Daventry Academy

Daventry Academy was a special school set up by English Dissenters, who were people who did not agree with the official church. This school moved to many different places, but it became most famous when it was in Daventry, a town in West Northamptonshire.

One of its most well-known students was Joseph Priestley, a man who made important discoveries about gases. Because of its strong reputation, Daventry Academy eventually joined with another school to become New College London.

History

An academy began in Kibworth around 1715 and later moved to Market Harborough, where Philip Doddridge became its leader. The school then went to Northampton in 1729. While Doddridge was often away, his wife Mercy Doddridge managed the school’s money and even made some decisions on her own.

The school grew and received support from the Coward Trust, thanks to William Coward, a kind man from London who wanted to help train ministers for groups that did not agree with the main church. After Doddridge passed away in 1751, the school moved several times, ending up in Daventry in 1752. Later, it went to Wymondley and finally to London in 1833. There, it joined with other schools to become New College London.

Principals and alumni

Two important leaders of the school were the Rev. Thomas Morell and Dr. Thomas William Jenkyn. After another leader named Doddridge passed away in 1751, Caleb Ashworth and Samuel Clark took over.

Joseph Priestley, a famous student, studied theology at the school in the 1750s. Because he had already read a lot, he was allowed to skip the first two years of classes. His hard work and the open-minded environment of the school helped shape his views, leading him to become a Rational Dissenter. Rational Dissenters focused on using reason to understand the world and the Bible, rather than strict rules or mysterious beliefs.