Career
He was ordained in 1841 and obtained a curacy at St Bartholomew's, Bethnal Green. Here he started a church school for the children of deprived parishioners. As a result of a controversial sermon - in which he argued that The Book of Common Prayer should include separate provision for confession and absolution - he was moved to another curacy at St. James the Greater, Clapton.
In 1846, obtaining a curacy at St Mary de Haura Church in New Shoreham, he was again struck by the poverty, and the lack of education amongst his middle class parishioners—many of whom were less well educated than many of their employees who had been educated in the parochial school. He opened a day school in his vicarage, and in 1848 he started St Nicholas' School, which took boarders. This was merged in 1849 merged to form the College of St Mary and St Nicholas, which eventually formed the present day Lancing College. It was from these beginnings that he started to work full-time on promoting educational projects, resigning from his curacy in 1850. Woodard was supported in these endeavours by Edward Clarke Lowe, headmaster and director of many of the schools, who prevailed upon him in 1874 to provide for the education of women at the schools founded in Abbots Bromley.
The extent of his success was recognised in 1870 when Oxford University bestowed on him the degree of DCL and he was made Canon of Manchester Cathedral by Gladstone. Woodard used the majority of the generous stipend which went with his position as Canon towards the funds for building the schools.
In accordance with his firm Anglo-Catholic beliefs, and in contrast to similar although less successful work by Joseph Lloyd Brereton there were no concessions to either those Anglicans of the low church or to those belonging to non-conformist churches. The efforts of Woodard and his supporters raised about £500,000 by the time of his death in 1891, and Woodard succeeded in gaining the admiration of people like William Ewart Gladstone and Matthew Arnold.
His tomb is in the chapel of Lancing College.
Read more about this topic: Nathaniel Woodard
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“I seemed intent on making it as difficult for myself as possible to pursue my “male” career goal. I not only procrastinated endlessly, submitting my medical school application at the very last minute, but continued to crave a conventional female role even as I moved ahead with my “male” pursuits.”
—Margaret S. Mahler (1897–1985)
“It is a great many years since at the outset of my career I had to think seriously what life had to offer that was worth having. I came to the conclusion that the chief good for me was freedom to learn, think, and say what I pleased, when I pleased. I have acted on that conviction... and though strongly, and perhaps wisely, warned that I should probably come to grief, I am entirely satisfied with the results of the line of action I have adopted.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)