The Prebendal School is one of the oldest in Britain. It may have existed as long as the Cathedral with which it has always been associated. It may have been a new creation or it may date back nearer to St Wilfrid's time, in the seventh century. The author details its dramatic development especially in the second half of the 20th century. He traces its changing fortunes, its 11th-century establishment, the 13th-century schoolhouse in West Street, the new foundation of 1497, the regicide William Cawley and the vicissitudes of the 19th century.