Addiscombe Military Seminary

File:Addiscombe Seminary Plan.jpg

Addiscombe Place, the mansion house which formed the central building of the later Seminary, was erected in about 1702 by William Draper, on land which he had inherited in 1700 from his aunt, Dame Sarah Temple. Draper's father-in-law was the diarist John Evelyn, who in 1703 pronounced the house "in all points of good and solid architecture to be one of the very best gentleman's houses in Surrey, when finish'd". Its interior included many mural paintings of mythological subjects, supposed to be the work of Sir James Thornhill; while high up on the exterior east front was carved the Latin inscription, Non faciam vitio culpave minorem ("I will not lower myself by vice or fault"). By the late 18th century the house was in the ownership of Charles James Clarke, who leased it to the statesman Charles Jenkinson, Lord Hawkesbury, later 1st Earl of Liverpool. Regular visitors during Liverpool's tenure included King George III and William Pitt.Paget 1937, pp. 42–4.

Following the death of Lord Liverpool in December 1808, Addiscombe Place was put on the market by Emelius Delmé-Radcliffe (Clarke's brother-in-law). It was bought by the Court of Directors of the East India Company for use as a military academy. Although the company was primarily a trading concern, it also maintained its own army, the officers of which had previously been trained at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, at the Royal Military College Junior Department at Great Marlow, or privately. They were now to be trained at Addiscombe. The Seminary opened on 21 January 1809, although the formal transfer of title of the property did not take place until a year later, on 26 January 1810.Vibart 1894, p. 9.

The initial purchase comprised the mansion house and 58 acres of land to the south of Lower Addiscombe Road, but a further 30 acres to the north were subsequently acquired.Vibart 1894, pp. 20–22, 310. New buildings were added, so that the mansion house, which originally housed the entire establishment, became a purely administrative block.Bourne 1979, pp. 215–6. The additions included barracks, a chapel, a drawing and lecture hall, a hospital, a dining-hall, a sand-modelling hall, a gymnasium, and service facilities including a bakehouse, dairy, laundry, and brew-house.

File:Addiscombe Seminary cadets 1826.jpg

File:Addiscombe cadets.jpg

In the early days cadets entered the Seminary between the ages of 13{{frac|1|2}} and 16, and later between 15 and 18.Broadfoot 1893, p. 648. They normally remained for 2 years (4 terms), although it was possible to pass the final examination within a shorter period.Vibart 1894, pp. 15–17. The initial intake comprised 60 cadets, but numbers rose to about 75 a year, meaning that there were around 150 cadets in residence at any one time.Vibart 1894, p. 16. Cadets or their families were required to pay fees (£30 a year when the Seminary first opened; £50 a term by 1835), but these were heavily subsidised and represented only a proportion of the true costs of their education.Vibart 1894, p. 18.Bourne 1979, pp. 214–5.

Initially, the main purpose of the Seminary was to train cadets for the Engineer or Artillery arms of the service, but as an experiment in 1816–17, and more permanently from 1827, "general service" cadets destined for the Infantry were admitted. In all, some 3,600 cadets passed through Addiscombe during the years of its existence. Of these, over 500 entered the Engineers, nearly 1,100 the Artillery, and about 2,000 the Infantry, some of whom subsequently transferred to the Cavalry.Vibart 1894, p. 315. Vibart lists the names of 3,466 cadets at pp. 661–704.

The curriculum comprised instruction in the "sciences of Mathematics, Fortification, Natural Philosophy, and Chemistry; the Hindustani, Latin, and French languages; in the art of Civil, Military, and Lithographic Drawing and Surveying; and in the construction of the several gun-carriages and mortar-beds used in the Artillery service, from the most approved models".Bourne 1979, p. 208; citing the Seminary's official Rules and Regulations. The Company paid well, and attracted some distinguished academic staff: John Shakespear published a standard Hindustani grammar, and Jonathan Cape was a Fellow of the Royal Society.{{cite book |last=Heathcote |first=T. A. |title=The Indian Army: the garrison of British Imperial India, 1822–1922 |location=Newton Abbot |publisher=David and Charles |year=1974 |page=131 |isbn=0715366351 }} In practice, the emphasis was on mathematics, and the Seminary was criticised for not including more training in practical "military science".Bourne 1979, pp. 208, 210–11. In the 1850s photography was also studied.Many of the photographs taken are reproduced in Birbeck 2023. J. M. Bourne concludes that the Seminary was "not a true military college at all, but a militarised public school"{{spaced ndash}}although he also judges that, by the standards of the age, its record as a military training school was not significantly worse than those of the establishments at Woolwich and Sandhurst.Bourne 1979, p. 222.

