Edward Pickard
Encyclopedia
Rev. Dr Edward Pickard was a dissenting minister who founded the Orphan Working School in 1758. The Orphan school would eventually become a school in Reigate
in Surrey. He also led a group who tried to change the law restricting the rights of dissenting ministers.
in Warwickshire in 1714. He attended a number of dissenting schools before taking up with a congregation. However his views changed through Calvinism
to Arianism
and he moved on through a number of churches before coming to London as an afternoon preacher.
In 1758 he was working as an assistant to Thomas Newman at the Presbyterian meeting in Carter Lane. Whilst there he was the leading light of fourteen people who met and founded the Orphan Working School. In the following year, Newman died and he took over the congregation.
Between 1772 and 1774, Pickard gathered together the dissenting ministers in order that the terms of the 1689 Toleration Act
for dissenting clergy could be modified. Under his leadership parliament twice considered a bill to modify the law. Both were unsuccessful and it was not until Pickard and many had lost interest that a new attempt was made in 1779.
Pickard died of a fever in 1778 outliving Frances Sanderson, his wife. His orphan school went on under the guidance of Joseph Soul
to arrive in the twentieth century where it was transformed into an orphanage for the poor into The Royal Alexandra and Albert School
, a boarding school in Surrey.
Reigate
Reigate is a historic market town in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs, and in the London commuter belt. It is one of the main constituents of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead...
in Surrey. He also led a group who tried to change the law restricting the rights of dissenting ministers.
Biography
Pickard was born in AlcesterAlcester
Alcester is an old market town of Roman origin at the junction of the River Alne and River Arrow in Warwickshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 8 miles south of Redditch, close to the Worcestershire border...
in Warwickshire in 1714. He attended a number of dissenting schools before taking up with a congregation. However his views changed through Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
to Arianism
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
and he moved on through a number of churches before coming to London as an afternoon preacher.
In 1758 he was working as an assistant to Thomas Newman at the Presbyterian meeting in Carter Lane. Whilst there he was the leading light of fourteen people who met and founded the Orphan Working School. In the following year, Newman died and he took over the congregation.
Between 1772 and 1774, Pickard gathered together the dissenting ministers in order that the terms of the 1689 Toleration Act
Act of Toleration 1689
The Act of Toleration was an act of the English Parliament , the long title of which is "An Act for Exempting their Majestyes Protestant Subjects dissenting from the Church of England from the Penalties of certaine Lawes".The Act allowed freedom of worship to Nonconformists who had pledged to the...
for dissenting clergy could be modified. Under his leadership parliament twice considered a bill to modify the law. Both were unsuccessful and it was not until Pickard and many had lost interest that a new attempt was made in 1779.
Pickard died of a fever in 1778 outliving Frances Sanderson, his wife. His orphan school went on under the guidance of Joseph Soul
Joseph Soul
Joseph Soul was a nineteenth century British reformer who worked for 36 years to assist the plight of orphaned children in London and in support of the abolition of slavery...
to arrive in the twentieth century where it was transformed into an orphanage for the poor into The Royal Alexandra and Albert School
The Royal Alexandra and Albert School
The Royal Alexandra and Albert School is a co-educational, comprehensive, state maintained boarding school located in Reigate, Surrey. The current, full-time headmaster is Mr. Paul Spencer Ellis...
, a boarding school in Surrey.