New College at Hackney
Encyclopedia
The New College at Hackney (more ambiguously known as Hackney College) was a dissenting academy set up in Hackney
, at that time a village on the outskirts of London, by Unitarian
s. It was in existence from 1786 to 1796. The writer William Hazlitt
was among its pupils, sent aged 15 to prepare for the Unitarian ministry, and some of the best-known Dissenting intellectuals spent time on its staff.
, which had been inactive since 1782 as a teaching institution. Almost simultaneously the Hoxton Academy of the Coward Trust, under Samuel Morton Savage
, closed its doors in the summer of 1785. Some of the funding that had backed Warrington was available for a new dissenting academy for the London area, as well as for a northern successor in Manchester
. The London building plans were ambitious, but proved the undoing of the New College, which was soon strained financially.
The successors in the movement as a whole were Manchester New College, and a new Exeter College under Joseph Bretland
, which existed from 1799 to 1805.
, and it is this one that became part of New College London
, and in the end part of the University of London
. Homerton College was at this time in the parish of Hackney, and had been in some form from 1730, as a less ambitious academy; when the New College folded, its future became part of Homerton College's. Robert Aspland
set up a successor Unitarian college at Hackney, in 1813.
Hackney (parish)
Hackney was a parish in the historic county of Middlesex. The parish church of St John-at-Hackney was built in 1789, replacing the nearby former 16th century parish church dedicated to St Augustine . The original tower of that church was retained to hold the bells until the new church could be...
, at that time a village on the outskirts of London, by Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
s. It was in existence from 1786 to 1796. The writer William Hazlitt
William Hazlitt
William Hazlitt was an English writer, remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism, and as a grammarian and philosopher. He is now considered one of the great critics and essayists of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. Yet his work is...
was among its pupils, sent aged 15 to prepare for the Unitarian ministry, and some of the best-known Dissenting intellectuals spent time on its staff.
History
The year 1786 marked the dissolution of Warrington AcademyWarrington Academy
Warrington Academy, active as a teaching establishment from 1756 to 1782, was a prominent dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by those who dissented from the state church in England...
, which had been inactive since 1782 as a teaching institution. Almost simultaneously the Hoxton Academy of the Coward Trust, under Samuel Morton Savage
Samuel Morton Savage
-Life:He was born in London on 19 July 1721. His grandfather, John Savage, was pastor of the seventh-day baptist church, Mill Yard, Goodman's Fields. Savage was related to Hugh Boulter....
, closed its doors in the summer of 1785. Some of the funding that had backed Warrington was available for a new dissenting academy for the London area, as well as for a northern successor in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. The London building plans were ambitious, but proved the undoing of the New College, which was soon strained financially.
The successors in the movement as a whole were Manchester New College, and a new Exeter College under Joseph Bretland
Joseph Bretland
Joseph Bretland , was an English dissenting minister.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Bretland, an Exeter tradesman, was born at Exeter 22 May 1742. He was for several years a day scholar at the Exeter grammar school, and was placed in business in 1757, but shortly after left it for the ministry...
, which existed from 1799 to 1805.
Staff
Its staff included:- Thomas BelshamThomas BelshamThomas Belsham was an English Unitarian minister- Life :Belsham was born in Bedford, England, and was the elder brother of William Belsham, the English political writer and historian. He was educated at the dissenting academy at Daventry, where for seven years he acted as assistant tutor...
who left Daventry AcademyDaventry AcademyDaventry Academy was a dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by English Dissenters. It moved to many locations, but was most associated with Daventry, where its most famous pupil was Joseph Priestley...
in 1789 on becoming a Unitarian, as professor of divinity and resident tutor; - Andrew KippisAndrew KippisAndrew Kippis was an English nonconformist clergyman and biographer.The son of Robert Kippis, a silk-hosier, he was born at Nottingham. Having gone to school at Sleaford in Lincolnshire he passed at the age of sixteen to the Dissenting academy at Northampton, of which Dr Philip Doddridge was then...
; - George Cadogan MorganGeorge Cadogan MorganGeorge Cadogan Morgan was a Welsh dissenting minister and scientist.hereditary principles and defending the idea of absolute sovereignty of the people. By this time, his uncle had died but, instead of succeeding him in his ministry in Hackney, Morgan moved to Southgate and set up a school there...
from 1787 to 1891, who lectured there on electricityElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
; - Richard PriceRichard PriceRichard Price was a British moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the...
