Clayesmore School is an independent school for boys and girls, aged 2 – 18 years, in the village of

Iwerne Minster Iwerne Minster ( ) is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It lies on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, approximately midway between the towns of Shaftesbury and Blandford Forum. The A350 main road between those towns passes through the ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

, England. It is both a day and boarding school and is a member of

The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is an association of the head teachers of 361 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools), some traditionally described as public schools. 298 Members are based in the United ...

(HMC). The school was founded by Alexander Devine in 1896 in Enfield,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

. After moving to

Pangbourne, Berkshire Pangbourne is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has its own shops, schools, a railway station on the Great Western main line and a village hall. Outside its grouped developed area is an in ...

and then to

Winchester, Hampshire Winchester is a cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen. It is south-west of Lond ...

it finally moved to Iwerne Minster for the summer term of 1933. In 1974 it was joined on the Iwerne site by Clayesmore Preparatory School, originally Charlton Marshall School, which had been founded in 1929 by R.A.L. Everett. In the following year the school became

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

. As of 2019 there are 430 pupils in the senior school (ages 13–18) and 200 in the prep school (ages 3–13). The current head is Joanne Thomson, and the Prep Head is Jonathon Anderson. The school is situated on a campus, and the facilities include an astro-turf pitch, theatre, sports centre and subject facilities including an art department, science block, business school and design and technology department.

History

For centuries the land on which Clayesmore now stands was held by Shaftesbury Abbey. After the dissolution it passed to the Bower family. Their family home was built in 1796 roughly on the site of the existing main building. In 1876 the last member of the Bower family, Captain T B Bower, sold the village and estate to George Glyn, 2nd Baron Wolverton. The Baron demolished the existing house, laid out the Iwerne estate afresh and commissioned

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known fo ...

to design the present building (now Wolverton, one of the female boarding houses) which was completed in 1878. In 1904 the 4th Baron Wolverton put the whole estate up for sale. This was bought in 1908 by

James Ismay James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

whose father,

Thomas Henry Ismay Thomas Henry Ismay (7 January 1837 – 23 November 1899) was the founder of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, more commonly known as the White Star Line. His son Joseph Bruce Ismay was managing director of the ''White Star Line''; and, in ...

, had founded the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between ...

shipping company. On Ismay's death in January 1930 the estate was put up for sale in a number of separate lots. Clayesmore bought the main manor house and the in which it stands and the school moved in during 1933. In 1974, Clayesmore School was merged with Charlton Marshall School, which later became Clayesmore Prep School. The school became co-educational in 1975.

Heads

* Alexander Devine, 1896–1930 * Aubrey de Sélincourt, 1931–1935 * Evelyn Mansfield King, 1935–1945 * D Peter Burke, 1945–1966 * Roy McIssac, 1966–1979 * Michael Hawkins, 1979–1986 * David Beeby, 1986–2000 * Martin Cooke, 2000–2016 * Joanne Thomson, 2016–present

Houses

The senior school is divided into five boarding houses; three for boys and two for girls. The three boys' houses are: * Devine * Gate * Manor The two girls' houses are: * King's * Wolverton

Notable former pupils

Former pupils include: * Geoffrey Heneage Drummond, VC *

John Brooke-Little John Philip Brooke Brooke-Little (6 April 1927 – 13 February 2006) was an English writer on heraldic subjects, and a long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London. In 1947, while still a student, Brooke-Little founded the Society of ...

CVO CVO may refer to: Science and technology * Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington, US * Chief veterinary officer, the head of a veterinary authority * Circumventricular organs, positioned around the ventricular system of the brain * Co ...

officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state; * to conserve ...

and

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

expert * Robyn Denny, Artist *

Tony Hart Norman Antony Hart (15 October 1925 – 18 January 2009),Debrett's People of Today 2008, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 2007. known professionally as Tony Hart, was an English artist best known for his work in educating children in art through his role ...

