St Elphins School was a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for the daughters of the clergy of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. It was originally based in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. It moved to

Darley Dale Darley Dale, also known simply as Darley, is a town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 5,413. It lies north of Matlock, on the River Derwent and the A6 road. The town forms part o ...

, a rural area near Matlock,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, in 1904, as the Warrington area had changed from open countryside and become highly industrialised. The school was founded in 1844 but had roots back to 1697. The school abruptly closed in March 2005 following financial problems.

History

The school opened on 15 March 1844 in Warrington, dedicated to

Saint Elphin Elphin of Warrington (died 679) was a Christian saint who lived in the North West of England in the 7th century, and is considered the patron saint of the town of Warrington. Life Little is known about his life, but according to tradition he was a ...

who according to tradition founded Warrington's parish church. In 1857 the objectives of the school were: to provide a good education on advantageous terms: (i) to orphan daughters of clergy from the

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

ries of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

; (iii) to the daughters of clergy still working in these Archdeaconries; (iii) to the daughters of clergy from any diocese. The original site in Warrington was in the country. However, by the turn of the 20th century, the area had become industrialised, and the move to the countryside in Darley Dale was made. The building occupied had previously been the Darly Dale Hydro, a

hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and treatment. The term ...

health spa A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health ser ...

. During the period up to 1944, various additional facilities were made to the school and the criteria for pupils were extended to daughters of lay members of the Church of England. In 2003, the school fell into financial difficulties and went into administration with debts of £3 million. A proposal was put forward to develop part of the site for housing and thus raise income to save the school. This was rejected by the local council, and the school closed in 2005.Matlock Mercury 29 January 2004: ''St Elphin's to close?'', accessed 15 April 2013
/ref> In December 2010 a website was published about the school and is regularly updated with photographs, information, magazines and news items. Following the closure of the school, the site was acquired in 2006 and developed into a luxury retirement village, the main building being converted into retirement flats.

Alumni

Ruth Adam Ruth Augusta Adam, née King (14 December 1907 – 3 February 1977), was an English journalist and writer of novels, comics and non-fiction feminist literature. Early life She was born on 14 December 1907 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, daughter of ...

(1907-1977) Feminist writer *

Richmal Crompton Richmal Crompton Lamburn (15 November 1890 – 11 January 1969) was a popular English writer, best known for her ''Just William'' series of books, humorous short stories, and to a lesser extent adult fiction books. Life Richmal Crompton Lambu ...

(1890–1969), English writer of ''

Just William ''Just William'' is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for ...

'' *

Florence Mahoney Florence Mahoney (née Asi Florence Kezia Omolara Peters; born 6 January 1929)David Perfect"Mahoney, Dr (Asi) Florence Kezia Omolara" ''Historical Dictionary of The Gambia'' (Fifth edition), Rowman & Littlefield, 2016, p. 281. is a Gambian Creol ...

(1929-) the first

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

n woman to obtain a PhD * Mabel Joyce Maw - member of

Ferguson's Gang Ferguson's Gang, formed during a picnic at Tothill Fields in London in 1927, was an anonymous and somewhat enigmatic group that raised funds for the National Trust from 1930 to 1947. The members hid their identities behind resplendent masks, punny ...

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Defunct schools in Derbyshire Educational institutions established in 1844 1844 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 2005 2005 disestablishments in England Boarding schools in Derbyshire Defunct boarding schools in England

History

Alumni

See also

References

External links