Misplaced Pages

St Edmund's College, Ware: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 12:00, 23 January 2007 view source212.84.182.158 (talk) →O Beate mi Edmunde← Previous edit Latest revision as of 22:33, 20 December 2024 view source Nedrutland (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users67,371 editsNo edit summary 
(361 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
]
{{more footnotes needed|date=June 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox school
| name = St Edmund's College
| image = RGB CREST COLOUR.jpg
| image_size = 160px
| motto = ''Avita pro fide''<br/>(]: For the faith of our fathers)
| established = {{start date and age|1568}}
| type = ] day and ]
| religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic
| president = ], ]
| head_label = Headmaster
| headmaster = Matthew Mostyn
| r_head_label =
| r_head =
| chair_label = Chair of the Board of Governors
| chair = Patrick J Mitton
| specialist =
| address = ]
| city = ]
| county = ]
| country = England
| postcode = SG11 1DS
| local_authority =
| ofsted =
| urn =
| enrolment =
| gender = Coeducational
| lower_age = 3
| upper_age = 18
| houses =
| colours =
| publication =
| free_label_1 = Former pupils
| free_1 = Old Edmundians
| free_label_2 = Diocese
| free_2 = ]
| free_label_3 =
| free_3 =
| website = http://www.stedmundscollege.org/
}}


'''St Edmund's College''' is a coeducational ] day and boarding school in the ], set in {{convert|440|acre|km2}} in ]. Founded in 1568 as a seminary, then a boys' school, it is the oldest continuously operating and oldest post-] Catholic school in the country. Today it caters for boys and girls aged 3 to 18.
'''St Edmund's College''' is the oldest ] in ]. It is an exclusive ] set in 440 acres of ] countryside.


== History == ==History==
===Douai: 1568–1793===
St Edmund's College is a continuation on English soil of the ] that was founded by ] at ] in ], France in 1568. Originally intended as a ] to prepare priests to work in England to keep Catholicism alive, it soon also became a boys' school for Catholics, who were debarred from running such institutions in England.<ref name="Ward"/> Many of its students, both priests and laymen, returned to England to be put to death under the anti-Catholic laws. The college includes amongst its former alumni 20 canonised and 138 beatified martyrs.


===Silkstead, Twyford, Standon and Old Hall Green: 1662–1793===
'''Douay: 1568-1793'''
A small Catholic school was started in Hampshire in the second half of the 17th century. It was opened by a priest at Silkstead some time before 1662, and transferred to ], near ]. It was conducted in great secrecy, and was for boys of preparatory-school age who intended to proceed to the English College to complete more advanced studies. The poet ] was a student at the school, although he did not proceed to Douay. Twyford was closed in 1745 on account of ] feeling caused by the ], but ] re-established the school in Hertfordshire at ] in 1753, in a property owned by the Aston family. In 1769, Bishop ] moved the school to its current site at ]], near ], and it became known as Old Hall Green Academy.<ref name="Ward"></ref>


===Old Hall Green: 1793 – present===
St Edmund's College, the oldest ] school in England, is a continuation on English soil of the English College that was founded by ] at ] in ] in 1568. Originally intended as a ] to prepare priests to work in England to keep Catholicism alive, it soon also became a boys' school for Catholics, who were debarred from having such institutions in England. Many of its students, both priests and laymen, returned to England to be put to death under the anti-Catholic laws. The College includes amongst its former alumni 20 canonised and 133 beatified martyrs.
The work of the English College in ] was brought to an end by the ], and in October 1793 the college property was confiscated. Professors and students came back to England, where Relief Acts had considerably relaxed the penal laws against Catholics. ], Vicar Apostolic of the London District, realised that the time had come to replace the English College, and the earliest refugees joined the students at Old Hall Green Academy. On 16 November 1793 – the feast of ] – a new college was instituted.<ref name="Burton"> Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 13 January 2019.</ref> This was the beginning of a restoration of Catholic colleges and seminaries throughout England. Students from the North had established a separate foundation, which is now ], near ] by the time that the remaining staff and students arrived from Douay by 1795 to join St Edmund's College.


