Henry Holyoake (1657–1731) was a headmaster of

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

for more than forty years in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Life

Holyoake was probably born in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

in 1657, the son of Thomas Holyoake and Anne his wife, and the grandson of Francis Holyoake. He was elected to a choristership at Magdalen College, Oxford, which he resigned in 1676, having

matriculate Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

d from that college on 12 March 1674. He became clerk and sub-librarian in 1676, appointments which he held until 1681. On 22 October 1678 he graduated

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

, proceeded

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

on 4 July 1681, and was chaplain of his college from 1681 until 1690. In 1687 he was elected headmaster of Rugby School. Despite the smallness of his salary and other disadvantages, he raised the school from insignificance, and was the first to engage an assistant master. He seems, however, to have unfortunately misunderstood the character of one of his best-known pupils,

Edward Cave Edward Cave (27 February 1691 – 10 January 1754) was an English printer, editor and publisher. He coined the term "magazine" for a periodical, founding ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' in 1731, and was the first publisher to successfully fashio ...

, whom he treated with undeserved severity, and eventually drove from the school. Cave, however, inserted a sympathetic obituary in the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

''. Holyoake was instituted to the rectory of Bourton-upon-Dunsmore on 30 June 1698, to that of Bilton on 31 August 1705,Bloxam, ii. 77 and to that of Harborough Magna, all in

, on 9 November 1712. In 1700 he gave £20 for Magdalen College Library. He died unmarried at Rugby on 10 March 1730 – 1731, and was buried in St. Mary's Church,

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

, where may be seen a quaint

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

inscription written by himself, which he directed to be engraved to his own memory as well as to that of his father and grandfather. Holyoake's establishment at Rugby was under the domestic management of his cousin Judith Holyoake, to whom he left a legacy on the express ground of her having been 'very serviceable and seemingly kind' to the boys. He bequeathed £30 to the daughter of Widow Harris, 'his tripe-woman;’ the interest of £200 to the poor of Rugby after the death of his cousin, Elizabeth Holyoake; and all his books (since sold), together with the portraits of his father and grandfather (since lost), to Rugby School.

References

* ;Attribution * The entry cites: **Frederick Leigh Colvile, ''Worthies of Warwickshire'', pp. 428–30. {{DEFAULTSORT:Holyoake, Henry 1657 births 1731 deaths Head Masters of Rugby School Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford 18th-century English Anglican priests