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John Kendrick (1573 – 30 December 1624) was a prosperous
Royal Berkshire History: John KendrickKendrick Grammar School
1573 births 1624 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford English philanthropists Founders of English schools and colleges People educated at Reading School Businesspeople from London People from Reading, Berkshire 16th-century English businesspeople 17th-century English businesspeople 16th-century merchants 17th-century merchants Cloth merchants Burials at Nunhead Cemetery {{england-business-bio-stub
John Kendrick (1573 – 30 December 1624) was a prosperous English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
cloth merchant and patron of the town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
s of Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
and Newbury in Berkshire.
Life
John Kendrick was born in Reading, Berkshire, possibly in Minster Street, in 1573 to Thomas Kendrick, a prominent citizen, weaving merchant and subsequently a mayor of Reading (1580), and his wife, Agnes Bye. He was related to the Kendrick family of Chester, and the subsequent John Kendrick, Lord Mayor of London (1651). Kendrick was baptised on 18 May 1574 at nearby St Mary's Church, Reading. His younger brother William (1577-1634) was the pro-genitor of theKendrick baronets
The Kendrick Baronetcy, of Whitley in the County of Berkshire, was a title in the Baronetage of England
Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetag ...
. Together, they had at least 3 sisters: Anne, Elizabeth and Alice. Kendrick was educated at Reading School
Reading School is a grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading, the county of Berkshire. It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England. There are no ...
and St John's College, Oxford. After university, he moved to London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, where he amassed a fortune in trade with the Netherlands
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Kendrick died on 30 December 1624 at his home in Threadneedle Street, London. He was buried at St Christopher le Stocks Church, and later re-buried at Nunhead Cemetery.
Legacy
In his will, Kendrick left £12,500 to the towns of Reading and Newbury to provide employment and education for the poor. The Oracleworkhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...
, was erected in Minster Street, Reading with this money. This name was revived for the Oracle shopping mall which now occupies a small part of the site.
Although the funds left by Kendrick were mismanaged, sufficient remained for the founding of two schools: '' Kendrick Boys School'' in 1875 and '' Kendrick Girls School'' in 1877. In 1915, Kendrick Boys School was taken over by Reading School
Reading School is a grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading, the county of Berkshire. It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England. There are no ...
, which now has a building named the John Kendrick Building. An oil painting of John Kendrick, rescued from the Oracle workhouse, hangs in the hall of Kendrick Girls School, nowadays called ''Kendrick School''. The caption reads "John Kendrick, founder of this worke house".
The £4,000 Kendrick left to Newbury was used to build a 'cloth manufactory' where unemployed clothworkers could be employed until the trade in the town recovered. The trade never recovered and the building went through several uses (workhouse, hospital, school, warehousing) before being restored in 1903 as the Newbury Borough Museum. Now known as the Cloth Hall, it forms a part of the West Berkshire Museum. Kendrick's cash was also used to fund a charity offering education and apprenticeships to selected children of Newbury's poor.
References
External links
Royal Berkshire History: John Kendrick
1573 births 1624 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford English philanthropists Founders of English schools and colleges People educated at Reading School Businesspeople from London People from Reading, Berkshire 16th-century English businesspeople 17th-century English businesspeople 16th-century merchants 17th-century merchants Cloth merchants Burials at Nunhead Cemetery {{england-business-bio-stub