# Warrington Academy > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Warrington_Academy > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Warrington_Academy.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrington_Academy > Source revision: 1339569364 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 18th-century English school Warrington Academy Warrington Academy in 1757 Location Warrington , Lancashire England 53°23′20″N 2°35′24″W / 53.38889°N 2.59000°W / 53.38889; -2.59000 Information Type Dissenting academy Established 1756 (1756) Closed 1782 (1782) **Warrington Academy**, active as a teaching establishment from 1756 to 1782, was a prominent [dissenting academy](/source/Dissenting_academies), that is, a school or college set up by [those who dissented from the established Church of England](/source/English_Dissenters).[1] It was located in [Warrington](/source/Warrington) (then part of [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire), now within [Cheshire](/source/Cheshire)), a town about half-way between the rapidly industrialising Manchester and the burgeoning Atlantic port of Liverpool. Formally dissolved in 1786, the funds then remaining were applied to the founding of [Manchester New College](/source/Manchester_New_College) in [Manchester](/source/Manchester), which was effectively the Warrington Academy's successor, and in time this led to the formation of [Harris Manchester College, Oxford](/source/Harris_Manchester_College%2C_Oxford). A [statue of Oliver Cromwell](/source/Statue_of_Oliver_Cromwell%2C_Warrington) stands in front of the academy.[2] ## History It was called "the cradle of [Unitarianism](/source/Unitarianism)" by Arthur Aikin Brodribb writing in the *[Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography)*, who went on to say that it "formed during the twenty-nine years of its existence the centre of the liberal politics and the literary taste of the county of Lancashire". It was planned in 1753, to replace other training schools in northern England having funding from the [English Presbyterians](/source/English_Presbyterianism): [Caleb Rotheram](/source/Caleb_Rotheram) of the [Kendal](/source/Kendal) academy died in 1752, and [Ebenezer Latham](/source/Ebenezer_Latham) of the [Findern](/source/Findern) and [Derby](/source/Derby) academy in 1754.[3] It was not, however, formally constituted until June 1757, when funds had been raised by [John Seddon of Warrington](/source/John_Seddon_of_Warrington), associated with the [Octagon Chapel, Liverpool](/source/Octagon_Chapel%2C_Liverpool). The first site was the Cairo Street Chapel;[4] subsequently the building was a large red brick house. Three tutors were chosen initially: [John Taylor](/source/John_Taylor_(dissenting_preacher)) taught [divinity](/source/Divinity_(academic_discipline)); John Holt, [natural philosophy](/source/Natural_philosophy) (i.e. science);[5] and [John Aikin](/source/John_Aikin_(Unitarian)), [classics](/source/Classics).[1] [Henry Willoughby](/source/Henry_Willoughby%2C_16th_Baron_Willoughby_of_Parham) was the first president of the academy. Soon a fourth tutor was appointed. On the death of Dr. Taylor, in 1761, Aikin became tutor in divinity, and was succeeded in his old duties by [Joseph Priestley](/source/Joseph_Priestley). Among the other tutors who at some point joined the staff of the academy were [Anna Barbauld](/source/Anna_Barbauld) (née Aikin), [Johann Reinhold Forster](/source/Johann_Reinhold_Forster), [William Enfield](/source/William_Enfield), [George Walker](/source/George_Walker_(Presbyterian)), [Nicholas Clayton](/source/Nicholas_Clayton_(divine)), and [Gilbert Wakefield](/source/Gilbert_Wakefield). The academy hit difficulties, with falling rolls and financial problems leading to its closure in 1782. The disciplinary issues, coupled with unsettled debates over the principles of education, had led to a loss of confidence from the direction of the financial backers. It was formally dissolved in 1786, with the funds being divided in application to the successor [Manchester Academy](/source/Harris_Manchester_College%2C_Oxford) and the [New College at Hackney](/source/New_College_at_Hackney), after a plan to amalgamate with the [Daventry Academy](/source/Daventry_Academy) of [Thomas Belsham](/source/Thomas_Belsham) had come to nothing.[6] ## Buildings In 1981, the listed Academy [building](/source/Listed_buildings_in_Warrington_(unparished_area)) on [Bridge Street](/source/Bridge_Street%2C_Warrington) was lifted from its foundations and moved 19 m north.