[ Today it provides boarding and day education to approximately 450 boys and girls aged 13–18. On an adjacent site, its preparatory school]In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
, St Mary's HallStonyhurst St Mary's Hall is the preparatory school to Stonyhurst College. It is an independent co-educational Catholic school founded by the Society of Jesus . It is primarily a day school but has some boarders...
, provides education for boys and girls aged 3–13.
Under the motto Quant Je Puis, "All that I can", the school combines an academic curriculum with extra-curricular pursuits. Roman Catholicism plays a central role in college life, with emphasis on both prayer and service, according to the Jesuit philosophy of creating "Men and Women for Others".
The school's alumni include three Saints, twelve BeatiBeatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
, seven archbishops, seven Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
winners, a Peruvian presidentEduardo López de Romaña y Alvizuri was President of Peru from 1899 to 1903. A respected member of the Peruvian Elite and López de Romaña Family, he was the first engineer to become President of the Republic, and one of several Presidents from the Civilista Party during the era of the "Aristocratic...
and prime minister, a New Zealand Prime MinisterSir Frederick Aloysius Weld, GCMG , was a New Zealand politician and a governor of various British colonies. He was the sixth Premier of New Zealand, and later served as Governor of Western Australia, Governor of Tasmania, and Governor of the Straits Settlements.-Early life:Weld was born near...
, a signatory of the American Declaration of IndependenceCharles Carroll of Carrollton was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later as United States Senator for Maryland...
and a number of writers, sportsmen, and politicians.
Stonyhurst Hall
The earliest deed concerning the "Stanihurst" is held in the college's Arundell Library; it dates from approximately 1200. In 1372, a license was granted to John de Bayley for an oratory on the site. His descendants, the Shireburn family, completed the oldest portion of the extant buildings. Richard Shireburn began building the hall, which was enlarged by his grandson Nicholas who also constructed the ponds, avenue and gardens. Following his death, the estate passed to his wife and then to their sole heir, Mary, the Duchess of Norfolk. In 1754, it was inherited by her cousin Thomas WeldLulworth Castle, in East Lulworth, Dorset, situated south of Wool, is an early 17th century mock castle. The stone building has now been re-built as a museum....
of LulworthLulworth is the popular name for an area on the coast of Dorset, South West England notable for its castle and cove. However there is no actual place or feature called simply "Lulworth", the villages are East and West Lulworth and the coastal feature is Lulworth Cove.See:*East Lulworth *Lulworth...
. A former pupil of the school from its years in Liège, he donated the buildings, with 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) of land, in 1794 to the Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
.
The college
The story of the school starts at St OmerSaint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
in what was then the Spanish Netherlands in 1593, where a college, under the Royal Patronage of Philip II of SpainPhilip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, was founded by Fr Robert Persons SJ for English boys unable to receive a CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
education in Elizabethan EnglandThe Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
. As such it was one of a number of expatriate English schools operating on the European mainland. In 1762, the Jesuits were forced to flee and re-established their school at BrugesBruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
. The school was moved in 1773 to Liège, where it operated for two decades before moving to StonyhurstStonyhurst is the name of a rural estate owned by the Society of Jesus near Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It is dominated by Stonyhurst College, its preparatory school Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall and the parish Church of St Peter's.-The Estate:...
on 29 August 1794. Schooling resumed on Wednesday 22 October of the same year.
The college flourished during the 19th century: the Society of Jesus was re-established in BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
at Stonyhurst in 1803, and over the century, student numbers rose from the original twelve migrants from Liège. By the turn of the following century, it had become England's largest Catholic college. Stonyhurst Hall underwent extensive alterations and additions to accommodate these numbers; the Old South Front was constructed in 1810, only to be demolished and replaced with much grander buildings in the 1880s. A seminary was constructed on the estateStonyhurst is the name of a rural estate owned by the Society of Jesus near Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It is dominated by Stonyhurst College, its preparatory school Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall and the parish Church of St Peter's.-The Estate:...
, and an observatory and meteorological station erected in the gardens. The 20th century saw the gradual hiring of a mostly lay staff, as the number of Jesuits declined. The seminary at St Mary's Hall was closed, and the school discontinued its education of university-aged philosophers. With the closure of Beaumont CollegeBeaumont College was a Jesuit public school in Old Windsor, Berkshire, England. In 1967 the school closed. The property became a conference centre, and from 2008 an hotel.-History of the estate:...
in 1967, Stonyhurst became the sole Jesuit public school in England.
Since the Second World War, the buildings have been refurbished or developed. Additions include new science buildings in the 1950s and 1960s, a new boarding wing in the 1960s, a new swimming pool in the 1980s and Weld House in 2010. The school became fully co-educational in 1999.
Hodder Place, St Mary's Hall & Hodder House
The original preparatory school to Stonyhurst, Hodder Place, came into the hands of the Jesuits as part of the estate donated by alumnus Thomas Weld. Originally used as a novitiateNovitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
, it became a preparatory school to the college in 1807.
St Mary's HallStonyhurst St Mary's Hall is the preparatory school to Stonyhurst College. It is an independent co-educational Catholic school founded by the Society of Jesus . It is primarily a day school but has some boarders...
, on an adjoining site to Stonyhurst, was built as a Jesuit Seminary in 1828 (extended in the 1850s) and functioned until 1926, when the seminarians moved to Heythrop HallHeythrop College is the specialist philosophy and theology constituent college of the University of London situated in Kensington Square, Kensington, London. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in philosophy, theology and psychology, as well as research in related fields.It was founded...
