Matthias Alleyn (died 9 April 1642) was a 17th-century London gentleman and the second Master of the

College of God's Gift The College of God's Gift, often referred to as the Old (Dulwich) College, was a historic charity founded in 1619 by the Elizabethan actor and businessman Edward Alleyn who endowed it with the ancient Manor of Dulwich in south London. In 1857 it ...

Early life

He was born the cousin of

Edward Alleyn Edward "Ned" Alleyn (; 1 September 156621 November 1626) was an English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich. Early life Alleyn was born on 1 September 1566 in Bishopsga ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His first wife, Elizabeth, died in 1627. With his second wife he had two daughters. His son, John Alleyn would later become Warden and then Master of the same College, and was also the last member of Edward Alleyn's family to hold such posts within the Foundation.Ormiston, T. L., (1926), ''Dulwich College Register'',page 10, (J J Keliher & Co Ltd: London)

Career

When

laid out the Deed of Foundation of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich, which was soon colloquially referred to as "Dulwich College", he stipulated that the Master and Warden should always be unmarried and of Alleyn's blood, and surname, and if the former was impossible then at least of Alleyn's surname.Hodges, S, (1981), ''God's Gift: A Living History of Dulwich College'', page 8, (Heinemann: London) Both he and his cousin Thomas, who became the first Master, met the criteria of being of Edward Alleyn's blood and surname, although he was married. Edward Alleyn named him in the Deed of Foundation as Warden, thus he was appointed on 13 September 1619. However, such was Edward Alleyn's continued involvement in his charitable concern that neither he nor Thomas assumed office until Edward Alleyn's death in 1626. He was a trustee for Edward Alleyn's widow and the executor of his will. He became Master on 27 March 1631 after the death of Thomas Alleyn. It has been noted that in the period between the Founder's death and when the College was reconstituted in 1857, the chief object of the Master, Warden and Fellows had been to lead the pleasantest life possible with little regard to furthering Alleyn's directions to provide every poor scholar with adequate preparation for the world. The fact that the Founder had been so narrow in his definition of who could become Master or Warden also meant that this narrowed the field of applicants such that the quality of candidate was not always of the highest calibre. This led to a ''"sad procession of non-entities"'' in the words of one commentator, with few exceptions. Matthias, was not named as an exception.Hodges, S, (1981), ''God's Gift: A Living History of Dulwich College'', page 17, (Heinemann: London) He died on 9 April 1642 and was succeeded in the post by another cousin of the founder, a second Thomas Alleyn who had served as Warden in the period that Matthias had been Master. Matthias gave a silver bowl to the College, which is still held by the College.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alleyn, Matthias 1642 deaths Year of birth missing Masters of the College of God's Gift 17th-century English people