Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth (1804-1877)
Public health pioneer who also shaped today’s national education system.
James was dedicated to improving the lives of the poor. He founded England’s first teacher training college, and shaped the national school education system we use today.
(Credit: Greywolf)
Born in Rochdale, James studied medicine in Edinburgh then settled in Manchester. He studied workers’ conditions and home lives in industrial Lancashire, including at Manchester’s cotton factories. As a result of his work, he was appointed as an Assistant Poor Law Commissioner – overseeing the administration of relief to the poor – in East Anglia and then in London.
The poor and needy gathering outside a workhouse (1840). (Credit: Wellcome Collection)
James’s experiences with the workhouse system convinced him that education was the best way to lift the poorest children out of poverty. In 1839 he was appointed first secretary of the committee administering the government grant for public education in Britain, and was determined to put his ideas in place.
The Battersea College for teachers that James founded is still operating today, as part of the University of St Mark & St John in Plymouth. This model shows the Chelsea campus before the institution relocated to Devon in the 1970s. (Credit: Chris McKenna / Wikimedia Commons)
For nine years in post, James continued to argue for education reforms, and used his power as a civil servant to force through new regulations for improving schools and teaching practices. Importantly, he also established Battersea College in 1840, the first and most influential teacher training college, which he and his colleague Edward Carleton Tufnell initially supported privately. Together, these actions set the pattern for today’s public education system.
In 1842, James married Janet Shuttleworth, who was heir to Gawthorpe Hall estate in Lancashire. James added her name to his as part of the marriage agreement. The couple had five children; the oldest was Ughtred (1844–1939), who became a respected politician and was created Baron Shuttleworth in 1902. (Credit: Wellcome Collection)
Further information
(Credit: Greywolf)
(Credit: TRP Collection)