. The poet Gerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
, and John Tolkien, son of J. R. R. TolkienJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, trained as priests there. During World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the English College left Benito MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's Italy and occupied the hall. After their return to RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, St Mary's Hall opened as a middle school in 1946. At the same time, Hodder Place continued to educate those aged eight to eleven, until its closure and conversion into flats in 1970. Hodder Place pupils moved up to St Mary's Hall to form Hodder Playroom. As successor to Hodder Place, St Mary's Hall has a claim to be the oldest surviving preparatory school in Britain.
In 2004, the old gymnasium at St Mary's Hall was converted into new nursery and infant facilities named Hodder House, for those aged three to seven.
Religious life
The college is Catholic and has had a significant place in English Catholic history for many centuries (including controversial events such as the Popish PlotThe Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
and Gunpowder PlotThe Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
conspiracies). It was founded initially to educate English Catholics on the continent in the hope that, through them, Catholicism might be restored in England. Finally, the school settled in England in 1794 and the Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
was officially re-established in Britain in 1803. Stonyhurst remained the headquarters of the English Province until the middle of the century; by 1851, a third of the Province's Jesuits were based there.
Until the 1920s, Jesuit priests were trained on site in what is today the preparatory school. There was a drop in vocations after World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the seminary was closed. The number of Jesuits teaching at Stonyhurst fell to a third of the staff within a decade. Since then, the Jesuit presence has been in decline, but the school continues to place Catholicism and Jesuit philosophy at its core under the guidance of a Jesuit-led chaplaincy team and the involvement of the Jesuits in its governance.
Jesuit ethos
The Jesuit educational ethos consists chiefly of seven strands:
- Finding God in All Things;
- Caring for the individual;
- Showing love in deeds;
- Building Christian community;
- Engaging with the wider world;
- Encouraging excellence; and
- Co-operating in Jesuit mission.
Under these guiding principles, the college strives for the formation of well-rounded individuals, influenced by IgnatianIgnatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
reasoning and spirituality, and concern for humankind: the development of "Men and Women for Others".
Chapels
The school has one main church, St Peter's, and five chapels: the Boys' Chapel, the Chapel of the Angels, the Sodality Chapel, the St Aloysius- Early life :Aloysius Gonzaga was born at his family's castle in Castiglione delle Stiviere, between Brescia and Mantova in northern Italy in what was then part of the Papal States. He was a member of the illustrious House of Gonzaga...
Chapel and the St IgnatiusIgnatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
Chapel. The last two are both within the towers of St Peter's Church, and are not normally used by pupils.
The Sodality Chapel is the home of the remains of the 3rd century Roman convert St Gordianus. The Jesuits brought his remains from the College of St Omer and held them beneath the altar since 1859. His bones were temporarily removed in 2006 whilst the chapel underwent restoration, but they have since been returned. The chapel is again used by the re-established SodalityIn Christian theology, a sodality is a form of the "Universal Church" expressed in specialized, task-oriented form as opposed to the Christian church in its local, diocesan form . In English, the term sodality is most commonly used by groups in the Catholic Church, where they are also referred to...
.
Adjacent to the Old Infirmary is the Rosary Garden, a place for spiritual contemplation, at the centre of which is a stone statue of Mary.
St Peter's Church underwent extensive repair and refurbishment in 2010-11. Most of the Victorian stencilling was not restored, although the whitewash was removed from the stencilling above the altar.
Traditions
It is a long-standing practice that pupils write A.M.D.G.Ad maiorem Dei gloriam or ad majorem Dei gloriam, also rendered as the abbreviation AMDG, is the Latin motto of the Society of Jesus, a religious order within the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church...
in the top left hand corner of any piece of work they do. It stands for the Latin phrase Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam which means For the Greater Glory of God. At the end of a piece of work they write L.D.S. in the centre of the page. It stands for Laus Deo Semper which means Praise to God Always. These are both traditional Jesuit mottoes.
A distinguishing feature of Stonyhurst is the singing of the Pater NosterPater Noster is probably the best-known prayer in Christianity.Pater Noster or Paternoster may also refer to:* Paternoster, a passenger elevator which consists of a chain of open compartments that move slowly in a loop up and down inside a building* Paternoster, Western Cape, South Africa* Pierres...
, the "Lord's Prayer" in LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. It is sung at mass, and has been adopted as an anthem by the school's sports teams.
Charitable status
As a registered charity, Stonyhurst is obliged to provide benefits to the wider community under the terms of the Charities Act 2006The Charities Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to alter the regulatory framework in which charities operate, partly by amending the Charities Act 1993.-Provisions:...
. As such, the College is home to the local Catholic parish church, which receives worshippers from Hurst GreenHurst Green is a small village in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, connected in its history to the Jesuit school, Stonyhurst College...
on a daily basis. Its sports facilities, including the swimming pool and all-weather pitch are available for public use; the latter will be used for competitors training for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Much of the estate has public access; in particular the gardens and tea house are visited during the summer months, whilst the college plays host to tours, antiques fairs, food festivals, music concerts, conferences and weddings. The school has a relationship with a number of state schools, arranging shared activities with their pupils, in particular those serving special needsIn the USA, special needs is a term used in clinical diagnostic and functional development to describe individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. For instance, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International...
children. In addition, the school makes available a number of places to pupils offered on scholarship, bursaries or free of charge; almost a third of current pupils receive financial support for their places.
Motto
The French motto, Quant Je Puis — As Much as I Can, is central to the ethos of the school, which focusses upon the all-round development of the individual. It is inherited from the Shireburn family who once owned the original mansion on the site; the family emblem is emblazoned, in stone, with the motto, above the fireplace in the Top Refectory. At the far end of the same room, once the dining room of the Shireburns, the motto can be seen again, carved into the minstrel's gallery: Quant Je Puis. Hugo Sherburn armig. me fieri fecit. Anno Domini 1523. Et sicut fuit sic fiat.
