Joseph Drury (11 February 1750 – 9 January 1834) was Head Master of

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

1785–1805, and first of a dynasty of Drurys to teach at Harrow.

Life

Drury was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. Admitted to Trinity in 1768, he was unable to continue at Cambridge due to lack of means, and in 1769 became an assistant master at Harrow School. In 1771, Drury turned down the chance to join

Samuel Parr Samuel Parr (26 January 1747 – 6 March 1825), was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and (flatteringly) as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well ...

's breakaway school at

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, at high. The district, which ...

. He was ordained deacon in 1773 and priest in 1779. He was re-admitted to Trinity in 1774 as a "

ten-year man A ten-year man was a category of mature student at the University of Cambridge. Under the University's statutes of 1570, a man over twenty-four could proceed to a Bachelor of Divinity, BD degree ten years after matriculation without first gaining ...

", graduating B.D. in 1784 and

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

in 1789. Drury succeeded Benjamin Heath the younger, his brother-in-law, as headmaster of Harrow School in 1785.

Family

In 1775 Drury married Louisa Heath, daughter of

Benjamin Heath Benjamin Heath, D.C.L. (10 April 170413 September 1766) was an English classical scholar and bibliophile. Life He was born at Exeter, the eldest of three sons of Benjamin Heath, a wealthy merchant, and Elizabeth Kelland. He devoted himself mainl ...

. Of their three sons Henry Joseph Thomas Drury (1778–1841) was a master at Harrow, and Benjamin Heath Drury (1782–1835), became an assistant-master at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

; and their daughter Louisa Heath Drury married John Herman Merivale. His brother Mark Drury was Second Master at Harrow. He married Catherine Angelo, daughter of the fencing master

Domenico Angelo Domenico Angelo (1717 Leghorn, Italy – 1802, Twickenham, England), was an Italian sword and fencing master, also known as Angelo Domenico Malevolti Tremamondo. The son of a merchant, he was the founder of the Angelo Family of fencers. He has ...

Life

Family

References

Further reading