Westbrook Hay School is a culturally significant

great house A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or ...

located in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new ...

, Hertfordshire,

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 ...

, that has housed the independent Westbrook Hay Prep School since

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

Listed building

Westbrook Hay was built in the

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural moveme ...

and remained in the ownership of the Ryder family ( Richard Ryder, then Granville Ryder and then Dudley Ryder) until the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, after which it became the headquarters of the

New Town

Development Corporation Development corporations or development firms are organizations established by governments in several countries for the purpose of urban development. They often are responsible for the development of new suburban areas or the redevelopment of exi ...

. A Grade II listed building on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

, Westbrook Hay School is in a rural location on 26 acres of parkland overlooking the Bourne valley, off the A41 between

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

and

in Hertfordshire. During the

1950s The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the "Fifties" or the " '50s") (among other variants) was a decade that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959. Throughout the decade, the world continued its re ...

, the drive became the Westbrook Hay Hill Climb. The building began housing a school in

, and it was listed on the National Heritage List in 1966 as "Westbrook Hay School".

Prep school

Westbrook Hay Prep School is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

independent school for children from rising 3-13 years. Augustus Orlebar, a former housemaster at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, an ...

, established the school in

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies fo ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

as a boarding school for boys. It moved to Hinwick House near

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

shortly thereafter, when it was named "Hinwick House School", and then to Gadebridge House in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

. The school remained there until the

Commission for New Towns English Partnerships (EP) was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by regional development agencies on a regional level. On 1 December 2008 its powers passed to a successor ...

forced it out of those premises as part of the development of the new town in

. That year the school moved to Westbrook Hay and took its present name.

Alumni

* Deji Olatunji - English entertainer *

Alex Hales Alexander Daniel Hales (born 3 January 1989) is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed opening batter who currently plays for Nottinghamshire and the England cricket team in white ball, limited overs formats. He made his One Day Internatio ...

- English cricketer *

Raef Bjayou Raef is a male given name. Arabic Raif, Raaif or Raef (Arabic: رَائِف ''rā’if'') is an Arabic male given name meaning "kind, compassionate, affectionate, benign" or "sympathetic, merciful". The name comes from the Arabic verb ''ra’afa ...

- British entrepreneur and television presenter *

Luke O'Nien Luke Terry O'Nien (born 21 November 1994) is an English professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder or a defender for EFL Championship club Sunderland. Career Watford O'Nien joined Watford as an Under-9. Having signed his fir ...

- English professional footballer

Reference

External links

The Orange Walk - Woods & Meadows of Westbrook Hay
{{authority control 17th-century establishments in England Bovingdon Educational institutions established in 1892 Independent schools in Hertfordshire National Heritage List for England