Temple Grove School buildings - geograph

Temple Grove School was a preparatory school for boys, and after 1984 also for girls, originally at

Parsons Green Parsons Green is a mainly residential district in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The Green itself, which is roughly triangular, is bounded on two of its three sides by the New King's Road section of the King's Road, A308 road ...

, London, later at

East Sheen East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its long high street has shops, offices, restaurants, cafés, pubs and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic hub for Mort ...

, London, still later at

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, and finally at Heron's Ghyll, an estate between

Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology 'Uckfield', first recorded in writing as ...

and

Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

. Founded before 1803 at Parsons Green, where it was known as Elm House, before it gained the name of Temple Grove, a house at East Sheen, the school survived to become one of the oldest preparatory schools in England, but in 2005 it finally closed. In the 19th century the school was also sometimes called by the name of the headmaster of the day, as in Mr Waterfield's, East Sheen, or Mr Edgar's.

History

Surveying plate x theodolite rees cyclopaedia plates vol4 1820

The school was founded before 1803 at Elm House, Parsons Green.Anthony Freeman, Tom Sholl, ''This is the DPB: the history of a Quango, 1948-1998'' (2000), pp. 28–30 In 1810 its headmaster, Dr Pearson, moved it to

, occupying an old house called Sheen Grove, or Temple Grove, so called because it was believed to have been the home of the 17th century diplomat and politician

Sir William Temple Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet (25 April 162827 January 1699) was an English diplomat, statesman and essayist. An important diplomat, he was recalled in 1679, and for a brief period was a leading advisor to Charles II, with whom he then fell ...

when he lived at Sheen with

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...

as his secretary. The school remained there for almost a hundred years.Charles Marshall Rose, ''Nineteenth Century Mortlake and East Sheen: a factual history'' (Privately printed, 1961), p. 55 During the 19th century it rose to become one of the "Famous Five" of English prep schools, defined by one writer as "schools to which a duke would be pleased to send his sons". Despite that, it was primitive and gave boys a Spartan upbringing; it was reported that in winter "In the dormitories, snow piled frequently upon the blankets and ice formed on the water jugs". In 1907, the school moved from East Sheen to the New College buildings at Eastbourne, at a time when East Sheen had changed its character, having been engulfed by the London suburbs. By the 1930s the new Eastbourne site was proving expensive to maintain, so a search was begun for a new site, and dozens of possibilities were explored. In September 1935, Temple Grove moved again to Heron's Ghyll, a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

with thirty acres of land near Uckfield. In 1957, with the departure of a headmaster, Meston Batchelor, the school was formed into a charitable trust. Since it closed in 2005, its name has been continued by the trust, which supports education in the locality, notably sponsoring the Temple Grove Academy in nearby

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

. The school's own former premises were sold to Stonehurst Estates, which converted the main house into flats.

Headmasters

*1810–1817: Rev. Dr William Pearson (also an astronomer)Andrew Nicholson, ed., ''The letters of John Murray to Lord Byron'' (2007), p. 290 *1817–1835: Rev. Dr J. H. Pinckney''History of the Royal Astronomical Society 1820–1920'', pp. 24–26 *1835–1843: J. Thompson *1845–1863: Rev. Dr George Croke Rowden (also a composer) *1863–1880: Ottiwell Waterfield *1880–1893: Rev. J. H. Edgar''The Home Counties Magazine: Devoted to the Topography of London, Middlesex, Essex, Herts, Bucks, Berks, Surrey, Kent and Sussex'', Volume 9 (1907), p. 140 *1894–1902: Rev. H. B. Allen *1902–1934: Rev. H. W. WaterfieldVyvyen Brendon, ''Prep School Children: a class apart over two centuries'' (2009), pp. 99–100 *1934–1957: Meston Batchelor * Oliver Lough * Rev Tim Sterry *1980-1991: S. B. Beresford-Davies *1991-1992: Simon Amos Blackmore *1992-2001 Jenny Lee

Notable pupils

:''See also :People educated at Temple Grove School'' The old boys of Temple Grove include: * Alfred Dyke Acland, soldier *

Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared ...

