Dissenting Academies in England

After the Restoration, as a result of the 1661 Act of Uniformity, dissenting academies were established to offer higher education similar to that of Oxford and Cambridge but without the requirement of conformity to Church of England teachings. In opposition to the older universities, they promoted a more contemporary curriculum based on the practical sciences and modern history. After the Toleration Act of 1689 they increased in number around the country and eventually became public institutions. By the end of the eighteenth century however, many either closed or became nonconformist, theological colleges and their role was finally superseded by the founding of universities open to dissenters and by the reform of Oxford and Cambridge. Irene Parker's classic work was one of the first books to shed light on this still much unexplored area of British educational and social history.