Shebbear College

File:Williamobryan.png, founder of the Bible Christian Church]]

The Bible Christian Church was one of the denominations that merged in the United Methodist Church in 1907. Its early preachers appealed solely to the Bible in confirmation of their doctrines. The denomination arose in the agricultural districts and fishing villages of north Cornwall and Devon; a district only slightly influenced by John Wesley and the original Methodist movement. The founder of the movement was William O'Bryan, a Wesleyan Methodist lay preacher of Luxulyan, Cornwall. O'Bryan commenced his labours in north Devon, and in 1815 a small society was formed at Lake Farm, Shebbear.

On O'Bryan's departure, the first fully recognised minister James Thorne, at whose father's farm the connexion had started, became its leader. Thorne laid the foundations broadly in evangelism, finance, temperance and education.

Shebbear College began its life in 1829. James Thorne's two sons, John and Samuel, began a Christian school for 20 boys called Prospect College after the name of the house built to accommodate the school. It was originally formed for the sons of Bible Christians to train for the ministry. The emblem 'PC' still remains engraved on the main gates to this day.

File:Shebbear-college.jpg

The school saw many changes until it was re-founded by the Bible Christian Church in 1841 as Shebbear College. The first headmaster was an Irish clergyman, Rev. H. C. O'Donoghue, formerly Chaplain to William IV, who had seceded from the Established Church on conscientious grounds.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/britishmonthlyil03londuoft|title=The British monthly; an illustrated record of religious life and work|publisher=London Hodder and Stoughton|via=Internet Archive}}

The Earl of Portsmouth opened a block of new buildings at Shebbear College in 1878, and offered a £5 prize for the best essay on "The Effect of the Revolution of 1688 on Constitutional Progress and National Life."{{cite web |url=http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/DevonMisc/WestCountryPreachersFeb07version.pdf |title=THE WEST COUNTRY PREACHERS |last=Wickes |first= Michael|date=2007 |website=genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk |format=PDF|access-date=2020-09-11}}

In October 1882, Sir Thomas Dyke Acland urged upon the College authorities the immediate building of a science laboratory. He himself subscribed liberally to the funds necessary for such a purpose and his example was followed by William James Harris (M.P. for Poole), a great friend of the College. This formed part of a new scheme of extension, including a new wing to the main complex, which was opened by Sir Thomas Acland in 1884.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/thomasruddleofsh00dymouoft|title=Thomas Ruddle of Shebbear : a North Devon Arnold ; his life and selections from his letters|first=G. P.|last=Dymond|date=11 September 1913|publisher=London : Henry Hooks|via=Internet Archive}}

Edgehill College, founded for Methodist girls in nearby Bideford in 1884, was considered the college's 'sister-college'.

In 1891 Sir Samuel Way visited England and purchased the freehold of Lake Farm in Shebbear, and then conveyed it to Shebbear College as an endowment.

Numerous missionaries from Shebbear College were sent to China in the Bible Christian Mission. This mission included Samuel Pollard, creator of Pollard script (Chinese: 柏格理苗文 Bó Gélǐ Miao-wen). The main building of the Hopkins–Nanjing Center is named in Pollard's honour.

The present school still includes many original buildings and features, as well as buildings erected for the boarders. Shebbear College now offers education for boys and girls aged 3–18, having become co-educational in 1993.

The college is small in size and has attendance of 340 pupils {{as of|2017|3|lc=on}}, from ages 3 to 18.{{cite web | url= http://isischools.devprocess.com/DownloadReport.aspx?t=c&r=ADD6887_20170322.pdf&s=6887 | work= ISI | publisher= Department for Education | title= Establishment: Shebbear College | accessdate= 28 September 2017}}

File:Thomas Ruddle.jpg

The college is divided into four day houses that compete both academically and in sport; namely:

• {{Color box|#770000|border=darkgray}} Ruddle - named after the College's most influential headmaster, Thomas Ruddle.
• {{Color box|#CCCCCC|border=darkgray}} Thorne - named after one of the founders of the College, Samuel Thorne.
• {{Color box|#0066ff|border=darkgray}} Way - named after Sir Samuel Way.
• {{Color box|#FFFF00|border=darkgray}} Pollard - after Samuel Pollard.