A gift of £10,000 from John Sone, a Hampshire Catholic, enabled St Edmund's to be established in new buildings, designed by James Taylor of Islington, who had himself been a student at the Old Hall Green Academy. A chapel and refectory were added in 1805 by ], who succeeded ] as president in 1801.<ref name="Burton"/> ], ], was the college's president from 1818 until 1834, and did much to give the college a sound financial basis, culminating in a project for a large Gothic chapel designed by ], completed in 1853. Nevertheless, the fortunes of the college varied throughout the 19th century and at times it seemed as if it might have to close. It was the seminary for the "London district" until 1850, when it became the joint property of the Sees of Westminster.<ref name="Burton"/>
'''Silkstead, Twyford, Standon & Old Hall Green: 1662-1793'''


The era of Vicars Apostolic ended in 1850 with the restoration of the Hierarchy. ], in his '']'', portrays the college as the scene of a dispute between ] and ] over whether a ] or an ] style should prevail there, and ultimately over who was to succeed ] as second Cardinal ].<ref>Lytton Strachey, 1918, ''Eminent Victorians'', Folio Society edition 1979 pp. 70 ff.</ref>
Later on, sometime during the second half of the 17th century, a small Catholic school was begun in Hampshire. It was opened by a priest at ] prior to 1662, and then transferred to ], near ]. It was conducted in great secrecy, and was for boys or preparatory school age, intending to proceed to the English College to complete more advanced studies. The poet ] was a student at this school, although he did not proceed to Douay. Twyford was closed in 1745 on account of ] feeling caused by the ], but ] re-established the school in Hertfordshire at Standon Lordship in 1749, in a property owned by the Aston family. In 1769, Bishop James Talbot moved the school to its current site at Old Hall Green, near ], and it became known as Old Hall Green Academy.


In 1869, ], now Archbishop, set up a seminary in ], and for the first time St Edmund's ceased to be a theological college. In 1874, the junior boys were separated from the rest of the college into St Hugh's Preparatory School, in a house originally built by Pugin for the Oxford convert ]. The prep school has since been renamed St Edmund's Preparatory School.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}
'''Old Hall Green: 1793-present'''


In 1893, ], was appointed president and started a scheme of rebuilding and improvements. Numbers in the school increased significantly, and in 1904 Archbishop ] decided to return the seminarians to the college. A new wing was built to house them, and this part of the college eventually became known as ], after Cardinal Allen, founder of the English College at ].
The work of the English College in ] was brought to an end by the ]. In October 1793 the College property was confiscated. Professors and students came back to England where, as a result of the Relief Acts, the penal laws against Catholics were considerably relaxed. Bishop John Douglass, Vicar Apostolic of the London District, realised that the time had come to replace the English College, and the earliest refugees joined the students at Old Hall Green Academy.


The college became considerably run down during the ]. On the walls leading up to the Chapel there are memorials to eighty-two former students who fell during World War I. A legacy became available to Cardinal Bourne, which was used to carry out badly needed repairs and additions.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}
On 16 November 1793 - the feast of ], Archbishop of Canterbury - a new College was instituted.


The college celebrated the 400th anniversary of its foundation in 1968. In 1975 the seminarians departed for the second time, moving to ] but retaining the name of ]. The school expanded considerably in the 1970s. In 1974, girls from the nearby ] and elsewhere were admitted into the sixth form as the first step towards complete ], which was accomplished with the closure of Poles Convent in 1986. In 1996, an infants' department was added to the junior school, meaning that St Edmund's would now educate pupils aged 3–18. St Edmund's College celebrated its 450th anniversary in 2018.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}
]


==Houses==
The establishment of St Edmund's College was the beginning of the restoration of colleges and seminaries throughout England. The remaining staff and students arrived from Douay by 1795, and not before student from the North had left and established a separate foundation which is now ], near ]. A gift of £10,000 from ], a Hampshire Catholic, enabled St Edmund's to be established in new buildings designed by James Taylor of Islington, who had himself been a student at the Old Hall Green Academy.
Heads of house, assisted by a team of tutors, provide continuity of care throughout students' time at the college and are the normal means of contact between the college and parents. House spirit is encouraged through various inter-house competitions, sporting and cultural, and through house celebrations, ranging from formal dinners to summer barbecues.