; - Joseph PriestleyJoseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
, resident in Hackney from 1791 to 1794, as lecturer on history and natural philosophy, principally chemistry; - Abraham ReesAbraham ReesAbraham Rees was a Welsh nonconformist minister, and compiler of Rees's Cyclopaedia .- Life :He was the second son of Lewis Rees, by his wife Esther, daughter of Abraham Penry, and was born at born in Llanbrynmair, Montgomeryshire. Lewis Rees Abraham Rees (1743 – 9 June 1825) was a Welsh...
who was tutor in Hebrew and mathematics; - and from 1790 Gilbert WakefieldGilbert WakefieldGilbert Wakefield was an English scholar and controversialist.Gilbert Wakefield was the third son of the Rev. George Wakefield, then rector of St Nicholas' Church, Nottingham but afterwards at Kingston-upon-Thames. He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. as second...
.
Students
Among the students were:- Arthur AikinArthur AikinArthur Aikin , English chemist, mineralogist and scientific writer, was born in Warrington, Lancashire into a distinguished literary family of prominent Unitarians....
; - Francis BailyFrancis BailyFrancis Baily was an English astronomer, most famous for his observations of 'Baily's beads' during an eclipse of the Sun.-Life:Baily was born at Newbury in Berkshire in 1774...
- John BostockJohn Bostock (physician)John Bostock MD FRS was a physician, scientist and geologist from Liverpool. He spent some time at New College at Hackney where he attended Priestley's lectures on chemistry and natural philosophy, before graduating in Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and practising medicine in Liverpool,...
attended Priestley's lectures; - William HazlittWilliam HazlittWilliam Hazlitt was an English writer, remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism, and as a grammarian and philosopher. He is now considered one of the great critics and essayists of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. Yet his work is...
; - Thomas Dix HincksThomas Dix HincksThomas Dix Hincks was an Irish orientalist and naturalist.Hincks was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was ordained a Presbysterian minister and worked at the Old Presbyterian Church on Princes Street in Cork. After teaching in the Cork Institution, which he founded, he taught in Fermoy,...
; - David Jones, previously at Homerton College, moved to Hackney on becoming a Unitarian, then a tutor in experimental philosophy, moving away in 1792 to fill Priestley's ministry in Birmingham;
- John JonesJohn Jones (Unitarian)John Jones LL.D. was a Welsh Unitarian minister, critic, tutor and lexicographer.-Life:He was born about 1766 near Llandovery, in the parish of Llandingat, Carmarthenshire. His father was a farmer...
, related to David Jones; - Jeremiah JoyceJeremiah Joyce-Life:He was born 24 February 1763 at Mildred's Court London. He became a glazier, but on the death of his father he used his inheritance to study for the Unitarian ministry, where he became proficient in mathematics and Latin...
; - John Kentish, who left Daventry AcademyDaventry AcademyDaventry Academy was a dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by English Dissenters. It moved to many locations, but was most associated with Daventry, where its most famous pupil was Joseph Priestley...
with other students, including William Shepherd, in 1788, for religious reasons; - Harry Priestley, Dr Priestley's youngest son.
- Thomas Starling Norgate;
- William Shepherd;
- James Smith (1775–1839);
- Joseph Lomas Towers;
- Charles WellbelovedCharles WellbelovedCharles Wellbeloved was a unitarian divine and archaeologist.-Life:Charles Wellbeloved, only child of John Wellbeloved , by his wife Elizabeth , was born in Denmark Street, St Giles, London, on 6 April 1769, and baptised on 25 April at St. Giles-in-the-Fields...
.
Institutions with related names
Another Hackney College, properly Hackney Itineracy, was that set up in 1802 by George CollisonGeorge Collison
George Collison was an English Congregationalist and educator associated with Hackney Academy or Hackney College, which became part of New College London - itself part of the University of London.-Early life:...
, and it is this one that became part of New College London
New College London
New College London was founded as a Congregationalist college in 1850.-Predecessor institutions:...
, and in the end part of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. Homerton College was at this time in the parish of Hackney, and had been in some form from 1730, as a less ambitious academy; when the New College folded, its future became part of Homerton College's. Robert Aspland
Robert Aspland
Robert Aspland was an English Unitarian minister, editor and activist. To be distinguished from his son Robert Brook Aspland .-Life:...
set up a successor Unitarian college at Hackney, in 1813.