Leeson House Langton Matravers near Swanage Dorset - geograph

Leeson House is a field studies centre in the village of Langton Matravers in the heart of the

Isle of Purbeck The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the no ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The Isle of Purbeck forms part of the

Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-Decembe ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, designated in 2001. Run as a day and residential centre by

Dorset County Council Dorset County Council (DCC) was the county council for the county of Dorset in England. It provided the upper tier of local government, below which were district councils, and town and parish councils. The county council had 46 elected council ...

Outdoor Education Service it has been providing environmental education since 1966.

History

There has probably been a dwelling of some sort on or near the site of the present house since Saxon times. The site was recorded in the ''

Domesday book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

'' as 'Lestington', meaning "the farm of the followers of Lest". In 1805 Reverend John Dampier knocked down most of the farmhouse and built a new home, calling it Leeson house. He later sold it to the wealthy Garland family from Poole to use as a second home. In 1903, it was sold again and became a boarding school for girls. In 1940, the girls were sent home during

World War II 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 opposing ...

. The house was taken over by the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

and was used for top secret

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

research. From Leeson they completed the world's first successful tracking of a submarine, in Swanage Bay. Due to concerns about the safety of the project it was moved inland after only 18 months. Several

air raid shelters Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...

still exist on site. There is a project to convert a bomb shelter to attract the

Greater Horseshoe Bat The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an insectivorous bat of the genus '' Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats in Europe an ...

to roost. After the war it became a boy's boarding pre-prep school which closed in 1966. In 1967 Leeson House was officially opened as a Field Studies Centre.

Facilities

The main house is Grade II listed and dates back to the early 19th century. It provides accommodation for up to 60 students plus staff, two dining rooms, two lounges, games/conference hall, changing room/drying room and a separate teaching block with fully equipped field laboratory, a library and two classrooms. The centre has seven acres of private grounds that contain a wide variety of habitats including three ponds, meadows and woodland areas. There is also a bird hide, games field and a small campsite.

Deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

and

badgers Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by the ...

are frequent visitors to the grounds and a healthy population of

newts A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

reside in the ponds.

Activities

Leeson House runs field study and outdoor education courses for pupils between reception to A level, offering activities tailored for each school.Leeson House Field Studies Centre
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References

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External links

Leeson House

Jurassic Coast
1966 establishments in the United Kingdom Education in Dorset Country houses in Dorset Isle of Purbeck Field studies centres in the United Kingdom