There are five houses (years of foundation in brackets):
The fortunes of the College varied throughout the 19th century, and at times it seemed as if the school might have to close. In 1853 a chapel designed by ] was completed. This took place during the episcopate of Bishop Thomas Griffiths, who had been the College's President from 1818 until 1834, and had done much to give the College a sound financial basis.
*] (1922)
*] (1922)
*] (1990)
*] (1970)
*] (1922)


There are five former houses (years of existence in brackets):
The era of Vicars Apostolic ended in 1850 with the restoration of the Hierarchy. In 1869, the Archbishop of Westminster, ], set up a seminary in ], and for the first time St Edmund's ceased to be a theological college. In 1874, the junior boys were separated from the rest of the College into St Hugh's Preparatory School, in a house originally built by Pugin for the Oxford convert ]. In 1893 his son, ], was appointed President, and he started a scheme of rebuilding and improvements. Numbers in the school increased significantly, and in 1904 ] decided to return the seminarians to the College. A new wing was built to house them, and this part of the College eventually became known as Allen Hall, after ] the founder of the English College at ].
*] (1922–1975)
*] (1972–1984)
*Junior House (1945–1953 and 1961–1993)
*] (1975–1990)
*] (1975–1996)


==Boarding==
The College became considerably run down during the ]. However, a legacy of money became available to Cardinal Bourne, and this was used to carry out badly needed repairs and new additions.
Pupils may choose to board full time or on certain days of the week. There are two main boarding houses: Allen Hall (boys) and Garvey's (girls). The accommodation areas are supervised by residential staff.


==''O Beate mi Edmunde''==
The College celebrated the quater-centenary of its foundation in 1968. 1975 saw the departure of the seminarians for the second time: they moved to ] but retained the name of Allen Hall. The school expanded considerably during the 1970s. In 1974, girls from the nearby ] and elsewhere were admitted into the sixth form as the first step towards complete ], which was accomplished with the closure of Poles Convent in 1986.
The college anthem was composed by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman for the solemn enshrinement of the Relic of St Edmund in the college chapel. The song has a total of 30 verses arranged into three decades, the first and third decades are each preceded and concluded with the following chorus, and the second decade with a variation of it. It is sung every year on the three days before 16 November, St Edmund's Day, when St Edmund is remembered. Ten verses are sung each day in chapel of what is called the Triduum.
:''O Beate mi Edmunde x2,''
:''Sic pro me ad Filium Dei,''
:''Cum Maria preces funde x2,''
:''Ut per vos sim placens Ei.''


==The Edmundian Association==
In 1996 the Infants Department was opened in St Hugh's, which now means that the College can educate students from age 3-18.
The Edmundian Association was founded in 1853 and has members throughout the world. Its aim is to maintain a bond between the college and its alumni, and among members. Membership is available to past pupils of the college and their parents, parents of current pupils, and current and past members of staff.


===Notable former pupils===
{{see also|Category:People educated at St Edmund's College, Ware}}
<!---need class year and footnote showing association with college--->


