Morden , Sir , John , 1623-1708 , merchant Morden College , Blackheath , 1695-

Morden , Sir , John , 1623-1708 , merchant Morden College , Blackheath , 1695-

Morden College was founded in 1695 by Sir John Morden (1623-1708).

John Morden was born in London, 1623, the son of George Morden, goldsmith. In 1643, he was apprenticed to Sir William Soames who was Master of the Grocers' Company, Levant Company (Turkey Company) assistant, East India Company Committee member, and Sheriff of the City of London. Initially posted to Aleppo in Turkey, John Morden returned to London in 1660 having amassed a 'fair estate' trading as an East India Merchant. In 1662 he married Susan Brand (1638-1721) daughter of Joseph Brand of Suffolk. The couple were childless.
By the 1660s Morden was a member of the board of both the Turkey Company and the East India Company. In 1669 he purchased for £4 200 Wricklemarsh Manor (now the Cator estate) in Blackheath, which comprised 271 acres and a mansion house.
Created a baronet in 1688 by King James II, in 1691 he became Commissioner of Excise under King William III. He was briefly the Member of Parliament for Colchester. In 1693, he was appointed Treasurer of Bromley College, Kent, a home for clergy widows. In 1695, he resigned this appointment to become Treasurer of his own College.

Morden's aim was to found a college for 'poor Merchants...and such as have lost their Estates by accidents, dangers and perils of the seas or by any other accidents ways or means in their honest endeavours to get their living by means of Merchandizing'.

The College Buildings were erected in 1695 in the style of Christopher Wren and under the supervision of his Master-mason, Edward Strong, on the north east corner of the Wricklemarsh Estate. They were intended to house forty single or widowed men, who were each given an allowance of £40 per annum, coals and a gown (and servants to look after their apartments). There was also a public kitchen, a dining hall, and an apartment for a chaplain with a salary of 50 shillings a year. The College had its own burial ground. Until 1867 members had to be members of the Church of England, with a certificate of proof from their parish priest. They were required to attend chapel twice daily.

By 1881, admission requirements had relaxed somewhat. After World War One, a shortage of 'decayed merchants' led to further changes to membership conditions and the College now provides accommodation for women (as non resident out pensioners since 1908, and residents since 1966) and married couples (since 1951). Since 1700 more than 4,648 people have been College beneficiaries. Provision is also made for a group known as outpensioners, who do not require accommodation, but are in financial need.

Terms of administration: Sir John Morden's will provided for seven trustees, to be chosen from the Turkey Company; on its cessation from the East India Company, and on its demise, from the Aldermen of the City of London with ultimate recourse to 'gentlemen of Kent'. Day to day administration was in the hands of a Treasurer and a Chaplain. In 1945, the Treasurer's post was renamed Clerk to the Trustees. The College is funded by endowment of the Manor of Old Court (Greenwich) purchased by Sir John in 1698. The Dame Susan Morden endowment contributed funds originally for the support of the chaplain.

A new Dining Hall was completed in 1845, and a Library in 1860. A Nursing Centre, Cullum Welch Court, was opened in 1971, rebuilt 2004, providing beds for residents requiring nursing care. Premises built in 1933 for use as a Sick Bay were refurbished and opened as a Club House in 1971, and further enlarged in 1990. The Staff Quarters added to the old Sick Bay in 1958, are still used for their original purpose. A number of other homes have been built within the grounds, including Alexander Court, 1957, Wells Court, 1966, and Montague Graham Court, 1976. In 1994, a house adjacent to the College, 22 Kidbrooke Gardens, was refurbished and opened for use by College beneficiaries. A number of other homes in Blackheath and Beckenham now form part of the College, and are located in Broadbridge Close, Graham Court in Kidbrooke Grove, St Germans Place, Vanbrugh Park and Ralph Perring Court.

Charles Kelsall (1782-1857) bequest: book collection, pictures, maps, papers