St. Michael's College, Tenbury

The College of St. Michael and All Angels, in Tenbury Wells Worcestershire was a boys school founded by Frederick Ouseley in 1856 to provide a model for the performance of Anglican church music. Choral services were performed daily in term time, and the college possessed a library that contained many rare books of international importance. Financial difficulties forced its closure in 1985. The buildings are used today as an international school, which specialises in teaching non English language students.

Musical library

Supported by friends of Ouseley, the Library contained such important articles as the original score of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Handel's own conducting score from the Dublin premiere of the Messiah. It was therefore something of a site of pilgrimage for musical scholars. After the school's closure the library was transferred to the Bodleian Library.

History

The school was founded in reaction to the decline of Anglican church music in the Victorian period. Ouseley deliberately sited it in a remote location so as to insulate it from the influence of London. Until its closure the school regularly sang 150 settings of evensong; it was the last educational establishment in England to sing the orders throughout the week. In the school chapel the choir was separated from the chancel by an ornate gilded screen topped by candles. The choir was backed by an organ, painted with a representation...
Read More