James Hildyard

Who was James Hildyard?

James Hildyard was an English classical scholar.

Hildyard, eighth son of the Rev. William Hildyard, was and educated under Dr. Samuel Butler at Shrewsbury from 1820 to 1829. From 1826 he was the head of the school, and in April 1829 was the chief person in a rebellion known as the ‘Beef Row.’ In October of the same year he was entered as a pensioner of Christ's College, Cambridge, where, through the influence of Dr. John Kaye, he was at once elected to a Tancred divinity studentship, then worth about £113 a year. In January 1833 he graduated as a senior optime in mathematics, second in the first class of the classical tripos, and chancellor's medallist, and was immediately elected fellow of his college. In due course he became classical lecturer and tutor. He proceeded B.A. 1833, M.A. 1836, and B.D. 1846. In 1843 he was senior proctor. During fourteen years' residence at the university he greatly improved the method of college tuition, and wrote more than one pamphlet against the system of private tuition. He wrote and spoke in favour of the ‘voluntary theological examinations.’