What sort of man was our Founder, and what prompted the creation of his Foundation?
An American President was being briefed by an aide for an interview he was to give to a Senator known only to him by reputation. "You must remember, Mr President, that Senator X is a self-made man". "I am pleased to hear it", the President replied, "it relieves the Almighty of a terrible responsibility!"
Edward Alleyn, actor, manager, impresario and property developer was certainly a 'self-made man'. But does that mean that he was the kind of man the President's retort implies - conceited, self-serving and concerned chiefly for his own reputation?
To answer this question we must think ourselves back into a world very different from our own, a world in which the Providence of God and a judgement to come were certainties as fixed in the public consciousness as the recurrence of the seasons and the fact of death - and without the benefit of anaesthetics or palliative drugs.
It was a world in which the common good was not sufficiently served by a conventional respect for law, the occasional casting of a vote and some degree of political correctness. A world in which care for the elderly and education for the young could not be left to the fiat of elected representatives however enthusiastically supported but which depended very largely on the good-will of the more fortunate members of society; and where alms-giving was not an hobby for those who like that sort of thing but a duty owed by a creature to his Creator.
This was a world of which Alleyn was very much a part and whose assumptions he seems to have willingly embraced. Of course that is a consideration which cuts both ways; where religion is universal it can very easily be formal. The churchwardenship of the Parish of St Saviour's, Southwark, for example, which Alleyn enjoyed for many years, brought with it considerable prestige as well as a few 'perks'. And he was not indifferent to prestige; he spent time and money on securing a coat of arms for himself and his family and was at one time hopeful of securing a knighthood as well. But this does not mean that his convictions were insincere.
Consider this note appended to his accounts for the year 1620-21: "Blessed be the Lord God Everlasting, the only giver and preserver of all. Amen". Not every dealer in real estate, even in those days, would have added such words, as Alleyn did almost every year - particularly since the record was made for his own use solely, there being no Inspector of Taxes to demand it from him!
Consider, too, the opening sentence of his Will, made only a few days before illness claimed him,..."first and principally I commend my soul to Almighty God my merciful Creator, and to Jesus Christ my most loving Saviour..." and later in this same document, "...my body I will to the earth from whence it came without any vain funeral pomp or show..." Can we really put these sentiments down to a death-bed conversion?
Moreover Alleyn's provision both for the occupants of his alms-houses and the 'poor scholars' of his College makes it clear that their spiritual welfare and, in the case of the scholars, their religious education was a very large part of his concern. His own regular attendance at Communion with the 'poor brethren and sisters' in the Chapel he had created for them amply confirms this. Nor did he hesitate to rebuke those 'Preachers' who failed to appear at the proper time for Divine Service!
His religious views were, for his day, fairly liberal; he seems to have been willing to converse with many who did not share his convictions - in regard, for example, to public entertainment on a Sunday. But this gives us no reason to doubt the sincerity of his devotional utterances, nor his motives in creating an 'Hospital'.
Our generation may have a greater faith than did Edward Alleyn in shared responsibility and the democratic process, though even that is open to question. But even if we have, that scarcely justifies us in ignoring or impugning the generosity of an earlier age - a generosity from which we still benefit - nor in denying the sincerity of those like our Founder who regard such generosity as a logical response to God's Gift.
Nick Earle taught mathematics at Dulwich College before becoming Headmaster of Bromsgrove School. He is the author of a number of books, including the polemical What's wrong with the Church? And most recently Does God Make Sense?