, Royal Air Force officer *

Robert Hamilton, 12th Lord Belhaven and Stenton Robert Alexander Benjamin Hamilton, 12th Lord Belhaven and Stenton (16 September 1903 – 10 July 1961), was a Scottish soldier, colonial administrator, author, and peer. He was a Fellow of both the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Austra ...

, colonial administrator and author *

A. C. Benson Arthur Christopher Benson, (24 April 1862 – 17 June 1925) was an English essayist, poet and academic, and the 28th Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. He wrote the lyrics of Edward Elgar’s '' Coronation Ode'', including the words of th ...

, author and academic *

E. F. Benson Edward Frederic Benson (24 July 1867 – 29 February 1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist and short story writer. Early life E.F. Benson was born at Wellington College (Berkshire), Wellington College in Berkshir ...

, author * Villiers Richard Bootle-Wilbraham (1867–1913), 2nd son of

Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl of Lathom Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl of Lathom (12 December 1837 – 19 November 1898), known as The Lord Skelmersdale between 1853 and 1880, was a British Conservative politician. He was a member of every Conservative administration between 1866 ...

James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), also known as Lord Dalhousie, styled Lord Ramsay until 1838 and known as The Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman and co ...

, Governor-General of IndiaHistory page
PDF) at templegrove.org.uk, accessed 26 August 2014 * Sir Alan Gardiner, Egyptologist *

Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British Liberal statesman and the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the First World War. An adher ...

, British Foreign Secretary*

Pen Hadow Rupert Nigel Pendrill Hadow known as Pen Hadow (British, born 26 February 1962), is an Arctic region explorer, advocate, adventurer and guide. He is the only person to have trekked solo, and without resupply by third parties, from Canada to the ...

, explorer *

Cuthbert Heath Cuthbert Eden Heath OBE, DL (23 March 1859 – 8 March 1939) was a British insurance businessman, underwriter, broker, and syndicate owner at Lloyd's of London from 1880 until 1939. A relentless innovator and novel risk-taker, he has been call ...

, insurance pioneer *

Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2022. He previously served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport ...

, MP *

M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, Medieval studies, medievalist scholar and provost (education), provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was List of ...

, author and academic *

Brian Johnston Brian Alexander Johnston (24 June 1912 – 5 January 1994), nicknamed Johnners, was a British cricket commentator, author, and television presenter. He was most prominently associated with the BBC during a career which lasted from 1946 until h ...

, BBC cricket broadcaster *

John Murray III John Murray III (1808–1892) was a British publisher, third of the name at the John Murray company founded in London in 1777. Life The eldest son of John Murray II (1778–1843) by Anne Elliott, daughter of Charles Elliot, the Edinburgh publis ...

, publisher *

William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, politician and colonial administrator *

Francis Pryor Francis Manning Marlborough Pryor (born 13 January 1945) is an English archaeologist specialising in the study of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Britain. He is best known for his discovery and excavation of Flag Fen, a Bronze Age archaeological s ...

, archaeologist and landscape historian *

Douglas Sladen Douglas Brooke Wheelton Sladen (5 February 1856, London-12 February 1947, Hove) was an English author and academic. Life Educated at Temple Grove School, East Sheen, Cheltenham College, and Trinity College, Oxford, in 1879 Sladen migrated to Aus ...

, author and academic''Current Opinion'', vol. 6 (1891), p. 23 *

Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more w ...

Literature

identified Temple Grove School as the setting for his short ghost story "

A School Story "A School Story" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his collection ''More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary ''More Ghost Stories'' is a horror short story collection by British writer M. R. James, published in 1911. Some ...

" published in ''

More Ghost Stories ''More Ghost Stories'' is a horror short story collection by British writer M. R. James, published in 1911. Some later editions under the title ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' contain it and the earlier ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' in one ...

''.

References

External links

The History of Temple Grove School
dfNo author given. Written by Gervase Morley
History of Temple Grove School
(archived, 1 February 2014 from Temple Grove Schools Trust website) {{authority control Boys' schools in East Sussex Boys' schools in Surrey Boarding schools in East Sussex Boarding schools in Surrey Defunct schools in East Sussex Defunct schools in Surrey Educational institutions established in 1810 Educational institutions disestablished in 2005 Preparatory schools in East Sussex Preparatory schools in Surrey Defunct boarding schools in England Buxted