Sedgley Park School was a Roman Catholic Academy located on the outskirts of

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

, then part of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. The school was founded by

William Errington William Errington (1699 – 5 Mar 1739) was High Sheriff of Northumberland. Errington was the only son of Francis Errington (1665–1699), a papist of the landed gentry branch of Walwick Grange, Northumberland. He married Mrs Isabel Bacon at Hayd ...

, at the request of Bishop

Richard Challoner Richard Challoner (29 September 1691 – 12 January 1781) was an English Roman Catholic bishop, a leading figure of English Catholicism during the greater part of the 18th century. The titular Bishop of Doberus, he is perhaps most famous for hi ...

, on 25 March 1763.

History

Errington made three unsuccessful attempts, the first in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, the second in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and the third at Betley near Newcastle-under-Lyne, in

, before he succeeded in founding a permanent school at Sedgley Park in the neighbourhood of

. The object of the establishment of Sedgley Park was the education of the sons of middle and poorer class Catholics. On

Lady-Day In the Western liturgical year, Lady Day is the traditional name in some English-speaking countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, which is celebrated on 25 March, and commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, durin ...

, 1763, he opened this school with twelve boys brought in covered wagon from Betley.Husenbeth D.D., F.C., ''The History of Sedgley Park School'', London, Richardson and Son, 1856
/ref> The mansion, known as the Park Hall, was until 1757 the residence of John, Lord Ward, afterwards Viscount Dudley and Ward. Errington rented the house from Baron Ward. The foundation was at once attacked in Parliament, but Lord Dudley successfully defended himself.Burton, Edwin. "William Errington." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 14 January 2019 The house, a tall, square, brick building had such a number of windows on all sides, that when lighted up, led to its being called about the country, ''The Lantern''. Errington secured the appointment of the Rev. Hugh Kendall as head-master in May, 1763, and he returned to Bishop Challoner in London, where he served as archdeacon till his death in 1768. Rev. John Hurst, from Betley served as chaplain. Enrollment increased rapidly, but the boys being mostly from the mercantile and middle class did not remain long at the school. Few stayed longer than three or four years, and many only one or two. General education included elementary instruction in reading, grammar, geography, writing, and arithmetic. The curriculum also offered French, Latin, and Greek. Kendall died in 1781, and was succeeded as president by his nephew, Rev. Thomas Southworth. By 1810 enrollment had reached 212. In 1873 the school was moved to

Cotton College Cotton College was a Roman Catholic boarding school in Cotton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. It was also known as ''Saint Wilfrid's College''. The school buildings were centred on Cotton Hall, a country house used by religious communities fro ...

, near

Oakamoor Oakamoor is a small village in north Staffordshire, England. Although it is now a rural area, it has an industrial past which drew on the natural resources of the Churnet valley. Iron was smelted from medieval times. Copper and lumber were also ...

. The former school building is now used as a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

References

External links

Sedgley Park School
Defunct Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham Educational institutions established in 1763 1763 establishments in England 1873 disestablishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1873 {{UK-school-stub