Ashdown House is a

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

and former school near

Forest Row Forest Row is a village and a large civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles (5 km) south-east of East Grinstead. In January 2023, it ranked as Britain’s 3rd poshest village. His ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. One of the first houses in England to be built in the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

architectural style, it was designed in 1793 as the second independent work of

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was a British-American Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical architect who immigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in ...

, his last work in Britain before emigrating to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Latrobe's domes at Ashdown have been described by scholars as 'miniature prototypes' for his domes at the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

. Described by

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

as 'very perfect indeed', the building served as a prep school from 1886 to 2020, educating many people, of whom several became notable. In August 2021 the property was sold to a property developer for £5 million. Richard Eden confirmed that the owner, Cothill Trust, had exchanged contracts with the developer, whose name was not disclosed. The next highest bidder was reportedly an educational establishment that offered the trust £4.5 million.

History

Ashdown House was given its name by John Trayton Fuller upon his purchase of the site, by Act of Parliament, for £10,000 in 1793. The land had previously comprised the Manor of Lavertye, first recorded in 1285. In 1597, it was part of the Buckhurst estate, a house of brick and Horsham stone with "... several courtyards, gardens, orchards, closes, rooms, two old dwelling houses, and a great barn."

As a school

The school was founded in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

in 1843 as a boys' school and moved to Ashdown House in 1886. It first became co-educational in 1975. The last headmaster, from September 2019 to June 2020, was Hilary Phillips, previously of the prep school of

Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls was a boarding and day private school in Monmouth, Wales. Established by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers in 1892, in June 2022 the Haberdashers began a consultation on proposals to merge the school ...

Historic abuse allegations

Allegations by multiple former pupils of physical and sexual abuse in the 1970s, investigated by law firm

Slater & Gordon Slater & Gordon Lawyers is a law firm in Australia. The firm was founded in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1935 by a barrister and solicitor from Irymple, Victoria, Hugh Lyons Gordon, and Labor politician Bill Slater. Since April 2023, the law firm ...

in 2013, were followed by widespread recollections from former pupils that the regime at the school in the late 20th century had been spartan and unforgiving, with boys or entire classes regularly punished with

caning Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single Stick-fighting, cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks (see spanking) or han ...

s. Abuse at the school is much of the subject of former pupil

Alex Renton Alexander James Torre Renton FRHistS is a British journalist and broadcaster. He is the author of several historical and investigative books, including ''Stiff Upper Lip: Secrets, Crimes and the Schooling of a Ruling Class'' (2017) and ''Blood L ...

's book ''Stiff Upper Lip'' and his BBC Radio 4 documentary ''In Dark Corners'', and is referred to in the memoirs of

Andrew Mitchell Sir Andrew John Bower Mitchell Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (born 23 March 1956) is a British politician who was Shadow Foreign Secretary from July to November 2024 and served as Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom), Deputy Foreign S ...

. In July 2014, Clive Williams, who was headmaster from 1975 to 2003, was interviewed by

Sussex Police Sussex Police are the territorial police force responsible for policing in the whole of Sussex. Their jurisdiction covers the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. Their headquarters are in Malling House, Lewes, East Sussex. Hi ...

following allegations of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

and

child neglect Child neglect is an act of caregivers (e.g., parents) that results in depriving a child of their basic needs, such as the failure to provide adequate supervision, health care, clothing, or housing, as well as other physical, emotional, social, ...

. A computer and documents were taken from his home for examination. He was released on bail the same day, until 11 November, and was understood not to have been charged. The police said their investigation spanned the period from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. In January 2023 David Price, 76, who had taught at the school in the 1980s, was charged with three counts of indecent assault in the 1980s and was due in court in the following month. He was arrested after an 11-page account detailing alleged abuse was submitted to Cape Town police by a former pupil of Western Province preparatory school in the city. The complainant came forward after claims were made against Price and other former teachers by Alex Renton.

Notable former pupils

David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon David Albert Charles Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon (born 3 November 1961), styled as Viscount Linley until 2017 and known professionally as David Linley, is a member of the extended British royal family, an English furniture maker, and h ...

, furniture maker * Thomas Cholmondeley (1968–2016), Kenyan farmer *

Nicholas Coleridge Sir Nicholas David Coleridge, , DL (born 4 March 1957) is a British former media executive, author, and cultural chair. He is chairman of Historic Royal Palaces (2023–) and Provost of Eton (2024–). He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in th ...

, publisherAndrew Mitchell, ''Beyond a Fringe: Tales from a reformed Establishment lackey'' (London: Biteback Publishing, 2021), p. 5 *

Charlie Cox Charlie Thomas Cox (born 15 December 1982) is an English-American actor. He is best-known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in seven projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, leading the television series '' Daredevil'' (2015–2018) a ...

, actor * James Innes, author *

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

, former

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

Jo Johnson Joseph Edmund Johnson, Baron Johnson of Marylebone, (born 23 December 1971) is a British politician and peer who was Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation ...

, politician *

Rachel Johnson Rachel Sabiha Johnson (born 3 September 1965) is a British journalist, television presenter, and author who has appeared frequently on political discussion panels, including ''The Pledge (British TV programme), The Pledge'' on Sky News and BBC ...

, writer and journalist *

Damian Lewis Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February 1971) is a British actor, musician and producer. He rose to prominence portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries ''Band of Brothers (miniseries), Band of Brothers''. Lewis won a Prime ...

, actor * Nick Macpherson, civil servant *

, politician *

, journalist and author * Joseph Simpson (1909–1968), Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police *

Fischer Watson Rear Admiral Fischer Burges Watson, (3 September 1884 – 14 August 1960) was a Royal Navy officer who served as commander-in-chief of the New Zealand Division. Naval career Born the eldest son of Rear Admiral Burges Watson and Marie Thérès ...

(1884–1960), Royal Navy officer

References

External links

* {{Schools in East Sussex Defunct schools in East Sussex School buildings completed in 1794 Benjamin Henry Latrobe buildings and structures Grade II* listed buildings in East Sussex 1886 establishments in England Grade II* listed houses 2020 disestablishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 2020 Forest Row