====Lay persons====
{| class="wikitable"
*] (born 1973) – actress on ] drama ]
!List of Presidents
*] (born 1932) – British-Venezuelan architect
!List of Headmasters
*Nicholas Bannister (1960-) - associate editor The Guardian
|-
*
|valign=top|
*] (1856–1924) – painter of ], the ] trademark dog
*Bishop '''Gregory Stapleton''' DD (1795-1801)
*] (1887–1980) – diplomat
*Bishop '''William Poynter''' DD (1801-1813)
*] (1813–1888) – artist
*Fr '''Joseph Kimbell''' (1813-1817)
*] (living) – producer and artistic director
*Fr '''John Bew''' DD (1817-1817)
*] (born 1987) – Princess of Swaziland
*Bishop '''Thomas Griffiths''' DD (1818-1834)
*] (born 1968) – Irish international rugby player
*Fr '''Richard Newell''' DD (1834-1837)
*] (1844–1926) – Rouge Dragon Pursuivant and Somerset Herald, ]
*Fr '''John Rolfe''' (1838-1840)
*] (1850–1931) – pioneer of fingerprint usage in crime investigations
*Canon '''Edward Cox''' DD (1840-1851)
*] (born 1994) – professional footballer
*Bishop '''William Weathers''' DD (1851-1868)
*] (born 1983) – professional footballer
*Canon '''Frederick Rymer''' DD (1868-1870)
*] (1837–1909) – poet
*Monsignor '''James Laird Patterson''' MA (1870-1880)
*] (1899–1989) – novelist and children's writer
*Canon '''George Akers''' MA (1880-1882)
*] (born 1972) – Commonwealth Games javelin gold medallist
*Monsignor '''Patrick Fenton''' (1882-1887)
*] (1871–1958) – aeronautical engineer
*Monsignor Canon '''John Crook''' (1887-1893)
*] (1897–1922) – Irish nationalist
*Bishop '''Bernard Ward''' (1893-1916)
*] (1829–1888) – controversialist and poet
*Canon '''Edwin Burton''' DD FRHistS (1916-1918)
*] ] (1835–1857) – hero of the ]
*Archbishop '''Edward Myers''' MA (1919-1932)
*] (1882–1968) – footwear designer and businessman
*Monsignor Canon '''Francis Bickford''' VG MC (1932-1946)
*] (1896–1949) – test pilot, air racer and aviation pioneer
*Monsignor Canon '''John Bagshawe''' (1946-1952)
*] (born 1977) – actor
*Monsignor '''Reginald Butcher''' MA (1952-1964)
*] (1916–2004) – ornithologist, after whom ] is named
*Monsignor Canon '''Maurice Kelleher''' (1964-1968)
*Bishop '''Christopher Butler''' OSB VG MA LLD (1968-1986)
*Cardinal '''Basil Hume''' OSB OM MA STL (1986-1999)
*Cardinal '''Cormac Murphy-O'Connor''' STL PhL (2000-present)
|valign=top|
''The post of Headmaster was created in 1926.''


====Clergy====
*Fr '''Francis Healy''' MA (1926-1929)
*] (1861–1935) – Archbishop of Westminster, also buried here
*Fr '''Albert Purdie''' PhD MA OBE (1929-1936)
*] (1874–1923) – priest, scholar and adventurer
*Fr '''Thomas Sherlock''' BSc (1936-1940)
*] (1908–2011) – scripture scholar
*'''Hal "Rex" King''' TD KSG MA (1940-1949)
*Daniel Gilbert – Canon and Vicar General of the Diocese of Westminster 1868–95; founder of Providence Row Night Refuge
*Canon '''Denis Britt-Compton''' MA (1949-1968)
*] (born 1929) – deconsecrated Roman Catholic priest and anti-war campaigner
*Fr '''Michael Garvey''' MA (1968-1984)
*] (1930–2016) – 8th ]
*'''Donald McEwen''' KSG KCHS MA FRSA (1984-2002)
*] (1888–1957) – satirist, essayist, novelist and translator
*'''Mark Loughlin''' PhD (2002-2004)
*] (born 1950) – Bishop of Clifton
*'''Christopher Long''' BA (2004-present)
*] (1858–1910) – Fifth Catholic Bishop of ], New Zealand (1896–1910)
|}
*Edward Myers (1875–1956) – president of St Edmund's College 1918–32, Coadjutor Archbishop of Westminster 1951–6, Titular Archbishop of ], editor, ]; namesake of Archbishop Myers Secondary School, now ], ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmyerse.html |title=Archbishop Edward Myers |first=David M. |last=Cheney |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org |access-date=2018-09-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912091937/http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmyerse.html |archive-date=2018-09-12 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>The Catholic Who's Who, vol. 35, Francis Cowley Burnand, Burns & Oates, 1952, p. 328</ref>

*] (1802–1880) – translator of the carol "Adeste Fideles" into English
== O Beate mi Edmunde ==
*Clement Henry Parsons – founder and first headmaster of ]
The College anthem was composed by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman for the solemn enshrinement of the Relic of St Edmund in the College Chapel. The song has a total of 30 verses arranged into three decades, the first and third decades are each preceded and concluded with the following chorus, and the second decade with a variation of it.
* ] (1899-1976) - Archbishop of Glasgow

*] (born 1946) – Archbishop of Cardiff
:'''''O Beate mi Edmunde,'''''
*] (1832–1903) – Archbishop of Westminster
:'''''O Beate mi Edmunde''''',
*] (1920–1996) – Archbishop of Liverpool
:'''''Sic pro me ad Filium Dei,'''''
:'''''Cum Maria preces funde,'''''
:'''''Cum Maria preces funde,'''''
:'''''Ut per vos sim placens Ei.'''''


