in 1799, a philanthropic trust established by william coward took possession of the building as a replacement for the dissenting academy that it had funded in northampton and which had closed. the coward trust spent £4,258 on purchase and renovation, enlarging it to accommodate two tutors and 24 students in their pursuit of studies for dissenting ministry. the trust also determined that the institution should be known as "wymondley house", although in practice even in its own day it was more commonly referred to as "wymondley college" or "wymondley academy".