Chelsea College (17th Century)
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Chelsea College was a polemical college founded in London in 1609. This establishment was intended to centralize controversial writing against
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, and was the idea of
Matthew Sutcliffe Matthew Sutcliffe (1550? – 1629) was an English clergyman, academic and lawyer. He became Dean of Exeter, and wrote extensively on religious matters as a controversialist. He served as chaplain to His Majesty King James I of England. H ...
,
Dean of Exeter The Dean of Exeter is the head of the Chapter of Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, England. The chapter was established by William Briwere, Bishop of Exeter (1224–44) who set up the offices of dean and chancellor of Exeter Cathedr ...
, who was the first
Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...
. After his death in 1629 it declined as an institution.


Foundation

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...
was one of its foremost patrons, and supported it by grants and benefactions; he himself laid the first stone of the new edifice on 8 May 1609; gave timber for the building out of Windsor forest; and in the original charter of incorporation, bearing date 8 May 1610, ordered that it should be called "King James's College at Chelsey." Building was begun on a piece of ground called Thame Shot (or Thames Shot), a site of six
acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
s, crown lands from
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
obtained at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and leased by Sutcliffe from
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
. The College was to have consisted of two quadrangles, with a
piazza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...
along the four sides of the smaller court. Only one side of the first quadrangle was ever completed; and this range of buildings cost, according to
Thomas Fuller Thomas Fuller (baptised 19 June 1608 – 16 August 1661) was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his ''Worthies of England'', published in 1662, after his death. He was a prolific author, and ...
, above £3,000.


Fellows and members

The charter limited the number of members to a provost and nineteen fellows, of whom seventeen were to be in holy orders. The king himself nominated the members. Sutcliffe was the first provost, and John Overall, Thomas Morton, Richard Field, Robert Abbot,
Miles Smith Miles Smith is the name of: * Miles Smith (bishop) (1554–1624), English theologian, Bishop of Gloucester * Miles Smith (sprinter) (born 1984), American sprinter ;See also * Miles Smith Farm, beef farm in Loudon, New Hampshire * Myles Smith ...
,
John Howson John Howson ( – 6 February 1632) was an English academic and bishop. Life He was born in the London parish of St Bride's Church, and educated at St Paul's School. He was a student and then a canon of Christ Church, Oxford, and Vice-Chanc ...
,
Martin Fotherby Martin Fotherby (c. 1560–1620) was an English clergyman, who became Bishop of Salisbury. Life He was born in Grimsby, and studied at the University of Cambridge, where he became a Fellow of Trinity College. He was rector of St Mary-le-Bow, an ...
,
John Spenser John Spenser (1559–1614) was an English academic, president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Life He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, London, and Temple Beth-El. After graduating he became Greek reader in Corpus Christi College, ...
,
John Prideaux John Prideaux (7 September 1578 – 29 July 1650) was an English academic and Bishop of Worcester. Early life The fourth son of John and Agnes Prideaux, he was born at Stowford House in the parish of Harford, near Ivybridge, Devon, England, ...
, and John Boys, were among the original fellows, while the lay historians
William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...
(a personal friend of Sutcliffe) and John Hayward were appointed to record and publish to posterity "all memorable passages in church or commonwealth." Other original fellows included Benjamin Carier,
John Layfield John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield, is an American professional wrestling color commentator, retired professional wrestler and former football player. He is signed to WWE, where ...
, Richard Brett,
William Covell William Covell (died 1613) was an English clergyman and writer. Life He was born in Chadderton, Lancashire, England, and proceeded MA at Queens' College, Cambridge in 1588. In the 1590s Covell took part in the controversy about how far the ne ...
, Peter Lilly,
Francis Burley Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie29 ...
, John White and William Hellier. Later were Edward Gee, and
Nathanael Carpenter Nathanael Carpenter (7 February 1589 – c. 1628) was an English writer, philosopher, and geographer. Life He was son of John Carpenter, rector of Northleigh, Devon. gives his birth date as 7 February 1588 and states that he was born in North- ...
.


