The public schools of England are not supported out of public funds but organised privately outside the State educational system. Originally they shared certain features including concentration on the classics, training in leadership, and a prefect system. But music was long absent from the curriculum until efforts to restore it were begun in the mid-nineteenth century.In this new study the achievements of individual teachers in particular schools to redevelop music there are described. The author has assembled first-hand accounts of the state of music in leading schools during the critical period of its growth.