William Byngham was the founder of the first secondary school training college in Britain1. He became vicar of St John Zachary in the City of London on May 25, 1424 where along with other prominent clergy such as Worthyngton St Andrew, Holborn , Lychefield (St Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street and Cote (St Peter-upon-Cornhill]] he petitioned wealthy aldermen, and indeed the King himself2, to restore the grammar schools. The foundation of Godshouse3 in Cambridge in 1437 (with financial backing from a former Lord Mayor of London John Brokley) should have been a triumphant conclusion to his long campaign, but it took a further decade before his foundation was finally given the royal seal of approval4. He died on 17 November 1451.
Notes
- ^ Article to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his death William Byngham: A Medieval Protagonist of the Training of Teachers W. H. G. Armytage in “History of Education Journal”, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Summer, 1951), pp. 107-110
- ^ Biographical article in "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Brown- Catley" Davenport, R.B: Oxford, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004 ISBN 019861411X
- ^ Later incorporated into Christ’s College
- ^ "Social history of Education in England" Lawson, J:London, Methuen,1973 ISBN 0416086705
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