History Of...
St. Anselm's College
St Anselm’s College opened to the first pupils in September 1933. Headmaster Brother McDonald had written to parents, “The College will open on Monday September 18th at 9.00am, as by that date the building work will be sufficiently complete.”
The first three pupils thought to be recorded were Gary Anderson, Ivor Winder and Kenneth Nolan. Brother MacDonald was the first Headmaster with Brothers G. D. O'Donoghue, Peter Thomas and Aidan Sexton making up the first community. Sixtythree pupils were in attendance when the school was officially opened on 18th September 1933. John Marmion also joined on that day, though he insists he was in the Prep School.
Prior to this, there was no Catholic Grammar school for boys on the Wirral side of the River Mersey. The only two schools available for boys requiring a Catholic grammar-school education were St. Edward's (formerly the 'Catholic Institute') Hope Street, Liverpool, run by the Christian Brothers (later moving to Sandfield Park as their numbers increased) and St. Francis Xavier's, staffed by the Jesuits. There was a further Christian Brother school in Crosby, St. Mary’s.
In June 1931, the Head of St Edward's–Brother Stanislaw Roche received an appeal concerning such an issue from the Parish Priest of St. Joseph's, Birkenhead, the Very Reverend Provost Hazlehurst. With the appeal was an offer of £10,000 from the Shrewsbury Diocese for the building of a school and the buying of a house near Birkenhead Park which it was agreed could accommodate all the area’s interests. The 'Go Ahead' was given by the Superior General of the Christian Brothers in the hope that a school would be running within three years.
On 18th August 1931, Brother Roche was informed by V. Rev. Hazlehurst that a suitable site had been found: a large house called 'Outwood' with 3.64 acres for the price of £4,200. The house had been built in 1862 by a Mr Halsall Segar. In 1871 a wealthy merchant named Joshua Milne Heap purchased it and on his death left it to his son, Joseph. As the years passed, the house proved too expensive to maintain and was sold. Builders, D. Evans and Son, bought the property just before 1931 for £3,400. The purchase was not quite completed when the Christian Brothers' solicitor offered £3,000. Nothing below £4,000 was even considered.
On 4th January 1932, the sale was completed for £4,200. The letter of completion is dated 9th January and as 'Outwood' became Christian Brother property, the diocese promptly sent £2,000.
A Mr William Ellis of St Helens was appointed architect for the new school building. The overall plan, despite the comment that there was enough recreational space but insufficient 'sporting area', was met with approval by the Ministry of Education. Of the 12 estimates for the building, a Mr C. J. Doyle (who built the crypt for the original design of Liverpool's Catholic Cathedral, prior to Cardinal Heenan) offered what seemed to be the best price. Since that was subsequently modified, a Mr Fleming of Neston was awarded the contract with his estimate of £16,445.
With the Diocese urging prompt action, the contract was signed on 7th January 1933 and work was begun on the 11th January. The builders, whose foreman was a Mr Harry Oxton, were noted for being 'worthy contractors' and although their work took them through to January 1934 the Brothers opened the school in September 1933.
With pupil numbers increasing to 113 in September 1934 some forms shared a classroom; e.g. the six pupils of the 'Prep class' and 11 of Form One were taught in one room with two masters.
In 1936 a new Head, Brother Thompson arrived. The original school motto was “Omnia probate quod bonum est tenate” meaning “try everything then hold on to that which is best.” This was later changed to “Fides quarens intellectum”, taken from the writings of St. Anselm, which translates as “the Faith to seek better what it already believes” and the uniform from brown and yellow to blue and gold. Brother Thompson also introduced the House system, starting off with Outwood (-yellow) and Manor (-blue.) He also introduced the STRAP, which many Anselmians may well remember!
In 1937 Bob Stevenson (Science) and Joe Furlong (French) were appointed followed by Miss Magee (Music) in 1938.
The first Inspection by H M Board of Education was held at the end of March 1938. The 12-page Report states that there were 183 pupils of which 44% were from Birkenhead, 30% from Wallasey and the remaining 26% from Cheshire and as far as Chester. There were nine full-time staff ST ANSELM’S COLLEGE 21 including the Headmaster and seven visiting staff. Tuition fees were £12 guineas per year. Since opening, 21 Free Places has been awarded. The original plans were to accommodate 430 pupils. It was noted that “There is no supply of hot water available for the use of the boys.”
Comment was made of the youthfulness of the teaching Staff; “Only two of the regular staff are more than 25 years of age” but adds “They are, without exception, enthusiastic and hardworking, and class control is good”. There are reports over 10 main headings, and detailed comments on the 11 faculties.
St. Anselm
Monk, theologian, Archbishop of Canterbury, doctor of the church and one of the four fathers of scholasticism: This is, by his most famous title, Saint Anselm of Canterbury (Latin: Anselmus Cantuariensis)
He was born ‘Anselmo’ in April 1033 in Aosta, now part of Northern Italy; son to wealthy parents Gundulf and Ermenberg. It is most likely that Anselm inherited his wealth, status, and scholarly attributes from his family, this being rather prestigious with links to the ancient Lombards and ties to powerful figureheads such as Conrad I of Burgundy as well as the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II.