Edmundia!!!!

==The Edmundian Association==
The Edmundian Association was founded in 1853 and has members throughout the world. Its aim is to maintain a bond between the College and its alumni.

=== Notable alumni ===

* ] ''Painter of ], the HMV dog''
* ] ''Artist''
* Sir ] Bt ''Pioneer of fingerprints''
* Dr ] ''Scripture scholar''
* Dr ] ''Peace campaigner''
* Monsignor ] ''Satirist, essayist, novelist & translator''
* Ensign ] VC ''Hero of the Indian Mutiny''
* ] ''Poet''
* ] ''Member of Parliament''
* ] ''Commonwealth Games Javelin Gold-Medallist''
* Canon ] ''Translator of Adeste Fideles into English''
* ] ''Controversialist & poet''
* Sir ] ''Actor''
* ] ''Footwear designer & businessman''
* Archbishop ] ''Television evangelist''
* ] ''Jockey''
* ] ''Actor''
* Cardinal ] ''Archbishop of Westminster''
* Bishop ] ''Bishop of Brentwood''
* Archbishop ] CH ''Archbishop of Liverpool''
* ] ''Ornithologist after whom ] is named''


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist}}
*David J S Kay, ''The Buildings of St Edmund's College'' (St Edmund's College: 2000) ISBN 0-9538316-0-4
*David J S Kay, ''The People of St Edmund's College'' (The Edmundian Association: 2003) ISBN 0-9546125-0-7 *David J S Kay, ''The Buildings of St Edmund's College'' (St Edmund's College: 2000) {{ISBN|978-0-9538316-0-9}}
*David J S Kay, ''St Edmund's College Prayer Book'' (The Edmundian Association: 2006) ISBN 0-9546125-1-5 *David J S Kay, ''The People of St Edmund's College'' (The Edmundian Association: 2003) {{ISBN|978-0-9546125-0-4}}
*David J S Kay, ''St Edmund's College Prayer Book'' (illustrated by Joseph Pike) (The Edmundian Association: 2006) {{ISBN|978-0-9546125-1-1}}
*Michael G Garvey, ''St Edmund's College and its Chapel – Historical Guide'' (The Edmundian Association: 2010) {{ISBN|978-0-9546125-2-8}}
*Nicholas Schofield, ''The History of St Edmund's College'' (picture editor David J S Kay) (The Edmundian Association: 2013) {{ISBN|978-0-9546125-3-5}}


==External links== ==External links==
* *{{Official website|http://www.stedmundscollege.org/}}
* *
* on the ] website
*{{CathEncy|wstitle=Old Hall (St. Edmund's College)}}

{{Schools in Hertfordshire|independent}}
{{Listed buildings in Hertfordshire}}
{{Diocese of Westminster}}
{{English and Welsh Catholic Seminaries}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord |51|52|49|N|0|00|31|W|display=title}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Edmund's College, Ware}}
]
]
]
]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 22:33, 20 December 2024

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Private day and boarding school in Ware, Hertfordshire, England
St Edmund's College
Address
Old Hall Green
Ware, Hertfordshire, SG11 1DS
England
Information
TypePrivate day and boarding school
MottoAvita pro fide
(Latin: For the faith of our fathers)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1568; 457 years ago (1568)
PresidentVincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster
Chair of the Board of GovernorsPatrick J Mitton
HeadmasterMatthew Mostyn
GenderCoeducational
Age3 to 18
Former pupilsOld Edmundians
DioceseWestminster
Websitehttp://www.stedmundscollege.org/

St Edmund's College is a coeducational private day and boarding school in the British public school tradition, set in 440 acres (1.8 km) in Ware, Hertfordshire. Founded in 1568 as a seminary, then a boys' school, it is the oldest continuously operating and oldest post-Reformation Catholic school in the country. Today it caters for boys and girls aged 3 to 18.

