Charles Thorp, (13 October 1783 – 10 October 1862) was an English churchman,

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the parish of Ryton and, later,

Archdeacon of Durham The Archdeacon of Durham is a senior ecclesiastical officer of the diocese of Durham (Church of England). They have, within the geographical area the ''archdeaconry of Durham'', pastoral oversight of clergy and care of church buildings (among other ...

and the first warden of the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

Life

He was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

, County Durham, the son of Robert Thorp,

Archdeacon of Northumberland The Archdeacon of Northumberland is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Newcastle. As such she or he is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the geographical area of the archdeaconry. History The firs ...

, and educated at the

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle (By Learning, You Will Lead) , established = , closed = , type = Grammar SchoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Geoffrey Stanford , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , cha ...

and

Durham School Durham School is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Durham, North East England and was an all-boys institution until 1985, when girls were admitted to the sixth form. The school takes pupils ...

. In 1799, he entered

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

and then

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

where he graduated BA (1803) and MA (1806). He became a Fellow and Tutor at University College, Oxford, in 1806, deacon in 1806 and priest in 1807. He then became rector of Ryton in 1811, joining a prestigious group with previous rectors including

Thomas Secker Thomas Secker (21 September 16933 August 1768) was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. Early life and studies Secker was born in Sibthorpe, Nottinghamshire. In 1699, he went to Richard Brown's free school in Chesterfield ...

, later

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. After his time as rector of

Holy Cross Church, Ryton Holy Cross Church is a Church of England parish church in Ryton, Tyne and Wear. The church is a Grade I listed building. History The Holy Cross church is the oldest building in Ryton and dates back to 1220. The most striking feature of the churc ...

, he became Canon (1829) and then

in 1831 and, a year later, became the first warden of the University of Durham. Thorp remained heavily involved with the university, also being the first

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

. This was a position he held until his death in Durham in 1862. He was buried at Ryton Church. He had married twice.

Achievements

Charles Thorp's life was remarkable for a number of notable achievements: Regarding education for all as necessary and empowering, he was a prime mover in introducing free education to Ryton. A committed anti-slavery campaigner, he worked with the Church Missionary Society to set up a university in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to ensure that freed slaves had access to education. An environmentalist well ahead of his time, he planted Ryton's churchyard with oak, sweet chestnut and beech trees, now in their maturity. In a similar far sighted move, he arranged for his family to buy the Farne Islands, employing a wildlife warden to protect threatened bird species. As an innovator in alleviating poverty, he set up this country's first 'penny bank', in Ryton, allowing those with small incomes to borrow at rates they could afford. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in May 1839. His name was chosen as the identity of a secondary school in West Gateshead in 2011, Charles Thorp Comprehensive School (now

Thorp Academy Thorp Academy is a large 11–18 secondary Academy in Ryton Tyne & Wear, England. The academy was established in the 19th century by Charles Thorp who went on to found Durham University. The site that Thorp Academy now stands on is the site of ...

), following the amalgamation of Hookergate School and Ryton Comprehensive School, on the site of the school he sponsored in his lifetime.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorp, Charles 1784 births 1862 deaths People from Gateshead Archdeacons of Durham Vice-Chancellors and Wardens of Durham University Fellows of the Royal Society Surtees Society