John Kendrick
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John Kendrick (1573-1624) was a prosperous clothing merchant. He was born in Minster Street, Reading, Berkshire in 1573 and educated at Reading Free School (the forerunner of today's Reading School) and St John's College, Oxford. After University, he moved to London where he amassed a fortune in trade with the Netherlands.
When John died on December 30 1624, he left £12,500 (GBP) to the towns of Reading and Newbury to provide employment and education for the poor. A house of industry was erected in Minster Street, Reading with this money and called The Oracle after John Kendrick. (A shopping mall now exists on this site, also called The Oracle). Although much of these funds were mismanaged, sufficient remained for the founding of two schools: Kendrick Boys School in 1875 and Kendrick Girls School in 1877. In 1915 Kendrick Boys School was taken over by Reading School, but Kendrick Girls School still exists.