THE EMERGENCE OF A CATHOLIC IDENTITY AND THE NEED FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL PROVISION IN NINETEENTH CENTURY BRIGHTON SANDY KENNEDY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION DECEMBER 2013 MY DECLARATION PLUS WORD COUNT I hereby declare that, except where explicit attribution is made, the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own. Word Count: 84,109 ABSTRACT The 1829 Act of Emancipation was designed to return to Catholics the full rights of citizenship which had been denied them for over two hundred years. In practice, Protestant mistrust and Establishment fears of a revival of popery continued unabated. Yet thirty years earlier, in Regency Brighton, the Catholic community although small seemed to have enjoyed an unprecedented degree of tolerance and acceptance. This thesis questions this apparent anomaly and asks whether in the century that followed, Catholics managed to unite across class and nationality divides and establish their own identity, or if they too were subsumed into the culture of the time, subject to the strict social and hierarchical ethos of the Victorian age. It explores the inevitable tension between 'principle' and 'pragmatism' in a town so heavily dependent upon preserving an image of relaxed and welcoming populism. This is a study of the changing demography of Brighton as the Catholic population expanded and schools and churches were built to meet their needs, mirroring the situation in the country as a whole. It explains the responsibilities of Catholics to themselves and to the wider community. It offers an in-depth analysis of educational provision in terms of the structure, administration and curriculum in the schools, as provided both by the growing number of religious orders and lay teachers engaged in the care and education of both the wealthy and the poor. The evidence for this is based on evidence drawn from on a wide range of primary sources material relating to Catholic education in the nineteenth century. It shows, too, how this disparate Catholic body, both religious and secular, was subject to a number of significant i national and international influences which had a profound effect in formulating a distinctive Catholic presence. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................................i TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................................iii FIGURES..................................................................................................................................x TABLES.................................................................................................................................xiii GLOSSARY OF TERMS.....................................................................................................xiv ABBREVIATIONS...............................................................................................................xvi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................xvii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................1 Notes and Sources....................................................................................................................15 CHAPTER 2: THE METHODOLOGY..............................................................................17 Introduction..............................................................................................................................17 1. The Written Word................................................................................................................18 1.1 General Social Histories.................................................................................................18 1.2 Unpublished Secondary sources.....................................................................................19 1.3 Biographies....................................................................................................................19 1.4 Novels............................................................................................................................21 1.5 Diaries...........................................................................................................................22 1.6 Annals and Memoirs......................................................................................................23 1.7 Letters............................................................................................................................23 1.8 School Log Books..........................................................................................................24 iii 2. Statistical Data......................................................................................................................25 2.1. Directories..................................................................................................................25 2.2. Church Records............................................................................................................27 2.3. Census and Military Records......................................................................................28 2.4. Surveys........................................................................................................................29 2.5. Wills; Bills; Collections and Endowments...................................................................32 3. The Public Voice..................................................................................................................32 3.1. Sermons and Speeches.................................................................................................33 3.2. The Press......................................................................................................................34 3.3. Committee Papers and Public Records.......................................................................36 4. Audio and Visual Imagery...................................................................................................37 5. Contemporary World............................................................................................................38 5.1. Membership of Societies; Attendance at Conferences.................................................38 Conclusion................................................................................................................................39 Notes and Sources....................................................................................................................40 CHAPTER 3: THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND RELATED LITERATURE........45 Introduction..............................................................................................................................45 1. International Developments: Britain's military engagements and the role of the Papacy.................................................................................................................................45 2. Social Challenges in Nineteenth Century England and the tenuous situation of Catholics in the early years of the Nineteenth Century........................................................52 iv 3. The redefining of Catholic Identity. The influx of the Irish and the Oxford Movement. Educational challenges and emergence of a Catholic voice............................59 4. Brighton's early history from Fishing village to seaside resort. A town with a distinctive identity of fascinating contrasts and conflicts....................................................69 Conclusion................................................................................................................................81 Notes and Sources...................................................................................................................83 CHAPTER 4: A CATHOLIC PRESENCE (1798 – 1837)...............................................93 Introduction..............................................................................................................................93 1. Brighton's early Catholic History. Father O'Leary and the West Grinstead Mission The advantages and disadvantages of Royal Patronage.......................................................93 2. The Reverend Barnes – The first Presbyter of Brighton. The Reverend Mouchel and The first Catholic Chapel...................................................................................................104 3. Identifying Brighton's Catholic community – the initiatives which led to the Consecration of the first Catholic Church in Brighton.......................................................107 4. The Death of Mrs. Fitzherbert............................................................................................116 Conclusion..............................................................................................................................117 Notes and Souces...................................................................................................................120 CHAPTER 5: UNCERTAIN TIMES (1838-1854)............................................................129 Introduction............................................................................................................................129 1. National initiatives and their relevance to Brighton...........................................................130