slaves owned by them. Slavery in Barbados ended when the Slavery Abolition Act was enacted in 1833. At that time, in accordance with the Slave Compensation Act 1837, the Society received £8,823 for 411 slaves as compensation for the loss of their labour. Construction of the College was started in 1714, and it was eventually opened on 9 September 1745 with twelve or 16 male students. Some of the delay in completing the structure is attributed to disputes regarding the properties and related debts (and perhaps political opposition as noted by Wilder above). Later, on 10 October 1780, a hurricane severely damaged the building. That, plus a downturn in the economic climate led to the school being closed between 1780 and 1797. The Reverend Mark Nicholson was appointed the head of Codrington in 1797 and stayed on until 1821, providing stability for the college and preparing it for the next stage of its development. History would repeat itself in 1831 when the site was almost completely destroyed by a hurricane but was rebuilt. In 1926 fire gutted the college. The college initially provided a general education at secondary level. Its curriculum was similar to that found in English grammar schools of that time. There were no other schools in Barbados at the time, so there was a need to prepare students for a college level education. Thomas Moody, a member of the Colonial Office, geopolitical strategist and merchant served as mathematics master, writing master, and Assistant Headmaster of Codrington College from 1797 to 1805. 1800s Beginning around 1824 and influenced by the first Bishop of the new See of Barbados and the Leeward Islands, Bishop William Hart Coleridge, Codrington made substantial steps towards teaching at the college level. While some advanced studies had been offered as early as 1748, these were usually taken up by sons of the local gentry (who had tutors at home) before they went to an English university. The first graduate had been ordained in 1759. The grammar school was moved to the Chaplain's lodge so that the college could focus on higher studies and became known as The Lodge School. On 9 September 1830, Codrington College focussing exclusively on training students for ordination. This marked it as one of the first theological colleges of the Anglican Church; only St. David's College Lampeter, St Bees Theological College, the General Theological Seminary and Virginia Theological Seminary pre-date