William Willymott: From Scholar, to Scandal, to Suspected Jacobite, & Vice-Provost of King’s

William Willymott (bap. 1672 - d. 1737) began his long and varied educational career at Eton from 1685 to 1692, where he was a King’s Scholar, a charitably endeavour founded by King Henry VI. His scholarship earned him a place at the sister institution, King’s College, Cambridge, where he became a fellow in 1695 and achieved a BA, MA, and LLD (1707). During the interim between his MA and LLD, he stood in post as assistant master at Eton, during which time he published several text books on English and Latin grammar, which remained in pedagogical currency until the 19th century. He attempted to establish his own private school in Isleworth, but was unsuccessful. Our grammarian-scholar was next a private tutor for an Cambridgeshire family, but was dismissed for causing scandal by “endeavouring to pay his addresses to one of the ladies of the family”. His advances spurred, he next studied civil law, and entered the Doctors’ Common in 1707. In 1721, he applied for the mastership of St Paul’s School; however, this time it was political scandal which saw his rejection, as he was suspected of supporting the Old Pretender, James III, and the restoration of the Stuarts. Despite these suspicions, Willymott returned to King’s College, where he was appointed vice-provost, and was ordained a deacon (1730) and then a priest (1735), and was presented to the rectory of Milton the same year. He remained a life-long bachelor and died in the Swan Inn, Bedford, returning from a trip to Bath in 1737.