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Stonyhurst College or Stonyhurst is a
co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
Catholic public school providing education for boarding and
day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...
pupils, adhering to the
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
tradition. It is based on the Stonyhurst Estate, next to the village of Hurst Green, in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It occupies a
Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
building. The school has been fully co-educational since 1999. It is a member of the
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools ...
. A precursor institution of the college was founded in 1593 by Father Robert Persons SJ at St Omer,Stonyhurst College
in ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2008
at a time when penal laws prohibited Catholic education in England. It relocated to Stonyhurst Hall in 1794, having moved already to
Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...
in 1762 and
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
in 1773, after an old boy, Thomas Weld (of Lulworth), granted it the Stonyhurst estate. It provides boarding and day education to approximately 500 boys and girls aged 11–18. On an adjacent site, its preparatory school, St Mary's Hall, provides education for boys and girls aged 3–11. Its alumni/ae include three
Saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...
, twelve ''Beati'', twenty-two martyrs, seven archbishops, seven
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
winners, a Peruvian president and prime minister, a New Zealand Prime Minister, a signatory of the
American Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...
and a number of writers, sportsmen, politicians, and European royals.T.E. Muir, ''Stonyhurst'', (St Omers Press, Gloucestershire. Second edition, 2006) ISBN 0-9553592-0-1 pp.188-192


History


Stonyhurst Hall

The earliest deed concerning the ''Stanihurst'' is held in the college's Arundell Library; it dates from approximately 1200. In 1372, a licence 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 sole heir, their daughter, Mary, the Duchess of Norfolk.


The college

The story of the school may be traced back to establishments in St Omer in what was then the
Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
in 1593, where a college, under the Royal Patronage of
Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
, was founded by Fr Robert Persons SJ for English boys unable to receive a
Catholic 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 ...
education in Elizabethan England. As such it was one of several expatriate English schools operating on the European mainland. In 1762, the Jesuits were forced to flee and re-established their school at
Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...
. The school was moved in 1773 to
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
, where it operated for two decades before moving to
Stonyhurst Stonyhurst is a rural estate owned by the Society of Jesus near Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It is centred on Stonyhurst College, occupying the great house, its preparatory school Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall and the parish church, St ...
on 29 August 1794. The number of students increased during the 19th century: the Society of Jesus was re-established in Britain 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 larger buildings in the 1880s. A seminary was constructed on 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. Since the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, 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 and 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
novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...
, it became a preparatory school to the college in 1807. St Mary's Hall, 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 Hall. The poet
Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His Prosody (linguistics), prosody – notably his concept of sprung ...
, and John Tolkien, son of
J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...
, trained as priests there. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the English College left
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
's Italy and occupied the hall. After their return to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, 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 claims to being one of 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 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 has had a significant place in English Catholic history for many centuries (including events such as the
Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinat ...
and
Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...
conspiracies). It was founded initially to educate English Catholics on the continent in the hope that, through them, Catholicism might be restored in England. After the school settled in England in 1794 and the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
was officially re-established in Britain in 1803. Stonyhurst remained the headquarters of their 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 I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
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. It is a long-standing practice, as with many Jesuit schools around the world, that pupils write A.M.D.G. 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.


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 Francis Chapel and the St Ignatius Chapel. The last two are both within the towers of St Peter's Church. The Sodality Chapel is the home of the relics 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 while the chapel underwent restoration, but they have since been returned. The chapel is again used by the re-established Sodality. Adjacent to the Old Infirmary is the Rosary Garden, a place for spiritual contemplation, at the centre of which is a stone statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. St Peter's Church underwent repair and refurbishment in 2010–11.


