Alice Harrison (1680 – 1765) was a
British
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* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
schoolmistress known for founding an influential
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
school in Lancashire.
Life
Harrison was born in
Fulwood Row near
Preston. She became a Catholic despite her
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
parents' objections.
She was inspired by the local Catholic priest, Edward Melling, who encouraged her to start a local school. The school accepted children of any denomination but was focused on a Catholic education, even though it was illegal to be a Catholic teacher. Her pupils were taken daily to
St Mary's Church in Fernyhalgh. Her students paid a shilling and sixpence every three months and many would board locally at a charge of five pounds per annum. Some of the students grew to be leading Catholics and were sent abroad for further study.
Her alumni included the writer
Alban Butler
Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer.
Biography
Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...
,
Thomas Southworth
Thomas Southworth is an American politician. He serves as a Democratic member for the Strafford 11th district of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire ...
(1749–1816), president of Sedgley Park;
John Daniel who was the last president of the English College, Douai, and
John Gillow
John is a common English name and surname:
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John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
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* Second E ...
President of
Ushaw College
Ushaw College (formally St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw), is a former Roman Catholic Church, Catholic seminary near the village of Ushaw Moor, County Durham, England, which is now a heritage and cultural tourist attraction. The college is known for ...
.
[
The person who took on the leadership of her school after she retired in 1760 was the poet ]Peter Newby
Peter may refer to:
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* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
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** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
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who was also an ex pupil of hers and of Douai College. She spent about five years in retirement in the care of the Gerard family.[
Harrison died in ]Garswood Hall
Garswood is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of St. Helens, Merseyside, England. The village is within the civil parish of Seneley Green. The parish was historically part of Ashton-in-Makerfield until 1974 boundary changes.
History
Within ...
. Later a plaque was placed in Windleshaw Abbey. The plaque reads “WITHIN THESE HALLOWED GROUNDS REPOSE THE ASHES OF ONE WHO DID GREAT THINGS FOR GOD AND HIS CHURCH. ALICE HARRISON (DAME ALICE) SCHOOL MISTRESS AT LADYWELL, FERNYHALGH.
SHE DIED AT GARSWOOD, ANNO CIRCITER 1760,
AETATIS 80, R.I.P.Plaque at Windleshaw Abbey
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Alice
1680 births
1765 deaths
Schoolteachers from Preston, Lancashire
English Roman Catholics