Nathaniel Woodard

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Nathaniel Woodard (21 March 1811 - 25 April 1891) was a priest in the Church of England. He founded 11 schools for the middle classes in England whose aim was to provide education based on sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith. His educational principles are promoted today through the Woodard Corporation.

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[edit] Early life

Woodard was born at Basildon Hall in Essex (now known as Barstable Hall) the son of a country gentleman of limited means and was brought up and educated privately by his pious and devout mother. In 1834 he entered Magdalen Hall, Oxford (later merged into Hertford College, Oxford), where his academic studies were interrupted by marriage - although he took a pass degree in 1840.

As a result of the influence of his mother, Woodard's religious sympathies were Evangelical when he first became a student at Oxford, but, whilst he was there, he soon found himself strongly drawn to the growing Tractarian Movement and, as a result, developed Anglo-Catholic sympathies which he kept for the remainder of his life.

[edit] Career

He was ordained in 1841 and obtained a curacy at St Bartholomew's, Bethnal Green. Here he started a church school for the children of deprived parishioners. As a result of a controversial sermon - in which he argued that The Book of Common Prayer should include separate provision for confession and absolution - he was moved to another curacy at St. John's, Clapton.

In 1846, obtaining a curacy at St Mary's, New Shoreham, he was again struck by the poverty, and the lack of education amongst his middle class parishioners - many of whom were actually less well educated than many of their employees who had been educated in the parochial school. He opened a day school in his vicarage, and in 1848, he started St Nicholas' School, which took boarders, and was in 1849 merged to form the College of St Mary and St Nicholas, and these eventually formed the present day Lancing College. It was from these beginnings that he started to work full time on promoting educational projects, resigning from his curacy in 1850. Woodard was supported in these endeavours by Edward Clarke Lowe, headmaster and director of many of the schools, who prevailed upon him in 1874 to provide for the education of women at the schools founded in Abbots Bromley.

'... till the Church educates and trains up the middle classes, she can never effectually educate the poor'

– Nathaniel Woodard, That One Idea, by Leonard and Evelyn Cowie

The extent of his success was recognised in 1870 when Oxford University bestowed on him the degree of DCL and he was made Canon of Manchester Cathedral by Gladstone. Woodard used the majority of the generous stipend which went with his position as Canon towards the funds for building the schools.

In accordance with his firm Anglo-Catholic beliefs, and in contrast to similar although less successful work by Joseph Lloyd Brereton there were no concessions to either those Anglicans of the low church or to those belonging to non-conformist churches. The efforts of Woodard and his supporters raised about £500,000 by the time of his death in 1891.

Woodard succeeded in gaining the admiration of people like William Gladstone and Matthew Arnold.

[edit] Schools founded by Woodard

There are 11 in total and they include:

[edit] References

  • Honey, J.R.deS.: Tom Brown's Universe (1977)
  • Cowie, Leonard and Evelyn: That One Idea: Nathaniel Woodard and His Schools (1991)

[edit] External links

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