History of the College

The scheme ultimately proved to be a failure. In consequence of a letter addressed by the king to Archbishop George Abbot, collections in aid of the institution were made in all the dioceses of England, but the amount raised was small, and hardly covered fees due to the collectors. After Sutcliffe's death the college sank into insignificance, and Charles I in 1636 refused to revive the moribund institution.
William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...
thought of it as "controversy college", and he disliked public disputation as divisive. An engraving representing the building project, which was only very partially carried through, is in the second volume of
Francis Grose Francis Grose (before 11June 173112May 1791) was an England, English antiquary, drawing, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He produced ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' (1785) and ''A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local ...
's ''Military Antiquities'' (1788).
Daniel Featley Daniel Featley, also called Fairclough and sometimes called Richard Fairclough/Featley (15 March 158217 April 1645), was an English theologian and controversialist. He fell into difficulties with Parliament due to his loyalty to Charles I of E ...
was provost in 1630 as Sutcliffe's successor. William Slater was provost from 1645. The fourth and last provost was Samuel Wilkinson. The College was dissolved in the
Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...
, by 1655. Nothing of the buildings now remains. For a while, though, there was activity and interest in the premises. Francis Kynaston wanted to move his
royal academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
there, at a point when there were only two resident fellows. From 1641 there was a project to set up a pansophist institution in England, on the visit of
Comenius John Amos Comenius (; ; ; ; Latinization (literature), Latinized: ''Ioannes Amos Comenius''; 28 March 1592 – 15 November 1670) was a Czech Philosophy, philosopher, Pedagogy, pedagogue and Theology, theologian who is considered the father of ...
, and the Chelsea College building was mentioned in discussions of a Parliament-backed Universal College; this came to nothing. In the 1650s the College became a prison; and in the
Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...
of the mid-1660s it housed prisoners of war.
John Dury John Dury (1596 in Edinburgh – 1680 in Kassel) was a Scottish Calvinist minister and an intellectual of the English Civil War period. He made efforts to re-unite the Calvinist and Lutheran wings of Protestantism, hoping to succeed when he move ...
in 1651 advocated that Parliament should renew the charter, and create a centre in the College for intelligencer work; his close colleague
Samuel Hartlib Samuel Hartlib or Hartlieb (c. 1600 – 10 March 1662)
M. Greengrass, "Hartlib, Samuel (c. 1600–1662)", ''Oxford D ...
also agitated that the revenue should be better spent. The grounds were granted to the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, and a print of the original design is prefixed to ''The Glory of Chelsey Colledge revived'', published in 1662 by John Darley (rector of Northull in Cornwall) who, in a dedication to Charles II, urged that monarch to grant a fixed revenue to the college. This royal grant was apparently reversed (or repurchased for a sum never handed over). After proposals including an observatory, supported by
John Flamsteed John Flamsteed (19 August 1646 – 31 December 1719) was an English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal. His main achievements were the preparation of a 3,000-star catalogue, ''Catalogus Britannicus'', and a star atlas called '' Atlas ...
but vetoed by
Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...
in favour of
Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
, the site was devoted to
Chelsea Hospital The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II in 1682, it is a site ...
later in the reign of Charles II, with the old name still used in the following years. The king had wanted to keep open the chance of using the site also as a barracks for a
standing army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars ...
. The situation was resolved only when
Stephen Fox Sir Stephen Fox (27 March 1627 – 28 October 1716) of Farley in Wiltshire, of Redlynch Park in Somerset, of Chiswick, Middlesex and of Whitehall, was a royal administrator and courtier to King Charles II, and a politician, who rose from h ...
, the major benefactor to the Hospital, put up £1,300 of his own money for its purchase, and made a deal with the Royal Society through the good offices of
John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...
.Gillian Darley, ''John Evelyn: Living for Ingenuity'' (2006), p. 261.


Notes

{{Reflist 1609 establishments in England 1655 disestablishments in England Defunct universities and colleges in London 17th century in London