Moreover, the young Anselm was heavily influenced by his mother's piety, having had him installed in a school of learning at an early age, understanding his premature desires to join the clerical profession. It is obvious, from only a brief investigation into the early life of the saint, that he had a premature passion, an infatuation, towards the Church. This can be clearly seen in his attempt to join a monastery at the age of 15; this was refused on account of his father’s displeasure.
And, most probably as a direct consequence of his father’s dissent, it can be noted that Anselm underwent a brief period of psychosomatic illness which was only relieved by a complete abandonment of his studies.
However, the new youthful spirit created by this carefree lifestyle did not last long; in the year 1056, at the age of 23, his mother passed away. The resulting grief and distress caused by his wife’s death and only son’s wishes to become a monk sank Anselm’s father, Gundulf, into a deep anger and depression. Unable to stand his father’s emotions, Anselm left Aosta in search of a new life.
For three years Anselm ventured through Burgundy and France, with the aim to reach his famed fellow countryman Lanfranc of Pavia who was Prior at the Benedictine abbey of Bec. Arriving in 1059, the year before his father’s death, Anselm was instructed by Lanfranc to concentrate on his faith and enter into a novitiate under Maurilius, the Norman Archbishop of Rouen. It was during this period in which Anselm penned his first philosophical work: the ‘Grammarian’. Subsequent to the Norman conquest of Britain in 1066, the Abbey of Bec was given gratuitous amounts of land in England. This allowed the abbot, Anselm, to visit the country occasionally in order to oversee its acquired property. On these occasions Anselm was also summoned to wait on England’s sovereign, William the Conqueror, and visited Lanfranc, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury. Thus, it was due to his strong relationship with King William I and the Archbishop that Anselm quickly became the favourite to be the successor of Lanfranc. However, fate would not be kind, for when it was time to take on this position at the event of Lanfranc’s death in 1089 the English ruling monarch had been replaced by William Rufus. Notorious for his outright selfishness, Rufus appropriated the Church’s land and finances for himself and refused the appointment of any successor to the Archbishop. Moreover, by the time William II wished to confess for his sinful behaviour, Anselm had become ill, he did not wish to fulfil the position of Archbishop fearing old age, weakness and contention from the monks at Bec. Still, many wanted the elderly abbot to attain the position, and on the 25th of September 1093 Anselm was enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Anselm was therefore elected Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093. King William’s opinion of appointing someone to the See of Canterbury changed with his sudden illness. Prior to this he had been enjoying the See’s revenues. Between 1095 and 1098 Anselm published his famous works of Cur Deus Homo? ("Why God was a Man?") This was a response to arguments on the subject of Christ’s incarnation.
In 1097, during his first period in exile, Anselm went to Rome. King William II supposedly demanded Anselm to pay 1,000 marks as the price of his nomination to the See of Canterbury. Moreover, it has been stated the King attempted to wrestle the Duchy of Normandy out of his Brother Robert's hands. Anselm abruptly refused to pay and was exiled to Rome where he gained the full support of Pope Urban II. In 1100 Anselm returned to England as Archbishop of Canterbury when Henry I came to the throne. Three years later, in 1103 Anselm was exiled for the second time. Henry I claimed the right to appoint bishops and abbots as per his belief in a state controlled Church. Anselm ultimately defied Henry I’s views.
Between 1103 and 1107 (Second exile) Anselm became a pastor and encouraged the ordination of native Englishmen among his clergy and staunchly opposed slavery. Anselm returned to England in 1107 and continued his work as Archbishop of Canterbury where he spent his final years.
St. Anselm died aged 76 on Holy Wednesday, 21st April 1109, after the conflicts with Henry I had been resolved. He had spent his last years ensuring that his archbishopric was well-cared for, though he did also anathematise those who did not recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury’s primacy over the Church in England, ensuring that the Church was stable after he was dead. He was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. A later successor to the See of Canterbury, St Thomas Becket, requested that Pope Alexander III canonise Anselm in 1163.2 It is not known whether he was canonised before Becket’s murder, due to a lack of extant evidence, though documents from the 15th century establish that he was at least considered a saint by that point.
As a result of his theological writings, Pope Clement XI declared him to be a Doctor of the Church, a title recognising the importance of his work. He is known as the ‘Magnificent Doctor’ and the ‘Marian Doctor’.
Edmund Rice
Edmund Rice was born to Robert Rice and Margaret Rice (née Tierney) on the farming property of "Westcourt", in Callan, County Kilkenny. He was the fourth of seven sons, though he also had two halfsisters, Joan and Jane Murphy, the offspring of his mother's first marriage.
Edmund was brought up in a heavily Catholic Irish background. The boys of the Rice family were mainly educated at home by Patrick Grace, a representative of the humble community of Augustinian friars.
