Great Ealing School was situated on St Mary's Road, Ealing W5 London and was founded in 1698. In its heyday of the 19th century, it was as famous as Eton or Harrow, being considered ''"the best private school in England"''.

History

The school first took up residence in Ealing's Old Rectory. This was a moated house with a magnificent garden which stood next to the church of St Mary where Ranelagh Road now runs and all the way northward, along St Mary's Road to Warwick Road. The school had a swimming pool, cricket greens, tennis courts and the once famous

Fives Fives is an English sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a 3- or 4-sided special court, using a gloved or bare hand as though it were a racquet, similar to ...

courts. A row of five cottages were used as studies. Opposite the school was the parish

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

, where the poor and infirm slept three or more to a bed. The future King of France,

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

, taught mathematics and geography at the school. He did this to support himself whilst living in exile in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

between 1800 and 1815. Ealing and Brentford: Education
A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 162-170. Date accessed: 2008-06-04. Eventually, the Rectory succumbed to

dry rot Dry rot is wood decay caused by one of several species of fungi that digest parts of the wood which give the wood strength and stiffness. It was previously used to describe any decay of cured wood in ships and buildings by a fungus which resul ...

and had to relocate in 1847. It moved from the north side of St. Mary's Church in Ealing on the eastern side of St Mary's Road to the western side of the same road and was renamed ''The Owls'', which then formed part of its crest. In 1874, it became a day school teaching

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious c ...

subjects such as bookkeeping. In 1879, it changed again, becoming a school for Jewish boys. It closed in 1908 and the roads Cairn Avenue and Nicholas Gardens now stand upon the grounds. The latter is named after the famous headmastering family of its greatest period.

Quotes

*"The education was first-rate, particularly in the classics, and as there was no alternative to learn, the boys progressed rapidly, and the school turned out some bright fellows." Benjamin Armstrong, pupil and vicar. * "We had cricket and rounders, and in the winter months football; petty fives against every petty wall; hopping and hopscotch, patball and trapball, prisoner's base (or bars?), tops of several kinds, and multiform games of marbles." Francis William Newman, pupil (1812–1821).

Headmasters

* Rev Dr David Nicholas - 1790s * George Nicholas * Francis Nicholas * Charles Morgan in 1874 * Dr John Chapman from 1881

Notable students

* William John Blew, hymn composer and translator *

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

of Gilbert and Sullivan *

Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...

- scientist *

Frederick Marryat Captain Frederick Marryat (10 July 1792 – 9 August 1848) was a Royal Navy officer, a novelist, and an acquaintance of Charles Dickens. He is noted today as an early pioneer of nautical fiction, particularly for his semi-autobiographical novel ...

- author * St John Henry Newman - Cardinal Newman * Hicks Pasha - soldier * Henry Rawlinson - soldier and adventurer *

Zachary Pearce Zachary Pearce, sometimes known as Zachariah (8 September 1690 – 29 June 1774), was an English Bishop of Bangor and Bishop of Rochester. He was a controversialist and a notable early critical writer defending John Milton, attacking Richard ...

(1690–1774) Bishop of Rochester. * George Augustus Selwyn (1809–1878), First Bishop of New Zealand. * Charles Knight. Publisher

References

{{coord, 51.5064, -0.3072, type:edu_region:GB-EAL, display=title Defunct schools in the London Borough of Ealing Educational institutions established in the 1690s 1698 establishments in England 1908 disestablishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1908 Louis Philippe I