Dr. William Haig Brown

Dr. William Haig Brown, Headmaster of Charterhouse School who was headmaster of Charterhouse from 1863 to 1897, was one of the four great reforming headmasters of Victorian public schools along with Thomas Arnold of Rugby, Benjamin Hall Kennedy (1804-1889, headmaster of Shrewsbury 1836-1866) and Edward Thring (1821-1887, headmaster of Uppingham 1853-87). This photograph of Haig Brown comes from Harold Begbie's biography of Baden-Powell, founder of the boy scouts. The fourth chapter, entitled "Carthusians," relates Baden-Powell's time at Charterhouse and describes the headmaster as having "a great reputation for sternness" and Baden-Powell as not being daunted by it [JB]

Related material

  • Introduction
  • Charterhouse School
  • The Public School Experience in Victorian Literature