Edmund Rice’s grandparents and parents had to face a testing trial as a new penal code had been enacted over four reigns from 1695 onwards.
Systematically, the ‘disloyal papists’ had been deprived of all religious, social and political rights. The Laws at the time did not presume an Irish Papist to exist, except for the purpose of punishment. During the later penal period the disabilities against the Catholic religion pressed most heavily on the laity. In the words of Lecky, a noted prominent Protestant historian, the objective of the penal code was ‘to make them poor. . .to degrade them into a servile caste.’
These deprivations had not been fully reversed until 1829 with the Catholic Emancipation Act. This Act was reluctantly passed by the British Government due to the vigorous campaigning by a prominent figure in Ireland during the early eighteenth century, Daniel O’ Connell.
The last of the penal laws was enacted in 1746. The first act granting relief to Catholics was not passed until 1771.
Edmund belonged to a generation of Catholics who had lived under the Penal Code and who were to experience, firstly, the relaxation, and then its total abolition, through the Catholic Relief Acts of 1782 and 1791, and subsequently the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829.
His uncle Michael owned a merchant business in the port town of Waterford and Edmund started his apprenticeship there in 1779. When Michael died in 1785, the business was passed on to Edmund.
A fervent Catholic who attended daily Mass, Edmund became an active member of a society established in the city for the relief of the deprived, visiting the sick and poor in their homes.
In 1785, Edmund Rice married his wife, Mary Elliot, at the age of 25. Little is known about their married life, but in 1789, his wife died following the birth of their daughter, Mary Junior, who was born prematurely following an accident, and as a consequence was severely handicapped. Details of the accident are unclear but it was horse-related; falling from a horse or being thrown out of a carriage.
With family support, Edmund raised his daughter for the first 12 years of her life. Still stricken by the grief of the loss of his wife, Edmund employed the help of his step-sister, Joan, to aid in the rearing of the infant. It has been suggested Mary Junior’s disabilities had an adverse effect on Edmund’s educational leanings. Struggling to cope with the turmoil of these circumstances, for answers Rice turned to God, to whom he would devote the remainder of his life.
The events were significant in terms of creating the man now known as Blessed Edmund Rice. Edmund’s personality and devotion Edmund threw himself into more prayer and charitable work and was considering joining a monastery and becoming a monk. The sister of a close friends suggested to him, 'Would it not be better to devote your life and your wealth to the instruction of these neglected children? Might your monastery be in the streets?’ Edmund devoted his life to help with the poor and marginalised of Waterford, Ireland. In 1802, when he established a makeshift school in a converted stable in New Street, Waterford, he found the children were so difficult to manage that the teachers resigned. This prompted him to sell his thriving business to another prominent Roman Catholic merchant, a Mr. Quan, and devote himself to training teachers who would dedicate their lives to prayer and to teaching the children, free of charge.
Despite the difficulties involved, Edmund's classes were so popular that another temporary school had to be set up on another of his properties, this time in nearby Stephen Street.
The turning point of Rice's ministry was the arrival of two young men, Thomas Grosvenor and Patrick Finn, from his hometown of Callan. They came to him with the desire of joining a congregation, but had not decided which they would join. As it turned out, they remained to teach at Edmund Rice's school, and later formed their own congregation. The subsequent success of the New Street school led to a more permanent building, christened 'Mount Sion', on which construction began on 1 June 1802. The founding of ‘Mount Sion’ From its beginning in 1802, with the founding of a night-school, Edmund’s education ministry was established. Inspired by years of sorrow and sympathy, Edmund went on to educate povertystricken youths in an attempt to fight the injustices of the poor; he sought to improve the lives of abandoned children with that which he held dearest: God. Yet, his passion would not be enough.
Subsequent to the success of the New Street night school, Edmund, along with Mr. Grosvenor and Mr.Finn, planned the construction of a more permanent institution. The construction of ‘Mount Sion’ began on the 1st of June 1802. This was to be a schoolhouse adjoined to Catholic monastery, a school firmly based around Catholicism. After only two years, on the 1st of May 1804, Mount Sion was officially opened and blessed by Bishop John Power. By 1806 it was well established and it encouraged the building of various other Catholic schools throughout Ireland.
Edmund Rice suffered heavily in the last years of his life from arthritis, which left him largely confined to his room from 1842 onwards. He died at 11 a.m. on 29th August 1844, and was buried in Waterford.2 Efforts to begin his cause for sainthood started in 1911, but the cause was officially opened in Dublin in 1957. After extensive study, Pope John Paul II declared him to be Venerable in 1993. It was two years after this that the Pope recognised a miracle connected to Edmund. Occurring in 1976, a man who had been given 48 hours to live as the result of a gangrenous colon, and apparent lack of viable colon tissue, was given a relic of Edmund and his family and friends prayed for a miracle with Edmund’s intercession, offering a Mass for the same purpose. The patient not only survived the 48 hours; doctors also discovered a considerable length of previously undetected colon. He made a recovery within weeks.
Edmund was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 6th October 1996, with his feast day being the 5th May.