Cotton College was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

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 from the 1840s until the school moved there in 1873. The school closed in 1987 and the site is now derelict. The school and its chapel (St Wilfrid's church) are both

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

s.Cotton College, Cotton
from British listed buildings, retrieved 22 December 2014

History of the school

The school was founded in 1763 at

Sedgley Park School, Wolverhampton Sedgley Park School was a Roman Catholic Academy located on the outskirts of Wolverhampton, then part of Staffordshire. The school was founded by William Errington, at the request of Bishop Richard Challoner, on 25 March 1763. History Errington ...

– now a hotel. It 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 recommendation of

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

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 h ...

. In 1873 it moved to Cotton Hall. The school closed in 1987 due to financial difficulties.

Architecture

Cotton Hall

Original building

Cotton Hall appears to date back to 1630"Cotton College War Memorial", Historic England
/ref> and was most probably built by the Morrice family. Thomas Gilbert rebuilt the house in the eighteenth century. In 1843 Cotton Hall was sold to the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

. The Earl was a prominent Roman Catholic, who lived at Alton Towers nearby. He offered the building to a religious community under the leadership of

Frederick William Faber Frederick William Faber (1814–1863) was a noted English hymnwriter and theologian, who converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism in 1845. He was ordained to the Catholic priesthood subsequently in 1847. His best-known work is the hymn ...

Extensions

The house was extended in 1846–1848 for use by the religious community, which started a village school and sought to convert locals to Roman Catholicism. The building work was financed by the Earl, who gave the commission to his architect

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

, most famous for his work with

Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also respons ...

on the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...

. After the boarding school moved to Cotton, the building was further extended in 1874-1875, 1886-1887 and 1931-1932.

St Wilfrid's Church

As well as extending the house, Pugin designed a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

in Gothic Revival style linked to the main building by a single-storey passage building. It has a south-west tower with a broach spire. St Wilfrid's Church remained intact after the closure of the school, although regular services are no longer held there.History
from CottonCollege.co.uk, retrieved 22 December 2014

Notable alumni

David Cashman David John Cashman (1912–1971) was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Arundel and Brighton from 1965 to 1971.

(Bishop of Arundel and Brighton) *

Kieran Conry Kieran Thomas Conry (born 1 February 1951) is a Roman Catholic bishop. He was the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton from 2001 until his resignation in 2014. Early life and ordination Conry was born in Coventry and educated at All Souls Roman Ca ...

(Bishop of Arundel and Brighton) * John Cornwell (writer) * Billy Kan Hong Kong billionaire * Camille Solon (artist) * Thomas Williams (Archbishop of Birmingham)

References

External links

Cotton College site
{{Coord, 53, 0, 55, N, 1, 54, 13, W, display=title Defunct universities and colleges in England Defunct Christian universities and colleges Boarding schools in Staffordshire Defunct Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham Educational institutions disestablished in 1987 Educational institutions established in 1763 1763 establishments in England 1987 disestablishments in England Former Catholic seminaries Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire Defunct boarding schools in England