- John Percival (bishop)
John Percival (
27 September 1834 –3 December 1918 ) wasHeadmaster ofRugby School before becomingBishop of Hereford .Early life
Percival was born in
Brough Sowerby ,Westmorland , and was brought up on his uncle's farm after the death of his mother when he was very young. He was educated at Appleby grammar school, before winning a scholarship toThe Queen's College, Oxford in 1854. He obtained first-class degrees in classics and mathematics and was elected to a fellowship by the college in 1858. Recuperating from overwork in Pau, France in the following winter, he met Louisa Holland, whom he married in 1862.]Career in education
He was ordained deacon in 1860 and was offered a position as a master at
Rugby School by the headmaster,Frederick Temple . In 1862, Percival was appointed the first headmaster ofClifton College inBristol , on Temple's recommendation. Percival made this new school into a leading public school and he was also involved with other educational work in the city, helping to found Clifton High School for Girls and University College, Bristol (both established in 1877).Percival became President of
Trinity College, Oxford in January 1879. Although he was not always happy as a college head, he was involved in the wider work of the university, chairing the committee that established Somerville Hall in 1879 and promoting the university's adult education work.In May 1887, Percival became headmaster of
Rugby School . During his time as headmaster, he pursued a vigorous moral crusade. His leadership soon improved the prestige of the school. He attacked "idleness" and "loafing" and, concerned about "impurity", insisted that boys' football shorts should be worn below the knee and secured with elastic. He acquired thenickname "Percival of the knees" as a result.Bishop of Hereford
Lord Rosebery, the Prime Minister, nominated Percival to be
Bishop of Hereford in January 1895. WhilstQueen Victoria was opposed to the idea, since Percival was known to favour thedisestablishment of theChurch in Wales , Rosebery prevailed. TheCongé d'élire authorising Percival's appointment passed theGreat Seal of the Realm on18 February 1895 . [LondonGazette|issue=26600|startpage=999|endpage=1000|date=19 February 1895 |accessdate=2008-02-08]Percival's time in Hereford was affected by the death of his wife in 1896, although he remarried in 1899. He had difficulties in administering the large rural diocese and his radical political views were often unpopular. Graham Neville characterises him as a 'Low-church Political Liberal'; [Neville, Graham, 'Radical Churchman: Edward Lee Hicks and the New Liberalism' (Oxford: OUP, 1998), p. 4] in 1901 he publicly criticised the conditions and loss of life in the Concentration Camps of the
Second Boer War . [Neville, Graham, 'Radical Churchman: Edward Lee Hicks and the New Liberalism' (Oxford: OUP, 1998), p. 192] He attracted criticism (including an excommunication by Frank Weston, the bishop of Zanzibar) when he invitednonconformist s to takeholy communion atHereford Cathedral to mark the coronation of George V. He had more success on a national level, championing the cause of adult education in particular – he chaired the first meeting of theWorkers' Educational Association in 1903. Percival hoped for the Archbishopric of York; indeed felt that it had been promised him, but was disappointed whenCosmo Gordon Lang was given the post in 1909. [Neville, Graham, 'Radical Churchman: Edward Lee Hicks and the New Liberalism' (Oxford: OUP, 1998), p. 241]He retired to Oxford in 1917 and died the following year. He was buried in the chapel crypt of Clifton College.
A house (internal division) of Cardiff High School for Boys was named in his honour.
References
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