Charitable status

As a registered charity, Stonyhurst is obliged to provide benefits to the wider community under the terms of the
Charities Act 2006 The Charities Act 2006 (c. 50) 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. The act was mostly superseded by the Charities A ...
. As such, the college is home to the local Catholic parish church, which receives worshippers from Hurst Green every day. Its sports facilities, including the swimming pool and all-weather pitch are available for public use; the latter was used for competitors training for the
London 2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. Much of the estate has public access. Many of its facilities such as its swimming pool, leisure complex, golf course, grounds and museum are open to the public. The school has relationships with several
state schools A state school, public school, or government school is a primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-funded schools a ...
, arranging shared activities with their pupils, in particular those serving special needs children. In addition, the school makes available some 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 refers to 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.


Academic

In 2024, 88% of
GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...
students attained 9-4 grades; there is a 99% pass rate at
A-Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
; and 89% pass rate for the IB Diploma. 100% of
A-Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
leavers take up places at universities (10% to
Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...
) or on
gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is a period of time when students take a break from their studies, usually after completing high school or before beginning graduate school. During this time, students engage in a variety of educatio ...
schemes. The school's most recent inspection rated much of the education and pastoral provision as 'outstanding'. Education during the college's early history was based on St Ignatius' '' Ratio Studiorum'', 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 Catholics were admitted to
Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...
in 1854, Stonyhurst was also home to "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 and collections

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 while the 'House Libraries' (the Arundell, the Bay, and the Square) contain many artefacts from the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
and English Catholicism. The Arundell Library, presented in 1837 by Everard, 11th
Baron Arundell of Wardour Baron Arundell of Wardour, in the County of Wiltshire, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1605 for Thomas Arundell, known as "Thomas the Valiant", son of Sir Matthew Arundell (died 1598) and grandson of Sir Thomas Arun ...
, is the most significant; it is not only a country-house library from Wardour Castle but also has a notable collection of 250
incunabula An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside (printing), broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentiall ...
, medieval manuscripts and volumes of Jacobite interest, signal among which is Mary Tudor's Book of Hours, which it is believed was given by
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...
to her chaplain on the scaffold. The
manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...
'' Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines'' was written in 1354 by
Henry, Duke of Lancaster Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster (– 23 March 1361) was an English statesman, diplomat, soldier, and Christian writer. The owner of Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, Grosmont was a member of the House of Plantagenet, which was ruling o ...
. To these were added the archives of the English Province of the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
, which include 16th-century manuscript verses by St Robert Southwell SJ, the letters of St Edmund Campion SJ (1540–81) and holographs of the 19th-century poet
Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His Prosody (linguistics), prosody – notably his concept of sprung ...
. The Arundell Library has a copy of the ''Chronicles of
Jean Froissart Jean Froissart ( Old and Middle French: ''Jehan''; sometimes known as John Froissart in English; – ) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meli ...
'', captured at the
Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...
in 1415, and held the 7th-century Stonyhurst Gospel of St John before it was loaned to the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
, as well as a
First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...
of Shakespeare. Among those collections kept away from public view are numerous blood-soaked garments from Jesuits martyred in Japan, the skull of Cardinal Morton, ropes used to quarter St Edmund Campion SJ, hair of St Francis Xavier SJ, an enormous solid silver jewel-encrusted
monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharisti ...
, the Wintour vestments, a cope made for Henry VII, and a thorn said to be from the
crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or ) was placed on the head of Jesus during the Passion of Jesus, events leading up to his crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion. It was one of the Arma Christi, instruments of the Passion, e ...
placed upon Jesus' head at the
crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
. The school owns paintings, including a portrait of Tsar
Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...
and another of the Jesuit Henry Garnet. In the Stuart Parlour are portraits of Jacobites including
James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs (British political party), Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobitism, Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of Ki ...
, and his sons
Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
and
Henry Benedict Stuart Henry Benedict Thomas Edward Maria Clement Francis Xavier Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York (6 March 1725 – 13 July 1807) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal, and was the third and final Jacobitism, Jacobite heir to pub ...
. There are also several original engravings by
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
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 The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...
came under the auspices of 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 ...
. 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
Alfred Weld Alfred Weld S. J. (1823 Leagram, Lancashire – 1890 South Africa) was an English Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, professor of Science and Director of Stonyhurst College, Stonyhurst Observatory. While working at the observatory, he welcomed in ...
, Fr Perry and Fr Sidgreaves whose research included astronomy, geomagnetrometry and seismology.Fr. Walter Sidgreaves (1837–1919).
Retrieved 18 July 2008
Astrophysicist Pietro Angelo Secchi, director of the Vatican Observatory, also taught astronomy at the college during the period. 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 Office The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...
to provide central England temperature data (CET).