History

Douai: 1568–1793

St Edmund's College is a continuation on English soil of the English College that was founded by William Cardinal Allen at Douai in Flanders, France in 1568. Originally intended as a seminary to prepare priests to work in England to keep Catholicism alive, it soon also became a boys' school for Catholics, who were debarred from running such institutions in England. Many of its students, both priests and laymen, returned to England to be put to death under the anti-Catholic laws. The college includes amongst its former alumni 20 canonised and 138 beatified martyrs.

Silkstead, Twyford, Standon and Old Hall Green: 1662–1793

A small Catholic school was started in Hampshire in the second half of the 17th century. It was opened by a priest at Silkstead some time before 1662, and transferred to Twyford, near Winchester. It was conducted in great secrecy, and was for boys of preparatory-school age who intended to proceed to the English College to complete more advanced studies. The poet Alexander Pope was a student at the school, although he did not proceed to Douay. Twyford was closed in 1745 on account of anti-Catholic feeling caused by the Jacobite rising, but Bishop Richard Challoner re-established the school in Hertfordshire at Standon Lordship in 1753, in a property owned by the Aston family. In 1769, Bishop James Talbot moved the school to its current site at Old Hall Green], near Puckeridge, and it became known as Old Hall Green Academy.

Old Hall Green: 1793 – present

The work of the English College in Douay was brought to an end by the French Revolution, and in October 1793 the college property was confiscated. Professors and students came back to England, where Relief Acts had considerably relaxed the penal laws against Catholics. John Douglass, Vicar Apostolic of the London District, realised that the time had come to replace the English College, and the earliest refugees joined the students at Old Hall Green Academy. On 16 November 1793 – the feast of St Edmund of Canterbury – a new college was instituted. This was the beginning of a restoration of Catholic colleges and seminaries throughout England. Students from the North had established a separate foundation, which is now Ushaw College, near Durham by the time that the remaining staff and students arrived from Douay by 1795 to join St Edmund's College.

A gift of £10,000 from John Sone, a Hampshire Catholic, enabled St Edmund's to be established in new buildings, designed by James Taylor of Islington, who had himself been a student at the Old Hall Green Academy. A chapel and refectory were added in 1805 by Bishop Poynter, who succeeded Dr. Stapleton as president in 1801. Thomas Griffiths, Vicar Apostolic of the London District, was the college's president from 1818 until 1834, and did much to give the college a sound financial basis, culminating in a project for a large Gothic chapel designed by Pugin, completed in 1853. Nevertheless, the fortunes of the college varied throughout the 19th century and at times it seemed as if it might have to close. It was the seminary for the "London district" until 1850, when it became the joint property of the Sees of Westminster.

The era of Vicars Apostolic ended in 1850 with the restoration of the Hierarchy. Strachey, in his Eminent Victorians, portrays the college as the scene of a dispute between Henry Edward Manning and Dr Errington over whether a recusant or an ultramontane style should prevail there, and ultimately over who was to succeed Wiseman as second Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster.

In 1869, Manning, now Archbishop, set up a seminary in Hammersmith, and for the first time St Edmund's ceased to be a theological college. In 1874, the junior boys were separated from the rest of the college into St Hugh's Preparatory School, in a house originally built by Pugin for the Oxford convert William George Ward. The prep school has since been renamed St Edmund's Preparatory School.

In 1893, Bernard Ward, was appointed president and started a scheme of rebuilding and improvements. Numbers in the school increased significantly, and in 1904 Archbishop Francis Bourne decided to return the seminarians to the college. A new wing was built to house them, and this part of the college eventually became known as Allen Hall, after Cardinal Allen, founder of the English College at Douay.

The college became considerably run down during the First World War. On the walls leading up to the Chapel there are memorials to eighty-two former students who fell during World War I. A legacy became available to Cardinal Bourne, which was used to carry out badly needed repairs and additions.

