Hackney New College
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The New College at Hackney (more ambiguously known as Hackney College) was a dissenting academy set up in Hackney in April 1786 by the social and political reformer Richard Price and others; Hackney at that time was a village on the outskirts of London, by Unitarians. 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.


History

The year 1786 marked the dissolution of Warrington Academy, which had been inactive since 1756 as a teaching institution. Almost simultaneously the
Hoxton Academy Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It li ...
of the
Coward Trust William Coward (1648–1738) was a London merchant in the Jamaica trade, remembered for his support of Dissenters, particularly his educational philanthropy. Life After a period in Jamaica, where he built up an estate (see Sugar plantations in ...
, under
Samuel Morton Savage Samuel Morton Savage (1721–1791) was an English nonconformist minister and dissenting tutor. 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. ...
, 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 Joseph Bretland (1742–1819), 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 ...
, which existed from 1799 to 1805.


Staff

Its staff included: * Thomas Belsham who left
Daventry Academy Daventry 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. It had a high reputation, an ...
in 1789 on becoming a Unitarian, as professor of divinity and resident tutor; *
Andrew Kippis Andrew Kippis (28 March 17258 October 1795) was an English nonconformist clergyman and biographer. Life The son of Robert Kippis, a silk-hosier, he was born at Nottingham. Having gone to Carre's Grammar School in Sleaford, Lincolnshire he pass ...
; *
George Cadogan Morgan George Cadogan Morgan (1754 - 17 November 1798) was a Welsh dissenting minister and scientist. Life He was born in 1754 at Bridgend, Glamorganshire, the second son of William Morgan, a surgeon practising in that town, by his wife Sarah, sister of ...
from 1787 to 1891, who lectured there on electricity; * Richard Price; * Joseph Priestley, resident in Hackney from 1791 to 1794, as lecturer on history and natural philosophy, principally chemistry; *
Abraham Rees Abraham Rees (1743 – 9 June 1825) was a Welsh nonconformist minister, and compiler of ''Rees's Cyclopædia'' (in 45 volumes). Life He was the second son of Esther, daughter of Abraham Penry, and her husband Lewis Rees, and was born in L ...
who was tutor in Hebrew and mathematics; *and from 1790
Gilbert Wakefield Gilbert Wakefield (1756–1801) was an English scholar and controversialist. He moved from being a cleric and academic, into tutoring at dissenting academies, and finally became a professional writer and publicist. In a celebrated state trial ...
.


Students

Among the students were: * Arthur Aikin; * Francis Baily *
John Bostock John Joseph Bostock (born 15 January 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Notts County. Bostock made his professional debut for Crystal Palace at the age of 15. In 2008, he signed for Tottenham Hotsp ...
attended Priestley's lectures; * William Hazlitt; *
Mary Hays Mary Hays (1759–1843) was an autodidact intellectual who published essays, poetry, novels and several works on famous (and infamous) women. She is remembered for her early feminism, and her close relations to dissenting and radical thinkers ...
*
Thomas Dix Hincks Thomas Dix Hincks (1767 in Dublin, Ireland – 1857 in Belfast, Ireland) was an Irish orientalist and naturalist. He was a founding member of the Belfast Natural History Society and a member of the Royal Irish Academy. Education Hincks was e ...
; * David Jones, previously at
Homerton College Homerton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Its first premises were acquired in Homerton, London in 1768, by an informal gathering of Protestant dissenters with origins in the seventeenth century. In 1894, the co ...
, 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 Jones, related to David Jones; * Jeremiah Joyce; * John Kentish, who left
Daventry Academy Daventry 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. It had a high reputation, an ...
with other students, including William Shepherd, in 1788, for religious reasons; *Harry Priestley, Dr Priestley's youngest son. *
Thomas Starling Norgate Thomas Starling Norgate (20 August 1772 – 7 July 1859) was an English writer, journalist and newspaper editor. Life The son of Elias Norgate, a surgeon, and Deborah, daughter of Alderman Thomas Starling, he was born at Norwich, on 20 August 1772 ...
; *
William Shepherd William McMichael "Bill" Shepherd (born July 26, 1949), (Capt, USN, Ret.), is an American former Navy SEAL, aerospace, ocean, and mechanical engineer, and NASA astronaut, who served as Commander of Expedition 1, the first crew on the Internatio ...
; * James Smith (1775–1839); *Joseph Lomas Towers; *
Charles Wellbeloved Charles Wellbeloved (6 April 1769 – 29 August 1858) was an English Unitarian divine and archaeologist. Biography Charles Wellbeloved, only child of John Wellbeloved (1742–1787), by his wife Elizabeth Plaw, was born in Denmark Street, St ...
.


Institutions with related names

Another Hackney College, properly Hackney Itineracy, also known as
Hackney Academy Newcome's School was a fashionable boys' school in Hackney, then to the east of London, founded in the early 18th century. A number of prominent Whig families sent their sons there. The school closed in 1815, and the buildings were gutted in 182 ...
and Hackney Theological College, was set up in 1802 by
George Collison George Collison (1772–1847) 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 Collison was born i ...
. It is this one that became part of New College London, and in the end part of the University of London.
Homerton College Homerton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Its first premises were acquired in Homerton, London in 1768, by an informal gathering of Protestant dissenters with origins in the seventeenth century. In 1894, the co ...
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, which since 1894 has been in Cambridge.
Robert Aspland Robert Aspland (13 January 1782 – 30 December 1845) was an English Unitarian minister, editor and activist. To be distinguished from his son Robert Brook Aspland (1805-1869). Life Aspland was the son of Robert Aspland and his second wife, Ha ...
set up a successor Unitarian college at Hackney, in 1813. See also Previous institutions known as Hackney College.


Notes

{{authority control Dissenting academies Defunct universities and colleges in London 1780s in London 1790s in London 1786 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1786 1796 disestablishments in England