Samuel Butler was appointed headmaster in 1798. Writing at this time he observed: "This school was once the Eton or the Westminster of Wales and all Shropshire", and under his leadership the school's reputation, which had receded from the Civil War, again grew. In 1839 an incident known as the "Boiled Beef Row" took place, where the boys walked out of the school in protest at the food, and the praepostors were all removed from office. In this period (1818–1825) Charles Darwin attended the school.