Arts


Music, drama and art

There are two choirs: the Chapel Choir, which sings regularly at
Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
, and the ''Schola Cantorum'', composed of teachers and pupils, of all ages. The school has two theatres and has after-school programs, lessons, and sessions in drama and music. In September 2024, a new dance studio was opened. The college has a traditional theatre, the Academy Room, and a high-tech theatre built at St Mary's Hall as part of the Centenaries Appeal in 1993. The latter plays host to the annual
Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. ...
International Piano Week. Several former pupils have gone on to achieve success upon the stage, including
OSCAR Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
-winning actor and director
Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (; 1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British and American actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play wi ...
and
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
-winning director and producer
Peter Glenville Peter Glenville (born Peter Patrick Brabazon Browne; 28 October 19133 June 1996) was an English theatre and film director, and actor. He was a prominent director of stage plays on the West End and Broadway in the 1950s. He was nominated fo ...
. 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 Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
painted by Isobel Bidwell during the
Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...
year; upon receipt of a copy, the Queen's
lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...
said that "The Queen was delighted to see the painting and know that it is on display in the school".


Literary associations

Stonyhurst has provided inspiration for poets and authors who include former classics teacher
Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His Prosody (linguistics), prosody – notably his concept of sprung ...
, 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' nemesis, Moriarty, after a fellow pupil.Old Clitheroe
Article on Tolkien & Conan Doyle 2001. Retrieved 18 July 2008
J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...
wrote part of ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
'' in a classroom on the Upper Gallery during his stay at the college where his son taught Classics; his "
Middle-earth Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...
" is said to resemble the local area, while 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 Laureate
Alfred Austin Alfred Austin (30 May 1835 – 2 June 1913) was an English poet who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1896, after an interval following the death of Tennyson, when the other candidates had either caused controversy or refused the honour. It was c ...
, 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 Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
and
Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
). George Archer-Shee, at the centre of
Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...
's play ''
The Winslow Boy ''The Winslow Boy'' is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an incident involving George Archer-Shee in the Edwardian era. The incident took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne. Background Set against the strict cod ...
'', 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 Omer in
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
.


Sport


Rugby

has played a big part in the life of the school, despite only supplanting football as the school's primary sport in 1921. Sporting rivalry is particularly prominent against fellow Catholic independent schools Ampleforth College, Mount St Mary's College and
Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...
in
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
. The Stonyhurst Sevens take place annually. The school has produced sixteen international rugby players (England (5), Ireland (6), Scotland (1) Italy (1), the USA (1) Bermuda (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 Bracken, who both played for England when they won the
2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...
, whilst another member of that team,
Will Greenwood William John Heaton Greenwood, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 20 October 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played for Leicester Tigers and Harlequin F.C., Harlequins and was a member of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup, 20 ...
, went to
Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall Stonyhurst St Mary's Hall (commonly known as S.M.H.) is the preparatory school to Stonyhurst College. It is an independent co-educational Catholic school, for ages 3–11, founded by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It is adjacent to Stonyhurst ...
, where his mother taught
maths Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, theories and theorems that are developed and proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include num ...
until 2007. Current pupils of the school have won places to represent Spain, Mexico (under 19s) the
Irish Exiles Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...
and the Welsh Exiles (under 19s). Old boys have also played at varsity level and have won
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
for Oxford or Cambridge. Stonyhurst's coaches have included former England coaches Dick Greenwood and Brian Ashton who coached the first XV.


