Some history: In the 18th century, Billericay had a number of schools or academies, as they called them then, for ‘young ladies and gentlemen,' as well as a grammar school.
'Sheradays', 22 High Street, originally built in the 16th century but re-fronted in Georgian times, was a boys' academy kept by the Rev. George Porter, and here George Fitz George, an illegitimate child of George IV, was a pupil.
The Rev Porter's son, George Shepherd Porter, was also educated here; he became chaplain of Bathurst, Cape of Good Hope and another pupil was Thomas Scrutton, later the rector of Great Sutton.
A relic of the school remains, the names or initials of pupils scratched in the brickwork of the north wall of the house.
