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Trent College is a Co-Educational, Public Boarding School in Long Eaton, Derbyshire. It was founded in 1868 by Francis Wright; the foundation stone being laid by William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire.

In 1865, Francis Wright proposed the foundation of Trent College at a meeting of the Midland branch of the Clerical and Lay Association. At the time, he intended Trent College to be one of many schools established in the region; in fact, it was the only one of its kind in the area.

Francis Wright was an influential man, a partner in the Butterley Company – the greatest industrial concern in Derbyshire by the time of his death – as well as High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire (1842) and Deputy Lieutenant in the counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. He and many of the notable men of Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire became the founding Directors of Trent College.

The School opened its doors in April 1868 to the first contingent of 53 boys. The first boy registered was H.Lindley. Four months later, the school roll had risen to 118 and, by 1870, 225 boys were registered as pupils. The school’s initial success was hit by the outbreak of Scarlet Fever in 1873 and the death of its first Headmaster, Thomas Ford Fenn, in 1883. However, the school experienced a new peak of success in 1875 when the chapel was opened. Francis Wright was actively involved with the school until his death in 1873.

The Chapel

The foundation stone of The Chapel was laid after the death of Francis Wright, and is a memorial to him. The building cost £300 and was designed by a Mr Robinson of Derby. The building has been re-modeled three times; firstly in 1949 by Sir Albert Richardson, President of the Royal Academy, then the chancel was re-ordered after the new organ was installed in 1976 and finally in 2001 the pews and lighting were replaced. The west door curtain, was a part of the interior of Westminster Abbey at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The wooden collection plates are carved from olive wood and cheese from the Garden of Gethsemane outside Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ was arrested before his Crucifixion. These were a bequest from the Broadhurst family.

The Headmasters

External links

• Trent College