareham in the seventeenth century and was baptised in the parish church. He became a timber merchant and appears to have built up considerable wealth through his business and property. In an age before universal education, social security or widespread public welfare, wealth could easily remain within a family or be passed privately from one generation to the next. Price chose to use a substantial part of what he had accumulated for the benefit of the wider community.

His connection with St Peter & St Paul was important to the way his charity was established. Price was baptised in the parish, lived within it and was eventually buried in the churchyard after his death in 1725. His tomb remains there today. More significantly, his will placed responsibility for aspects of his charitable work with the minister and churchwardens of Fareham. The parish church was therefore woven into the structure of his legacy from the beginning.

Price’s will, dated 24 August 1721, made provision for poor people in Fareham, including assistance for widows and the establishment of a school for thirty poor children. The children were to receive an education and clothing, something that would have been of considerable value to poorer families at the time. Education was still far from universal, and many children had very limited opportunities to learn to read or receive formal teaching.

The school also reflected Price’s Christian convictions. His instructions included teaching children to read the English Bible and giving them instruction in the Christian faith according to the Church of England. For Price, education and Christian discipleship were closely connected. Learning to read opened practical opportunities, but it also enabled children to read Scripture for themselves.

The school became known as Price’s Charity School and was initially associated with Price’s own property in West Street. Like many similar institutions of the period, it belonged to the wider tradition of charity schools sometimes known as “Blue Coat” schools because of the distinctive clothing provided for their pupils. The school served children who might otherwise have had little access to education.

Over time, the institution changed considerably. Although Price’s original provision included both boys and girls, the school later became primarily a boys’ school. By the nineteenth century it was an established part of Fareham life and was sometimes known locally as Price’s or the Blue School. The buildings were rebuilt in 1842 as the school continued to develop.

The nineteenth century brought major changes to education across England. National Schools, Board Schools and eventually a developing system of state-supported education began to provide schooling on a much larger scale. By the end of the century, the educational landscape looked very different from the one William Price had known. The original charity school eventually closed in 1901, with pupils transferring elsewhere.

That might have brought Price’s educational legacy to an end. Instead, the charity adapted. The trustees continued to hold the property and funds that had grown from Price’s original bequest and used them to establish a new school. In the early twentieth century, a new Price’s School opened on a larger site in the Park Lane area of Fareham.

The new institution eventually became known as Price’s Grammar School and was remembered by generations of local families. What had begun as a small charity school for thirty poor children had developed into a substantial educational institution serving a much larger number of pupils. The school grew, changed and became increasingly integrated into the wider education system.

In 1957, Price’s became a Voluntary Controlled school, with Hampshire County Council taking greater responsibility for its operation while the charitable foundation continued to own the site. In the 1970s the school was gradually transformed into a sixth-form college, and later became part of a wider tertiary education system in Fareham.

Eventually, the Price’s School site closed and the buildings were demolished. Yet the charitable foundation survived. The proceeds from the land and other assets were invested, allowing William Price’s original gift to continue serving the educational needs of young people in Fareham long after the school bearing his name had disappeared.

Today, the William Price Charitable Trust continues that work. It provides educational grants to young people and supports schools within the historic Fareham area. Grants can help with educational equipment, travel, opportunities, resources and projects that might otherwise be difficult to fund. More than three centuries after William Price wrote his will, local children and young people are still benefiting from his generosity.

The connection with St Peter & St Paul also continues. The church remains part of the story of the Trust, and the PCC still has a role in nominating a trustee. The Society of Old Priceans, formed by former pupils of Price’s School, has also continued to remember William Price and the history of the school. Anniversary events and services have taken place at St Peter & St Paul, including acts of remembrance at his grave.

William Price’s story is therefore far more than a curious piece of local history. It shows how one person’s decision can shape a community long after his own lifetime. Price could not have imagined modern Fareham, the development of state education, sixth-form colleges, computers or the educational opportunities available today. Yet the principle behind his gift remains easy to understand: he wanted young people in his community to have opportunities they might otherwise miss.

His legacy also tells us something about the historic role of the parish church. St Peter & St Paul was not simply a place where people gathered for worship on Sundays. It stood at the centre of the life of the town, connecting faith, education, charity and responsibility for neighbours. Price’s decision grew out of that world.

More than 300 years after his death, William Price still has a place in Fareham’s story. His grave can still be found at St Peter & St Paul, the memory of Price’s School survives among former pupils and local families, and the charitable trust created from his generosity continues to support education in the town.

Few people are able to see what their generosity will achieve centuries into the future. William Price never knew the generations of children who would benefit from his gift. Yet his decision in 1721 continues to bear fruit in Fareham today.