# Christ's Hospital of Abingdon

Christ's Hospital of Abingdon is a charity with a long history, based in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire).

## History

A royal charter established the Master and Governors of the Hospital of Christ of Abingdon in 1553, the year that Mary I succeeded to the English throne. Sir John Mason, a Tudor diplomat, was its first Master from 1553 to 1566.
The charity supports almshouses in Abingdon. Sampson Strong decorated the hall with portraits of founders, benefactors and former governors.
The charity has been involved with education, educating Abingdon boys from 1608 until 1870. There has been a close connection with Abingdon School since 1870.
Christ's Hospital established Albert Park in northwest Abingdon (west of Abingdon School) in the 1860s on the site of the former Conduit Field.
The current charity is based at St Helen's Wharf in Abingdon, Registered Charity Number 205112.

## Names of Masters

The following list contains the names of the Masters.
| Name of Master | Year/s as Master |
| Sir John Mason | 1553–1565 |
| Roger Amice | 1566, 1567, 1568 |
| Richard Mayott | 1569, 1570 |
| Thomas Orpwood | 1571, 1604, 1613, 1614 |
| James Fisher | 1572, 1578, 1585 |
| William Braunch | 1573, 1574, 1581, 1593 |
| Thomas Stampe | 1575, 1577 |
| Thomas Smith | 1576, 1582 |
| Thomas Tesdale | 1579 |
| Thomas Mayott | 1580, 1594, 1603, 1627 |
| Paule Orpwood | 1583, 1595 |
| Lionell Bostock | 1584, 1598 |
| John Fisher | 1586 |
| William Kishey | 1587 |
| Anthony Tesdale | 1588, 1607 |
| John Wise | 1580 |
| Richard Tesdale | 1590 |
| William Lee | 1591, 1602, 1619, 1624 |
| William Welling | 1592 |
| Francis Little | 1596, 1597 |
| Robert Payne | 1599, 1621 |
| John Blacknall | 1600 |
| Paule Dayrell | 1601 |
| James Hide | 1605 |
| William Bostock | 1606 |
| Thomas Reade | 1608, 1623, 1632 |
| Lawrence Stevenson | 1609, 1620 |
| John Mayott | 1612, 1615, 1616, 1625, 1633, 1649, 1659 |
| Richard Curtyn | 1617, 1627, 1635 |
| Robert Kisbey | 1618 |
| Richard Chickin | 1622 |
| Thomas Clempson | 1626 |
| Edmond Bostock | 1628, 1636 |
| John Fyssher | 1629 |
| John Payne | 1630 |
| Edmund Franklyn | 1631, 1642, 1654 |
| Thomas Wilde | 1637 |
| John Hawes | 1638 |
| William Castell | 1638 |
| Richard Mayott | 1639, 1643 |
| William Payne | 1640 |
| Richard Payne | 1641 |
| Robert Mayott | 1643 |
| Thomas Steed | 1644 |
| John Bolter | 1645, 1656 |
| James Curteyne | 1646, 1657, 1665, 1675, 1684 |
| Thomas Payne | 1647, 1655 |
| Richard Cheyney | 1648 |
| Francis Payne | 1650, 1658, 1668, 1672 |
| Jonathan Hawe | 1651, 1660, 1664, 1671, 1682 |
| Edward Bond | 1652, 1662 |
| William Wells | 1653, 1661 |
| William Cheyney | 1663, 1666 |
| William Weston | 1667 |
| John Payne | 1668, 1677, 1686, 1694 |
| George Winchurst | 1670 |
| Robert Blackaller | 1673, 1678, 1685, 1693, 1709 |
| Robert Morris | 1674, 1679, 1687, 1695 |
| William Cheyney | 1676, 1690 |
| Robert Sellwood | 1680, 1689, 1696, 1703 |
| Richard West | 1681, 1688 |
| Thomas Hulcotts | 1683 |
| James Corderoy | 1691 |
| Thomas Sparks | 1692 |
| Michael Rawlins | 1697, 1705, 1716, 1723 |
| Henry Knapp | 1698, 1708 |
| John Sellwood | 1699, 1707 |
| John Spinage | 1700, 1714 |
