Previous to Schaffer's ownership, the principal part of the building was in the occupation of Mr. Christopher Bardin, an old gentleman of venerable aspect, who conducted a private school at modest fees, in the days when public elementary was in its infancy. Just as the refectory of the Benedictines became the King's School, so the refectory of the Franciscans became Mr. Bardin's. There he trained more than one generation of small shopkeepers, continuing to keep the school long after it had ceased to keep him.
The old gentleman, in his later years fell on evil days, as was not uncommon with private schoolmasters, but he was a fine gentleman to the last, with his dignified bearing and old world courtesy.