The school was founded in 1499 by
John de Combe, a
precentor of
Exeter Cathedral and former
vicar of Crewkerne, who had been born in the town. He and other later benefactors endowed the school with land and houses. In 1577, the trustees of the school were "six of the most discreetest men in town". In the 17th century, the trustees gave other support to the poor of the town, lending money during the plague, buying fire buckets, and helping to fund the conversion of the
bridewell into a
workhouse. The grammar school building in Abbey Street, immediately north of
St Bartholomew's church, dates from 1636 and was used by the school until 1882. It was reported in 1855 that by a recent order of the
Court of Chancery the school was free to all sons of inhabitants living within six miles of Crewkerne "for instruction in
Latin,
Greek, and the principles of the Established Church". There were then four
exhibitions for former pupils going on to the
University of Oxford and three others, founded by
Lord Wynford, each worth £25 a year for four years, of which two were for the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the third for training in a learned profession. In 1882, the school moved to new premises called de Combe House on Mount Pleasant. On the new site the school had a
house system, and houses included Nelson (red), Blake (blue), Hardy (green), and Drake (yellow). In 1904, after a prolonged financial crisis, the school was closed. In the following year, Wadham School, an ordinary Board of Education secondary school, was opened at de Combe House. The old school building in Abbey Street is now the church hall of the nearby parish church of St Bartholomew's, and is a Grade II
listed building. Many carved initials dating from the 19th century survive in the
dado panelling of the Abbey Street building. ==Notable former pupils==