Cadets were required to wear uniforms at all times, and were not permitted to go beyond the grounds or into Croydon without permission. However, they gained a reputation for indiscipline, and fights with the townspeople of Croydon were not infrequent.Broadfoot 1893, pp. 648–53.Bourne 1979, pp. 220–21. There was no corporal punishment, but in the early years cadets could be punished by being incarcerated in the so-called "Black Hole", and fed on bread and water.Vibart 1894, pp. 125–6.Broadfoot 1893, p. 649. Until 1829 they worshipped regularly at Croydon Parish Church (marching there each Sunday in uniform, accompanied by their band): after that date they began to worship at the newly consecrated St James's Church, Addiscombe.

File:Pollock Medal (obverse).jpg (obverse)]]

Examinations were held twice-yearly in June and December: they lasted about three weeks, and culminated in a Public Examination, a day-long affair of some ceremony before a distinguished invited audience, which included orchestrated demonstrations of book-learning and of military exercises such as swordsmanship and pontoon-building; an exhibition of drawings and models; a formal inspection; and the distribution of prizes.Vibart 1894, pp. 51–4, 227–34. The day's events are described in one account as "a performance carefully prepared and rehearsed beforehand. Its object was to make a favourable impression on a carefully selected audience".Vibart 1894, p. 231. The Public Examiner, who presided, was an eminent general (see list below); while the audience usually included some of the Directors of the East India Company, and often the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had a residence nearby at Addington Palace.

In 1848 the Seminary began awarding the Pollock Medal to the best cadet of the training season. The award was named after Field Marshal Sir George Pollock. The Pollock Prize was transferred to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich after Addiscombe was closed.

File:Addiscombe Seminary cartoon.jpg from Addiscombe in 1859. The cadets' uniforms are: (left) the tailed coatee in use until 1858; (right) the tunic introduced in that year.Vibart 1894, "Addenda and corrigenda", p. 3. Frontispiece to H.M. Vibart, Addiscombe: its heroes and men of note (1894)]]

Following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the East India Company was wound up in 1858. The college passed into government hands, becoming known as the Royal Indian Military College, Addiscombe, but continued to perform much the same function. With the amalgamation of the Royal and Indian services in 1861, there was initially a proposal that Addiscombe should be retained as a military college. However, the War Office decided that the establishments at Woolwich and Sandhurst were sufficient for their needs, and the college closed in June the same year.

File:Ashleigh Addiscombe Road.JPG

The site was sold on 30 August 1861 for £33,600 to the British Land Company, who demolished most of the buildings.Vibart 1894, p. 310. All that remain are two former professors' houses, "Ashleigh" and "India", on the corner of Clyde Road and Addiscombe Road; and the former gymnasium on Havelock Road, now private apartments. The Land Company laid out five parallel roads over the greater part of the grounds, and built them up with villas. The five roads{{spaced ndash}}Outram, Havelock, Elgin, Clyde and Canning Roads{{spaced ndash}}all took their names from soldiers and politicians prominent on the British side in the events of 1857–58, although none was in fact a college alumnus.The roads are named after Sir James Outram; Sir Henry Havelock; James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin; Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde; and Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning.

• 1809–22: James Andrew, styled Superintendent and Head Master
• 1822–24: Henry Carmichael-Smyth, styled Resident Superintendent (this appointment was regarded as temporary)
• 1824–34: Sir Robert Houston, styled Lieutenant-Governor
• 1834–50: Sir Ephraim Stannus, styled Lieutenant-Governor
• 1851–60: Sir Frederick Abbott, styled Lieutenant-Governor

Notable cadets include:Vibart 1894, pp. 661–704.

