Percy Henn

Percy Umfreville Henn
Percy Henn in 1923
Born	(1865-01-21)21 January 1865 Manchester, England
Died	25 February 1955(1955-02-25) (aged 90) Perth, Western Australia
Occupation	Reverend, school headmaster
Spouse(s)	Jean Elliott
Children	4
Parent(s)	Rev. John Henn and wife Catherine

Reverend Canon Percy Umfreville Henn (21 January 1865 in Manchester, England – 25 February 1955 in Perth, Western Australia) was a clergyman and teacher in England and later Western Australia. He is best known for his time as Headmaster at Guildford Grammar School and later for the building of the Chapel of SS. Mary and George.

Henn gained his BA in 1887 and MA in 1890 from Worcester College at Oxford University. He taught at various schools until 1900, when he became a missionary in Western Australia in country towns. In Western Australia Henn married Jean Elliott and had four children. After further religious work in regional WA, he moved to Guildford, Western Australia and became a leading force behind Guildford Grammar School's Guildford Grammar School Chapel and preparatory school. He died in 1955 at age 90.

Henn was born in Manchester, England, as the tenth child of Rev. John Henn and his wife Catherine, née Holcroft. His older brother, Sydney Henn, became a member of parliament. Henn was educated at Christ's Hospital, London, as a bluecoat boy, and then at Worcester College, Oxford, on a scholarship. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1887, proceeding to a Master of Arts three years later.

Henn decided, before taking on a spiritual career, that he would become a teacher. He began his career as an assistant master at Hurstpierpoint College, West Sussex (one of the Woodard Schools, a series of eleven schools founded by Nathaniel Woodard). There, he became interested in education through religion, and became an ordained priest in 1891. He then became Chaplain at Hurstpierpoint in 1892. Henn became recognised as a teacher when he became a founding headmaster at Worksop College in Nottinghamshire; however he resigned in 1899 amidst differences with a new superior who disagreed with Henn's philosophy of a school grounds with beautiful buildings dominated by a chapel.