Stonyhurst Football

Stonyhurst Football, inherited from the College of St Omer (along with Stonyhurst Cricket), was a sport played between the handball walls on the Playground. The game was discontinued with the advent of
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
but was re-established in 1988 when a "Grand Match" was played at Great Academies; traditionally a "Grand Match" was played on
Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...
and was the primary Stonyhurst Football match of the season. The teams were England vs France (although during the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
England vs Russia was played and more recently England vs Ireland was played in the 1980s). The last game took place in 1995.


Military


Officer Training Corps (OTC)

The Stonyhurst Officer Training Corps assembled for the first time on 16 October 1900, in the Ambulacrum, overseen by The First Volunteer Battalion, the
East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59t ...
who gave instruction in drill and musketry.OTC & CCF
Stonyhurst: information on the OTC & CCF 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2008
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 Christi celebrations until the practice became obsolete after
Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...
.


Combined Cadet Corps (CCF)

After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, school OTCs were succeeded by the
Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...
. Stonyhurst's comprises the following platoons named after Stonyhurst's seven
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
winners:


Junior company

* Costello Platoon (Lieutenant Edmund William COSTELLO V.C., Malakand, India 1897) * Coury Platoon (Second Lieutenant George Gabriel COURY V.C., Guillemont, Somme 1916) * Liddell Platoon (Captain John Aiden LIDDELL V.C, Ostend, Belgium 1915) * Kenna Platoon (Captain Paul Aloysius KENNA V.C., Khartoum, Sudan 1898)


Senior company

* Dease Platoon (Lieutenant Maurice James DEASE V.C., Mons, Belgium 1914) * Jackman Platoon (Captain James Joseph Bernard JACKMAN V.C., Ed Duda, Tobruk, 1941) * Andrews Platoon (Captain Harold Marcus ERVINE-ANDREWS V.C., Dunkirk 1940) * Support Platoon


Military careers

Some pupils have gone on to receive places at the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...
.Sandhurst reference
timesonline.co.uk; 12 April 2008; retrieved 10 July 2008.
The Sovereign's Parade, RMAS
''Times Online'', 15 December 2004; retrieved 10 July 2008.
Speaker
GordonPoole.com; retrieved 10 July 2008.
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 War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
.


School organisation


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.Playrooms
Stonyhurst: information on playrooms 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2008


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) * St Omers (yellow, though brown for sporting attire) (named after St Omer, 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)


Sister schools

Stonyhurst College has one sister school in
Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, called Stonyhurst International School Penang.


Stonyhurst Association

After less formal arrangements had been made for many years, the Association was formed in 1879. In 1985, it was granted charitable status by the
Charity Commission The Charity Commission for England and Wales is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's Government that regulates registered charities in England and Wales and maintains the Central Register of Charities. Its counterparts in Scotland and ...
. Its primary objective is to foster a strong spirit of union amongst past pupils and friends of Stonyhurst, with a strong charitable emphasis.


