Hackney Academy (later

Hackney College New City College (NCC) is a large college of further education with campuses in East London and Essex. The college was formed in 2016 with the amalgamation of separate colleges, beginning with the merger between Tower Hamlets College and Hackney C ...

) was a 19th-century

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, known variously as Hackney Theological College, Hoxton Academy, and Highbury College. As the changing names suggest, it did not spend all of its existence in what is now the

London Borough of Hackney 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 ...

. It eventually became part of

New College, London New College London (1850–1980) (sometimes known as New College, St John's Wood, or New College, Hampstead) was founded as a Congregationalist college in 1850. Predecessor institutions New College London came into being in 1850 by the amalgamat ...

, now subsumed within the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. The Hackney Theological Seminary began in 1802 as a philanthropic non-denominational venture promoted by the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Rev.

John Eyre John Eyre may refer to: Politicians *John Eyre (died 1581), Member of Parliament for Wiltshire and Salisbury *John Eyre (died 1639), MP for Cricklade * John Eyre (1659–1709), MP for Galway Borough, son of the above *John Eyre (died 1745), MP for ...

Homerton Homerton ( ) is an area in London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bordered to the west by Hackney Central, to the north by Lower Clapton, in the east by Hackney Wick, Leyton and by South Hackney to the south. In 2019, it had ...

, and the

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Rev.

George Collison George Collison (1772–1847) was an English Congregationalist and educator associated with Hackney Academy or Hackney College, which became part of New College London—itself part of the University of London. Early life Collison was born i ...

, with their associates, the Rev. Matthew Wilks of Whitefield's Tabernacle, Moorfields, and Rev.

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...

of Surrey Chapel. It opened the following year, with £10,000 from a wealthy resident of Homerton named Charles Townsend. This seminary was intended to send evangelical preachers into the countryside, what was at first called the Village Itinerancy Society, or Evangelical Association for the Propagation of the Gospel. According to the ''

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...

'': The training of ministers evolved as only part of the academy's function. It also raised funds to build dozens of new chapels, and worked closely with the non-denominational

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...

, with which several of the college's founders were associated, to promote missionary work. On Collison's death in 1847, the presidency of Hackney Academy passed to the Rev. John Watson (1804–1859) of

Union Chapel, Islington Union Chapel is a working church, live entertainment venue and charity drop-in centre for the homeless in Islington, London, England. Built in the late 19th century in the Gothic revival style, the church is Grade I-listed. It is at the north ...

, who died when struck down by a vehicle on

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

. After 1871, the academy formally used the name

. In 1887, as it had outgrown its Well Street premises in Hackney, it took on new premises in

Finchley Road Finchley Road is a designated arterial road in north-west London, England. The Finchley Road starts in St John's Wood near central London as part of the A41; its southern half is a major dual carriageway with high traffic levels often freque ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, where it was associated with Peter Taylor Forsyth. In 1900, it merged with

New College London New College London (1850–1980) (sometimes known as New College, St John's Wood, or New College, Hampstead) was founded as a Congregationalist college in 1850. Predecessor institutions New College London came into being in 1850 by the amalgama ...

and became part of the

. From 1924 onwards, it was known as Hackney and New College. Confusingly, the

building frequently used the name Hackney College.

References

{{reflist

See also

References

Further reading