Academic
Academic standards are high: 93% of GCSE students attain A*-C grades; there is a 100% pass rate at A-Level; and 100% of A-Level leavers take up places at universities (10% to OxbridgeOxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
) or on gap yearAn expression or phrase that is associated with taking time out to travel in between life stages. It is also known as sabbatical, time off and time out that refers to a period of time in which students disengage from curricular education and undertake non curricular activities, such as travel or...
schemes. The school's most recent inspection rated much of the education and pastoral provision as 'outstanding'.
Ten GCSEs are usually taken by each pupil, consisting of five compulsory subjects (Religious Studies, MathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, English LanguageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and LiteratureEnglish literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
, and a modern language (FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
or SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) plus Information Technology and Personal, Social Education, with five other options from humanities, sciences, or arts subjects. In Poetry (lower sixth), four or five AS-Levels are taken from a choice of 25 subjects, with a weekly Theology class. One of these may be dropped and the remainder, or all, taken on to A-Level. Six A* - C grades are the requirement for Sixth Form entry. Each academic department has dedicated teaching rooms around the school, in addition to the general classrooms and playroom study places.
Education during the college's early history was based on St Ignatius'Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
Ratio StudiorumThe Ratio Studiorum often designates the document that formally established the globally influential system of Jesuit education in 1599...
, with emphasis upon theology, classics and science, all of which still feature prominently in the curriculum. The educational practice, observed at the College of St Omer, of dividing a class into Romans and Carthaginians continued long after the migration to Stonyhurst but is not employed today; each pupil would be pitched against an opponent with the task of picking up on the other's mistakes in an attempt to score points.
Until Roman Catholics were admitted to OxbridgeOxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
in 1894, Stonyhurst was also home to a number of "philosopher gentlemen" studying BA courses under the London Matriculation Examination system. Their numbers began to fall after 1894 and the department was closed in 1916.
Libraries
Stonyhurst College has four main libraries: the Arundell, the Bay, the Square and the More (dedicated to Saint Thomas More).
The More Library is the main library for students whilst the 'House Libraries' (the Arundell, the Bay, and the Square) contain many artefacts from the Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
and English Catholicism. The Arundell Library, presented in 1837 by Everard, 11th Baron Arundell of Wardour, is the most significant; it is not only a country-house library from Wardour CastleWardour Castle is located at Wardour, near Tisbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The original castle was partially destroyed during the Civil War...
but also has a notable collection of 250 Incunabula, medieval manuscripts and volumes of JacobiteJacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
interest, signal among which is Mary TudorMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
's Book of Hours, which it is believed was been given by Mary, Queen of Scots, to her chaplain on the scaffold. The M.S. Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines was written in 1354 by Henry, Duke of LancasterHenry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, 4th Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, KG , also Earl of Derby, was a member of the English nobility in the 14th century, and a prominent English diplomat, politician, and soldier...
. To these were added the archives of the English Province of the Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, which include 16th century manuscript verses by St Robert Southwell SJ, the letters of St Edmund Campion SJSaint Edmund Campion, S.J. was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Jesuit priest. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Protestant England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason by a kangaroo court, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn...
(1540–81) and holographs of the 19th century poet Gerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
. The Arundell Library held the 7th century Stonyhurst GospelThe Stonyhurst Gospel, also known as the St Cuthbert Gospel or the St Cuthbert Gospel of St John, is a small 7th-century pocket gospel book, written in Latin, which was probably placed in the tomb of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, a few years after he died in 687...
of St John, before it was loaned to the British LibraryThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, as well as a first folio of Shakespeare. The Stonyhurst copy of the Chronicles of Jean FroissartJean Froissart , often referred to in English as John Froissart, was one of the most important chroniclers of medieval France. For centuries, Froissart's Chronicles have been recognized as the chief expression of the chivalric revival of the 14th century Kingdom of England and France...
, captured at the Battle of AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
in 1415 are currently on loan to the Royal ArmouriesThe Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and...
in LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, where they are the centre-piece of a new exhibition.
Collections
Among those collections kept away from public view are the numerous blood-soaked garments from Jesuits martyred in JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the skull of Cardinal Morton, the ropes used to quarter St Edmund Campion SJ, the hairs of St Francis Xavier SJFrancis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...
, an enormous solid silver jewel-encrusted monstranceA monstrance is the vessel used in the Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, and Anglican churches to display the consecrated Eucharistic host, during Eucharistic adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Created in the medieval period for the public display of relics, the monstrance today is...
, the Wintour vestments, a cope made for Henry VIIHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, and a thorn said to be from the crown of thornsIn Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
placed upon Jesus' head at the crucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
.
The school has a number of fine paintings, including a portrait of Tsar Nicholas I of RussiaNicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
and another of the Jesuit Henry GarnetHenry Garnet , sometimes Henry Garnett, was a Jesuit priest executed for his complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Born in Derbyshire, he was educated in Nottingham and later at Winchester College, before moving to London in 1571 to work for a publisher...
. In the Stuart Parlour are portraits of a number of Jacobites including James Francis Edward StuartJames Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
, and his sons Charles Edward StuartPrince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
and Henry Benedict StuartHenry Benedict Stuart was a Roman Catholic Cardinal, as well as the fourth and final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother, Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne...
. There are also several original engravings by Rembrandt and Dürer, such as the 'Greater Passion' and the 'Car of Maximillian'.
