Palgrave Academy
Encyclopedia
Palgrave Academy was an early dissenting academy
, that is, a school or college set up by English Dissenters
. It was run from 1774-1785 in Palgrave, Suffolk
by the married couple Anna Laetitia Barbauld
and her husband Rochemont Barbauld, a minister. The academy attracted parents who wished an alternative to traditional education for their sons.
taught first at Kibworth
Academy, where she received a better education than most girls and women of the day, and then at the renowned Warrington Academy
, known as “the Athens of the North” for its stimulating intellectual atmosphere. Rochemont Barbauld, the grandson of a Huguenot
(French Dissenter), had been a pupil there; the couple married in 1774 and moved to Suffolk
, near where Rochemont had been offered a congregation and this school for boys. The couple spent eleven years teaching at Palgrave Academy. Early on, ALB was not only responsible for running her own household but also the school’s — she was accountant, maid, and housekeeper.
The school opened with only eight boys but when the Barbaulds left in 1785, around forty were enrolled, a testament to the excellent reputation the school had acquired. The Barbaulds’ educational philosophy attracted Anglicans as well as Dissenters. Palgrave replaced the strict discipline of traditional schools such as Eton
, which often used corporal punishment
, with a system of “fines and jobations” and even, it seems likely, “juvenile trials,” that is, trials run by and for the students themselves. Moreover, instead of the traditional classical studies, the school offered a practical curriculum that stressed science and the modern languages. ALB taught the foundational subjects of reading and religion to the youngest boys and geography, history, composition and rhetoric, and science to higher grade levels. ALB produced a “weekly chronicle” for the school and wrote theatrical pieces for the students to perform.
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
, scholar and translator William Taylor, Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
, and archaeologist Sir William Gell. ALB had a profound effect on many of her students; Taylor, a preeminent scholar of German literature
, referred to her as “the mother of his mind.”
Dissenting academies
The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and nonconformist seminaries run by dissenters. They formed a significant part of England’s educational systems from the mid-seventeenth to nineteenth centuries....
, that is, a school or college set up by English Dissenters
English Dissenters
English Dissenters were Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.They originally agitated for a wide reaching Protestant Reformation of the Established Church, and triumphed briefly under Oliver Cromwell....
. It was run from 1774-1785 in Palgrave, Suffolk
Palgrave, Suffolk
Palgrave is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located on the south bank of the River Waveney, opposite Diss and adjacent to the Great Eastern Main Line. In 2005 its population was 780.hi Palgrave has a small primary school, and church...
by the married couple Anna Laetitia Barbauld
Anna Laetitia Barbauld
Anna Laetitia Barbauld was a prominent English poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and children's author.A "woman of letters" who published in multiple genres, Barbauld had a successful writing career at a time when female professional writers were rare...
and her husband Rochemont Barbauld, a minister. The academy attracted parents who wished an alternative to traditional education for their sons.
Beginnings
Anna Laetitia Barbauld was born into the tradition of the so-called dissenting academies, as her father John AikinJohn Aikin (Unitarian)
John Aikin was an English Unitarian scholar and theological tutor, closely associated with Warrington Academy, a prominent dissenting academy.-Life:...
taught first at Kibworth
Kibworth
Kibworth is an area of the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, that contains two civil parishes—the villages of Kibworth Beauchamp and Kibworth Harcourt . According to the 2001 census, Kibworth Beauchamp has a population of 3,798, and Kibworth Harcourt has a population of 990. The two...
Academy, where she received a better education than most girls and women of the day, and then at the renowned Warrington Academy
Warrington 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...
, known as “the Athens of the North” for its stimulating intellectual atmosphere. Rochemont Barbauld, the grandson of a Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
(French Dissenter), had been a pupil there; the couple married in 1774 and moved to Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, near where Rochemont had been offered a congregation and this school for boys. The couple spent eleven years teaching at Palgrave Academy. Early on, ALB was not only responsible for running her own household but also the school’s — she was accountant, maid, and housekeeper.
The school opened with only eight boys but when the Barbaulds left in 1785, around forty were enrolled, a testament to the excellent reputation the school had acquired. The Barbaulds’ educational philosophy attracted Anglicans as well as Dissenters. Palgrave replaced the strict discipline of traditional schools such as Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, which often used corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
, with a system of “fines and jobations” and even, it seems likely, “juvenile trials,” that is, trials run by and for the students themselves. Moreover, instead of the traditional classical studies, the school offered a practical curriculum that stressed science and the modern languages. ALB taught the foundational subjects of reading and religion to the youngest boys and geography, history, composition and rhetoric, and science to higher grade levels. ALB produced a “weekly chronicle” for the school and wrote theatrical pieces for the students to perform.
Alumni
Pupils who later distinguished themselves include Lord Chief JusticeLord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman PC KC was a British lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice between 1832 and 1850.-Background and education:Denman was born in London, the son of Dr Thomas Denman...
, scholar and translator William Taylor, Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk was a Scottish peer. He was born at Saint Mary's Isle, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He was noteworthy as a Scottish philanthropist who sponsored immigrant settlements in Canada at the Red River Colony.- Early background :Douglas was the seventh son of Dunbar...
, and archaeologist Sir William Gell. ALB had a profound effect on many of her students; Taylor, a preeminent scholar of German literature
German literature
German literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German part of Switzerland, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora. German literature of the modern period is mostly in Standard German, but there...
, referred to her as “the mother of his mind.”