Stubbington House School Explained
Stubbington House School |
Closed: | 1997 |
Type: | Preparatory school |
Founder: | William Foster |
Address: | Bagshot Road |
City: | Ascot |
County: | Berkshire |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Postcode: | SL5 9JU |
Local Authority: | 903 Pre LGR (1998) Berkshire |
Urn: | 110116 |
Gender: | Initially Boys, later Mixed |
Lower Age: | 2 |
Upper Age: | 13 |
Stubbington House School[1] was founded in 1841 as a boys' preparatory school, originally located in the Hampshire village of Stubbington, around 1miles from the Solent. Stubbington House School was known by the sobriquet "the cradle of the Navy".[2] The school was relocated to Ascot in 1962, merging with Earleywood School, and it closed in 1997.
History
Donald Leinster-Mackay, an academic researcher into the history of education, has said that "No school had stronger ties with the Royal Navy in the nineteenth century than Stubbington House."[3] The school was founded in 1841 by the Reverend William Foster, who had been born around 1802 and was an alumnus of Trinity College, Cambridge. He had married Laura, a daughter of Rear-Admiral John Hayes, and it is probable that this accounts for the connection with the navy that the school developed. Another factor affecting its primary purpose was the introduction in 1838 of an entrance examination for the Royal Navy: although initially an undemanding test for most, this decision encouraged the development of specialised educational establishments, of which Stubbington House was a very early example.[4] In addition, Hampshire has a historically close connection to the navy, and the closure of the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth in 1837, together with the deployment of HMS Britannia as a cadet training ship proved to be timely.
The original building was "a square Queen Anne house with a mid Georgian façade of 5 bays and 3 storeys in grey brick with red dressing and an open pedimented porch". It was situated in around 50acres of parkland, of which half was used by the school.[5] The building had been constructed around 1715, supposedly with proceeds from contracts to supply the army and navy.[6] In due course, it was extended to meet the demands of the school as the number of pupils increased. The site eventually included two separate sanatoria facilities, as well as a gymnasium and various other structures.
Beginning with 10 pupils, the school had around 40 a few years later, and 21 in 1871. William Foster died while away from home at Leamington in 1866.[7] He was succeeded by one of his sons, Montagu Henry Foster, and by 1883 the school roll had increased to around 130 pupils. This increase is in part attributable to the efforts of Montagu's brother, the Reverend Courtenay Foster, who opened a department to train boys for entry to the army via Woolwich and Sandhurst, for which aim the boys stayed at the school for a longer time.[8] Charlotte Mitchell, a senior lecturer in English Literature, has analysed surviving bank statements of Charlotte Mary Yonge, the writer. Mitchell has speculated that payments made by Yonge to a Mr Foster may relate to school fees for one of her nephews, Maurice Yonge, who was at Stubbington House when the 1881 census was taken. There were payments in 1880 of £59 12s. 8d. and £59 11s. 9d., followed in 1881 by payments of £61 13s. 5d. and £60 2s. 1d. Finally, in 1882, there was a payment of £66 0s. 2d.[9]
Montagu Foster was involved in legal action on at least two occasions during his headmastership. In 1883 he lost an action brought by a former master that related to constructive dismissal, during the proceedings of which several witnesses commented on the lack of discipline at the school.[10] Subsequently, in 1897, The British Medical Journal reported that he had successfully sued a parent in relation to monies owing for out-of-term care of a pupil who had fallen ill.[11] He also found his school among a handful that were subjected to criticism by the Association of Preparatory School Headmasters, who, in 1901, were successful in persuading the Admiralty that the official recognition of this small number as naval entrance examination centres gave an unfair advantage.
The school uniform around this period was "... an Eton type jacket with long sleeves and a waistcoat. [The] trousers were black and grey striped—long or short according to age. Caps bearing the MHF (Montagu Henry Foster) school badge were worn. In winter bowlers were worn for church with boaters in the summer."
Montagu died in April 1913,[12] leaving an estate that was valued at £163,140. According to Alumni Cantabrigienses, his son, Montagu Richard William Foster (1870–1935), had taken over as headmaster in 1903 and continued in that role until 1928, the same year that he received a knighthood. However, Leinster-Mackay says that the change of office took place at the time of Montagu's death in 1913.
Montagu junior had been born and educated at the school, and subsequently he had taken his degree at Trinity College, Cambridge. He had taken over running the army department upon the early death of his uncle, Courtenay, but closed it in 1913 and thus reduced the school roll by around 50 pupils. Changes in government policy, which came about primarily because of the escalating naval rivalry between Britain and Germany, also affected the school population. A reduction in numbers came with the closure of the Britannia cadet training facility, causing pupils to leave at an earlier age for the Royal Naval College at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. The outcome of these changes was that there were 77 pupils in 1913.
