Rose Hill School, Alderley

Rose Hill School was a co-educational, boarding and day, Pre-preparatory and Preparatory School for children aged 2–14 years old.[2][3] It was situated in Cotswold countryside in the village of Alderley, near to Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, England. Its motto, 'conando floreamus',[4] translates as 'We are distinguished through effort'. The school closed on 2 September 2009[2] to merge with Querns Westonbirt School, together forming Rose Hill Westonbirt School which is co-located with Westonbirt School in nearby Tetbury.[5][6][7][8]

Rose Hill School
Alderley House, the main building of the former school
Address
Alderley

nr. Wotton-under-Edge
,
Gloucestershire
,
GL12 7QT

England
Coordinates51.6154°N 2.33635°W / 51.6154; -2.33635
Information
TypePreparatory school
MottoConando floreamus
Religious affiliation(s)Anglican
Established1839 (1839)[1]
FounderMr T Alfree (RHS Tunbridge Wells)[1]
Closed2 September 2009 (2009-09-02)[2]
HeadmasterPaul Cawley-Wakefield
GenderCo-educational
Age2 to 14[2]
HousesRomans, Greeks, Trojans[1]
Colour(s)Pink and Blue
Websitewww.oldrosehillians.co.uk

History

Rose Hill School was originally established in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent in 1832. In 1903 the then Headmaster, Mr Browning, founded a second Rose Hill School in Banstead, Surrey, taking the vast majority of the original school with him. Following the outbreak of World War II, this second Rose Hill School re-located to the small village of Alderley, near Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire in 1939.[1][8] The then Headmaster, T G Hughes, bought the 20-acre site of Alderley House,[8] a Grade II Listed[9] neo-Elizabethan 19th century manor house[10] designed by Lewis Vulliamy[10] and built for Robert Blagden Hale[11] between 1859 and 1863.[12] The house was built on the site of a previous Jacobean property,[4] and the cellars from the original building remain to this day under the house.[8] On the ground floor of the house were located the dining room, the library, the Headmaster's study, two classrooms, the school office, a billiards hall, a small laundry, the staff room, the staff dining room and the kitchens, whilst the upper floors (including the former servants' quarters on the top floor) provided the Sick-Bay and all dormitory accommodation and washing facilities for boarding pupils, as well as living quarters for the matrons and some teachers. All of the dormitories were named after local villages, including Alderley, Badminton, Hawkesbury, Hillesley, Kingswood and Stinchcombe.

The sizeable grounds in which the school was situated included a number of spinneys, two grass tennis courts, a hard court, an outside swimming pool and a large playing field,[8] and it adjoined St Kenelm's Church.[13][14] The grounds directly to the west of the house were dominated by a mature Wellingtonia tree, a very tall specimen of the Giant Sequoia family, while on the other side of the house towards St Kenelm's Church were two Monkey-Puzzle trees.

Closure of the School

After 70 years at the Alderley site, Rose Hill School closed on 2 September 2009[2] when it merged with Querns Westonbirt School (formerly Querns School, Cirencester until its acquisition by Westonbirt School in 2002[15]). Together the two schools formed Rose Hill Westonbirt School[5][6][7][8] which is co-located with Westonbirt School[5] in nearby Tetbury.[5] Weston Birt School Limited (Company Registration No. 230224, Registered Charity No. 311715) acquired the undertakings, assets and liabilities of Rose Hill School Alderley Limited (Company No. 911698, Registered Charity No. 311708) for £1.798 m on 29 August 2008.[16] The property at Alderley was put on the market at the end of 2009 for £3m[8] and subsequently sold for use as a private residence. After purchasing the house the new owners employed Humphrey Cook Associates to refurbish the property back to its original state in 1860.[17]

In September 2009 the property was used as one of the filming locations for a Season 24 episode of BBC1's hospital drama Casualty[18][19] which aired in early 2010.

