'Houses'
OPs will have their designated House name ingrained on their soul. In School Song order:
Tenison (Red)
Wharton (Blue)
Hoste (White)
Nelson (Yellow)
Tenison (Red)
Wharton (Blue)
Hoste (White)
Nelson (Yellow)
Nelson, at Paston
As with many claims to 'Old Boys', historical facts can get confusing and the merest mention of a school can be latched upon (e.g. Stephen Fry - we love the fact you spent longer in the cafe in Aylsham than actually at School). And Nelson was not actually at School (anywhere) for very long - times were such that you went to work, or war, at an early age. But 2-3 years is generally believed to be the case from 1768-71 (his brother, William, enjoyed 6). A good account of Nelson's time at Paston is captured here, however, where any doubters are convincingly dispatched: http://www.aboutnelson.co.uk/schoolpastonnorthwalsham.htm |
Nelson at School - extract 1952I recently found a 3 page study of Nelson at Paston in the 1952 edition of The Pastonian. It will be scanned and available in the Member Memorabilia pages and the extract placed here.
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Captain Sir William Hoste
A nautical tale submitted by KD (click name above for Pastonian history of Hoste)
William Hoste was the son of Dixon Hoste, Rector of Tittleshall, 16 miles south of Burnham Thorpe. The familiy lived at Godwick Hall, east of Tittleshall, which was leased from Sir Edward Coke, Lord Chief Justice of England.
Dixon Hoste was a clergyman of the 'hunting, shooting and fishing' variety. A staunch Whig like his landord Coke, he enjoyed the lifestyle of a country gentleman, notwithstanding that his income was not always sufficient to support it.
William was born on the 26th of August 1780. For a time he went to boarding school at King's Lynn, and then to the Paston School. His older brother, Theodore, was sent to Rugby, but it appears that there was no money left for William to join him there.
In 1792 and early 1793, concern at events across the channel during the French Revolution meant that unemployed naval officers began to be recalled to the service. Once an officer reached the rank of Lieutenant he could draw half pay when not actually on a commission. One such officer was Captain Horatio Nelson, who had been 'on the beach' for 5 years and who was living at Burnham Thorpe. In January 1783 Nelson was given the command of HMS Agamemnon, a 64-gun ship that was being fitted out at Chatham.
At this time there were relatively few careers open for the sons of gentlemen. The church was a popular choice, and the Paston School turned out large numbers of future Vicars. The law was good if you had the intelligence for it.
The navy offered an alternative for those who wanted something a little more active. A boy destined to become an officer would join at the age of 12, usually as 'Captain's Servant'. Within a year or so he would be a Midshipman, by 17 or 18 he would be sitting the Lieutenant's exam and might then be in command of a small ship before he was 20. This was a profession with a very real opportunity for wealth because, in time of war, one eighth of the value of enemy vessels captured by a Royal Navy went to the Captain.
For men like Dixon Hoste this was an attractive proposition. William was not a studious boy and an active lifestyle would suit him. Hoste Senior didn't know any naval officers, so he made some enquiries with Edward Coke. Coke knew of Nelson, introductions were made and Nelson accepted William to join him as a Captain's Servant on Agamemnon.
King Louis was beheaded on the 21st of January 1793 and France declared war on Britain on 1st February. The country was to be at war for most of the next 20 years and during this period the Royal Navy would gain the reputation for professionalism that it still has today. Along the way quite a number of naval officers made a pile of money, not to mention Knighthoods and the odd Baronetcy.
William joined Agamemnon in Portsmouth at the end of April 1793. The ship joined the Mediterranean fleet under Lord Hood, and it was in the Mediterranean area that William saw most of his naval service. In September Agamamneon was sent to Naples, where Nelson met Sir William and Lady Emma Hamilton for the first time. William was introduced to the Hamiltons, although they were to meet again over the years. In 1798 Emma Hamilton said of William 'I say he will be a second Nelson', although it appears that she meant that he would be a great naval leader, not that he would have an adulterous affair with her virtually under her husband's nose.
Extracts from Nelson's letters to his wife mention William frequently. Another Captain's Servant on the Agamamemnon was Josiah Nisbet, Nelson's stepson, but it is clear that William quickly became a favourite. He moved with Nelson to HMS Captain in 1796 and was with him at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. In 1797 he fought in the Battle of Tenerife, in which Nelson lost his arm. Following the death of a Lieutenant Weatherhead in the battle, Nelson promoted William to Lieutenant to fill the vacancy, his position being confirmed in early 1798.
