The Fascinating Story Behind London’s Bluecoat Statues

One of my favourite oddities to spot around London are ‘bluecoat’ statues. You will occasionally see them, most often in a pair, a girl and a boy, on the front of buildings. They are usually there because the building was once what was known as a ‘bluecoat’ school.

Bluecoat, sometimes spelt ‘blewcoat’, schools were charitable schools set up for children from deprived backgrounds from the 16th to 18th century. Girls and boys were segregated and taught skills so that they could get jobs and earn a living. 

Christ’s Hospital

Christ’s Hospital was the first such ‘bluecoat’ school and set the trend for more. It was set up in the City of London in 1552 by King Edward VI for the impoverished and fatherless children of London.

The Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII led to the poor and destitute, once looked after by the monasteries, being essentially thrown out onto the streets with no care.

Christ’s Hospital was therefore set up, on the old grounds of the Greyfriars monastery, to fulfill this role. The ‘Christ’ part came from the parish of Christchurch in which it stood and ‘Hospital’ refers to the providing of shelter, food and care, from the original sense of the word meaning hospitality.

The school moved to Horsham, in West Sussex, in 1902 where it remains. It is a private school today but, due to its charitable beginnings, it is unusual in that most of its students receive bursaries.

The Uniform

The children at Christ’s Hospital wore blue coats as part of their uniform because blue was apparently one of the cheapest dyes to obtain at the time. They also had knee breeches and yellow socks.

The socks were dyed with saffron and onion which allegedly deterred the rats and fleas from biting the children’s ankles! The uniform is still worn at Christ’s Hospital to this day.

On Newgate Street, at the school’s original location, you will find this bronze monument.

The sculpture by Andrew F Brown commemorates the 350 years of the school’s presence in the City of London. It can be found by Christchurch Greyfriars, pictured below.

Christchurch was once part of the Greyfriars monastery, established here in 1225, before becoming the area’s parish church after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It was largely destroyed by bombing in World War Two and today has been transformed into one of the City’s many pocket parks.

Other charitable schools followed in the footsteps of Christ’s Hospital and many were established in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, often attached to churches but also from the donations of rich benefactors. They often took on the same uniform and became a ‘bluecoat’ school.

Below are a few examples of places you can still find bluecoat statues in central London today.

St John of Wapping School

St John of Wapping school was founded in 1695 with the present building, on Scrandett Road, dating from 1760. It was funded by the parish of St John’s Church next door. The two bluecoat statues stand in recesses on the facade and below is a plaque that reads ‘Erected by subscription AD 1760 supported by voluntary distributions’.

The sculptures are made from Coade stone, an artificial stone produced in Lambeth in the 18th and early 19th centuries. 

St Andrew’s Parochial School

St Andrew’s Parochial School on Hatton Garden was built in around 1670. It was built initially as a church to replace St Andrew’s Holborn, just down the road, which was being reconstructed by Sir Christopher Wren at the time.

It became a bluecoat school in 1696 and the sculptures seen outside today are original. Today’s St Andrew’s Holborn Church, pictured below, also has bluecoat sculptures either side of the entrance. These were once outside the Cross Street entrance to the school on Hatton Garden and moved here after World War Two. 

Caxton Street Bluecoat School

I love this little building in Westminster, now surrounded by glass office blocks. This bluecoat school for boys was founded in 1688.

The beautiful little building was constructed to house the school in 1709, funded by a local brewer. 

From 1714-1876 the school admitted girls as well and the school closed in 1926. During World War Two it was used as a store for the US Army and from 1954 was the National Trust’s London Headquarters. Today it houses various offices and studios.

So, happy bluecoat statue spotting! It is also one of the many details to spot in my book, London: A Guide for Curious Wanderers! You can find out more about it here.

Thank you for reading, more London history below…