Dulwich History

DULWICH, a hamlet in the parish of St. Giles, Camberwell, E. division of the hundred of Brixton, in the county of Surrey, 4 miles S. of St. Paul's, and about 2 from the Lower Norwood station on the Crystal Palace line. It stands in a valley at an elevation of about 100 feet above the sea-level. The ancient name of the hamlet was Dykawys, or Dilwisshe.

From 1127 to the suppression of the monasteries, Dulwich belonged to the convent of Bermondsey, to which it was granted by Henry I. In 1545 the manor was granted to Thomas and Mary Calton for a rent of 33s., and in 1606 it was sold by their descendant, Sir Francis Calton, to Edward Alleyne, the actor, for £5,000. It now belongs to the College at Dulwich, which was founded by Alleyne under the name of "The College of God's Gift," for the support of a master, warden, 4 fellows, 6 poor brethren, 6 poor sisters, and 12 scholars; in addition to 6 chanters and 6 assistants, viz: the churchwardens of St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate; St. Saviour's, Southwark; and St. Giles without Cripplegate, in which parishes he had already founded almshouses. The master and warden were required to be of the same name and blood as the founder, or if that was impossible, of his name only. The scholars were received at the age of 6 or 8, and instructed by the fellows till the age of 18, when they were either apprenticed to some "clean "trade, or sent to the universities. Pensions were also granted to almsmen and almswomen in the almshouses of the three parishes mentioned above, but in 1726 the pensions were discontinued by order of the visitor. Owing to the largeness of the revenue, between £11,000 and £12,000, and the abuses which had crept into the corporation, it was dissolved by Act of Parliament, 1st January, 1858, and re-established under the name of "Alleyne's College of God's Gift at Dulwich." The management is now in the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury, as visitor, 19 governors, 8 of whom are elected by the three parishes named by Alleyne, and St. Luke's, Middlesex, and the remaining 11, one of whom must be a resident at Dulwich, by the Court of Chancery. The officers of the charity are the master of the College (who is also head-master of the upper school), the undermaster of the upper school, master of the lower school, chaplain, a receiver, a clerk of the charity, and such assistant masters as are required for the proper working of the schools. The upper school provides education in the principles of religion, the Scriptures, Latin, Greek, English, French, mathematics, arithmetic, drawing, writing, and vocal music to 24 foundation scholars, who are selected from the four parishes above, and are boarded and clothed entirely at the expense of the College. Exhibitions, not exceeding eight in number, or £100 in annual value, are granted to scholars proceeding to the universities, or following one of the learned professions or fine arts. Day scholars are also admitted, with a preference to the sons of residents in the above-named parishes. The boys are allowed to enter the school at 8 years of age and retained till 18. The lower school receives boys from 8 to 16, sons of residents in the four parishes. Day scholars must be above 8 years old, and able to read and write. The foundation scholars must be between 8 and 12 and orphans, or if no orphans are eligible, children of poor residents. The pupils are instructed in the same branches of education, with the exception of Greek, as at the upper school, but in a more elementary form. At the annual examination, apprentice gifts, not exceeding £40, and exhibitions, not exceeding £40 for four years are awarded to deserving scholars. The recipients of the alms of the charity consist of men and women over 60 years of age, residents in the four parishes, who have become reduced in circumstances. They reside at the College, and are allowed £1 per week. When the funds of the charity allow their number to be increased to 24, out-pensioners are also appointed among the resident poor of the four parishes, above 50 years of age, but their number is not permitted to exceed that of the "brethren" and "sisters." The allowance to these pensioners is 10s. a week. The buildings of the College form three sides of a quadrangle. The centre contains the chapel, dining and ante-rooms, audit and treasury chamber, apartments of the master and warden, the kitchen and other offices. The E. wing contains the apartments for the brethren, the W. wing the schoolroom and the scholar's rooms. The sisters occupy the W. side of the picture gallery. The building is in the Elizabethan style, and was some years ago repaired and altered by Sir Charles Barry. The chapel, a neat simple building, contains a copy of Raphael's "Transfiguration," by Giulio Romano, and the tomb of the founder. The organ was much injured by a company of soldiers, quartered on the College under Captain Atkinson, in 1647, and they also dug up several leaden coffins, which they cast into bullets.

In various apartments of the College there are portraits of Alleyne, Burbage, Field, Bond, Perkins, the two Cartwrights, Lovelace, his "Althea," John Greenhill (a pupil of Lely's), and Walpole. The diary and account-book of Philip Henslow is preserved in the charter chest, and contains much interesting matter, illustrating the progress of the drama during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The collection of pictures contained in the picture gallery was formed by Mr. Noel Desenfans for Stanislaus, King of Poland, for which country Desenfans was consul-general. On the deposition of Stanislaus the pictures were left in the collector's hands, and he finally bequeathed them to Sir F. Bourgcois, R.A., and landscape painter to George III. At his death, in 1811, he left the entire collection to the corporation of Dulwich College, including a few pictures of his own painting. He also bequeathed the sum of £11,000 for the erection of a gallery for their reception, with funds sufficient to allow £250 for the keeper, and £80 to an attendant.

The building was completed in 1814 from the designs of Sir John Soane, but it is of no architectural beauty. The pictures number 366 only, and are chiefly of the Dutch school. Cuyp's landscapes and cattle pieces, Terriers' interiors, and Wouvermans' landscapes are among the most important. There are three sea-pieces by Van de Velde, landscapes by Claude, Berghem, and the Poussins, some portraits by Vandyck and Gainsborough, cattle by Paul Potter, &c. The most interesting pictures in the gallery are Guido Reni's St. Sebastian, Murillo's Flower-Girl and Madonnas, Gerard Dow's "Old Woman Eating Porridge," Velasquez's portrait of Philip IV., Reynolds's portrait of Mrs. Siddons, Holbein's portrait of an old man, and Rubens's portrait of his mother. Sir F. Bourgeois and Mr. and Mrs. Desenfans are buried beneath a monument close to the gallery.

The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Winchester, in the patronage of trustees. The church, a plain building, is at East Dulwich. The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel in Lordship-lane. Near the College is a school for the instruction of poor girls, founded by James Alleyne, master of the College in 1741. The endowment, amounting to £200, is placed in trust of the chairman of the governors, the master, and the chaplain of the College. Hall Place and Dulwich Court were occupied by Edward Alleyne.

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003] These pages are intended for personal use only, so please respect the conditions of use.