Later that year William was aboard HMS Theseus at the Battle of the Nile, under a Captain Miller. Following the battle Nelson sent his report to London, taking the precaution of sending a duplicate in HMS Mutine, commanded by Thomas Capel. At Naples Captain Capel was to carry on with the dispatch, handing command of the Mutine to her Lieutenant, who was to be William Hoste. Upon taking command William would become an acting Captain, at the age of 18.
William Hoste commanded the Mutine and later HMS Amphion in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic for most of the remainder of his wartime service. In 1805 he missed the Battle of Trafalgar, having been sent by Nelson on a diplomatic mission to Algiers, but later, operating virtually independently in the Adriatic, he was able to make his name, a little money, and to build a reputation for daring and bravery.
Three major actions demonstrate his skills. Two, the capture of the fortress cities of Cattaro and Ragusa, were similar in that they were won by hauling ships' canon up the cliffs to a ridge overlooking the fortifications, giving the French garrisons no option but surrender. These actions have been imortalised in fiction, where they are attributed to Captain Jack Aubrey, who is a principal character Patrick O'Brian's 20 novels of the Aubrey and Maturin series.
The other action of note is the Battle of Lissa (Lissa is now called Vis, and is an island near to the city of Split). Here in 1811 William Hoste defeated Commodore Bernard Dubourdieu's squadron of 7 frigates and 4 smaller warships totalling 276 guns and nearly 2,000 mean with his 4 frigates mounting only 124 guns and manned by less than 900 men.
Seeing how significantly outnumbered they were, Hoste ordered the signal 'Remember Nelson' to be hoisted as they sailed to meet the French fleet. As always, the Royal Navy prevailed through their skill and experience in seamanship and gunnery, losing only 50 men killed and 132 wounded.
After the war William had a number of commands in home waters, including the royal yacht, Royal Sovereign. He lived at Hamble, near Southampton and later at Cobham with his wife, who nursed him through ill health that had plagued him since his early days in the Mediterranean. He died on 6th December 1828, aged 48.
So what of the money? Prize money was almost as important as the glory, and William Hoste made a fair amount - he called it 'pewter', which suggests that it wasn't too important to him. This was probably just as well, because his father managed to spend most of what he made during his early cruises in the Med and Adriatic, living the life of a country gent on a Vicar's pay.
Finally, William was not the only one of the Hoste boys to do well. His brother George, who fought at Waterloo, became a Lieutenant-Colonel and gained a knighthood, a wife and 5 children and a country house in Norfolk. Another brother, Teddy, had a successful naval career, although not one to match William's. It is likely that George and Teddy both attended Paston.
William Hoste was the son of Dixon Hoste, Rector of Tittleshall, 16 miles south of Burnham Thorpe. The familiy lived at Godwick Hall, east of Tittleshall, which was leased from Sir Edward Coke, Lord Chief Justice of England.
Dixon Hoste was a clergyman of the 'hunting, shooting and fishing' variety. A staunch Whig like his landord Coke, he enjoyed the lifestyle of a country gentleman, notwithstanding that his income was not always sufficient to support it.
William was born on the 26th of August 1780. For a time he went to boarding school at King's Lynn, and then to the Paston School. His older brother, Theodore, was sent to Rugby, but it appears that there was no money left for William to join him there.
In 1792 and early 1793, concern at events across the channel during the French Revolution meant that unemployed naval officers began to be recalled to the service. Once an officer reached the rank of Lieutenant he could draw half pay when not actually on a commission. One such officer was Captain Horatio Nelson, who had been 'on the beach' for 5 years and who was living at Burnham Thorpe. In January 1783 Nelson was given the command of HMS Agamemnon, a 64-gun ship that was being fitted out at Chatham.
At this time there were relatively few careers open for the sons of gentlemen. The church was a popular choice, and the Paston School turned out large numbers of future Vicars. The law was good if you had the intelligence for it.
The navy offered an alternative for those who wanted something a little more active. A boy destined to become an officer would join at the age of 12, usually as 'Captain's Servant'. Within a year or so he would be a Midshipman, by 17 or 18 he would be sitting the Lieutenant's exam and might then be in command of a small ship before he was 20. This was a profession with a very real opportunity for wealth because, in time of war, one eighth of the value of enemy vessels captured by a Royal Navy went to the Captain.
For men like Dixon Hoste this was an attractive proposition. William was not a studious boy and an active lifestyle would suit him. Hoste Senior didn't know any naval officers, so he made some enquiries with Edward Coke. Coke knew of Nelson, introductions were made and Nelson accepted William to join him as a Captain's Servant on Agamemnon.
