Christ's Hospital of Abingdon is a charity with a long history, based in

Abingdon-on-Thames Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historic counties of England, Historically the ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

(formerly

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

History

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

established the Master and Governors of the Hospital of Christ of Abingdon in 1553, the year that

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

succeeded to the English throne.

Sir John Mason Sir John Mason (1503 – 20 April 1566) was an English diplomat and spy. Origins and education Mason was born to humble parents in Abingdon in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) in 1503. His father is said to have been a cowherd,* his mother was t ...

, a Tudor diplomat, was its first Master from 1553 to 1566. The charity supports

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

s in Abingdon.

Sampson Strong Sampson Strong (c.1550–1611) was a Dutch portrait painter. He was a resident portrait painter at Oxford University and painted founder's portraits for All Souls, New New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or cre ...

decorated the hall with portraits of founders, benefactors and former governors. The charity has been involved with education, educating Abingdon boys from 1608 until 1870. There has been a close connection with

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

since 1870. Albert Park in Abingdon - geograph

Christ's Hospital established Albert Park in northwest Abingdon (west of Abingdon School) in the 1860s on the site of the former Conduit Field. The current charity is based at St Helen's Wharf in Abingdon, Registered Charity Number 205112.

Names of Masters

The following list contains the names of the Masters.

References

External links

Christ's Hospital of Abingdon
* * {{Authority control 1553 establishments in England Abingdon-on-Thames Charities based in Oxfordshire Educational charities based in the United Kingdom Hospitals established in the 16th century Organisations based in Oxfordshire Organizations established in the 1550s Almshouses in Oxfordshire

History

Names of Masters

See also

References

External links