Without doubt, the single most important person in the setting up of St Andrew’s School 150 years ago was the Reverend Fitzroy John FitzWygram, who ran the parish for about 18 months during the absence of the first vicar. However, as he was never actually ‘vicar’, you will not find his name in any church history or documents commemorating the history of the school.
Revd FitzWygram was born in 1827 into a wealthy family from Hampshire. His father was a baronet, and one of his brothers became a military General and an MP.
Although wealthy, the family had always taken a benevolent interest in their local community. Revd FitzWygram may have been generous with his wealth but he most certainly did not believe in ‘hand-outs’ for the poor. His strategy was much more to ‘empower’ them.
He was passionate about education for the poor, and while he was vicar at Shipbourne in Kent he wrote a book entitled “Hints for the Improvement of Village Schools and the Introduction of Industrial Work”. On arrival in Croydon, his second book was published: “Hints for the Education of Farmers’ Children”.
Seeing the needs of the parish of St Andrew’s, within a month of arriving in Croydon in mid-1861 he had hired a temporary schoolroom and raised over half of the £110 (about £5000 in today’s money) needed to convert the room and set it up as a school. The vast majority of this money was either his own, or from close family members. News of his project was reported as the very first piece of Croydon News in the very first Issue of the Croydon Times (the forerunner of the Croydon Advertiser).
His intention was to set up a school for the ‘middle classes’ i.e. a ‘middle’ school for which families would pay a few pence a week for their children to attend to attend. This would be self-supporting financially, and eventually be capable of also housing an ‘Industrial School’ for the lower classes. They would still have to pay but at a much lower rate. The idea was that the poor received a good education, but at a rate that they could afford. This was in direct contrast to the local Ragged School which was funded by charitable donations and provided a form of free education and often food and clothing to the poorest children. However, the poor quality of education at the Ragged School was a cause of much controversy in the local paper at the time.
The insistence that even the poor had to pay something was most definitely not because Revd FitzWygram did not care about the poor, but rather that he wanted to show them how to work their way out of poverty. For example, to help the poorest in Croydon – those labourers who maybe only had work during the summer months – he set up a ‘coal club’ so that families could pay during the summer months for the sacks of coal they would need during the winter months.
He was a regular visitor at the school, spending at least two hours there every Monday morning.
He campaigned enthusiastically in the local press for funds to complete the building of the purpose-built schools and by Nov 1861 a site had been secured between Old Town and Church Road, very close to the Church. Within a year, the schools were completed and formally opened at the beginning of Dec 1862.
Just one month later, the Revd FitzWygram suddenly left Croydon and the ‘official’ Vicar finally returned to take up his post. The circumstances surrounding Revd FitzWygram’s departure are not clear, but reports in the local papers indicate that the return of the vicar was an unsettled time for the parish.
However, the school was very important to Revd FitzWygram and the staff and pupils were obviously fond of him. He returned to visit the pupils a couple of weeks later when special gifts of a salver and a silver lead pencil were presented to him and words of appreciation said. The event concluded with the children being allowed home early!
On leaving Croydon, Revd FitzWygram was invited by the vicar of St. Mary’s, Hampton, to take over the new outlying parish then known as New Hampton. After moving to Hampton Hill Revd FitzWygram fell in love with and married a local girl, Alice. Alice was daughter of Lady Ward, who lived in the Grace and Favour Apartments at Hampton Court Palace.
The inhabitants of the community were described by the Hampton historian, Henry Ripley, as being “destitute of every social and useful institution”. Revd FitzWygram’s response was to say that “if people are taught to say thanks to God, they must have something to give thanks for”. He and his wife then dedicated their lives and a good deal of their money to improving the unpleasant living conditions and poor prospects of the parishioners.
… and so he started again, … setting up a school, … empowering the poor, ….
He died in the summer of 1881 at the age of just 54. At his funeral, the Archdeacon of Middlesex said this:
“No one was more careful than he to screen his own liberality, no one shrank more completely from any form of human praise. Why do we feel that he was such a pillar of strength to the Church? Was it wealth, was it knowledge, was it experience that made his influence felt through the whole community? No, they might have assisted him— no doubt they did—no, the great secret of his strength was the penetrating force of a consecrated life, a pure motive, the glory of God. There was no compromise with the world, no fear of sacrificing time, money or convenience if he thought there was anything to be done for God and His cause.”
What a wonderful heritage! … and a challenge to live up to 150 years later!
I am sure he would have approved of our school mission statement:
In GOD through GRACE and GUIDANCE to GROW and GIVE
(Information from Croydon Times and website of St James Church, Hampton Hill)