[7] It was subsequently demolished and rebuilt with no original features retained.[8] ## Alumni, staff, supporters When the academy was dissolved in 1786, 393 pupils, many of whom entered the legal and medical professions, had been on the books. People associated with it include: **Students** - [Thomas Barnes](/source/Thomas_Barnes_(Unitarian)) - [William Bruce](/source/William_Bruce_(minister)) - [John Prior Estlin](/source/John_Prior_Estlin) - [John Goodricke](/source/John_Goodricke) - [Samuel Heywood](/source/Samuel_Heywood_(chief_justice)) - [Thomas Malthus](/source/Thomas_Malthus) - [Thomas Percival](/source/Thomas_Percival) - [Francis Peirson](/source/Francis_Peirson) - [Archibald Hamilton Rowan](/source/Archibald_Hamilton_Rowan) - [John Simpson (Unitarian)](/source/John_Simpson_(Unitarian)) - [Georg Forster](/source/Georg_Forster)[9]: 54 - [William Vaughan](/source/William_Vaughan_(merchant)) **Staff** In addition to those mentioned above: - [Joseph Priestley](/source/Joseph_Priestley) - [Gilbert Wakefield](/source/Gilbert_Wakefield) - [Anna Laetitia Barbauld](/source/Anna_Laetitia_Barbauld) and her brother [John Aikin](/source/John_Aikin) were the children of the tutor [John Aikin](/source/John_Aikin_(Unitarian)) - [Johann Reinhold Forster](/source/Johann_Reinhold_Forster)[9]: 47–64[10] **Financial supporters** - [Thomas Bentley](/source/Thomas_Bentley_(manufacturer)), Trustee[11] - [William Russell](/source/William_Russell_(merchant)) ## Notes 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-IP105_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-IP105_1-1) Parker, Irene (2009) [1914]. [*Dissenting academies in England: their rise and progress, and their place among the educational systems of the country*](https://archive.org/details/dissentingacadem00parkiala/). Cambridge University Press. pp. 105–130. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-74864-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-74864-3). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-HistoricEngland_2-0)** [Historic England](/source/Historic_England), ["Statue of Oliver Cromwell, Bridge Street (1139417)"](https://HistoricEngland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1139417?section=official-list-entry), *[National Heritage List for England](/source/National_Heritage_List_for_England)*, retrieved 18 February 2016 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ODNB articles on Rotheram and Latham. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Heritage Open Days - Directory - HOD008827E"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090923143038/http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory/HOD008827E). *www.heritageopendays.org.uk*. Archived from [the original](http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory/HOD008827E) on 23 September 2009. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Full text of "Warrington academy,its history and influence,""](https://archive.org/stream/warringtonacadem00manc/warringtonacadem00manc_djvu.txt). *Internet Archive*. Retrieved 28 June 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Wykes, David L. (1996). ["The Dissenting Academy and Rational Dissent"](https://books.google.com/books?id=hszsutQ5xrcC&pg=PA131). In Haakonssen, Knud (ed.). *Enlightenment and Religion: Rational dissent in eighteenth-century Britain*. Cambridge University Press. pp. 131–2. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780521560603](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780521560603). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Engineering Timelines - Warrington Academy, moving of"](http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=597). *www.engineering-timelines.com*. Retrieved 20 February 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["www.hwells.co.uk - H WELLS, WARRINGTON - Warrington's Past"](http://www.hwells.co.uk/page3.html). *www.hwells.co.uk*. Retrieved 20 February 2016. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-hoare_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-hoare_9-1) Hoare, Michael Edward (1975). [*The Tactless Philosopher: Johann Reinhold Forster (1729-98)*](https://books.google.com/books?id=hcYLAQAAIAAJ). Hawthorn Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7256-0121-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7256-0121-8). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** FULTON, JOHN F. (1933). ["The Warrington Academy (1757-1786) and its influence upon medicine and science"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/44437171). *Bulletin of the Institute of the History of Medicine*. **1** (2): 50–80. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [2576-4810](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2576-4810). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [44437171](https://www.jstor.org/stable/44437171). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [Jenny Uglow](/source/Jenny_Uglow), *The Lunar Men* (2002), p. 55. ## References - P. O'Brien, *Warrington Academy 1757-86, its predecessors & successors*. Wigan: Owl Books [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9514333-0-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9514333-0-X) **Attribution** This article incorporates text from a publication now in the [public domain](/source/Public_domain): "[Aikin, John (1713-1780)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Aikin,_John_(1713-1780))". *[Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography)*. London: [Smith, Elder & Co](/source/Smith%2C_Elder_%26_Co). 1885–1900. ## External links English [Wikisource](/source/Wikisource) has original text related to this article: **[Warrington Academy](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/en:Warrington_Academy)** - [Photograph of Warrington Academy](http://dewey.library.upenn.edu/sceti/smith/imagedetail.cfm?PictureID=2350&position=8&keywords=priestley&subcoll=), Edgar Fahs Smith Collection Schoenberg Center for Electronic Texts and Image, Accessed 05/10/2006. v t e Schools in Cheshire Primary Bunbury Aldersey School Eccleston CE Primary School Goostrey Primary School Mossley CE Primary School The Grange Academy Secondary Cheshire East All Hallows RC College Alsager School Brine Leas School Congleton High School Crewe Engineering and Design UTC Eaton Bank Academy The Fallibroome Academy Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School Knutsford Academy The Macclesfield Academy Malbank School Middlewich High School The Oaks Academy Poynton High School Ruskin High School St Thomas More RC High School Sandbach High School Sandbach School Shavington Academy Sir William Stanier School Tytherington School Wilmslow High School Cheshire West & Chester Bishop Heber High School The Bishops' Blue Coat CE High School Blacon High School Chester RC High School Christleton High School County High School Ellesmere Port Church of England College Ellesmere Port RC High School Hartford Church of England High School Helsby High School Neston High School Queen's Park High School Rudheath Senior Academy St Nicholas Catholic High School Tarporley High School Upton-by-Chester High School Weaverham High School The Whitby High School The Winsford Academy Halton Blessed Carlo Acutis RC & CE Academy The Grange Academy The Heath School Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy Ormiston Chadwick Academy Ss Peter & Paul RC High School Sandymoor Ormiston Academy Wade Deacon High School Warrington Beamont Collegiate Academy Birchwood Community High School Bridgewater High School Cardinal Newman RC High School Culcheth High School Great Sankey High School King's Leadership Academy Warrington Lymm High School Padgate Academy Penketh High School St Gregory's RC High School Sir Thomas Boteler CE High School UTC Warrington Independent Abbey Gate College Beech Hall School Cransley School The Grange School The King's School, Chester The King's School, Macclesfield The Queen's School, Chester The Ryleys School Terra Nova School Special David Lewis School Dorin Park School Further education & sixth form colleges Macclesfield College Reaseheath College Priestley College Riverside College, Halton Sir John Deane's College South Cheshire College Warrington and Vale Royal College Former Alderley Edge School for Girls Bluecoat School, Chester Brook Farm School Buglawton Hall School Dane Valley High School Fairfield High School Frodsham School Henbury High School Mid Cheshire College Mostyn House School Nantwich Grammar School Warrington Academy West Cheshire College --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Warrington Academy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrington_Academy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrington_Academy?action=history)). 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