The Foster family line of ownership and headmastership continued with Hugh Richard Montagu Foster, who took over from his father in 1928. In 1930, the school was advertising that it had 130 pupils,[13] and Hugh continued in charge until near to his own death in July 1959.[14] Hugh's obituarist in The Times noted that this was the end of the male line, although there were plans to continue the school, and that
The arrangement of the business was adjusted in 1958 with the creation of a charitable trust but the Foster family remained as owners until 1963, paying a headmaster to run the school.[15] A combination of death duties demanded from the family and also the high cost of maintaining the buildings caused the school to move to Ascot in 1962. There it merged[16] with the long-established Earleywood School[17] [18] before subsequently closing on 7 July 1997.[19] A limited company, Stubbington House Earleywood Limited, had been formed in 1963.[20]
A few of the school buildings still remain in Stubbington, although most became derelict within a year of them being sold to Fareham Council, for £97,000, in 1962.[21] The main school house was demolished in 1967. The site and the surviving buildings are now a community centre. There is a memorial to the family in the 12th-century Rowner Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, PO13 9SU.
Notable alumni
A to D
- Harry Barron CVO, army officer, Governor of Tasmania and Governor of Western Australia[22]
- Bryan Bertram Bellew MC, Irish peer[23]
- Lord Charles Beresford Baron Beresford GCB GCVO, Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and Member of Parliament for Marylebone, Woolwich and Portsmouth[24]
- Dallas G. M. Bernard, baronet[25]
- Vivian Henry Gerald Bernard CB, admiral who took part in the Battle of Jutland[26]
- Richard Bevan, Royal Navy officer
- Andrew Bickford CMG, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station[27]
- John Gregory Crace KBE CB, naval officer
- Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope KT GCB OM DSO, Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, First Sea Lord, Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and Lord High Steward[31]
- John H. D. Cunningham GCB MVO, Commander-in-Chief, Levant, Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and First Sea Lord[32]
E to K
L to R
S to Z
See also
References
NotesCitations
Further reading
- Book: Prestidge, Colin . A History of Stubbington . Warsash Press . 1996.
External links
50.8256°N -1.2141°W
Notes and References
- Web site: EduBase - Stubbington House School. Department for Education. 5 December 2012.
- Web site: The History of the Crofton Community Centre. Crofton Community Centre. 30 November 2012. The village of Stubbington, in which the Centre is located, itself goes back a long way; its parish church at Crofton being mentioned in the Doomsday Book. More recently, it was where Stubbington House School educated fee-paying boys from age 8 to 18 years. They were prepared for Oxford and Cambridge, public schools and the armed forces, primarily the Royal Navy. Indeed the school was well known as 'The cradle of the Navy'. Its school outfitters were in London and its boys were not allowed to mix with 'the locals'. .
- Book: Leinster-Mackay, Donald P. . The Rise of the English Prep School . Taylor & Francis . 1984 . 978-0-905273-74-7 . 66–68.
- Book: Leinster-Mackay, Donald P. . The nineteenth-century English preparatory school: cradle and crèche of Empire? . 65–66 . 'Benefits Bestowed'?: Education and British Imperialism . J. A. . Mangan . Manchester University Press . 1988 . 9780719025174 . https://books.google.com/books?id=AoTpAAAAIAAJ.
- Web site: Stubbington House, Stubbington . Hampshire County Council . 30 November 2012.
- Book: Douglas, Sir George Brisbane . The life of Major-General Wauchope . George Brisbane Scott Douglas . Hodder and Stoughton . 1905 . 25.
- News: Deaths . The Times . London, England . 20 July 1866. 1.
- News: Contracts, &c. . The Times . 31 May 1886 . 3.
- Women's Writing . 17 . 2 . 2010 . Charlotte . Mitchell . 388 . Charlotte M. Yonge's Bank Account: A Rich New Source of Information on her Work and her Life . 10.1080/09699081003755185. 143938763.
- News: Schoolmasters and Insubordinate Scholars . The Manchester Guardian . 29 November 1883 . 3 . .
- The British Medical Journal . 27 March 1897 . 824 . Medico-Legal: School Sanatoria . 2432951 . 1 . 1891.
- News: The Times . London . 11 April 1913 . 9 . Mr. Montagu Foster .
- News: Legal Notices . The Times . London . 18 June 1930 . 3.
- News: Obituary: H. R, M. Foster . The Times . 1 August 1959 . 8 .
- Book: Leinster-Mackay, Donald P. . The Rise of the English Prep School . Taylor & Francis . 1984 . 978-0-905273-74-7 . 106.
- Web site: English school uniform: individual schools -- Earleywood Prep School. Historical Boys' Clothing. 5 December 2012. Earleywood Prep School was a family-run prep school located at Ascot. We are not sure when the school was founded. It appears to have been some time in the late-19th century. We do notknow what happened during the Second World War. We know it was thriving in the 1940s after the War. Apparentlly the school was amalgamated with Stubbington School, another Ascot prep school, in the 1960s..