, artist and creator of Morph * Mike Scott, television presenter * Anthony Allen, England rugby union player *

Martin Bott Martin Harold Phillips Bott (12 July 1926 – 20 October 2018) was a British geologist and Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Durham, England. Education Bott was educated at Clayesmore School in Dorset an ...

, geologist *

Glynn Edwards John Glynn Edwards (2 February 1931 – 23 May 2018) was a British television and cinema character actor, who came to national prominence for his portrayal of the barman Dave Harris in the 1970s–1990s British television comedy-drama '' Mind ...

, actor *

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

, manager of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

* John Craxton, painter * Nicole Faraday, actress * Johnny Martyn, singer and guitarist *

Stephen Joseph Stephen Joseph (13 June 1921 – 4 October 1967)Colin Chambers (ed.) ''The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre,'' London: Continuum, 2002, p.410 was an English stage director and pioneer of " theatre in the round." Life Stephen ...

, Pioneer of Theatre in the Round * Augustus Casely-Hayford, Art and cultural historian *

John Plamenatz John Petrov Plamenatz (born as Jovan Petrov Plamenac; sr-cyrl, Јован Петров Пламенац; 16 May 1912 – 19 February 1975) was a Montenegrin political philosopher, who spent most of his academic life at the University of Ox ...

, Political Philosopher * Julian Rathbone, Author *

Jeremy Rogers Jeremy Charles Rogers, (16 September 1937 – 12 October 2022) was a British boat builder and sailor, based in Lymington, Hampshire, and the manager of the Jeremy Rogers Limited boatyard. During his 50-year career Rogers was responsible fo ...

MBE, Designer and builder of racing yachts such as

Contessa 26 The Contessa 26 is a 7.77 meter (25.6 ft) fiberglass monohull sailboat, brought about when Jeremy Rogers, with a background in traditional wooden boatbuilding along with one of his Folkboat customers, David Sadler, created a modified ve ...

and Contessa 32 *

George Devine George Alexander Cassady Devine (20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film. Early life and education ...

CBE, Theatre Manager * Nicholas Handy, British Theoretical Chemist *

Marcus Cheke Sir Marcus John Cheke (20 October 1906 – 22 June 1960) was a British diplomat and courtier. Career Marcus Cheke was educated at Clayesmore School and Trinity College, Oxford. In the British general election of 1929 he stood as Liberal cand ...

, British Diplomat * Eric Fernihough, Former holder of the motorcycle world speed record *

Edward Ardizzone Edward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone, (16 October 1900 – 8 November 1979), who sometimes signed his work "DIZ", was an English painter, print-maker and war artist, and the author and illustrator of books, many of them for children. For ''Tim All ...

, CBE RA Artist, writer and illustrator *

Howard Panter Sir Howard Hugh Panter is a British theatre impresario and theatre operator. With his wife Rosemary Squire he ran the Ambassador Theatre Group from about 1995 until 2016; they remain directors and shareholders of the company. When they left t ...

, Theatre impresario, Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) * Hugh Stewart, film editor * Sir Rodney Sweetnam, KCVO CBE

F.R.C.S. Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal C ...

President of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ar ...

1995–98, Orthopaedic Surgeon to HM Queen. * Graham Hayes, MC

Commando 40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations forc ...

* David Walser, Church of England Minister, Archdeacon of Ely *

Lewis McManus Lewis David McManus (born 9 October 1994) is an English first-class cricketer. He is a right-handed wicket-keeper batsmen. McManus is a promising wicketkeeper-batsman from Bournemouth who has come through Hampshire's academy. He was part of th ...

, Cricket Player for Hampshire Cricket and Hampshire Hawks.

References

External links

Independent Schools Council: Clayesmore

Clayesmore School official website

Old Clayesmorian Society official website
{{authority control Independent schools in Dorset Educational institutions established in 1896 History of Berkshire History of Hampshire History of Middlesex 1896 establishments in England