The Vicarage, Temple Gardens (originally classified as Montpelier Road)

Henry Michell Wagner (1792 - 1870)

Henry Michell Wagner's new vicarage, Montpelier Road Lithograph c1840

Designed by local architect Henry Mew, this Grade II Listed building was the home of Henry Michell Wagner, Vicar of Brighton. He bought the land and moved here from the earlier vicarage in the Lanes in 1835 and died here in 1870. 

Wellesley tutoring

His grandfather, Henry Michell, had been Vicar of Brighton for 45 years until his death in 1789  and had also provided private tutoring for boys, as was common practice among 19th century clergymen. Among his tutees was Arthur Wellesley (1769 – 1852) who, although not the most enthusiastic or seemingly promising of scholars, subsequently found his metier in politics and, most strikingly, in the military. Following a string of honours, he was designated Duke of Wellington in 1814 and the following year, as commander of the allied forces at the Battle of Waterloo, was instrumental in conclusively defeating Napoleon, finally ending a conflict that had persisted for 12 years.

Part of large painting by Jan Pieneman depicting the 1st Duke of Wellington as victor at Waterloo. © Rijksmuseum.

It was Wellington, as a Tory cabinet minister (and soon to become Prime Minister), who offered Wagner the living at Brighton. But this was on condition that he first tutor his two sons, Arthur Jnr and Charles Wellesley, for 18 months, during which time he would not actually be living in Brighton. Wagner supported the boys, both educationally and pastorally, for at least eight years, all through their time at Eton and university, with another Wellesley boy added later.

Arthur Jnr succeeded his father to the Dukedom but, existing in the shadow of his illustrious father with whom he did not get on, neither his military nor his political career was particularly distinguished.  There are very few images of Arthur Jnr as a younger man but he would presumably have looked something like this shortly before his death at Brighton railway station, aged 77.

Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington, caricature by Adriano Cecioni. © National Portrait Gallery, London

Provision of National Schools

Wagner’s first wife, Elizabeth, died in 1829 at the age of 32 from complications following the birth of their son, Arthur. Three years after moving into the Montpelier Road Vicarage, however, he was betrothed to Mary Sikes Watson. Two sons were born during their two year marriage but Mary also died from childbirth complications within days of giving birth to the second son, Henry. 

This further cruelly curtailed marriage was, nevertheless, fruitful for Brighton. Mary was the only surviving child of high church philanthropist, Joshua Watson (1771 – 1855). Following his daughter’s untimely death, not only did Watson regularly visit his grandchildren and son-in-law at the Montpelier Road Vicarage but also contributed generously towards church building and the provision of schools for children of the working classes.

Watson’s crusade to stop the Anglican Church from losing ground to nonconformity had, back in 1811, led to the creation of the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles and Practices of the Church of England (the National Society for short!)  Supported by the National Society, Wagner was swift to act locally, planting so-named ‘National schools’ throughout the rapidly growing town. 

In an inadequately small nutshell, National Schools were elementary day schools that taught the 3 Rs to roughly primary school age children, with older pupils trained to assist the master or mistress ‘drill’ the younger ones. Secular tuition was limited though, the teaching of spiritual and moral values as defined by the Anglican Church being paramount.

 Brighton was robustly nonconformist and, as state legislation gradually forced greater emphasis on secular subjects, competition between the National Schools and those for nonconformist children ratcheted up. Having established nine National Schools, Wagner died in 1870, the year in which the Elementary Education Act introduced rates-funded non-sectarian schooling, after which the town’s National Schools had to work even harder to hold their own. 

Both sons from Wagner’s second marriage - Joshua Watson Wagner (1839 – 1898) and Henry Wagner (1840 - 1926) - served on Brighton’s National Schools Committee.      

The Vicarage was bought by the Girls Public Day School Trust in 1922 to accommodate the junior department of Brighton and Hove High School for Girls (since renamed Brighton Girls).