John Langhorne (King's School Rochester)

Reverend John Langhorne (born Giggleswick, Yorkshire England in 1836 and died Ticehurst December 1911) was headmaster of The King's School, Rochester (founded 604) and an educational innovator there.

Parentage

His father was John Langhorne (1805-1881) (referred to hereafter with the term "senior", to distinguish him from his son) of Haber House, Crosby Ravensworth, Cumbria. John Langhorne (senior) was born at Haber Farm and was schooled in Shap and Sedbergh, subsequently becoming master at Beetham. He became mathematics [Westmorland Gazette, 18 October 1897] and writing [Bell (1912)] master of The Free Grammar School of King Edward VI for thirty years. He served most of his time under headmaster Reverend George Ash Butterton. He managed the School Accounts from 1839-1845, but they were found to be “so in accurate and confused” that Mr Robinson had to enter them in the book. [Bell (1912), p. 123] This may have been because “in 1840 the … number of boys in the High School learning writing and arithmetic under Langhorne was greater than one man could efficiently attend to”. [Bell (1912), p. 126] Langhorne resigned “almost immediately” at the replacement of headmaster Dr Butterton by Reverend John Blakiston in about 1859. [Bell (1912), p. 150]

John Langhorne (senior) was the cousin of Thomas Langhorne of High Dalebanks, Crosby Ravensworth who was the founder of Loretto School. He subsequently retired to Haber House in Crosby Ravensworth to pursue farming.

His mother was Elizabeth Wildman (1806 - 1878). She was the daughter of Mary Clark and William Wildman, a farmer from Giggleswick. They may have been related to John Wildman (born 1811) bookseller and publisher in Settle.

The Langhorne family claimed descent from Major General Rowland Laugharne [cite book|last=Langhorne|first=W. H.|year=1893|title=Reminiscences connected chiefly with Inveresk and Musselburgh and sketches of Family Histories|publisher=David Douglas|location=Edinburgh Rev. W.H. Langhorne M.A. Cantab was formerly first vicar of St Augustine's Stepney, Rector of Worston, Oxfordshire and corresponding member of the Historical Society of Compiegne] [A hand held printing press and a print entitled "Colonel Langhorne" is in the possession of John Langhorne's descendants. This image is almost identical to a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery, London entitled "Major-General Rowland Laugharne" and dated 1647. This is the evidence for his being a descendant of Rowland Laugharne. The "Colonel Langhorne" image is, however, entitled "From a scarce Print in Englands Worthys in the Collection of J Cronl. Esq. Pub 1 January 1796 by E and S Harding Pall Mall". The image in the National Portrait Gallery can be seen on http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp55702&rNo=0&role=sit. Langhorne is well recognised as the English version of Laugharne.]

Early life and Cambridge University

He attended Giggleswick School. In 1855 he won the Essay prize (see publications)

He attended Christ's College, Cambridge where he obtained a Master of Arts degree. Whilst at Cambridge he won the Chancellor's Gold Medal for classics.fact|date=October 2008 It was whilst resident at Cambridge that he met his first wife Henrietta Long of Harston Hall, Harston and Landemere Hall, Thorpe-le-Soken.

After leaving Cambridge, he worked for a year in Wakefield.

His sister Mary Langhorne died on 17 January 1863 aged 24.

Tonbridge School

From 1860 to 1877 he was classics master and housemaster at Tonbridge School (founded 1553), Kent, England.

The following poem was written about John Langhorne by Hughes-Hughes (probably whilst a student at Tonbridge School):

quote|Ego sum Johannes UrsusEt te puneam si ursus [Langhorne was often referred to as "the Bear" (Ursus in Latin)] facils tumultumGrave puer! num silebis?Immo vero non lidebisSi me provocabis multum

It is written from the teacher's perspective:

"I am the bearand I will fight you if you are you are a bear that take easily to turmoilUnpleasant boy! If you are silent?To the contrary if you do not sit downif you provoke me a lot"

The following account of his time at Tonbridge School comes from the “Hill Side Letter”, the journal of one of the houses at Tonbridge School.

