Henry Morris (13 November 1889 – 14 December 1961) is known primarily as the founder of village colleges. He was the Chief Education Officer for

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

for over thirty years, taking up the post in 1922 during a time of depression in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

following the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Early life

Morris was born in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

on 13 November 1889. At the age of fourteen he began work as an office boy at ''The Southport Visiter'', later becoming a reporter. In 1910 he moved to St David's University College,

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigio ...

to read for a degree in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

, and in 1912 moved to

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

. At the outbreak of the

he volunteered for army service, and became an officer in the RASC. Following the end of the war he read moral sciences (philosophy) at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, graduating with a second-class degree in 1920.Cunningham, Peter
"Morris, Henry (1889–1961)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, September 2004. Retrieved 9 October 2022

Career

After a year as Assistant Secretary, Henry Morris took up the post of Secretary of Education for Cambridgeshire in 1922. At one point during the Great Depression, Cambridgeshire was the second poorest county in England, despite the relative wealth of the university. Education outside of the City of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

was in a poor state due to lack of funding, with no separate secondary schools in the countryside; all children between the ages of three and fourteen were educated in their village school-house, often in one room and by the same, single teacher for their entire school career. Morris envisioned the integration of secondary and community education accessible by all those living in the villages and small towns around Cambridgeshire: the idea of 'village colleges'. He described this as "raising the school leaving age to ninety", and firmly believed that education, both formal and informal, should be a lifelong process. In the 1930s his visions materialised as the village colleges he had initially only hoped for, and the first four village colleges in Cambridgeshire were opened before the country became heavily involved in the conflicts of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

The Old Granary Darwin College Cambridge

Until 1946, Morris lived at The Old Granary in

Silver Street, Cambridge Silver Street is located in the southwest of central Cambridge, England.Silver Street< ...

, where he was the tenant of

Maud Darwin Martha Haskins, Lady Darwin ( du Puy; July 27, 1861 - 6 February 1947), known as Maud Darwin, was an American socialite and the wife of the English Cambridge University astronomer Sir George Darwin. Biographical notes She was born as Martha H ...

, daughter-in-law of the naturalist

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

. The building is now part of Darwin College and has a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...

commemorating Morris. Henry Morris' idea evolved from what was initially seen by many in the government as a radical, liberal, paternalistic approach to delivering secondary education; to a system of education that was adopted by many other counties within the United Kingdom and abroad, due to its proven success in Cambridgeshire. By the time of his death in 1961, there were many village colleges successfully delivering education to both secondary school students (11- to 16-year-olds), and members of their local communities of all ages. Today the concept lives on to great success in Cambridgeshire and many other areas of the country. Comberton Village College in South Cambridgeshire has, in several recent years, been at or near the top of the league tables for state comprehensive schools in England. The system of whole community education, as used by Comberton Village College, was complimented by British Prime Minister,

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...

- a true reflection of the success of Henry Morris' concept. He died on 10 December 1961 at Hill End Hospital, St Albans, where he had spent his last months; a simple cremation ceremony at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

took place on 14 December 1961.

Village colleges

The following village colleges were founded by Morris. * Sawston Village College (1930) *

Bottisham Village College Bottisham Village College is a mixed secondary school located in Bottisham, Cambridgeshire, England. The school opened in 1937 as the second village college in part of the Local Director of Education Henry Morris' vision for providing educatio ...

(1937) * Linton Village College (1937) *

Impington Village College Impington Village College is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Impington in the English county of Cambridgeshire. The buildings of 1938/9 by Walter Gropius and Maxwell Fry are Grade I listed. The school opened in 1939, two we ...

(1939) * Bassingbourn Village College (1954) Two further colleges were opened by him shortly after his retirement from the post in 1954. * Soham Village College (1958) * Swavesey Village College (1958) * Comberton Village College (1959)

Henry Morris Trust

The Henry Morris Trust was established in his memory by a group of his friends. The trust provides travel and study grants to young people from Cambridge, East Cambridgeshire and South Cambridgeshire.

References

Bibliography

*''Henry Morris and the Idea of the Village College Today'' by Harry Rée, 1971 *''Educator Extraordinary: The Life and Achievements of Henry Morris '' by Harry Rée,

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

, 1973 *''The Henry Morris Collection'' by Harry Rée,

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...

, 1984

External links

Henry Morris - infed.orgThe Henry Morris Memorial Trust
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Henry (education) 1889 births 1961 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge English educational theorists Education reform Education in Cambridgeshire British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Service Corps officers