The old Society comprised the Warden, ten Fellows, three Chaplains,
sixteen Queristers, and seventy scholars. The boys, the chaplains, and
the choristers lived within the inner quadrangle, the northern side of
which is formed by the chapel and the refectory. The original chapel,
with the exception of the beautiful fan-groining of its roof, was much
defaced in the seventeenth century, but was restored in the nineteenth,
when a new reredos was added. The refectory remains practically
untouched, and has a roof enriched with some beautiful carved woodwork,
the painted heads of kings and bishops, and some great mullioned
windows. Over the buttery is the audit-room, hung with ancient and rare
tapestries, and containing a large chest known as Wykeham's money box.
The original schoolroom was in the basement, and has long been put to
other uses. The chantry, the beautiful cloisters, and the chapel tower
were all built after the founder's death, but he provided a wooden bell
tower, which stood away from the chapel, so that the main building
should not be injured by the vibration of the bells.
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