Observatory
The school has a functioning observatory which was built in 1866. An older observatory, built in 1838, is now the Typographia Collegii, but was once one of seven important stations in the country when the Meteorological Office came under the auspices of the Royal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
. The records of temperature taken there start from 1846 and are the oldest continuous daily records in the world. During the nineteenth century, the observatory was maintained by the astronomer priests, Fr Weld, Fr PerryStephen Joseph Perry was an English Jesuit, known as a participant in scientific expeditions.-Life:...
and Fr Sidgreaves whose research included astronomy, geomagnetrometry and seismology. Astrophysicist Pietro Angelo Secchi, director of the Vatican ObservatoryThe Vatican Observatory is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. Originally based in Rome, it now has headquarters and laboratory at the summer residence of the Pope in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and an observatory at the Mount Graham International...
, also taught astronomy at the College during the period.[Stonyhurst College in Encyclopædia Britannica 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2008] Sir Edward Sabine chose the observatory as one of his main stations when conducting a magnetic survey of Britain in 1858. Five years later Fr Sidgreaves began the first series of monthly geometric observations, which continued until May 1919. During the course of the twentieth century, the observatory fell out of use and its telescope, parts of which dated to the 1860s, was sold after the Second World War. When its private owner came to sell it, the College was able to buy it back and restore it to its original home. The observatory is today used for astronomical purposes again, whilst also functioning as one of four weather stations used by the Met OfficeThe Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
to provide central England temperature data (CET).
Music, Drama and Art
Music plays a prominent role in school life. All those entering the school in Lower Grammar (year nine) are obliged to learn to play an orchestral instrument. There are two choirs: the Chapel Choir, which sings regularly at mass, and the Schola Cantorum, composed of teachers and pupils, which sings at concerts and public events such as the May celebration in the college amphitheatre. Pupils participate in the school orchestra and various bands, whilst the staff band is a notable feature of the Poetry Banquet and Rhetoric Ball.
Drama is equally important, with plays staged throughout the school year, the main performance being at Great Academies, whilst some students take Theatre Studies as an additional AS LevelThe Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
subject. The college has a traditional theatre, the Academy Room, and a high-tech theatre built at St Mary's HallStonyhurst St Mary's Hall is the preparatory school to Stonyhurst College. It is an independent co-educational Catholic school founded by the Society of Jesus . It is primarily a day school but has some boarders...
as part of the Centenaries Appeal in 1993. The latter plays host to the annual Ribble ValleyRibble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe. Other places include Whalley, Longridge and Ribchester. The area is so called due to the River Ribble which flows in its final stages...
International Piano Week. A number of former pupils have gone on to achieve success upon the stage, including OSCAR-winning actor and director Charles LaughtonCharles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
and BAFTA-winning director and producer Peter GlenvillePeter Glenville , born Peter Patrick Brabazon Browne, was an English film and stage actor and director.-Biography:...
.
Art is an important part of the curriculum, and is compulsory for those in Lower Grammar (year nine). There is a dedicated art studio in addition to a separate design and technology centre. Student artwork is displayed on the walls of the Lower Gallery, including a portrait of the Queen painted by Isobel Bidwell during the Golden Jubilee year; upon receipt of a copy, the Queen's lady-in-waitingA lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
said that "The Queen was delighted to see the painting and know that it is on display in the school".
Literary associations
Stonyhurst has a number of literary associations: its setting has provided inspiration for poets and authors who include former classics teacher Gerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
, whose poems feature details of the local countryside, and former pupil Sir Arthur Conan Doyle whose "Baskerville Hall" was modelled on Stonyhurst Hall, and who named Sherlock Holmes'Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
nemesis, Moriarty, after a fellow pupil. J. R. R. TolkienJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
wrote part of The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
in a classroom on the Upper Gallery during his stay at the college where his son taught Classics; his "Middle-earthMiddle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
" is said to resemble the local area, whilst there are specific resonances in names such as "Shire Lane", (the name of a road in Hurst Green) and the "River Shirebourn" (the Shireburns built Stonyhurst). Poet LaureateA poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
Alfred AustinAlfred Austin was an English poet who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1896 upon the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson.-Life:...
, and the poet Oliver St John Gogarty ("Stately plump Buck Mulligan" in James Joyce's Ulysses) were educated at the school, (as were the sons of Oscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
and Evelyn WaughArthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
). George Archer-SheeGeorge Archer-Shee became a British cause célèbre in 1910 when the issue of whether he stole a five shilling postal order ended up being decided in the High Court....
, at the centre of Terence RattiganSir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...
's play The Winslow Boythumb|1st edition cover The Winslow Boy is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an actual incident in the Edwardian era, which took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne.-Performance History:...
, is an alumnus.
The school runs its own publication company, St Omer's Press, which publishes religious literature, and first began when the college was located at St OmerSaint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
in FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
.
Sport
Pupils are required to participate in games on a regular basis. The school plays rugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and other sporting activities are on offer, and since turning fully co-educational, hockeyHockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
and roundersRounders is a game played between two teams of either gender. The game originated in England where it was played in Tudor times. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a round wooden, plastic or metal bat. The players score by...
have widened the sports programme.
Stonyhurst College Rugby Union Football Club (SCRUFC)
Rugby has played a big part in the life of the school, despite only supplanting football as the school's primary sport in 1921. All boys are encouraged to play when they enter Lower Grammar but are not required to play throughout their time at the school. Stonyhurst has a successful rugby season, with games well supported by pupils, staff and parents. Sporting rivalry is particularly prominent against Ampleforth CollegeAmpleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...
, Mount St Mary's CollegeMount St Mary's College is an independent coeducational boarding school situated at Spinkhill, Derbyshire, near Sheffield, England. It was founded in 1842 by Fr Randal Lythgoe, the Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order commonly known as the Jesuits. The...
and Sedbergh SchoolSedbergh School is a boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria, for boys and girls aged 13 to 18. Nestled in the Howgill Fells, it is known for sporting sides, such as its Rugby Union 1st XV.-Background:...
