Nathaniel Woodard
Encyclopedia
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. He founded 11 schools for the middle classes in England whose aim was to provide education based on sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith. His educational principles are promoted today through the Woodard Corporation
Woodard Schools
Woodard Schools is a group of Anglican schools affiliated to the Woodard Corporation which has its origin in the work of Nathaniel Woodard, an Anglo-Catholic clergyman....
.
Early life
Woodard was born at BasildonBasildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
Hall in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
(now known as Barstable Hall) the son of a country gentleman of limited means and was brought up and educated privately by his pious and devout mother. In 1834 he entered Magdalen Hall, Oxford (later merged into Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...
), where his academic studies were interrupted by marriage - although he took a pass degree in 1840.
As a result of the influence of his mother, Woodard's religious sympathies were Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
when he first became a student at Oxford, but, whilst he was there, he soon found himself strongly drawn to the growing Tractarian Movement and, as a result, developed Anglo-Catholic sympathies which he kept for the remainder of his life.
Career
He was ordained in 1841 and obtained a curacy at St Bartholomew's, Bethnal GreenBethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
. Here he started a church school for the children of deprived parishioners. As a result of a controversial sermon - in which he argued that The Book of Common Prayer should include separate provision for confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
and absolution
Absolution
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This concept is found in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican churches, and most Lutheran churches....
- he was moved to another curacy at St. John's, Clapton
Lower Clapton
Lower Clapton is a district within the London Borough of Hackney.It is immediately adjacent to central Hackney - bounded, roughly, by the western side of Hackney Downs , the Lea Valley , Clifden Road and the Lea Bridge Road...
.
In 1846, obtaining a curacy at St Mary de Haura Church
St Mary de Haura Church, Shoreham-by-Sea
St Mary de Haura Church is an Anglican church in the ancient "New Shoreham" area of Shoreham-by-Sea in the district of Adur, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex...
in New Shoreham
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
, he was again struck by the poverty, and the lack of education amongst his middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
parishioners—many of whom were less well educated than many of their employees who had been educated in the parochial school. He opened a day school in his vicarage, and in 1848 he started St Nicholas' School, which took boarders
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
. This was merged in 1849 merged to form the College of St Mary and St Nicholas, which eventually formed the present day Lancing College
Lancing College
Lancing College is a co-educational English independent school in the British public school tradition, founded in 1848 by Nathaniel Woodard. Woodard's aim was to provide education "based on sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith." Lancing was the first of a...
. It was from these beginnings that he started to work full time on promoting educational projects, resigning from his curacy in 1850. Woodard was supported in these endeavours by Edward Clarke Lowe
Edward Clarke Lowe
Edward Clarke Lowe was an English educator and a key participant in the foundation and development of the Woodard Schools.-Early life and education:...
, headmaster and director of many of the schools, who prevailed upon him in 1874 to provide for the education of women at the schools founded in Abbots Bromley
Abbots Bromley
Abbots Bromley is a village in Staffordshire, England. It is famous for the annual Abbots Bromley Horn Dance. It is also the home of one of the Woodard Schools, Abbots Bromley School for Girls...
.
The extent of his success was recognised in 1870 when Oxford University bestowed on him the degree of DCL
Doctor of Civil Law
Doctor of Civil Law is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws degrees....
and he was made Canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Manchester Cathedral
Manchester Cathedral
Manchester Cathedral is a medieval church on Victoria Street in central Manchester and is the seat of the Bishop of Manchester. The cathedral's official name is The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George in Manchester...
by Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
. Woodard used the majority of the generous stipend which went with his position as Canon towards the funds for building the schools.
In accordance with his firm Anglo-Catholic beliefs, and in contrast to similar although less successful work by Joseph Lloyd Brereton
Joseph Lloyd Brereton
Prebendary Joseph Lloyd Brereton, , was an educational reformer and writer, who founded inexpensive schools for the education of the middle classes. Through his work and writings he influenced others to make similar foundations.-Life:Brereton was born on 19 October 1822 at Little Massingham...
there were no concessions to either those Anglicans of the low church
Low church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
or to those belonging to non-conformist churches. The efforts of Woodard and his supporters raised about £500,000 by the time of his death in 1891, and Woodard succeeded in gaining the admiration of people like William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
and Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator...
.
His tomb is in the chapel of Lancing College
Lancing College
Lancing College is a co-educational English independent school in the British public school tradition, founded in 1848 by Nathaniel Woodard. Woodard's aim was to provide education "based on sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith." Lancing was the first of a...
.
Schools founded by Woodard
There are 11 in total and they include:- Lancing CollegeLancing CollegeLancing College is a co-educational English independent school in the British public school tradition, founded in 1848 by Nathaniel Woodard. Woodard's aim was to provide education "based on sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith." Lancing was the first of a...
(1848) - Hurstpierpoint CollegeHurstpierpoint CollegeHurstpierpoint College is an independent, co-educational, day and boarding school for pupils aged 4–18, located just to the north of the village of Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex in the lee of the South Downs...
(1849) - Ardingly CollegeArdingly CollegeArdingly College is a selective independent co-educational boarding and day school, founded in 1858 by Canon Nathaniel Woodard, included in the Tatler list of top public schools. The college is located in the village of Ardingly near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, having moved to its present...
(1858) - Denstone CollegeDenstone CollegeDenstone College is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Denstone,Staffordshire, England and a member school of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is also a Woodard school and as such has a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition. It has continued to show impressive academic...
(formerly St Chad's - 1868) - Abbots Bromley School for GirlsAbbots Bromley School for GirlsAbbots Bromley School for Girls is an independent, fee-paying school for girls aged 3–18 located in the village of Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, England...
(formerly the School of S. Mary and S. Anne - 1874) - King's College (Taunton)King's College (Taunton)King's College is a coeducational, secondary boarding school in Taunton, Somerset, England. It is an independent school of 430 pupils aged 13 to 18, including about 300 boarders. The head of the school is currently Richard Biggs, who started his first academic year in the winter of...
(1880) - Ellesmere CollegeEllesmere CollegeEllesmere College is an independent co-educational English independent school located in Ellesmere and based in rural northern Shropshire, England.-History:...
(1884) - Worksop CollegeWorksop CollegeWorksop College is a co-educational day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 13 to 18 in England. Worksop is split into eight houses - Talbot, Mason, Portland, Pelham and Shirley for boys and Gibbs, Derry and School House for girls.- Origins :...
(formerly St Cuthbert's College - 1890) - Queen Margaret's School, YorkQueen Margaret's School, YorkQueen Margaret's, York is an independent day and boarding school for girls age 11–18 in Escrick Park near York. The school was named after Queen Margaret the Queen of Scotland from c.1070–1093.-History:...
- broke away in the 1980s - Queen Ethelburga's SchoolQueen Ethelburga's SchoolQueen Ethelburga's College is a private school for girls and boys from 5 to 20 years, offering day, weekly and full boarding places. Founded in 1912 in Harrogate it is now located in Thorpe Underwood, near Little Ouseburn...
- Sir Robert Woodard Academy (2009)