Greenways School, also known as Greenways Preparatory School, was an English
prep school, founded at
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns ...
,
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
, before the Second World War. In 1940 it moved to
Ashton Gifford House
Ashton Gifford House is a Grade II listed country house in the hamlet of Ashton Gifford, part of the civil parish of Codford in the English county of Wiltshire. The house was built during the early 19th century, following the precepts of Georgian ...
,
Codford
Codford is a civil parish south of Salisbury Plain in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England. Its settlements are the adjacent villages of Codford St Peter and Codford St Mary, which lie some southeast of Warminster.
The two villages are on th ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, where it remained until it was closed in 1969.
History
The school was a prep school for boys, preparing them for the
Common Entrance Examination
Common Entrance Examinations (commonly known as CE) are taken by independent school pupils in the UK as part of the selective admissions process at age 13, though ten independent schools do select at 11 using different test papers. They are se ...
. Boys were divided into two
houses
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
, called Greens and Blues.
In 1928, the school was already established at
Aldwick
Aldwick is a seaside civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England, which contains part of the suburbs of Bognor Regis to the East . The parish includes the smaller settlement of Rose Green.
It had, briefly, a home of the constituti ...
,
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
, just to the west of Bognor Regis, under Dugald S. Hancock (1897–1963) and his brother-in-law Anthony Maurice Bell. A modern linguist born in the
Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal.
* South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...
, Hancock had been educated at
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...
, with Bell, and was a
fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of the
Royal Meteorological Society
The Royal Meteorological Society is a long-established institution that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Associate Fellows can be lay enthus ...
.
[Neil A. Flanagan, ed., ''Biographical Register 1880-1974'' (Corpus Christi College, Oxford, 1988), p. 266: "HANCOCK, Dugald Strangman (1919-21) b Cleveland, Transvaal, S Africa ... HdM, Greenways Sch, Aldwich. Mil ser WW1, 1916-19, Lt, E Kent Regt attd RE Signals; France, N Russia (Arkhangelsk). CCC War Decree 1917; Fail short course Russ 1921. Treasurer, OU Russian Club. FRMetS 1931. HdM, Greenways Sch, Aldwich. Mil ser WW2, Capt."] In 1929, the school advertised itself in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' in the following terms:
In 1929, Bell left the school on his conversion to Roman Catholicism. He then became Dom Maurice Bell, a Benedictine monk of
Downside Abbey
Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged eleven to eighteen. Both t ...
and its school Worth Priory, and was headmaster of
Worth Preparatory School from 1940 to 1959.
In the 1930s the school was still operated in Sussex by Dugald and Vivien Hancock (formerly Bell), both schoolteachers, but in 1940 it was evacuated to Wiltshire, because of the risk of
German bombing on the south coast.
With her husband away from home on
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
military service,
Vivien Hancock took on the role of school principal for the duration of the War, and, as matters turned out, beyond. The daughter of an
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
man, she became a friend of the poet
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...
, who lived near Codford, at
Heytesbury
Heytesbury is a village (formerly considered to be a town) and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies on the north bank of the Wylye, about southeast of the town of Warminster.
The civil parish includes most of the small neigh ...
, and whose son
George Sassoon
George Thornycroft Sassoon (30 October 1936 – 8 March 2006) was a British scientist, electronic engineer, linguist, translator and author.
Early life
Sassoon was the only child of the poet Siegfried Sassoon and Hester Sassoon (née Gatty), and ...
was a pupil at the school.
["Passed/Failed: An education in the life of Adrian Mitchell, Shadow Poet Laureate", in '']The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' dated 26 July 2007 At this time many of the boys were the sons of army officers stationed on
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...
or overseas.
For much of the War the artist
Keith Vaughan
John Keith Vaughan (23 August 1912 – 4 November 1977), was a British painter.
Biography
Born at Selsey in West Sussex, Vaughan attended Christ's Hospital school. He worked in an advertising agency until the World War II, when as an intending ...
was stationed at Codford. He painted "The Wall at Ashton Gifford" (1942) "Tree felling at Ashton Gifford" (1942–43), and "The Garden at Ashton Gifford" (1944). He described the school's garden as an "oceanic surging of tangled nettles", with "waist high grass", the wall covered in a "jungle of weed and ivy". For most of the war the future author
Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell FRSL (24 October 1932 – 20 December 2008) was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's Cam ...
was a pupil at Greenways, which he later described as "a school in Heaven". His first play, ''The Animals' Brains Trust'', was performed there in 1941.