. The Stonyhurst Sevens take place annually, attracting large crowds and numerous teams from all over the country.
The school has produced fifteen international rugby players (England (5), Ireland (6), Scotland (1) Italy (1), the USA (1) and the Bahamas (1) ), as well as players for the Barbarians and the British and Irish Lions. Most recently they include Iain Balshaw and Kyran BrackenKyran Paul Patrick Bracken MBE is a former English rugby union footballer who played at scrum-half for Saracens, Bristol and Waterloo R.F.C....
, who both played for England when they won the 2003 Rugby World CupThe 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
, whilst another member of that team, Will GreenwoodWilliam John Heaton "Will" Greenwood, MBE is an English former rugby union footballer of the 1990s and 2000s.-Career:...
, went to Stonyhurst Saint Mary's HallStonyhurst St Mary's Hall is the preparatory school to Stonyhurst College. It is an independent co-educational Catholic school founded by the Society of Jesus . It is primarily a day school but has some boarders...
, where his mother taught mathsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
until 2007. Current pupils of the school have won places to represent Spain, the Irish Exiles and the Welsh Exiles (under 19s). A number of old boys have also played at varsity level and have won blues for Oxford or Cambridge.
Stonyhurst has had well known coaches, including former England coaches Ben SandersAlexander Bennett "Ben" Sanders was an American Major League Baseball player, who pitched a total of five seasons, for three different teams.-Career:...
, Dick GreenwoodJohn Richard Heaton Greenwood is a former rugby union international flanker, captain of Waterloo, Cambridge University, Lancashire and England as well as national coach...
and Brian AshtonWilliam Brian Ashton MBE is a former rugby union player and the former Head Coach of the England and Ireland national rugby union teams.-Biography:...
who coached the first XV.
Many pupils have represented Stonyhurst in the England Schools U16 and U18 Rugby teams. These include Daniel Mckenzie and Andy Fuller who both received an U18 England cap in 2000.
Stonyhurst Football
Stonyhurst Football, inherited from the College of St Omer (along with Stonyhurst Cricket), was played between the handball walls on the Playground. The game was discontinued with the advent of Association Football but was re-established in 1988 when a "Grand Match" was played at Great Academies; traditionally a "Grand Match" was played on Shrove TuesdayShrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...
and was the primary Stonyhurst Football match of the season. The teams were England vs France (although during the Crimean WarThe Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
England vs Russia was played and more recently England vs Ireland was played in the 1980s). The last game took place in 1995. See: photographs of Stonyhurst Football
Sporting facilities
- all-weather astro-turf sports pitch
- 9 hole golf course
- shooting range
- 2 ponds used for canoeing and fishing
- 25m swimming pool
- 2 squash courts
- 9 tennis courts
- 4 cricket pitches
- 8 rugby pitches
- 2 football pitches
- weight-training gymnasium
- 2 indoor sports halls (one at SMH
Stonyhurst St Mary's Hall is the preparatory school to Stonyhurst College. It is an independent co-educational Catholic school founded by the Society of Jesus . It is primarily a day school but has some boarders...
)
- large estate used for cross-country, orienteering, clay-pigeon shooting and rambling
Rhetoric vs. Hodder cricket and rounders
Towards the end of the Summer Term each year, Rhetoric boys issue a challenge, written in Latin, to the boys in preparatory at Stonyhurst Saint Mary's HallStonyhurst St Mary's Hall is the preparatory school to Stonyhurst College. It is an independent co-educational Catholic school founded by the Society of Jesus . It is primarily a day school but has some boarders...
, inviting them to compete in a cricket match. Preparatory respond in turn, also in Latin. The Rhetoricians take part wearing fancy dress, and are traditionally 'defeated' by preparatory. In 2003, the tradition was adopted by the girls who issued a Latin challenge to preparatory girls inviting them to compete at rounders.
Military
Officer Training Corps (OTC)
The Stonyhurst Officer Training Corps assembled for the first time on Tuesday 16 October 1900, in the Ambulacrum, overseen by The First Volunteer Battalion, the East Lancashire RegimentThe East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of two 30th and 59th Regiments of Foot with the militia and rifle volunteer units of eastern Lancashire...
who gave instruction in drill and musketry. The original uniform was scarlet with a white piping and slouch hat, which was changed to khaki before the First World War. The Corps was granted the honour of representation at the Coronation of 1910 and sent members to the Royal Review at Windsor in 1911. It also appeared on parade annually for the spectacle of the Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
celebrations until the practice became obsolete after Vatican II.
Combined Cadet Corps (CCF)
After the Second World War, school OTCs were succeeded by the Combined Cadet ForceThe Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
. Stonyhurst's is run from the College Armoury adjoining the Ambulacrum and Shooting Range, led by a team of officers under a Major assigned to the school. It meets weekly on a Thursday afternoon and comprises the following platoons named after Stonyhurst's seven Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
winners:
Junior company
- Costello Platoon (Lieutenant Edmund William COSTELLO V.C., Matakand, India 1897)
Brigadier-General Edmund William Costello VC CMG CVO DSO was a British Indian Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Early life and service:Costello...
- Coury Platoon (Second Lieutenant George Gabriel COURY V.C., Guillemont, Somme 1916)
- Liddell Platoon (Captain John Aiden LIDDELL V.C, Ostend, Belgium 1915)
John Aidan Liddell VC, MC was an English pilot and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
- Kenna Platoon (Captain Paul Aloysius KENNA V.C., Khartoum, Sudan 1898)
Brigadier General Paul Aloysius Kenna VC DSO was an English born British Army officer of Irish descent and recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that could be awarded to British and British Empire forces.-Background:He was...