Two of these houses are also boarding houses:

• {{Color box|#770000|border=darkgray}} Ruddle - girls' boarding house
• {{Color box|#FFDF00|border=darkgray}} Pollard - boys' boarding house

The College stands in 62 acres of grounds with a mix of formal gardens, lawns, open fields and woodland. Its facilities include:

File:Shebbearcollegegrounds.jpg

• Sports Centre: includes gym and dance studio
• All weather pitch
• Preparatory School
• Pre-prep school
• Sixth Form Centre (Saltmarsh Building)- officially opened by Sir Gary Sobers on 1 July 2016
• Music Centre - officially opened by Peter Gordeno (musician) on 27 April 2018
• 5 car parks
• 3 boarding houses
• Two biomass plants
• Solar panel field
• New dining facilities
• Modern Languages department - opened by Michael Morpurgo on 1 July 2011
• Library
• Life Skills Centre
• Science block
• Two assembly halls

{{see also|Category:People educated at Shebbear College}}

File:Ivan Stedeford.jpg|Sir Ivan Stedeford GBE

File:CKBARRETT.jpg|Charles Kingsley Barrett FBA

File:Photograph of James Lewis Duncan (d. 1960) (10874853953).jpg|James Lewis Duncan

File:Alfred Earle.jpg|Sir Alfred Earle GBE

File:Pollard_and_Miao_teachers.jpeg|Samuel Pollard

File:Sirfrederikwilliamrichardsjudge.jpg|Sir Frederick William Richards

File:John_D._Prior.png|John Damrel Prior

File:Samuel_J._Way.jpg|Sir Samuel Way, 1st Baronet

File:William Woolcock.jpg|William Woolcock CMG CBE MP

Alumni of Shebbear College are known as Old Shebbearians. Notable alumni include:

• Charles Kingsley Barrett FBA (1917–2011) - British biblical scholar{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/echo14cali|title=Echo|publisher=[Thousand Oaks, Calif.]|via=Internet Archive}}
• John Cater - Actor {{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/may/13/obituary-john-cater-actor|title=Obituary: John Cater|first=Michael|last=Coveney|date=13 May 2009|website=The Guardian}}
• James Lewis Duncan (1892–1960) - Canadian politician and lawyer {{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/torontonensis10univ|title=Torontonensis, 1910|date=11 September 1910|publisher=Toronto : Students' Administrative Council of the University of Toronto [etc.]|via=Internet Archive}}
• Steve Drowne - Jockey; Winner, 2000 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot
• Sir Alfred Earle GBE (1907–1990) - RAF Vice Chief of Defence to Lord Mountbatten of Burma; Director General of British Defence Intelligence 1966-1968{{Cite web|title=A Earle_P|url=https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Earle.htm|access-date=2020-09-11|website=www.rafweb.org}}
• Thomas Saunders Hobbs (1856–1927) - English-born Ontario merchant and political figure
• Samuel Pollard (1864–1915) - British Methodist missionary to China and creator of Pollard script{{Cite web|url=https://www.myunitedmethodists.org.uk/|title=My United Methodists}}
• John Damrel Prior (1840 – 1923) - British trade unionist.
• Sir Frederick William Richards (1869-1957) - Australian jurist
• Sir Ivan Stedeford GBE (1897–1975) - Chairman & CEO Tube Investments Leading British Industrialist
• Sir Samuel Way, 1st Baronet QC (1836-1916) - Chief Justice and Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia and Chancellor of the University of Adelaide[http://www.freemaIsonrysaust.org.au/sjway.html]{{dead link|date=May 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}
• Hugh F. Durrant-Whyte - pioneer in probabilistic methods for robotics.
• William Woolcock (1878–1947) - Member of Parliament for Hackney Central{{Cite web|title=Kent Law School home page|url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/law|access-date=2020-09-11|website=Kent Law School - University of Kent|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/b19974760M1493|title=The chemist and druggist [electronic resource]|date=11 September 1907|publisher=London : Morgan Brothers|via=Internet Archive}}

• Samuel Thorne (1831–1841)
• The Reverend Hallifield Cosgayne O'Donnoghue (1841–1842)
• The Reverend William Kelly (1847-1855)
• Thomas Ruddle (1864–1909)
• J.Rounsefell (1909–1932)
• Leslie Johnson (1933–1942)
• Jack B. Morris (1942–1964)
• George Washington Kingsnorth (1964–1983)
• Russell Buley (1983–1997)
• Leslie Clarke (1997–2003)
• Robert Barnes (2003–2013)
• Simon Weale (2013–2019)
• Caroline Kirby (2019–2022)
• Charlie Jenkins (2022–Present)

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.shebbearcollege.co.uk/ Official website]
• [https://www.oldshebbearian.co.uk/ The "Old Shebbearians Association"] official website

{{Schools in Devon}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Private schools in Devon

Category:Boarding schools in Devon

Category:Methodist schools in England