Independent College, later Homerton Academy, was a

dissenting academy The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, Protestants who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of educatio ...

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 ...

just outside London, England, in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Background

In 1695 the Congregational Fund was set up in London to provide for the education of

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

ministers, and to provide an alternative to the education offered by the Universities of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, which was barred by law to

English Dissenters English Dissenters or English Separatists were Protestants who separated from the Church of England in the 17th and 18th centuries. English Dissenters opposed state interference in religious matters and founded their own churches, educationa ...

. Around 35 of these so-called

dissenting academies The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, Protestants who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of educatio ...

arose during the 18th century, offering education without the requirement of conformity to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. They promoted a more modern curriculum of science, philosophy and modern history than the

ancient universities The ancient universities are seven British and Irish medieval universities and early modern universities that were founded before 1600. Four of these are located in Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and University of St Andrews, St Andre ...

who took a more traditionalist approach to learning. One of these was the Independent College, Homerton, which appointed Dr John Conder as President in 1754. It was supported by the King's Head Society. In 1850 the union of the Homerton establishment with

Daventry Academy Daventry Academy was a dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by English Dissenters. It moved to many locations, but was most associated with Daventry, where its most famous pupil was Joseph Priestley. It had a high reputation, ...

and Highbury College resulted in the creation of

New College London New College London (1850–1980) (sometimes known as New College, St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 ...

Foundation

Homerton College was known as King's Head Academy when it moved in 1768/69 from Plaisterers' Hall, London, to a large house on the north side of the high street of

, in the parish of Hackney, close to London, in which they sought to base all their teaching. The trustees were appointed by the King's Head Society and were strict Calvinists. From 1817 the trustees were appointed by the Homerton Academy Society instead of by the King's Head Society. The name was changed to Homerton College in 1823.

Teachers and students

Dr John Conder was the theological tutor at Plaisterer's Hall Academy in 1754; and residential tutor and theological tutor at Mile End Academy (1754 to 1769) then the theological tutor at Homerton Academy (1769 to 1781). Dr. Daniel Fisher was the resident tutor at Homerton Academy (1771 to 1781); then the theology tutor (1781 to 1803). From 1800 John Pye-Smith one of the best known non-conformist theologians of his day, was residential tutor and in effect principal at Homerton from 1805 to 1850. The college boasted several members of distinction: one of its tutors, Henry Mayo, was described by

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson, '' Life of Samuel ...

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

’s "literary anvil"; another was offered a

Doctorate of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (i.e., Christian theology and ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the English-speaking world than elsewhere. In the United Kin ...

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. The college only ever had between 12 and 20 students at any time. In 1819 the society supported 12 of the 18 students with the remain 6 supported by the Congregational Fund Board. This allowed the college to train ministers who came from the poorer non-conformist communities, such as Ezekiel Blomfield, who led congregations in

Wymondham Wymondham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. It lies on the River Tiffey, south-west of Norwich and just off the A11 road (England), A11 road to London. The pari ...

, Harleston and Wortwell in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. Ministers trained at the college also chose to become missionaries, such as William Ellis, and Edward Stallybrass, who became a

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

with the

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 tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

to the Buryat people of

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

Evolution into Homerton College, Cambridge

In 1824, the building itself was added to and partially rebuilt. Not long afterwards, following the liberalisation of access to English universities, the work of the dissenting academies could become mainstream.

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

became the first English university to admit students without a need for conformity to the Established Church. In 1850, the College was re-founded by the Congregational Board of Education, to concentrate on the study of education itself. It did so by transferring its theological courses to

, of which the Rev. John Harris DD was Congregationalist Principal. The Congregational Board purchased the buildings at Hackney, and the students and staff moved into the vacant college buildings at

in 1894. Initially taking the name of Homerton New College at Cavendish College, it shortly became just

Homerton College, Cambridge Homerton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Its first premises were acquired in Homerton, London in 1768, by an informal gathering of Protestant dissenters with origins in the seventeenth century. In 1894, the col ...

, with John Charles Horobin as the first principal.

Notes

{{authority control Dissenting academies Homerton Defunct schools in the London Borough of Hackney