Senior company
- Dease Platoon (Lieutenant Maurice James DEASE V.C., Mons, Belgium 1914)
Maurice James Dease VC was a British Army officer during the First World War. He was one of the first British officer battle casualties of the war and the first posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross in that war....
- Jackman Platoon (Captain James Joseph Bernard JACKMAN V.C., Ed Duda,Tobruk,1941)
James Joseph Bernard Jackman VC , was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:He was 24 years old, and a Captain commanding Z Company of 1st Royal...
- Andrews Platoon (Captain Harold Marcus ERVINE-ANDREWS V.C., Dunkirk 1940)
Lieutenant Colonel Harold Marcus Ervine-Andrews VC was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
- Support Platoon
Those in Grammar Playroom (year ten) are automatically enrolled in the CCF and are given the option of continuing at the end of the year, following a summer camp which takes place at a local barracks. Training involves a range of activities such as drill (marching and related manoeuvres), shooting, learning how to assemble and clean weapons, tactical planning and team work. The school supplies pupils with uniform, the orderliness of which is rigorously enforced and inspected each week. Each platoon is led by a Junior Under Officer, his sergeantSergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
and corporalCorporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
s who are sixth form students.
Military careers
In recent years, a number of pupils have distinguished themselves as members of the CCF and gone on to receive places at the Royal Military Academy SandhurstThe Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
. This follows a long tradition of service from Stonyhurst pupils: many Old Stonyhurst (O.S.) were killed in the two World Wars and are commemorated on the war memorial at the end of the Upper Gallery. The Stonyhurst War Records were published in their honour. A memorial at the top of the main staircase records the names of the six O.S. killed in the Boer WarThe Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
.
Playroom system
Unlike most English public schools, Stonyhurst is organised horizontally by year groups (known as playrooms) rather than vertically by houses, although the girls are also split into junior and senior houses. Each playroom has an assigned playroom master, with each cohort moving through the playrooms, having a sequence of playroom masters (rather than a single housemaster).
Currently, the College has the following playrooms, following the Roman order of learning:
- Lower Grammar Playroom ('LG' 13-14)
- Grammar Playroom (14-15)
- Syntax Playroom (15-16, GCSE Year)
- Poetry Playroom (16-17)
- Rhetoric Playroom (17-18)
During the school's history the following playrooms or years have also existed:
- Philosophy ('Phils')
- Upper Syntax
- Humanities
- Upper Grammar
- Middle Grammar
Lines
In addition to the horizontal division of the school into playrooms, there is also a vertical grouping which cuts through the year groups, the "lines", and is used mostly for competitive purposes in sport and music. The Lines and colours are as follows:
- Campion (Red) (named after St Edmund Campion
Saint Edmund Campion, S.J. was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Jesuit priest. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Protestant England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason by a kangaroo court, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn...
)
- St Omers (Yellow, though Brown for sporting attire) (named after St Omer
Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
, the town the school was founded in)
- Shireburn (Green) (named after the Shireburn family which built Stonyhurst)
- Weld (Blue) (named after Thomas Weld who donated Stonyhurst to the Jesuits)
Notable events in the school year
The Ascensio Scholarum, inherited from the College of St Omer, in its present form, is the opening address of the headmaster at the beginning of the year to the entire school gathered in the Academy Room. Previously, it was a formal transition for pupils from one playroom to the next at the beginning of the year, which involved a pupil from each year announcing to the playroom of the year below them that the next playroom had been vacated by the senior pupils. The students and their belongings would then move up to their next playroom. This is how it acquired the name, "the ascension of the school".
Great Academies takes place annually at the end of the first half of the Summer Term. Although different in its present form, it is a continuation of a tradition begun at St Omers, with the first taking place at Stonyhurst on 6 August 1795. Today, it is an occasion when the school is on display - there are exhibitions, musical performances, the school play, sporting events, as well as prize-giving and the headmaster's speech, culminating with the Rhetoric Ball and Rhetoric Mass the following morning.
Stonyhurst Association
After less formal arrangements had been made for many years, the Association was formed in 1879. Its primary objective is to foster a strong spirit of union amongst past pupils and friends of Stonyhurst, which has been achieved in a variety of ways reflecting the spirit of succeeding generations. Recently, there has been a strong charitable emphasis, embedded with similar developments at the College. This was formalised in 1985, when the Association was granted charitable status by the Charity CommissionThe Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
. It also supports a number of charities connected to the school including Eagle AidEagle Aid is a fund-raising initiative for the poor and disadvantaged, started by the Stonyhurst Association in 1987, to support major projects considered to have appeal to all Jesuit alumni.-Projects:Projects in 2009 include:*Landmine victims in Kosovo...
.
Alumni
Stonyhurst has educated prominent individuals in every area, from statesmen to sportsmen, and actors to archbishops. Seven alumni have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry; paintings of them adorn the walls of the Top Refectory in the school.
Notable alumni include:
- Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later as United States Senator for Maryland...
, signatory of the U.S. Declaration of IndependenceA declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
- St Thomas Garnet SJ
Saint Thomas Garnet was a Jesuit priest. He is the protomartyr of Saint Omer and therefore of Stonyhurst College. He was executed at Tyburn and is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.-Thomas Garnet's family:Thomas Garnet was born into a prominent family...
, canonized saint and protomartyr of St Omers, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and WalesThe Forty Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men and women who were executed for treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1535 and 1679...
