HMS Captain 1870         

Charitable Schools in the Greenwich Area

As the author of the HMS Captain website, I started to assemble the information on the loss of the ship as an extension to my usual family history enquiries.

These family history enquiries have shown that my great-great-grandfather, who went down with the ship, lived with all his close family in Greenwich, south London/Kent. Quite a few boys in the family were educated at the Royal Hospital School in Greenwich, a school primarily for children of naval seaman, either because they were thought to be needy, or had become orphans.

In addition, some orphaned children of the family, certainly after the disaster, boarded at the charitable GreenCoat School in Greenwich, whilst other children were, at an earlier date, confined to the Greenwich Workhouse.

Going off at a tangent (easily done whether it is family history or producing a website like HMS Captain!), I investigated these institutions and produced for myself about ten pages about their history.

Rather than just leaving these lying around, I thought that it is possible that some descendants of those lost on HMS Captain may also be interested, so these notes have now been added.

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Outline of the history of the Royal Hospital School, Greenwich and other linked schools in the area

Over the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the Royal Hospital School developed from the integration of three establishments, and the involvement of one or  two others.

The main schools were –

 a – The initial setting up and opening in 1712 of a small school as part of their scheme for the Greenwich Royal Hospital by William and Mary for “the maintenance and education of the children of seaman slain or disabled in sea service”.

b – The setting up in 1798 in Paddington of a school called The British National Endeavour, primarily to aid recruitment into the navy. From an initial seventy children, in 1805 George III turned this into a foundation for one thousand children, who moved to Queens House in Greenwich, in 1806.

These two schools were within a couple of hundred yards of each other, and in 1821 the Greenwich Royal Hospital School amalgamated with The British National Endeavour, in the British National Endeavour’s extensive buildings, and the merged schools were generally called the Royal Hospital Schools.

In the 19^th century, a charitable boarding school, Green Coat Collegiate School, adjacent St Alphege’s Church in Greenwich, originally founded in 1672 by Sir William Boreman (again the principal object being the study of navigation), became a feeder school to the Upper Nautical School of the Royal Hospital School.

Also nearby was a school set up by Thomas Weston, (Weston Academy, later known as Burney’s Academy) the principal object of study again being navigation . This famous school took, for a while, some day boys from the Royal Hospital School.

In addition, another charitable non-boarding school The Roan School (Grey Coat School) was founded in Greenwich , also adjacent St Alphege’s, and may have some part to play.

And finally, in a somewhat different vein, some naval orphans in the Greenwich area were housed in the Greenwich Union Workhouse,

Credits - the author has walked all the buildings involved, including looking for remains of schools in the backstreets around St Alpheges church, and some of the photos are mine. My story has also been combined to a greater or lesser extent by referring to the following - 

www.mariners-1.co.uk; http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk; www.portcities.org.uk; www.thedrapers.co.uk; National Maritime Museum Research Guide A6; other NMM leaflets on the Queen's House; The Royal Hospital School's own publications, including `A Refuge for All' by Pieter van de Merwe, and their school publicity brochure; The Royal Hospital School by HDT Turner.