Nathaniel Woodard (; 21 March 1811 – 25 April 1891) was a priest in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
. He founded 11 schools for the middle classes in England whose aim was to provide education based on "sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith". His educational principles are promoted today through the
Woodard Corporation, a registered charity.
Early life
Woodard was born at
Basildon
Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159.
It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...
Hall in
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
(now known as Barstable Hall) the son of John Woodard, a country gentleman of limited means. He was brought up and educated privately by his mother Mary née Silley, a pious and devout woman. In 1834 he entered
Magdalen Hall, Oxford
Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...
(now
Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...
), where his academic studies were interrupted by his marriage in 1836 to Harriet Brill, although he took a pass degree in 1840.
As a result of the influence of his mother, Woodard's religious sympathies were
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
when he first became a student at Oxford, but, whilst he was there, he soon found himself strongly drawn to the growing
Tractarian Movement and, as a result, developed
Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches.
The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...
sympathies that he kept for the remainder of his life.
Career
He was ordained in 1841 and obtained a
curacy
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
at
St Bartholomew
Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو� ...
's,
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...
. Here he started a church school for the children of deprived parishioners. As a result of a controversial sermon - in which he argued that
The Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign o ...
should include separate provision for
confession and
absolution
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the pr ...
- he was moved to another
curacy
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
at St. James the Greater,
Clapton.
In 1846, obtaining a curacy at
St Mary de Haura Church in
New Shoreham, he was again struck by the poverty, and the lack of education amongst his middle class
parishioner
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
s—many of whom were less well educated than many of their employees who had been educated in the parochial school. He opened a day school in his
vicarage, and in 1848 he started
St Nicolas' School, which took
boarders. This was merged in 1849 to form the College of St Mary and St Nicolas, which eventually formed the present day
Lancing College
Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...
. It was from these beginnings that he started to work full-time on promoting educational projects, resigning from his curacy in 1850. Woodard was supported in these endeavours by
Edward Clarke Lowe, headmaster and director of many of the schools, who prevailed upon him in 1874 to provide for the education of women at the schools founded in
Abbots Bromley.
The extent of his success was recognised in 1870 when the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
bestowed on him the degree of
DCL and he was made
Canon of
Manchester Cathedral
Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the ...
by
Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-cons ...
. Woodard used the majority of the generous stipend which went with his position as Canon towards the funds for building the schools.
In accordance with his firm
Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches.
The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...
beliefs, and in contrast to similar although less successful work by
Joseph Lloyd Brereton there were no concessions to either those
Anglicans
Anglicanism is a Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia ...
of the
low church or to those belonging to
non-conformist churches. The efforts of Woodard and his supporters raised about £500,000 by the time of his death in 1891, and Woodard succeeded in gaining the admiration of people like
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...
and
Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lit ...
.
His tomb is in the
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...
of
Lancing College
Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...
.
Schools
In his lifetime Nathaniel Woodard founded eleven schools and acquired a number of others.
[Janet Pennington, "Woodard, Nathaniel (1811–1891)", '']Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200
accessed 21 Nov 2012
/ref>
These include:
*1848: Lancing College
Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...
*1849: Hurstpierpoint College
*1858: Ardingly College
Ardingly College () is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located near Ardingly, West Sussex, England. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Woodard ...
*1868: Denstone College
Denstone College is a mixed, independent, boarding and day school in Denstone, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England. It is a Woodard School, having been founded by Nathaniel Woodard, and so Christian traditions are practised as part of Col ...
(''formerly:'' St Chad's)
*1874: Abbots Bromley School for Girls (''formerly:'' the School of St Mary and St Anne)
*1880: King's College (Taunton)
*1884: Ellesmere College (''formerly:'' St Oswald's School)
*1890: Worksop College (''formerly:'' St Cuthbert's College)
*1912: Queen Ethelburga's Collegiate
*1964-1999 Cawston College (East of England)
Legacy
The schools he founded became known collectively as the "Woodard Schools", being joined by others to form an influential group. These are now administered by a holding company – The Woodard Corporation – a registered charity operating over 20 private schools with many other schools affiliated or associated with it.[Woodard Schools](_blank)
/ref>
References
Further reading
* Cowie, Leonard & Evelyn (1991). ''That One Idea: Nathaniel Woodard and His Schools''. Ellesmere, Shropshire: Woodard Corporation
* Gibbs, David (2011). ''In Search of Nathaniel Woodard: Victorian Founder of Schools''. Chichester: Phillimore.
*Heeney, Brian (1969) ''Mission to the Middle Classes: the Woodard schools, 1848-1891''
* Honey, J. R. de S. (1977). ''Tom Brown's Universe''
* Kirk, K. E. (1937). ''The Story of the Woodard Schools''. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Reprint 1952 Abbey Press, Berkshire.
External links
Woodard Corporation
Local newspaper (Argus) story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodard, Nathaniel
19th-century English Anglican priests
English Anglo-Catholics
English educational theorists
1811 births
1891 deaths
Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford
Founders of English schools and colleges
Anglo-Catholic clergy
19th-century philanthropists