King Louis was beheaded on the 21st of January 1793 and France declared war on Britain on 1st February. The country was to be at war for most of the next 20 years and during this period the Royal Navy would gain the reputation for professionalism that it still has today. Along the way quite a number of naval officers made a pile of money, not to mention Knighthoods and the odd Baronetcy.
William joined Agamemnon in Portsmouth at the end of April 1793. The ship joined the Mediterranean fleet under Lord Hood, and it was in the Mediterranean area that William saw most of his naval service. In September Agamamneon was sent to Naples, where Nelson met Sir William and Lady Emma Hamilton for the first time. William was introduced to the Hamiltons, although they were to meet again over the years. In 1798 Emma Hamilton said of William 'I say he will be a second Nelson', although it appears that she meant that he would be a great naval leader, not that he would have an adulterous affair with her virtually under her husband's nose.
Extracts from Nelson's letters to his wife mention William frequently. Another Captain's Servant on the Agamamemnon was Josiah Nisbet, Nelson's stepson, but it is clear that William quickly became a favourite. He moved with Nelson to HMS Captain in 1796 and was with him at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. In 1797 he fought in the Battle of Tenerife, in which Nelson lost his arm. Following the death of a Lieutenant Weatherhead in the battle, Nelson promoted William to Lieutenant to fill the vacancy, his position being confirmed in early 1798.
Later that year William was aboard HMS Theseus at the Battle of the Nile, under a Captain Miller. Following the battle Nelson sent his report to London, taking the precaution of sending a duplicate in HMS Mutine, commanded by Thomas Capel. At Naples Captain Capel was to carry on with the dispatch, handing command of the Mutine to her Lieutenant, who was to be William Hoste. Upon taking command William would become an acting Captain, at the age of 18.
William Hoste commanded the Mutine and later HMS Amphion in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic for most of the remainder of his wartime service. In 1805 he missed the Battle of Trafalgar, having been sent by Nelson on a diplomatic mission to Algiers, but later, operating virtually independently in the Adriatic, he was able to make his name, a little money, and to build a reputation for daring and bravery.
Three major actions demonstrate his skills. Two, the capture of the fortress cities of Cattaro and Ragusa, were similar in that they were won by hauling ships' canon up the cliffs to a ridge overlooking the fortifications, giving the French garrisons no option but surrender. These actions have been imortalised in fiction, where they are attributed to Captain Jack Aubrey, who is a principal character Patrick O'Brian's 20 novels of the Aubrey and Maturin series.
The other action of note is the Battle of Lissa (Lissa is now called Vis, and is an island near to the city of Split). Here in 1811 William Hoste defeated Commodore Bernard Dubourdieu's squadron of 7 frigates and 4 smaller warships totalling 276 guns and nearly 2,000 mean with his 4 frigates mounting only 124 guns and manned by less than 900 men.
Seeing how significantly outnumbered they were, Hoste ordered the signal 'Remember Nelson' to be hoisted as they sailed to meet the French fleet. As always, the Royal Navy prevailed through their skill and experience in seamanship and gunnery, losing only 50 men killed and 132 wounded.
After the war William had a number of commands in home waters, including the royal yacht, Royal Sovereign. He lived at Hamble, near Southampton and later at Cobham with his wife, who nursed him through ill health that had plagued him since his early days in the Mediterranean. He died on 6th December 1828, aged 48.
So what of the money? Prize money was almost as important as the glory, and William Hoste made a fair amount - he called it 'pewter', which suggests that it wasn't too important to him. This was probably just as well, because his father managed to spend most of what he made during his early cruises in the Med and Adriatic, living the life of a country gent on a Vicar's pay.
Finally, William was not the only one of the Hoste boys to do well. His brother George, who fought at Waterloo, became a Lieutenant-Colonel and gained a knighthood, a wife and 5 children and a country house in Norfolk. Another brother, Teddy, had a successful naval career, although not one to match William's. It is likely that George and Teddy both attended Paston.
Archbishop Tenison
I understand Tenison rose to his post and crowned(?) 2 monarchs in his time ....
Robert Woodhouse (Wodehouse)
Prior to Tenison, the School Song recalled Wodehouse. § Wodehouse was the inventor of the differential calculus, see Forder
(2nd ed) p 154 I found this research within a Pastonian magazine. |
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Poet Laureate Thomas Wharton
tbd - at Paston to 16, then Oxford.