Alumni

Stonyhurst has educated prominent individuals in many areas, from statesmen to sportsmen, and actors to archbishops. Seven alumni have been awarded the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
, the highest award for gallantry; paintings of them adorn the walls of the Top Refectory in the school. The school's alumni include three
saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...
, twelve ''Beati'', seven archbishops, seven
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
winners, a Peruvian president, a Bolivian president, a New Zealand prime minister, a signatory of the
American Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...
and several writers, sportsmen, and politicians. Notable alumni include: *
Charles Carroll of Carrollton Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic signatory ...
, signatory of the U.S.
Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
*
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
, author of
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
* St Thomas Garnet SJ, canonised saint and protomartyr of St Omers, one of the
Forty Martyrs of England and Wales The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales or Cuthbert Mayne and Thirty-Nine Companion Martyrs are a group of Catholic Church, Catholic, lay and religious, men and women, executed between 1535 and 1679 for treason and related offences under variou ...
* John Harbison, first State Pathologist of
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
* Joseph Mary Plunkett, Irish signatory of the Irish Proclamation of Independence leading activist in the
Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...
, for which he was executed * John Francis Moriarty,
Attorney General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish and then, from 1801 under the Acts of Union 1800, United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on ...
* Richard More O'Ferrall, Governor of Malta and Irish landownder. *
Frederick Weld Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld (9 May 1823 – 20 July 1891), was an English-born New Zealand politician and colonial administrator of various British colonies and territories located in Oceania and Southeast Asia. He was the sixth Prime Minis ...
, New Zealand prime minister * Eduardo Lopez de Romaña, president of Peru * Lieutenant Maurice James Dease, was the first posthumous recipient of the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
during WWI, fought and died at the
Battle of Mons The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (World War I), British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies of World W ...
* Thomas Meagher, Irish poet, leader of the
Young Ireland Young Ireland (, ) was a political movement, political and cultural movement, cultural movement in the 1840s committed to an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform. Grouped around the Dublin weekly ''The Nation (Irish news ...
movement,
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
Brigadier General, and Acting Governor of the
Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...
. *
Daniel Carroll Daniel Carroll Jr. (July 22, 1730May 7, 1796) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a Maryland politician, and a plantation owner. He supported the American Revolution, served in the Confederation Congress, was a delegate to ...
, brother of
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
and cousin of
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
, one of only five men to sign both the
Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...
and the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
. * John Carroll, brother of Daniel and cousin of
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
, served as first
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
and
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, founder of
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
. Contemporaries *
Joe Ansbro Joe Ansbro (Born Glasgow, 29 October 1985) is a former Scottish international professional rugby union player. He is the first player of African origin to represent Scotland at test level in history. His favoured position is centre. He most rece ...
, Scottish rugby international *
Crispian Hollis Roger Francis Crispian Hollis (born 17 November 1936, in Bristol) is the Bishop Emeritus of Portsmouth for the Roman Catholic Church. Early life Crispian Hollis' parents were Christopher Hollis (1902–1977), the author and parliamentarian, a ...
, Bishop of Portsmouth * Michael D. Hurley, Cambridge don engaged in literature, philosophy and theology * Paul Johnson, writer, artist and popular historian *
Gabriel Leung Gabriel Matthew Leung (, born 6 November 1972) is a Hong Kong physician and epidemiologist, currently serving as the executive director (Charities and Community) of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. From 2013 to 2022, he was the longest-serving dea ...
, Dean of the
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine The University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine (branded as HKUMed) is the medical school of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), a public research university. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, ...
,
University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...
* Mark Thompson, former
Director-General of the BBC The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC. The post-holder was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period 1927 to 2007) and then the ...
* Chris Morris, satirist, BAFTA winner * Tom Morris, theatre director, producer and writer, and Tony Award winner * Matt Greenhalgh, screenwriter, BAFTA winner * Tim Hetherington, photographer, Oscar nominee * Patrick Rock former government deputy director of policy for Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
and convicted sex offender* *
Bill Cash Sir William Nigel Paul Cash (born 10 May 1940) is a British politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1984 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected for Stafford and then for Stone in Staffordshire in ...
, MP for Stone, Staffordshire and prominent Brexiteer * Patrick McGrath, novelist


