Edward Carleton Tufnell (27 October 1806, Marylebone, London (then part of Middlesex) – 3 July 1886 Belgravia, London ) was an English civil servant and educationist.

Education

He was educated at Eton College and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, gaining a first class in mathematics.

Career

He became a commissioner for the Royal Commission on the

Poor Laws In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

in 1832. From 1835 to 1846 he was an assistant commissioner to administer the poor law, the new Poor Law having been passed in 1834. Together with

James Kay-Shuttleworth Sir James Phillips Kay-Shuttleworth, 1st Baronet (20 July 1804 – 26 May 1877, born James Kay) of Gawthorpe Hall, Lancashire, was a British politician and educationist. He founded a further-education college that would eventually become Plymo ...

, whom he had met as secretary of the

Statistical Society of London The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

(founded 1834), in 1839 they jointly published reports on the training of pauper children. In 1840 the Battersea Normal College for the training of teachers of pauper children was founded. This became the

College of St Mark and St John Plymouth Marjon University, commonly referred to as Marjon, is the trading name of the University of St Mark and St John, a university based primarily on a single campus on the northern edge of Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom. Formerly named Uni ...

at Chelsea, London and is now

Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

(also known as 'Marjon'). This was the first training college for school teachers. Today's system of national school education, with public inspection, trained teachers and its support by state as well as local funds, is largely due to their initiative.

Personal life

He was the younger son of William Tufnell (1769–1809) and his wife, Mary (d. 1829), the daughter of Thomas Carleton. His father was a barrister and Whig MP for Colchester 1806–7, and lord of the manor of Barnsbury, London of which he was a developer after whom Tufnell Park was named. In 1846 Tufnell married Honoria Mary (1824–1877), the only daughter of Colonel William Macadam. They had three sons, including Edward Tufnell (1848–1909), Member of Parliament (father of

Richard Tufnell Richard Lionel Tufnell (10 December 1896 – 1 October 1956) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. Richard Tufnell was son of Edward Tufnell, Member of Parliament for South East Essex, and grandson of the civil servant and ...

, also a Member of Parliament)Sources in British Political History 1900-1951, vol. 4: A Guide to the Private Papers of Members of Parliament: L-Z, Chris Cook, Macmillan, p. 212 and a daughter Mary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tufnell, Edward Carleton 1806 births 1886 deaths People educated at Eton College 19th-century English people Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English educational theorists English statisticians People from Marylebone