The college celebrated the 400th anniversary of its foundation in 1968. In 1975 the seminarians departed for the second time, moving to Chelsea but retaining the name of Allen Hall. The school expanded considerably in the 1970s. In 1974, girls from the nearby Poles Convent and elsewhere were admitted into the sixth form as the first step towards complete coeducation, which was accomplished with the closure of Poles Convent in 1986. In 1996, an infants' department was added to the junior school, meaning that St Edmund's would now educate pupils aged 3–18. St Edmund's College celebrated its 450th anniversary in 2018.

Houses

Heads of house, assisted by a team of tutors, provide continuity of care throughout students' time at the college and are the normal means of contact between the college and parents. House spirit is encouraged through various inter-house competitions, sporting and cultural, and through house celebrations, ranging from formal dinners to summer barbecues.

There are five houses (years of foundation in brackets):

There are five former houses (years of existence in brackets):

Boarding

Pupils may choose to board full time or on certain days of the week. There are two main boarding houses: Allen Hall (boys) and Garvey's (girls). The accommodation areas are supervised by residential staff.

O Beate mi Edmunde

The college anthem was composed by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman for the solemn enshrinement of the Relic of St Edmund in the college chapel. The song has a total of 30 verses arranged into three decades, the first and third decades are each preceded and concluded with the following chorus, and the second decade with a variation of it. It is sung every year on the three days before 16 November, St Edmund's Day, when St Edmund is remembered. Ten verses are sung each day in chapel of what is called the Triduum.

O Beate mi Edmunde x2,
Sic pro me ad Filium Dei,
Cum Maria preces funde x2,
Ut per vos sim placens Ei.

The Edmundian Association

The Edmundian Association was founded in 1853 and has members throughout the world. Its aim is to maintain a bond between the college and its alumni, and among members. Membership is available to past pupils of the college and their parents, parents of current pupils, and current and past members of staff.

Notable former pupils

See also: Category:People educated at St Edmund's College, Ware

Lay persons

Clergy

References

  1. ^ Ward, Bernard. A History of St. Edmund's College, London. Kegan Paul. 1893
  2. ^ Burton, Edwin. "Old Hall (St Edmund's College)." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 13 January 2019.
  3. Lytton Strachey, 1918, Eminent Victorians, Folio Society edition 1979 pp. 70 ff.
  4. Cheney, David M. "Archbishop Edward Myers [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  5. The Catholic Who's Who, vol. 35, Francis Cowley Burnand, Burns & Oates, 1952, p. 328
  • David J S Kay, The Buildings of St Edmund's College (St Edmund's College: 2000) ISBN 978-0-9538316-0-9
  • David J S Kay, The People of St Edmund's College (The Edmundian Association: 2003) ISBN 978-0-9546125-0-4
  • David J S Kay, St Edmund's College Prayer Book (illustrated by Joseph Pike) (The Edmundian Association: 2006) ISBN 978-0-9546125-1-1
  • Michael G Garvey, St Edmund's College and its Chapel – Historical Guide (The Edmundian Association: 2010) ISBN 978-0-9546125-2-8
  • Nicholas Schofield, The History of St Edmund's College (picture editor David J S Kay) (The Edmundian Association: 2013) ISBN 978-0-9546125-3-5

External links

Schools in Hertfordshire
Primary
Secondary
Independent (preparatory)
Independent (senior)
Special
Special Independent
Defunct
Listed buildings in Hertfordshire
Grade I
Broxbourne
Dacorum
East Hertfordshire
Hertsmere
North Hertfordshire
St Albans
Stevenage
Three Rivers
Watford
Welwyn Hatfield
Grade II*
Broxbourne
Dacorum
East Hertfordshire
Hertsmere
North Hertfordshire
St Albans
Three Rivers
Watford
Welwyn Hatfield
Other boroughs
Grade II
Broxbourne
Dacorum
East Hertfordshire
Hertsmere
North Hertfordshire
St Albans
Stevenage
Three Rivers
Watford
Welwyn Hatfield
Diocese of Westminster
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster
Archbishops of Westminster
Coat of arms of the Diocese of Westminster
Churches
Patronal Feasts of the Diocese
Schools
See also
Roman Catholic seminaries in England and Wales
Current Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
Former

51°52′49″N 0°00′31″W / 51.88028°N 0.00861°W / 51.88028; -0.00861

Categories: