Nathaniel Woodard

British priest
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Quick Facts
Born:
March 21, 1811, Basildon, Essex, Eng.
Died:
April 25, 1891, Henfield, Sussex

Nathaniel Woodard (born March 21, 1811, Basildon, Essex, Eng.—died April 25, 1891, Henfield, Sussex) was an Anglican priest and founder of middle class public schools. An Oxford graduate, he was ordained a priest in 1842. Although he was not an outstanding scholar, he possessed a genius for organization and for attracting funds. He saw the need for good schools for the middle classes, schools that would combine Anglican teaching with the advantages of English public school education at a moderate cost.

His first schools, called the Woodard Schools, were St. Nicolas at Lancing for the upper middle class, St. John’s at Hurstpierpoint for the middle class, and St. Saviour’s at Ardingly for the lower middle class. Later he opened a number of boys’ and girls’ schools in different parts of the country.

In 1870 Woodard was appointed canon residentiary of Manchester. His tomb is in the chapel of Lancing College.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.