Charles Burney (scholar) - Usher, Scholar and Parson

Usher, Scholar and Parson

In 1782, Burney became a master at a private school in Chiswick run by William Rose. He married Rose's daughter Sarah (1759–1821) in 1783. When Rose died in 1786, Burney took over the school, moving it to nearby Hammersmith and thence to Greenwich in 1793.

Many eminent naval and military officers were educated there, but he seems to have been such a strong disciplinarian that he provoked a rebellion of about 50 boys at some time in the early years of the new century. One boy described it in an undated letter to his mother. The boys took food, chessboards, cards and weapons, and barricaded themselves in: "Then Burney came and told them to open the door but they said it was not shut to be opened. He then got a ladder & got at the top of the door where he could see them all... till at last as the door was going to be cut open they unfastened it, when Burney rushed in. At first they hit him with their sticks but he knocked them about till at last they were quiet & Burney very generously gave them the choice of being expelled or forgiven; above 40 were forgiven and 2 expelled."

Burney transferred the school to his only child Charles Parr Burney (1785–1864), who ran it from 1813 to 1833.

Burney gained a strong reputation as a Greek scholar with several publications to his name. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1802. He made his peace with Cambridge University, which awarded him an MA in 1808 on his ordination as an Anglican priest. He advanced rapidly in the church, becoming rector of the rich living of Cliffe, Kent, and of St. Paul's, Deptford, as well as serving as a royal chaplain and a prebendary of Lincoln Cathedral. He died of apoplexy.