The Royal Naval School was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

that was established in

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, in 1833 and then formally constituted by the Royal Naval College Act 1840. It was a

charitable The practice of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion. Etymology The word ''charity'' ori ...

institution, established as a boarding school for the sons of officers in 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 ...

and

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. Many of its pupils achieved prominence in military and diplomatic service. The school closed in 1910.

History

A purpose-built school building was designed by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

John Shaw Jr John Shaw Jr. (1803–1870) was an English architect of the 19th century who was complimented as a designer in the "Manner of Wren". He designed buildings in the classical Jacobean fashion and designed some of London's first semi-detache ...

, and opened in about 1844 at

New Cross New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich, ...

in south-east London (close to

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

and

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, both areas with strong naval connections). However, the school soon outgrew this building and relocated to

Mottingham Mottingham is a district of south-east London, England, which straddles the border of both the London Borough of Bromley and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located south of Eltham, southeast of Charing Cross. It is within the historic ...

in 1889. (The building remained in educational use, being sold to the

Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company and formally titled The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London, is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of Londo ...

for £25,000, and being re-opened by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

in July 1891 as the "Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute" – more commonly known simply as the "Goldsmiths' Institute". In 1904, it became the main building of

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

.) The Royal Naval School remained at Mottingham (in a building today occupied by

Eltham College Eltham College is an independent day school situated in Mottingham, southeast London. Eltham and Mottingham once formed part of the same parish, hence its name. It is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Early his ...

) until it closed in 1910.

Author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler (9 April 1860 – 22 June 1929) was an English author of popular romances, and a poet and children's writer. She was a keen Methodism, Methodist. Family and status The elder daughter of Henry Hartley Fowler, 1st Viscoun ...

was wife to one of the teachers at the Royal Naval School before it closed.

Royal Naval School for girls

At the same time as the boys' school was founded, in 1840, ''The Royal Female School for the Daughters of Naval and Marine Officers'' was founded 'in a candle-lit, rented house on

Richmond Green Richmond Green is a recreation area near the centre of Richmond, a town of about 20,000 inhabitants situated in south-west London. Owned by the Crown Estate, it is leased to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The Green, which has been ...

' which later changed its name to ''The Royal Naval School'' or ''RNS'' - as it is still known today by its old girls. ''RNS'' was due to the inspiration of Admiral Sir Thomas Williams, a

officer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, who had served with distinction in numerous theatres during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

and

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. As stated on the dust jacket of the history of the school published in 1975, Williams

... realised that after the Napoleonic Wars there were hundreds of impecunious ex-Naval officers acutely in need of an economical means to educate their daughters to earn a living; entirely by the efforts of an influential group of distinguished Officers the necessary funds ware raised, the School established and Royal Patronage obtained... from Richmond, it moved on to the fine Kilmorey mansion beside the Thames, at St. Margaret's, where it grew and flourished until the building was destroyed by bombs in 1940. Difficult wartime moves first to Fernhurst and later to Stoatley Hall were a triumph for the headmistress, Miss Oakley-Hill, and paved the way for further expansion. P. Unwin, ''The Royal Naval School, 1840-1975'' (Haslemere: The School, 1976)

In 1995, The Royal Naval School for girls at

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

was amalgamated with ''

The Grove School The Grove School is a Montessori-based public charter school located in Redlands, California, United States. The school serves grades 7–12 on two campuses. Based on Montessori theory and practice, the Grove School accepts children from fami ...

'' founded in 1864 to form ''

The Royal School, Haslemere The Royal School Haslemere is an independent day and boarding school. It was established in 1995. The school is on two sites in Haslemere and Hindhead in Surrey, England. It has a Christian foundation and accepts pupils from six weeks to 18 ...

''.

Notable former pupils

*Major General Sir William Bridges (1861–1915) *

Robert Bruce Burnside Robert Bruce Burnside (22 April 1862 – 8 August 1929) was an Australian barrister and judge. He served on the Supreme Court of Western Australia from December 1902 until his death. Burnside was born in Nassau, Bahamas, to Mary Elizabeth (née ...

(1862–1929) was an Australian barrister and judge *General

Richard John Meade General Sir Richard John Meade (25 September 1821 – 20 March 1894) was a British Indian Army officer who served as the Chief Commissioner of Mysore from 1870 to 1881. Military career Meade was born at Innishannon County Cork to Captain John ...

(1821–1894) * Sir Charles Mitchell (1836–1899), governor of

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

and the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

*Admiral Sir George Nares (1831–1915)

officer and

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

*Admiral Stuart Nicholson (1865–1936) *Admiral

Bedford Pim Bedford Clapperton Trevelyan Pim (12 June 1826 – 30 September 1886) was a Royal Navy officer, Arctic explorer, barrister, and author. He was the first man who travelled from a ship on the eastern side of the Northwest Passage to one on t ...

(1826–1886) * Sir James Harris (1831–1904), artist, British Consul in Nice and Monaco *

Kivas Tully Kivas Tully, ISO (1820 – 24 April 1905) was an Irish-Canadian architect. Life Born in Garryvacum in County Laois, Ireland, Kivas Tully was the son of John P. Tully, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and Alicia Willington. He trained as an archi ...

(1820–1905), architect * William Hoste Webb (1820–1890), politician in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Other schools with the same name

There are other schools by this name including

Royal Naval School Tal-Handaq The Royal Naval School Tal Handaq was a school for children of personnel of the British Armed Forces posted to Malta between January 1947 and July 1978. Formerly known as the Naval Children's School and HM Dockyard Children's School, it had occu ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and the Royal Naval School in

Colombo, Sri Lanka Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo met ...

, then named

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, which became the

Overseas School of Colombo The Overseas School of Colombo is a multinational English medium international school located in Pelawatte near Battaramulla, a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The school offers IB programs from Pre-K through to 12th grade in Sri Lanka. OSC is ''acc ...

in 1957.Fifty years of international education
/ref>

References

{{Coord, 51.4380, 0.0386, type:edu_region:GB-BRY, display=title Boarding schools in London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lewisham Goldsmiths, University of London Educational institutions established in 1833 1910 disestablishments in England Defunct schools in the London Borough of Southwark 1833 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1910 Camberwell