The Silver Arrow at Harrow

From the school’s early days Harrow boys shot at the butts for a silver arrow, and John Lyon’s ordinances of 1592 told parents to supply bow-shafts, bowstrings and a bracer. On 4 August six, later twelve, archers in spangled satin with green silk sashes competed; a shot within the circles round the bull’s-eye was greeted with French horns, and the winner marched back to the town at the head of the boys and gave a ball in the school room. The contest drew disorderly crowds from London, and the headmaster, Dr Heath, abolished it in 1771. The school kept the unused arrow made for 1772, and the shooting gave way to annual speeches.