- Web site: Life Story of Philip Henry Stewart Reid: Earleywood School. Reid. Alex. Alex Reid. 5 December 2012. The school buildings, designed and built for the present Principals in 1902, are situated near Ascot on the well-known 'Bagshot Sands' in a high and bracing locality..
- Web site: BFI - Film & TV Database - EARLEYWOOD SCHOOL, ASCOT, 1946. https://archive.today/20130423205344/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/5858. dead. 23 April 2013. British Film Institute. 5 December 2012.
- Web site: Stubbington House School . Department for Education . 3 December 2012.
- Web site: Stubbington House Earleywood Limited . Duedil . 5 December 2012.
- Web site: Stubbington House, Stubbington. 30 November 2012.
- Web site: BARRON, Maj.-Gen. Sir Harry . Who Was Who . -A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: BELLEW . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . November 2012 .
- Web site: BERESFORD . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: BERNARD, Sir Dallas (Gerald Mercer) . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . November 2012 .
- News: Admiral Bernard . The Times . London . 20 February 1934 . 16.
- Web site: BICKFORD, Admiral Andrew Kennedy . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: COCHRANE, Rear-Adm. Archibald . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2012 .
- Web site: COLMORE, Wing-Commander Reginald Blayney Bulteel . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: COLVIN, Sir C. Preston . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press. October 2012 .
- Web site: CUNNINGHAM OF HYNDHOPE . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: CUNNINGHAM, Adm. of the Fleet Sir John Henry Dacres . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: DICKENS, Admiral Sir Gerald Charles . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2012 .
- News: Our Monte Carlo Correspondent. "Rear-Admiral Sir S. Eardley-Wilmot." . The Times . London . 1 March 1929 . 11.
- Web site: MONSELL . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: AILWYN . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2012 .
- Web site: FISHER, Adm. Sir Douglas Blake . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: FRENCH, Admiral Sir Wilfred Frankland . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2012 .
- News: Admiral H. A. S. Fyler . The Times . London . 20 July 1934 . 16.
- News: Admiral Sir Heathcoat Grant . The Times . London . 27 September 1938 . 14.
- Web site: HALSEY, Adm. Sir Lionel . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2012 .
- News: Admiral Sir Henry Harwood . The Times . London . 13 June 1950 . 6.
- Book: Halpern, Paul G. . Herbert, Godfrey (1884–1961) . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press . October 2008 . http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/98170.
- Web site: HOPKINS, Admiral Sir Frank (Henry Edward) . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2012 .
- Web site: HORAN, Rear-Adm. Henry Edward . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2012 . 1 December 2012.
- Web site: JACKSON, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Bradwardine . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- News: Admiral Ruck Keene . The Times . London . 31 January 1935 . 16.
- Web site: LYNES, Rear-Adm. Hubert . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . October 2012 .
- Web site: MIERS, Rear-Adm. Sir Anthony (Cecil Capel) . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2012 .
- News: Deaths . The Times . London . 16 July 1913 . 11.
- Web site: OLIPHANT, Capt. Henry Gerard Laurence . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . November 2012 .
- News: Admiral Sir William Nicholson . The Times . London . 11 January 1932 . 14.
- Web site: PEAKE, Frederick Gerard . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: PETERS, Adm. Sir Arthur Malcolm . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2012 .
- Web site: PHILLIPS, Adm. (Acting) Sir Tom Spencer Vaughan . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . October 2012 .
- Web site: PRESTON, Adm. Sir Lionel . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2012 .
- Web site: PRICKETT, Air Chief Marshal Sir Thomas (Other) . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . October 2010 .
- Web site: RENTON . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . November 2012 .
- Web site: ROSE, Vice-Admiral Sir Frank Forrester . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . November 2012 .
- Web site: ROSS, Major-General Charles . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- "Admiral Ruck Keene", Obituary in The Times dated 31 January 1935, Issue 46976, p. 16
- Web site: SCOTT, Captain Robert Falcon . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: ST CLAIR-FORD, Capt. Sir Aubrey . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . November 2012 .
- Web site: STEEL, Air Chief Marshal Sir John Miles . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: TALBOT, John Ellis . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . December 2007 .
- Web site: TAYLOR, Vice-Adm. Sir Ernest Augustus . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . November 2012 .
- Web site: TOWSE, Captain Sir (Ernest) Beachcroft (Beckwith) . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . October 2012 .
- Web site: WALKER-HENEAGE-VIVIAN, Admiral Algernon . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . November 2012 .
- Book: Carlyle, E. I. . Wauchope, Andrew Gilbert (1846–1899) . revised, Roger T. Stearn . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press . May 2006 . http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28897.
- Web site: WHITE, Lt-Col John Baker . Who Was Who . A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press . November 2012 .
- News: Admiral Sir John ('Sandy') Woodward. The Telegraph. 5 August 2013. London.