Nicholas Bomford

Nicholas Raymond Bomford (27 January 1939 – 21 June 2025) was a British schoolmaster who served as headmaster of Monmouth, Uppingham and Harrow schools.

Early life and education Bomford, the son of a farmer, Ernest, and Pat (née Brooke), was born in the Vale of Evesham in Worcestershire in 1939. His father's family had farmed in the Vale since the 16th century. He attended Kelly College in Devon, followed by Trinity College, Oxford, where he read history, and captained the university rifle club.

Career Bomford's first teaching posts were at the Britannia Royal Naval College and Wellington College, Berkshire. He was appointed headmaster of Monmouth School in 1977, at the age of thirty-eight. During his time at the school, he initiated the construction of the school's new science block, opened by Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon in May 1982. The same year he took up the role of head at Uppingham School. During his tenure at Uppingham, in November 1984, Bomford entertained the then queen, Elizabeth II on a visit to the school, as the culmination of its quatercentenary celebrations. A history of the school, published in 2018, described his headship: "[he] valued pupils as individuals, managed a smooth-running school, and led a harmonious community". Between 1986 and 1989 he chaired the Headmasters' Conference. His time at Harrow also saw the commencement of a major restoration of the school's Vaughan Library, which was completed in 2000; and the appointment of the first women to the school's teaching staff.

Personal life and death Bomford married Gillian Reynolds in 1966. The couple had two daughters. On leaving Harrow, Bomford retired to Newland, Gloucestershire, just to the south of the town of Monmouth, where he held his first headship. He published a memoir, The Long Meadow, in 2013. He died on 21 June 2025, at the age of 86.