![Sherrington Pond - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Sherrington_Pond_-_geograph.org.uk_-_327251.jpg)
When Hancock needed money to buy Ashton Gifford House, Siegfried Sassoon lent her £8,000, and he later waived the agreed interest on the loan. In 1944, Sassoon's wife, Hester Sassoon, accused the two of being too close. She also spread such rumours of Mrs Hancock and a local butcher that the headmistress threatened her with a
defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
action. The Sassoons separated in 1947.
[George Sassoon (obituary)](_blank)
at telegraph.co.uk, accessed 8 September 2013
Vivien married again, becoming Mrs Gibbons
Ferdinand Mount
Sir William Robert Ferdinand Mount, 3rd Baronet, FRSL (born 2 July 1939), is a British writer, novelist, and columnist for ''The Sunday Times'', as well as a political commentator.
Life
Ferdinand Mount, brought up by his parents in the isolate ...
, ''Cold Cream: My early Life and Other Mistakes'' (Bloomsbury, 2008), pp. 145-148 and taking on the title of Principal.
[Greenways School, Ashton Gifford House, Codford](_blank)
at wiltshire.gov.uk, accessed 8 September 2013 A schoolmaster named Bernard Ince MA (Oxon) became head master. Nicknamed "Funf", he has been described as "a disciplinarian with a black moustache and a volcanic temper."
According to an advertisement in the ''Schools Handbook'' of 1947, the school then stood in a park of sixty acres and prepared boys for public schools and the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
.
[''Schools Handbook'' of 1947, extract](_blank)
at wiltshire-opc.org.uk, accessed 2 May 2017 The curriculum is described thus:
The school's classrooms were whitewashed huts standing apart from the main house, and a barn behind them was used as a gymnasium, where the boys were taught to box.
Pupils swam in the mill pond at
Sherrington
Sherrington is a small village and civil parish on the River Wylye in Wiltshire, England.
The part of the Great Ridge Wood known as Snailcreep Hanging lies entirely within Sherrington.
Location
Sherrington is near the larger village of Codfor ...
,
described as "the Bathing Pool", which had a stony bottom but was approached through mud sometimes fouled by the cows that drank from the pool.
In September 1947
Ferdinand Mount
Sir William Robert Ferdinand Mount, 3rd Baronet, FRSL (born 2 July 1939), is a British writer, novelist, and columnist for ''The Sunday Times'', as well as a political commentator.
Life
Ferdinand Mount, brought up by his parents in the isolate ...
arrived at the school as a day boy. He later wrote of it that it had an air of chaos, impermanence, and "something of Llanabbas, the prep school in ''
Decline and Fall
''Decline and Fall'' is a novel by the English author Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1928. It was Waugh's first published novel; an earlier attempt, titled '' The Temple at Thatch'', was destroyed by Waugh while still in manuscript form. '' ...
'', but also something of a gulag in some distant region of the USSR just this side of Siberia."
In 1949 a fire at the school partly destroyed the Victorian service wing of Ashton Gifford House. This was attributed to an electrical fault, but the cause of the fire was disputed.
In 1956 ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' said of Greenways that it was "a Prep School where boys work well because they are treated like human beings and are warm, well fed, and happy." In the 1950s the school had its own nursery department and
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
, and was still preparing older boys for Common Entrance and for entrance to high schools.
The last headmaster was L. Keith Hathaway
FRGS
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
. The school closed in 1969.
Notable former pupils
*
Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell FRSL (24 October 1932 – 20 December 2008) was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's Cam ...
, poet and playwright
*
George Sassoon
George Thornycroft Sassoon (30 October 1936 – 8 March 2006) was a British scientist, electronic engineer, linguist, translator and author.
Early life
Sassoon was the only child of the poet Siegfried Sassoon and Hester Sassoon (née Gatty), and ...
, scientist and author
*
Ferdinand Mount
Sir William Robert Ferdinand Mount, 3rd Baronet, FRSL (born 2 July 1939), is a British writer, novelist, and columnist for ''The Sunday Times'', as well as a political commentator.
Life
Ferdinand Mount, brought up by his parents in the isolate ...
, journalist
Notes
{{Schools in Wiltshire
Boarding schools in Wiltshire
Boys' schools in Wiltshire
Defunct schools in Wiltshire
Educational institutions disestablished in 1969