| Richard Ely | 1701, 1706, 1715, 1724, 1726, 1729 |
| George Drew | 1702 |
| Robert Mayott | 1704 |
| Thomas King | 1710 |
| William Phillipson | 1711 |
| William Dunn | 1712 |
| Richard Mayott | 1713 |
| John Rawlins | 1717 |
| Anthony Clackson | 1718 |
| Clement Saxton | 1719, 1729 |
| Thomas Prince Sr. | 1720 |
| John Pretty | 1721 |
| Matthew Anderson | 1722, 1739, 1740, 1741, 1752, 1759, 1764 |
| James Saunders | 1725, 1740 |
| William Wells | 1726 |
| Thomas Read | 1727, 1730, 1741 |
| Name of Master | Year/s as Master |
| John Waldron | 1728 |
| William Motley | 1730 |
| Edward Saxton | 1731 |
| Edward Green | 1732, 1743 |
| William Hawkins | 1733, 1744 |
| Edward Spinage | 1734, 1742 |
| William Yateman | 1735, 1745 |
| John Crossley | 1736, 1746 |
| John Knapp | 1737, 1747 |
| John Fludger | 1738, 1748, 1764 |
| Thomas Justice | 1749, 1757, 1761, 1765 |
| John Eldridge | 1750, 1766 |
| Richard Basely | 1751, 1770 |
| Rev. Michael Rawlins | 1753 |
| Edward Baldwin | 1754 |
| Richard Rose | 1755, 1771 |
| George Knapp Sr. | 1756, 1772 |
| Charles Cox | 1757 |
| Henry Harding | 1758 |
| John Bowles | 1760, 1784 |
| John Knapp | 1762 |
| Thomas Prince Jr. | 1763 |
| Joseph Penn | 1767 |
| Robert Crew | 1768 |
| Dudson Rawlins | 1769, 1790 |
| William Bowles | 1776, 1778, 1789 |
| William Eldridge | 1777, 1792 |
| John Payne | 1778 |
| Robert Crew | 1780 |
| James Powell | 1780, 1793 |
| John Harding | 1781 |
| John Bedwell | 1782, 1794 |
| Edward Child | 1783, 1795, 1804, 1814 |
| Samuell Sellwood | 1785, 1797, 1805, 1816 |
| William Allder | 1786, 1798, 1806 |
| George Hawkins | 1787, 1788 |
| James Penn | 1791 |
| James Smallbone | 1793 |
| Thomas Prince III | 1796, 1808, 1812 |
| Henry Knapp Sr. | 1799, 1811 |
| John Eldridge | 1800 |
| Thomas Knight | 1801, 1814, 1815, 1826, 1827 |
| Benjamin Morland | 1802 |
| John Gallaway | 1803 |
| John Francis Spenlove | 1807, 1820, 1828 |
| Thomas Baker | 1809, 1819, 1831 |
| James Cole | 1810, 1821, 1832 |
| Richard Bradfield | 1813, 1824 |
| Samuel Cripps | 1817 |
| Henry Knapp Jr. | 1818, 1834 |
| Thomas West | 1822 |
| Thomas Curtis | 1823, 1835 |
| Charles King | 1825, 1837 |
| William Church | 1826 |
| John Vindin Collingwood | 1829, 1839 |
| William Strange | 1830 |
| William Doe Belcher | 1833, 1842, 1843, 1854 |
| George Bowes Morland | 1836, 1844, 1866, 1867 |
| Daniel Godfrey | 1838, 1847, 1855, 1859, 1868 |
| Richard Badcock | 1840, 1864 |
| Benjamin Collingwood | 1841 |
| John Hyde | 1845, 1850, 1856, 1861, 1870 |
| John Tomkins | 1846, 1851, 1857 |
| William Belcher | 1848, 1853, 1862 |
| Thomas Hedges Graham | 1849, 1860, 1869 |
| Edwin James Trendell | 1852, 1863 |
| William Pemberton | 1858, 1865 |
| John Creemer Clarke | c.1890 |
| Arthur Edwin Preston | 1929 |
| John Holden Hooke | 1959 |
| Herbert George Mullard | 1962–76 |
| Douglas Arthur Kitto | |
| Dr Jack Cherry | 1984–85 |
| Ernest William Johnston Nicholson | 1985–86 |
| William James Howard Liversidge | 1986, 1987 |
| Norman John Holmes | |
| Michael William Matthews | |
| David Roger Barrett | |
| Thomas Chamberlain | 1998 |
| Helen Mary Ronaldson | 2003 |
| Geoffrey Robert Morris | 2008 |
| Robert Farrant | 2009 |
| Tom Ayling | 2018–present |