National Civil War Centre unveils 400-year-old school graffiti to public
I have been really pleased to see the bravery and ambition of Newark and Sherwood in getting this initiative off the ground. This is a lovely little story which helps show case one of the positive unintended findings arising from their initiative. With Walt Disney having a walk on role
Graffiti left by schoolboys up to 400 years ago has been revealed to the public for the first time.
The graffiti was discovered etched on walls at the Old Magnus Building in Newark ahead of work to create the National Civil War Centre on the site.
The building was originally a grammar school and the attic where the markings were found was used as a dormitory.
The list of names include R. Disney 1608 – believed to be an ancestor of Walt Disney.
Walt Disney’s family came from Norton Disney, a village in between Lincoln and Newark.
He is known to have visited the area in 1949, while researching his family’s past.
Manager Michael Constantine said the graffiti was daubed on the walls by pupils at the school.
He said: “We think school discipline would have been a bit more fierce back in the 1600s, so it was probably the thing the children did the day before they were due to leave.