Lancing College was founded in 1848 by the Revd Nathaniel Woodard.
Beginning life in the vicarage at Shoreham, the school moved to its current site in 1854. Nathaniel Woodard set up 11 schools during his lifetime after observing the poverty of many and the impact of a lack of access to education. They were intended to tackle social problems by providing ‘a good and complete education of sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith’. He was a very effective fund raiser, founding his schools in impressive buildings through his ability to appeal to the goodwill and social conscience of his wealthy contemporaries.
Lancing College Chapel is the largest school chapel in the world and the Rose window, at 32ft in diameter, is the largest in England.
The foundations were laid in 1868 and it was completed in 1911. The cloister, with its many memorials, vividly show the impact of the first world war on the class of young men who then attended the school.
© 2010 Footprints of Sussex