- Joseph Mary Plunkett
Joseph Mary Plunkett was an Irish nationalist, poet, journalist, and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising.-Background:...
, Irish signatory of the Irish Proclamation of Independence who played a leading part in the Easter RisingThe Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
, for which he was executed
- Sir Frederick Weld
Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld, GCMG , was a New Zealand politician and a governor of various British colonies. He was the sixth Premier of New Zealand, and later served as Governor of Western Australia, Governor of Tasmania, and Governor of the Straits Settlements.-Early life:Weld was born near...
, Prime Minister of New Zealand
- Eduardo Lopez de Romaña
Eduardo López de Romaña y Alvizuri was President of Peru from 1899 to 1903. A respected member of the Peruvian Elite and López de Romaña Family, he was the first engineer to become President of the Republic, and one of several Presidents from the Civilista Party during the era of the "Aristocratic...
, President of Peru
Alumni currently in the public eye include:
- Joe Ansbro
Joe Ansbro is a Scottish international professional rugby union player. He is the first player of Afro-Caribbean origin to represent Scotland at test level in history. His favoured position is centre. He is currently playing for London Irish. -Early years:Ansbro was born in Glasgow and raised near...
, Scottish Rugby International
- Crispian Hollis
Roger Francis Crispian Hollis is the Bishop of Portsmouth for the Catholic Church. His parents were Christopher Hollis , the author and parliamentarian, and Madeleine Hollis .-Family life:...
, Bishop of PortsmouthThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The episcopal see is the Portsmouth Cathedral and is headed by the Bishop of Portsmouth...
- Mark Thompson
Mark John Thompson is Director-General of the BBC, a post he has held since 2004, and a former chief executive of Channel 4...
, Director General of the BBC
- Chris Morris
Christopher Morris is an English satirist, writer, director and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today and Brass Eye, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.In 2010 Morris...
, satirist, BAFTA winner
- Tom Morris
Tom Morris is a British theatre director, writer and producer. He was the Associate Director at the National Theatre in London, before taking over as Artistic Director of the Bristol Old Vic theatre in 2009.-Early life:...
, theatre director, producer and writer, and Tony Award winner
- Matt Greenhalgh
Matt Greenhalgh is an English screenwriter. He created and wrote the BBC television series Burn It, and the television film Legless. He adapted Deborah Curtis's Touching From a Distance—a biopic of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis—into the 2007 film Control, for which he was nominated for the...
, screenwriter, BAFTA winner
- Tim Hetherington
Timothy Alistair Telemachus Hetherington was a British-American photojournalistwith work that "ranged from multi-screen installations, to fly-poster exhibitions, to handheld device downloads." He was best known for the documentary film Restrepo , which he co-directed with Sebastian Junger; the...
, photographer, Oscar nominee
Notable masters
- Brian Ashton
William Brian Ashton MBE is a former rugby union player and the former Head Coach of the England and Ireland national rugby union teams.-Biography:...
, history master and England rugby coach.
- Dick Greenwood
John Richard Heaton Greenwood is a former rugby union international flanker, captain of Waterloo, Cambridge University, Lancashire and England as well as national coach...
, Assistant Bursar and England Rugby coach.[Rugby Coaches Stonyhurst: article on rugby coaches 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2008]
- Christopher Hollis
Maurice Christopher Hollis, known as Christopher Hollis was a British schoolmaster, university teacher, author and Conservative politician.-Life:...
, assistant master, history master (1925–1935), author, politician and president of the Oxford UnionThe Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
.
- Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
, classics master and poet.
- Stephen Joseph Perry
Stephen Joseph Perry was an English Jesuit, known as a participant in scientific expeditions.-Life:...
, astronomy master.
- Pietro Angelo Secchi, astronomy master, astrophysicist, and director of the Vatican Observatory
The Vatican Observatory is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. Originally based in Rome, it now has headquarters and laboratory at the summer residence of the Pope in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and an observatory at the Mount Graham International...
.
- George Tyrrell
George Tyrrell was a Jesuit priest and a Modernist theologian and scholar. His attempts to evolve and adapt Catholic teaching in the context of modern ideas made him a key figure in the Modernist controversy within the Roman Catholic Church in the late 19th century.Tyrrell was born in Dublin,...
, philosophy master and Roman Catholic modernist.
Headmasters
Since the College's foundation in FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
in 1593, there have been seventy-eight headmasters, (variably known as presidents, rectors, superiors and directors). Until the appointment of Giles Mercer in 1985, the headmaster had always been a member of the Society of Jesus. There have been three lay headmasters.
style="font-size:100%;"
- St Omers, Bruges, Liège (1593-1794)
- See: Heads of St Omers, Bruges, Liège
- Stonyhurst (1794-present)
- Presidents
- Marmaduke Stone
Marmaduke Stone was an English Jesuit, in a position of leadership when the Order was dissolved.-Life:Stone was born in Draycott and educated at St. Omers, sharing in its exodus to Bruges, 10-17 August, 1762. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1767, later became a master at the Liège Academy...
SJ (1794-1808)
- Nicholas Sewall SJ (1808-1813)
- John Weld SJ (1813-1816)
- Nicholas Sewall SJ (1816-1817)
- Rector and Headmaster
- Charles Plowden
Charles Plowden was an English Jesuit teacher, writer and administrator.-Life:He was descended from Edmund Plowden, in a Catholic family...