By 1866 he had moved to Bordyke. At this time “it was necessary for him to advertise for pupils and a contemporary leaflet shows him charging 40-50 guineas for ‘house, board and washing’”.

The “Hill Side Letter” states that he was known at Tonbridge as “Fling”. It quotes the following poem composed by an erstwhile student:

“There in the fifth form room, well skilled to swear
The mighty Langhorne teaches from his chair
A man serene he is and stern to view
Satirically inclined and witty too
Well have the fellows earned the rows to trace
When in the morn they look upon his face
But of the will a hearty laugh provoke
By witty sayings or a harmless joke” (1870)

In October 1877 he left to take up his new position at Kings, Rochester. Around this time a contemporary student quoted in the "Hill Side Letter" described John Langhorne thus:

King's School, Rochester

In about 1877 John Langhorne became Headmaster at Kings School, Rochester.

The following announcement was made in "The Guardian" newspaper on 7 April 1893: "The Dean and Canons of Rochester Cathedral have now at their disposal the headmastership of Rochester Cathedral Grammar School, vacant by the resignation of the Rev. John Langhorne".

Lamberhurst and retirement

He left Rochester in 1893 to become vicar of Lamberhust and remained there until his death.

Family, marriage and children

On 1 August 1861 he married Henrietta Long of Harston Hall in her parish church of Harston, Chesterton, Cambridgeshire. See image. Henrietta Long was the daughter of William Long "gentleman" of Harston and Henrietta Bridge. [See marriage certificate] She was a direct descendant of John Littel Bridge of Shudy Camps and Gregory Wale. Henrietta Langhorne died in March 1869 at Tunbridge.

He had eight children in total, three from his first marriage and five from his second. Six of his children were educated at the King's School, Rochester.

The first child from his first marriage was also John Langhorne (1862-1925). This John Langhorne worked at Loretto School (which had been founded by Thomas Langhorne, a cousin of John Langhorne of Giggleswick School) and then became headmaster of the Dean Orphanage Charity School later known as John Watson's School in Edinburgh. This organisation was based at the building that is now the modern art gallery in Edinburgh [ [http://www.johnwatsons.com/ John Watson's Trust ] ] . A bronze plaque to him in that building was present until its conversion to a museum.

His second son was William Henry Langhorne (born 1865) who became Governors' Exhibitioner, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. Following a head injury following a fall from a bus he changed career and in 1884 joined the Royal Irish Constabulary. He was District Inspector, Brandon 1904-1910 and County Inspector, South Tipperary from 1910 - 1920.

His third son was Brigadier General Harold Stephen Langhorne (1866-1932).

John Langhorne's second wife was Frances ("Fanny") Yorke of the Yorke family of Forthampton Court of Tewkesbury. Her father James Charles Yorke of Gwernant House, Wales had been a Captain in the fifth Dragoon Guards.

The children from his second marriage were Charles Langhorne (who went to Madras to join his uncle Algy Yorke's import and export business, but became blind and returned to England), Ursula Vansittart Langhorne (who assisted in the Parish of Lamberhurst and the family home, worked as a governess, and won prizes for breeding Persian cats), Herbert Yorke Langhorne (King's scholar Rochester, 1888, Tancred Scholar Christ College Cambridge, BA 1898, Headmaster of the Central Modern School, Lahore in 1906 [http://www.a2a.org.uk/search/records.asp?cat=059-lpj6_712-781&cid=1-1-1302] ), and headmaster of Aldenham Park School, Salop, 1933), Brigadier James Archibald Dunboyne Langhorne, Major-General Algernon Philip Yorke Langhorne.

Publications

Essay, April 2, 1855. Supplement to the "Settle Chronicle", Settle

Notes

References

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