In documents filed since the sale of the property the house has been referred to as "Alderley Manor",[20] whereas the Land Registry still refers to it as "Alderley House".[21] There also appears to be a reference to the property as "Alderley Manor" in the National Archives, in the context of R. H. Blagden Hale's purchase deeds.[22]

Headmasters
2005–2009Mr Paul Cawley-Wakefield[23]
2002–2005Mr Peter Platts-Martin[23]
2002-2002Mrs Ginny Jackson (Acting Head)
1990-200?Mr Richard Lyne-Pirkis (author, nom de plume: "Richard de Methley"[24])
:
1982?-1988Mr Kenneth Green
1982Mr David Austin (Acting Head)
1978-1982Mr Christopher Knox
1956–1978Mr Gilbert Wheat[25]
1922-1956Mr T Geoffrey ("Tiggy") Hughes
:

Notable former pupils
  • 1868 Robert Baden-Powell (pupil at Rose Hill School, Royal Tunbridge Wells)
  • 1926-1929/12 Lewen B.O. Tugwell pupil. Whilst there, worked in the Carpentry Class on the construction of the "ss Scouter". His two younger brothers also attended Rose Hill. (Robert Baden-Powell and his wife Olave were friends of Lewen's parents. When Lord Baden-Powell couldn't be present, Lewen's parents Basil and Mysie Tugwell alternated in giving out prizes on Prize Day at the school, and reading a message to the boys from the Chief Scout.)
  • 1968/9-1972/3 Robert Lawrence
  • Richard Hildick-Smith (part of the 2008 Beijing pre-Olympic British modern pentathlon team)[25]

References
  1. Liza-Jane Gillespie (2008-01-20), School celebrates 175 years, The Gloucester News, archived from the original on 2012-03-09, retrieved 2011-02-09
  2. "Establishment: Rose Hill School". Department for Education EduBase. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  3. "Details for Rose Hill School". UK School Web Index. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  4. "Home". Rose Hill Memories. 2009-07-04. Archived from the original on 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  5. "Rose Hill Westonbirt School history and background". Rose Hill Westonbirt School. 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-03-14. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  6. Charlotte Shepherd (2008-07-09). "Private schools to merge". Gazette Series. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  7. "Private school is set for merger (From Gazette Series)". The Gloucester News. 2008-07-08. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  8. "School building on the market for £3 m (From Gazette Series)". The Gloucester News. 2008-11-25. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  9. Good Stuff IT Services (1985-09-09). "Google Map/Streetview of Rose Hill School - Alderley - Gloucestershire - England". British Listed Buildings. Archived from the original on 2012-05-26. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2011-02-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Richard Wilson, Alan Mackley (2000), Creating paradise: the building of the English country house, 1660-1880, Continuum International Publishing Group, pp. 216–217, ISBN 978-1-85285-252-8, archived from the original on 2011-06-29, retrieved 2011-02-09
  12. Colvin, Howard M "A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840" p.1080
  13. David Verey, Alan Brooks "Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds" p.134
  14. Verey, David; Brooks, Alan (2007-11-12). Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds - Google Books. ISBN 9780140710984. Archived from the original on 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-03-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "www.charitycommission.gov.uk/ScannedAccounts/Ends15/0000311715_ac_20080731_e_c.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-22.
  17. "Humphrey Cook Associates - Conservation - Alderley House". Hcadesign.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  18. lhutchinson. "Drama at old school as pupils return to meet stars of Casualty | News". This is Bristol. Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  19. "Holby City Filming News". Rhwestonbirt.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  20. "www.stroud.gov.uk/docs/planning/planning_application_view_binary.asp?URL=/WAM/doc/Application+Form-593348.pdf?extension=.pdf%26id=593348%26location=VOLUME2%26contentType=application/pdf%26pageCount=1%26appid=1001". Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-06.
  21. Alderley House Archived 2011-02-04 at the Wayback Machine, HM Land Registry, retrieved January 2011
  22. "Access to Archives". The National Archives. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  23. "Head teacher sacked over plans for future (From Gazette Series)". Gazetteseries.co.uk. 2005-04-01. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  24. "Headmaster writes raunchy novel (From Gazette Series)". Gazetteseries.co.uk. 2008-01-14. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  25. "Pitch is off to a flying start (From Gazette Series)". Gazetteseries.co.uk. 2005-02-11. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
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