SJ (1817-1819)
- Joseph Tristram SJ (1819-1827)
- Richard Norris SJ (1827-1832)
- Richard Parker SJ (1832-1836)
- John Brownbill SJ (1836-1839)
- Francis Daniel SJ (1839-1841)
- Andrew Barrow SJ (1841-1845)
- Richard Norris SJ (1845-1846)
- Henry Walmesley SJ (1846-1847)
- Richard Sumner SJ (1847-1848)
- Francis Clough SJ (1848-1861)
- Joseph Johnson SJ (1861-1868)
- Charles Henry SJ (1868-1869)
- Edward Purbick SJ (1869-1879)
- William Eyre SJ (1879-1885)
- Reginald Colley SJ (1885-1891)
- Herman Walmesley SJ (1891-1898)
- Joseph Browne SJ (1898-1906)
- Pedro Gordon SJ (1906-1907)
- William Bodkin SJ (1907-1916)
- Edward O'Connor SJ (1916-1924)
- Walter Weld SJ (1924-1929)
- Richard Worsley SJ (1929-1932)
- Edward O'Connor SJ (1932-1938)
- Leo Belton SJ (1938-1945)
- Bernard Swindells SJ (1945-1952)
- Francis Vavasour SJ (1952-1958)
- Desmond Boyle SJ (1958-1961)
- Headmasters
- Frederick J. Turner
The Reverend Frederick Turner, SJ, who died aged 90 in 2001, was archivist, librarian and former headmaster at Stonyhurst College.-Birth:Frederick Joseph Turner was born on 27 October 1910 at Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, the only son of Joseph William Turner, a successful solicitor...
SJ (1961-1963)
- George Earle SJ (1963-1971)
- Michael Bossy SJ (1971-1985)
- Giles Mercer (1985-1996)
- Adrian Aylward (1996-2006)
- Andrew Johnson (2006 - present)
- Headmasters of Hodder Place & St Mary's Hall (1807-present)
- See: Headmasters of Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall
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See also
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- College of St Omer
- Stonyhurst Estate
Stonyhurst is the name of a rural estate owned by the Society of Jesus near Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It is dominated by Stonyhurst College, its preparatory school Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall and the parish Church of St Peter's.-The Estate:...
- History of Stonyhurst College
The history of Stonyhurst College as a school dates back to 1593 when its antecedent, the Jesuit College at St Omer, was founded in Flanders to educate English Catholics. The history of the present school buildings dates as far back as 1200 AD...
- Religious life at Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is Roman Catholic and has had a significant place in English Catholic history for many centuries . In 1803 the Society of Jesus was re-established in Britain at Stonyhurst and the school became the headquarters of the English Province...
- Libraries and collections of Stonyhurst College
The Jesuit origins of Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, England, have enabled it to amass a large collection of books, a number of which concern recusant history, whilst artefacts from all over the world have been brought back to the school by Jesuit missionaries and alumni. The school has four...
- School life at Stonyhurst College
This article describes some of the unique features of Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit school in Lancashire, England.-The Playroom System:Unlike most British senior independent schools, Stonyhurst is organised horizontally by year groups rather than vertically by houses, although the girls are also...
- Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall
Stonyhurst St Mary's Hall is the preparatory school to Stonyhurst College. It is an independent co-educational Catholic school founded by the Society of Jesus . It is primarily a day school but has some boarders...
- Hodder Place
- List of Stonyhurst Alumni/ae
- Stonyhurst Gospel
The Stonyhurst Gospel, also known as the St Cuthbert Gospel or the St Cuthbert Gospel of St John, is a small 7th-century pocket gospel book, written in Latin, which was probably placed in the tomb of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, a few years after he died in 687...
- Charities of Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College and Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall are both Catholic boarding schools in the Jesuit tradition, which aim at the creation of Men and Women for Others. Under this principle, a number of charities operate within the two schools...
- Stonyhurst Observatory
The Stonyhurst Observatory is a functioning observatory and weather station at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, England. Built in 1866, it replaced a nearby earlier building, built in 1838, which is now used as the Typographia Collegii....
- Stonyhurst disks
A Stonyhurst disk is a transparent circular grid with lines of longitude and latitude that which can overlay a solar image to reference the positions of sunspots. This overlay system was originally created at the Stonyhurst College observatory....
- List of Victoria Crosses by School
- Beaumont College
Beaumont College was a Jesuit public school in Old Windsor, Berkshire, England. In 1967 the school closed. The property became a conference centre, and from 2008 an hotel.-History of the estate:...
- Catholic Church
- Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
- St Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits
- St Aloysius Gonzaga, patron saint
- Early life :Aloysius Gonzaga was born at his family's castle in Castiglione delle Stiviere, between Brescia and Mantova in northern Italy in what was then part of the Papal States. He was a member of the illustrious House of Gonzaga...
- St Gordianus, interred in the school
- English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
- Hurst Green
Hurst Green is a small village in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, connected in its history to the Jesuit school, Stonyhurst College...
- Forest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England. A small part lies in North Yorkshire, and much of the area was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire...
Further reading
- Chadwick, Hubert, S.J. (1962), St Omers to Stonyhurst, (Burns & Oats), No ISBN
- Walsh, R.R. (1989), Stonyhurst War Record 1935-45 (T.H.C.L. Blackburn), ISBN 0-948494-08-5
- Muir, T.E. (2006) Stonyhurst, (St Omers Press, Gloucestershire) second edition, ISBN 0-9553592-0-1
- Kirby, Henry L. and Walsh, R. Raymond (1987), The Seven V.C.s of Stonyhurst College, (T.H.C.L. Blackburn), ISBN 0-948494-04-2
- The Authorities of Stonyhurst College (1963), A Stonyhurst Handbook for Visitors and Others, (Stonyhurst, Lancashire), third edition, No ISBN
- Hewitson, A. (1878), Stonyhurst College, Present and Past: Its History, Discipline, Treasures and Curiosities, (Preston: The Chronicle office), second edition, No ISBN
External links