Notable masters

* Brian Ashton, history master and England rugby coach. * Dick Greenwood, Assistant bursar and England rugby coach.Rugby Coaches
Stonyhurst: article on rugby coaches 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2008
* Christopher Hollis, assistant master, history master (1925–1935), author, politician and president of the
Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...
. *
Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His Prosody (linguistics), prosody – notably his concept of sprung ...
, classics master and poet. *
Stephen Joseph Perry Stephen Joseph Perry SJ FRS (26 August 1833 – 27 December 1889) was an English Jesuit and astronomer, known as a participant in scientific expeditions. Life He belonged to a well-known Catholic family. His schooling was first at Giffor ...
, astronomy master. *
Alfred Weld Alfred Weld S. J. (1823 Leagram, Lancashire – 1890 South Africa) was an English Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, professor of Science and Director of Stonyhurst College, Stonyhurst Observatory. While working at the observatory, he welcomed in ...
SJ, director of the Observatory, grandson of founder Thomas Weld (of Lulworth) * Pietro Angelo Secchi, astronomy master, astrophysicist, and director of the Vatican Observatory. *
George Tyrrell George Tyrrell (6 February 1861 – 15 July 1909) was an Anglo-Irish Catholic priest and a highly controversial theologian and scholar. A convert from Anglicanism, Tyrrell joined the Jesuit order in 1880. His attempts to adapt Catholic the ...
, philosophy master and Roman Catholic modernist.


Headmasters

Since the college's foundation in
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
in 1593, there have been 78 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. :''St Omer, Bruges, Liège (1593–1794)'' :''See: Heads of St Omer, Bruges, Liège'' :''Stonyhurst (1794–present)'' :''Presidents'' : Marmaduke Stone SJ (1794–1808) :Nicholas Sewall SJ (1808–1813) :John Weld SJ (1813–1816) :Nicholas Sewall SJ (1816–1817) :''Rector and Headmaster'' : Charles Plowden 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 SJ (1961–1963) :George Earle SJ (1963–1971) :Michael Bossy SJ (1971–1985) :Giles Mercer (1985–1996) :Adrian Aylward (1996–2006) :Andrew Johnson (2006-2016) :John Browne (2016-present) :''Headmasters of Hodder Place & St Mary's Hall (1807–present)'' :''See: Headmasters of Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall''


Controversy

James Chaning-Pearce, a priest who taught at the school, was jailed for sexually assaulting pupils between 1987 and 1995. The youngest victim was a boy of 12. In 1999, the Lancashire Constabulary conducted "Operation Whiting", which looked into allegations of abuse at the school dating back to the 1970s. This resulted in two convictions, one of which was quashed on appeal. On 14 May 2002, in evidence to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, journalist David Rose described the operation as "a scandal in itself" and an "expensive... fiasco". Another priest, Father Paul Symonds, at Stonyhurst between 1972 and 1979, was arrested in November 2009 for having allegedly abused a 13-year-old boy for three years. The case was dropped by the CPS Lancashire, a year later and was revealed in March 2014. In 2014, Stonyhurst was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £31,547.78 in legal costs for the prosecution after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for health and safety failings after a stonemason working for the college developed
silicosis Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of Nodule (medicine), nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneum ...
, a potentially fatal lung disease. The college made the stonemason, who had worked for the college for almost 12 years, redundant, four months after his diagnosis.Stonyhurst College prosecuted after stonemason develops lung disease
/ref>


See also

* List of Jesuit sites in the United Kingdom * List of Jesuit schools * St Gordianus, interred in the school * Listed buildings in Aighton, Bailey and Chaigley


References


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), * The Authorities of Stonyhurst College, ''A Stonyhurst Handbook for Visitors and Others'', (Stonyhurst, Lancashire. Third edition 1963)


External links

*
Stonyhurst's entry in the 1912 New Advent Catholic Encyclopaedia
*
Stonyhurst Weather Station Met Office entry
{{Authority control Boarding schools in Lancashire Catholic boarding schools in England Jesuit secondary schools in England Roman Catholic private schools in the Diocese of Salford Private schools in Lancashire International Baccalaureate schools in England Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Co-educational boarding schools 1593 establishments in England Educational institutions established in the 1590s Grade I listed buildings in Lancashire Grade I listed educational buildings Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Lancashire Forest of Bowland