File:Sir James Abbott von B Baldwin.jpg in Afghan dress. (B. Baldwin, 1841)]]

File:HenryLawrence (1).jpg]]

File:Robert Napier.jpg]]

File:Henry Yule (cropped).jpg]]

File:Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts by John Singer Sargent.jpg by John Singer Sargent]]

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Augustus Abbott{{cite odnb |first=R. H. |last=Vetch |first2=Roger T. (reviewer) |last2=Stearn |title=Abbott, Augustus (1804–1867) |origyear=2004 |year=2010 |id=11 }}
• Sir Proby Cautley{{cite book |last=Buchanan |first=Robert |date=1989 |title=The engineers: a history of the engineering profession in Britain, 1750-1914 |page=[https://archive.org/details/engineershistory0000buch/page/152 152] |publisher=Kingsley |isbn=9781853020360 |url=https://archive.org/details/engineershistory0000buch/page/152 }}
• John ColvinVibart 1894, p. 42.
• Sir Arthur CottonCotton, Arthur Thomas (DNB01), https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Cotton,_Arthur_Thomas_(DNB01)&oldid=2390618 (last visited 28 Jan. 2018).
• Sir Frederick Lester{{ODNB|id=16505 |first1=H. M. |last1=Chichester |first2=James (revised) |last2=Falkner |title=Lester, Frederick Parkinson (1795–1858) |year=2004 }}
• Sir George Lawrence
• James Oliphant
• Charles Waddington{{ODNB|id=28371 |first1=R. H. |last1=Vetch |first2=M. G. M. (revised) |last2=Jones |title=Waddington, Charles (1796–1858) |year=2004 }}
• Sir Archdale Wilson, Bt

{{div col end}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Sir Frederick Abbott
• Herbert Edward Stacy Abbott
• Sir James Abbott
• Saunders Alexius Abbott
• Sir William Erskine Baker
• John Archibald Ballard
• Arthur Conolly
• Sir Alexander Cunningham
• Sir Henry Marion Durand
• Vincent Eyre
• Hugh Fraser
• William Cornwallis Harris
• John Jacob{{cite book |last=Lambrick |first=H.T. |author1-link=Hugh_Trevor_Lambrick |date=1975 |orig-date=1960 |title=John Jacob of Jacobabad |url=https://archive.org/details/JacobW/page/n19/mode/2up |location=Karachi |publisher=Civil & Military Press |page=7 |isbn=0195772016 |access-date=2025-06-05|edition=2nd}}Through the good offices of his cousin, Capt. William Jacob of the Bombay Artillery in February 1826. His elder brother, Herbert, was then also serving out in India as a new subaltern.
• Sir Atwell Lake
• Sir Henry Lawrence
• Sir Robert Montgomery
• Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala
• Sir Thomas Townsend Pears
• Eldred Pottinger
• Bradshaw Reilly
• Sir Richmond Shakespear
• Sir Andrew Scott Waugh

{{div col end}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Sir Orfeur Cavenagh
• Douglas Hamilton
• Sir Arnold Burrowes Kemball
• Sir George Malcolm
• Sir William Olpherts VC
• Sir Frederick Pollock
• Joseph Medlicott Scriven
• Richard Baird Smith
• Sir Richard Strachey
• Henry Ravenshaw Thuillier
• Sir Henry Tombs VC
• James Travers VC
• Sir Henry Yule

{{div col end}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Sir George Tomkyns Chesney
• Sir Peter Lumsden
• Donald Macintyre VC
• James John McLeod Innes VC
• James Rose, 23rd of Kilravock{{cite web|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U190500|title=Who's Who; Rose, Major James|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U190500 }}
• Sir John Carstairs McNeill VC
• Thomas George Montgomerie
• Sir Francis Norman
• Sir Lambert Playfair
• George Alexander Renny VC
• Sir Richard Sankey
• James Francis Tennant
• George Dobson Willoughby

{{div col end}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Sir Charles Bernard
• Sir James Browne
• Thomas Tupper Carter-Campbell of Possil
• John Underwood Champain
• Sir Henry Collett
• James Dundas VC
• William Wilberforce Harris Greathed
• Frederick Edward Hadow
• Sir James Hills-Johnes VC
• Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob
• Thomas Herbert Lewin
• William Merriman
• Sir Charles Nairne
• John Pennycuick
• Sir Harry Prendergast VC
• Lord Roberts of Kabul and Kandahar VC
• Sir Oliver St John
• Sir Edward Talbot Thackeray VC
• Sir Henry Trotter
• Francis Ward

{{div col end}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Sir Bindon Blood
• Sir Arthur George Hammond VC
• Sir Albert Hime
• Sir John Frederick Maurice
• Thomas Price
• Sir Edward Stedman
• Sir Robert Warburton

{{div col end}}

File:Group of Professors at Addiscombe Military Seminary.jpg

Staff at Addiscombe included:A full list of staff appears in Farrington 1976, pp. 119–21; and further biographical details for many are given in Vibart 1894.

