Philip Reginald Egerton (14 July 1832 – 28 April 1911) was an English

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 Britain ...

priest and

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled after B ...

, who re-founded

Bloxham School Bloxham School, also called All Saints' School, is an independent co-educational day and boarding school of the British public school tradition, located in the village of Bloxham, three miles (5 km) from the town of Banbury in Oxfordshir ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

in 1860.

Early life

Egerton was born in

Bunbury, Cheshire Bunbury is a village in Cheshire, England, south of Tarporley and north west of Nantwich on the Shropshire Union Canal. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 1,195. History Bunbury was reputedly derived from Buna-burh, meaning the "redoub ...

, the son of John Egerton and Ellen Gould.Old Bloxhamist Society, 'P. R. Egerton: The Years of Risk, 1859-1864', ''A History of Bloxham School'' (H.E. Boddy & Co. Ltd, Banbury, 1978), 13-30. Through his grandmother, he was a descendant of

William of Wykeham William of Wykeham (; 1320 or 1324 – 27 September 1404) was Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. He founded New College, Oxford, and New College School in 1379, and founded Winchester College in 1382. He was also the clerk of ...

and he was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

as Founder's Kin, where he was school captain. He proceeded to

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

in 1851 where he studied for a bachelor's degree in civil laws. In 1855 he entered

Cuddesdon Theological College Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local ordained and lay min ...

, founded two years earlier by

Bishop Wilberforce A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, to train as a priest. He was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

on 20 December 1857 and became

curate 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 ...

Deddington Deddington is a civil parish and small town in Oxfordshire about south of Banbury. The parish includes two hamlets: Clifton and Hempton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,146. Deddington is a small settlement but has a c ...

in north Oxfordshire.

Foundation of Bloxham School

By 1859 he was considering emigrating to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, when he came across a complex of dilapidated

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

school buildings in the nearby village of

Bloxham Bloxham is a village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire several miles from the Cotswolds, about southwest of Banbury. It is on the edge of a valley and overlooked by Hobb Hill. The village is on the A361 road. The 2011 Census recorded ...

. Egerton had been considering starting a school for several years, and immediately purchased the buildings for £1,615. Egerton perceived that by the mid-19th century a gap had emerged in Britain's education system whereby there was no provision for the emerging middle classes. Bloxham School was founded to act as a school for the sons of professionals, military officers and local landowners in the model of the great public schools, especially that of his own alma mater, Winchester. The school received its first pupil in 1860. In his foundation Egerton was heavily influenced by

Nathaniel Woodard Nathaniel Woodard (; 21 March 1811 – 25 April 1891) was a priest in the Church of England. He founded 11 schools for the middle classes in England whose aim was to provide education based on "sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly groun ...

, who had established a new model for Anglo-Catholic public schools. Bloxham would eventually become a Woodard School, despite Woodard initially advising Egerton not to found his school. Egerton was influenced by the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

and sought to provide a public school education for boys based in

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 Anglican ...

principles. He had his new school buildings designed by one of the great architects of the day,

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccle ...

, and the institution was named All Saints' School. Egerton's wife, Harriet Egerton, provided much of the early funding for the school. Egerton would go on to devote most of the rest of his life to the school, of which he was the first headmaster. A boarding house at Bloxham School is named after the school's founder and Egerton's portrait hangs in the school dining hall. Egerton's political patron was

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-conse ...

, who said of Egerton: "England, perhaps, owes as much to him in the matter of religious education as any man."

Cricket

He played cricket for Winchester in 1849 and 1850, appearing each year against Harrow and

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and being on the losing side every time. In the four matches he scored 11 runs in seven completed innings, took one wicket and made a catch.

Personal life

At the time of founding Bloxham, Egerton was in love with his cousin, Harriet Gould, daughter of his uncle Nathaniel Gould of

Tavistock Square Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. History Tavistock Square was built shortly after 1806 by the property developer James Burton and the master builder Thomas Cubitt for Francis Russell, 5th Duke ...

. The Goulds were of considerable wealth and Egerton's uncle questioned his prospects. Thanks to the strong personal support of Bishop Wilberforce, Egerton and Harriet were eventually permitted to marry on 4 November 1862. Their daughter, Ellen, married Dr Frank Hinde, son of Major-General Hinde CB, on 28 October 1890.Old Bloxhamist Society, ''A History of Bloxham School'' (H.E. Boddy & Co. Ltd, Banbury, 1978), 59.

Early life

Foundation of Bloxham School

Cricket

Personal life

References

See also