Robert Corbet Singleton was Warden of St. Columba’s College,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, subsequently First Warden of St. Peter’s College, Radley, and a noted writer and translator of

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s. He was born on 9 October 1810 in Ireland and died on 7 February 1881 in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England.

Family background and education

Singleton was the second son of Francis Corbet of County Adare, Meath. He followed his father in taking the name Corbet Singleton. R.C. Singleton was educated at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, Dublin, graduating with a BA in 1830, and awarded his MA in 1833.

St Columba's College, Dublin

Singleton was a teacher of mathematics, but he loved music and Latin. On the best of terms with William Sewell, he was instrumental in setting up St Columba's College, Stackallan, near Dublin, and became its first Warden when the college opened in 1843, although owing to a subsequent dispute were never recognised as founders. Also on the staff, soon afterwards, at St Columba's, was music master Edwin Monk, with whom Singleton was subsequently to work also at Radley; the two of them still later collaborating in the making of a hymnal at York more than two decades later. In 1850 Singleton noted in his diary that the school's boys were "bold, manly and vigorous at their games...very proud of their college". Singleton explained that to be a successful teacher a man "must be something of a gentleman...it would never do... to induce the boys to look down on him". Perhaps his brother too was Samuel Singleton, elected a member of Common Room in 1848. A stickler for truth and honesty Singleton was an exacting employer, finding it hard to recruit staff. Singleton's resignation from St Columba's in 1846 followed a controversy after he insisted on a rigorous regime of

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

for the boys.

Oxford and Radley

Singleton moved to Oxford where he was admitted in 1847 to

. With William Sewell, who had supported him at St Columba’s, he was to become co-founder of St Peter’s College, Radley, being appointed the first Warden of Radley on 9 June 1847. Singleton was committed, as before, to a monastic and ascetic regime for the boys at Radley, at odds, it has been noted, with Sewell’s "more relaxed, arcadian approach to education." This led ultimately to Singleton’s resignation as Warden in 1851 – whereat Sewell began a "systematic removal" of Singleton’s name as a co-founder of Radley College. There was in consequence no lasting memorial to Singleton at Radley prior to the naming of the Singleton Library at the centenary in 1947. Singleton had been the second most significant benefactor of St Columba’s, and he was as generous in the founding of Radley. Between St Columba’s and Radley it was estimated that his gifts amounted to £30,000. At Radley, he gave the first organ, which was lent for the International Exhibition in Dublin in 1853. While at Radley Singleton published ''The Psalter Arranged for Chanting'' (1847), and discourses entitled ''Uncleanness, the Ruin of Body and Soul'' (1850).

Via Ireland to York

Following his resignation from Radley, Singleton returned to

Kingstown Kingstown is the capital, chief port, and main commercial centre of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With a population of 12,909 (2012), Kingstown is the most populous settlement in the country. It is the island's agricultural industry centr ...

in Ireland, where he lived with his mother. Following her death, he moved to

, purchasing

Minster Court Minster Court is a Grade II* listed group of buildings lying off Minster Yard, in the city centre of York in England. History The complex consists of four houses, on three sides of a courtyard: number 1 in the north-west wing, numbers 2 and 2A ...

. It was here that he continued his long acquaintance and collaboration with Edwin Monk, who had been

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

at both St Columba’s and Radley, and who was now Organist and Master of Choristers at

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

. In 1868 he and Monk published their jointly-edited book, ''The Anglican Hymn-Book''. The collection included nearly thirty original hymns by Singleton, notable amongst them being his ''With gladsome feet we press''. Singleton also translated a number of hymns from

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 ...

and German. As

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, Singleton published a complete verse translation of the works of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

. Robert Singleton died at Petergate,

, on 7 February 1881. The choir of St Columba’s College sang at the funeral service: he was buried on 12 February in the Corbet vault at St Patrick’s Cathedral in

.About Robert Singleton – Victorian educational reformer
accessed 24 Nov 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Singleton, Robert Corbet 1810 births 1881 deaths Christian hymnwriters English hymnwriters Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Founders of English schools and colleges 19th-century English musicians 19th-century philanthropists Wardens of Radley College