• Sir Frederick Abbott, Lieutenant-Governor 1851–61
• Dr James Andrew, Superintendent 1809–22
• David T. Ansted, Lecturer in Geology 1845–61
• John Callow, Lecturer in Civil Drawing 1855–61
• Revd Jonathan Cape, Senior Professor of Mathematics 1822–61
• John Frederic Daniell, Professor of Chemistry 1835–45
• Theodore Henry Adolphus Fielding, Lecturer in Civil Drawing 1826–50
• Edward Frankland, Professor of Chemistry 1859–61
• John Christian Schetky, Lecturer in Civil Drawing 1836–55
• John Shakespear, Professor of Hindustani, 1809–29
• William Sturgeon, Lecturer in Science and Philosophy 1824–50
• William Frederick Wells, Lecturer in Civil Drawing 1813–36

The Public Examiners were:Farrington 1976, p. 119.

• 1809–20: Maj-Gen. William Mudge
• 1820–23: Maj-Gen. Sir Howard Douglas
• 1824–40: Maj-Gen. Sir Alexander Dickson
• 1840–55: Maj-Gen. Charles Pasley
• 1856–61: Maj-Gen. Sir Frederick Smith

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |first=Kate |last=Birbeck |title=Addiscombe Military College and the Cadets who Forged an Empire |location=Ugley Green |publisher=Dreadnought |year=2023 |isbn=9781999958770 }}
• {{Cite journal |first=J. M. |last=Bourne |title=The East India Company's Military Seminary, Addiscombe, 1809–1858 |journal=Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research |volume=57 |year=1979 |pages=206–222 }}
• {{Cite journal |first=W. |last=Broadfoot |title=Addiscombe: The East India Company's Military College |journal=Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine |volume=CLIII |year=May 1893 |pages=647–57 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_blackwoods-magazine_1893-05_153_931/page/647/mode/1up |issue=DCCCCXXXI |publisher= Blackwood, Pillans and Wilson}}
• {{Cite book |first=Anthony |last=Farrington |title=The Records of the East India College, Haileybury, & other institutions |place=London |publisher=H.M.S.O. |year=1976 |pages=111–23 }}
• {{Cite book |editor-first=John B. |editor-last=Gent |title=Victorian Croydon Illustrated |edition=2nd |place=Croydon |publisher=Croydon Natural History & Scientific Society |year=1987 |isbn=0-906047-00-5 |pages=20–21}}
• {{Cite book |first=Clarence G. |last=Paget |title=Croydon Homes of the Past |place=Croydon |publisher=Croydon Central Library |year=1937 |pages=34–45 }} (mainly on Addiscombe Place)
• {{Cite journal |first=Roger T. |last=Stearn |title=Addiscombe: the East India Company's Military Seminary |journal=Soldiers of the Queen: The Journal of the Victorian Military Society |volume=79 |year=1994 |pages=1–3 }}
• {{Cite book |first=Col. H. M. |last=Vibart |title=Addiscombe: Its Heroes and Men of Note |place=Westminster |publisher=Archibald Constable |year=1894 |ol=23336661M |url=https://archive.org/details/addiscombeitsher00viba/page/n7}}

• {{cite web |url=https://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_dataset&id=2174&s_id=1122 |title=Index of Addiscombe officers |first=Annabelle |last=Sutton |publisher=Families In British India Society |work=Families In British India Society Database |year=2000 |access-date=18 June 2019 }} (based on Vibart 1894)

{{coord|51.37693|N|0.07947|W|type:landmark_region:GB_dim:500|display=title}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Educational institutions established in 1809

Category:Training establishments of the British Army

Category:19th century in London

Category:History of the London Borough of Croydon

Category:Military history of London

Category:British East India Company

Category:Military academies of the United Kingdom

Category:Properties of the East India Company

Category:1809 establishments in the United Kingdom

Category:1861 disestablishments in England