Rare Books at Marlborough: An A to Z
Glennie The Rev. John David Glennie (1796–1874) is an important figure in the history of Marlborough College.
He was among the group of gentlemen who first argued for the foundation of a school for the sons of clergy, and was present at the meeting in July 1842 when proposals were drawn up to locate it at Marlborough. He was elected to the founding Council of the College, and over the next 30 years helped Marlborough grow from a fledgling school to a powerhouse of Victorian education, bringing expertise as a national Inspector of Schools and author of pamphlets on pedagogy. In many ways he was born to it, having been raised with his 11 brothers in a boarding school run by his father in South London, Dr Glennie’s Academy in Dulwich. This school is remembered as an alma mater of Lord Byron, who attended it from the ages of 11 to 14. It had on its staff the celebrated artist Samuel Prout, later ‘Painter in Water Colours in Ordinary’ to George IV, William IV and Queen Victoria, and a man much admired by Ruskin and Turner. Prout saw artistic ability in young Glennie, and tutored him in landscape art. It was a skill Glennie developed to a high degree,
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