Christ College, Brecon

PWMP logobutton_lang_frenchbutton_lang_welshChrist College, Brecon

The College of Christ of Brecknock was established here in 1541 by King Henry VIII. It occupied a former Dominican friary. After an Act of Parliament established a “public” school here in the 1850s, new buildings were erected and some of the medieval buildings were restored. Today more than 350 boys and girls are taught here.

Almost 450 past pupils served in the armed forces in the First World War. Many died in the conflict. Sixth-form master Cecil Hoyle Broadbent was killed accidentally in France in 1916. Former maths teacher John Stanley Robinson served in the Royal Navy and died of influenza in 1918.

brecon_war_memorial_christ_collegeDavid Cuthbert Thomas joined the army straight from Christ College in August 1914. Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves both wrote about him. He was killed in 1916 by a sniper’s bullet.

Mr and Mrs Best of Penbryn, Brecon, lost three sons in 1917. All three had attended Christ College. Click here for our page in their memory.

A memorial cross was unveiled at Christ College in 1922 (pictured right). The school is researching the Old Breconians who died – follow the link below to see the latest research.

Henri van Emelen became Christ College’s French master in 1914. He had fled to Hay-on-Wye from German-occupied Belgium, where he was a professor at Louvain University. Other Belgian refugees lived in The Watton, in a hostel organised by a fund-raising committee. Two local women received medals from the King of Belgium in 1918 for their work with refugees in Brecon. In March 1919 a departing refugee publicly thanked Brecon’s inhabitants for their generosity and hospitality for more than four years.

Postcode: LD3 8AF     View Location Map

Christ College website

To continue the Brecon in WW1 tour, cross the river bridge and turn left into Watergate. Continue along Kensington to Kensington Chapel, location of the next QR codes
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