Wesley College was a school in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

, England, from 1838 until 1905, when it was merged with Sheffield Royal Grammar School to form King Edward VII School.

History

The school, whose mission was to educate the sons of the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

, opened in 1838 in new buildings designed by

William Flockton Flockton's were a series of architectural firms in the 19th and early 20th centuries, based in Sheffield, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Gre ...

on Glossop Road, Sheffield. It was founded by Rev. Samuel Dousland Waddy (1804–1876) to "supply a generally superior and classical education, combined with religious training in the principles of

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

" and was initially called the "Wesleyan Proprietary Grammar School". The change in name to Wesley College seems to have taken place in 1844, when a "Royal Warrant, constituting the Sheffield Wesley College a college of the University of London was forwarded to Mr Waddy (subsequently Governor, from 1844 to 1862) by Sir James Graham, which empowered the college to issue certificates to candidates for examination for the several degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts, and Bachelor and Doctor of Laws". A year later it spurred Rev. James Gillman, William Ferguson, William Stewart and Thomas Waugh in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

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to consider creating a similar school in Dublin. The school accepted its first 90 boarders on 8 August 1838. By 1841 the number of pupils had increased to 172. In 1905 Wesley College was purchased by Sheffield Council and merged with Sheffield Royal Grammar School to form King Edward VII School (Upper School Site), named after the reigning monarch.

Headmasters

Governors

Wesley College was run from 1837 to 1888 by a 'Dyarchy', comprising the Governor and the Headmaster, the Governor being the senior of the pair (in theory).

Notable alumni

* Robert Bownas Mackie (1820–1885) – English politician and judge * Samuel Danks Waddy (1830–1902) – English politician, Judge (son of Samuel Dousland Waddy, above) * William Haswell Stephenson (1836–1918) – Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne * Frederick Cawley, 1st Baron Cawley (1850–1937) – cotton merchant and Liberal politician *

Leonard Cockayne Leonard Cockayne (7 April 1855 – 8 July 1934) is regarded as New Zealand's greatest botanist and a founder of Western science in New Zealand. Biography He was born in Sheffield, England where he attended Wesley College. He travelled to Aus ...

(1855–1934) – horticulturist, botanist * Hillson Beasley (1855–1936) – architect * John Bilson (1856–1943) – architect * Frank Wilson (1859–1918) –

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive br ...

* Cecil Henry Wilson (1862–1945) – Labour MP for Attercliffe * William John Hale (1862–1929) – architect * John Andrew Pearson (1867–1940) – architect in Canada * William Henry Cutts (1828–1897) – physician

Notable teachers

* Henry Perlee Parker (1795–1873), drawing-master (1840-1844) * Samuel Churchward was a mathematics teacher there in the 1871 census. He later went to

Elmfield College Elmfield College, York (1864–1932), originally called Connexional College or Jubilee College (or School) in honour of the Primitive Methodist Silver Jubilee in 1860, was a Primitive Methodist college on the outskirts of Heworth, York, Englan ...

References

* Cornwell, John (2005). ''King Ted's'' (1st ed.). King Edward VII School, Sheffield. . *

External links

Inspires founding of Wesley College, Dublin
{{Listed buildings in Sheffield Defunct schools in Sheffield Educational institutions established in 1838 Grade II* listed buildings in Sheffield School buildings completed in 1838 Educational institutions disestablished in 1905 1905 disestablishments in England 1838 establishments in England