Ashville College - Yew Tree Lane - geograph

Cricket Pitches - Ashville College, Yew Tree Lane - geograph

Ashville College is a co-educational

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

for both day and boarding pupils aged 2–18 in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

, England. It was founded in 1877 as a boarding school for boys by the United Methodist Free Churches. It incorporated

Elmfield College Elmfield College, York (1864–1932), originally called Connexional College or Jubilee College (or School) in honour of the Primitive Methodist Silver Jubilee in 1860, was a Primitive Methodist college on the outskirts of Heworth, York, Engla ...

Heworth, York Heworth is part of the city of York in North Yorkshire, England, about north-east of the centre. No longer in general referred to as a village, "Heworth Village" is now the name of a specific road. The name "Heworth" is Anglo-Saxon and means a ...

and New College, Harrogate in the 1930s. The school maintains a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

ethos but is open to non-Methodists and to those of non-Christian religions. The college accepted girls in 1982 and is fully co-educational. It thrives as the oldest independent school in Harrogate and owns an estate of on the south side of the spa town.

History

In 1875 the United Methodist Free Churches Assembly agreed to establish a college that promoted a sound and advanced education. A set of six committee members were appointed to search for suitable premises and thereafter became the founding fathers of the school: Alderman R. Ellis, Rev. E. Boaden, Rev. R. Chew, Rev. J. Garside, W. H. C. Hardy and Rev. K. Kirksop. Ald. Ellis found a small private school and estate called Ashville on the outskirts of

and purchased it for £5,800. Dr William Richardson was appointed as headmaster and the school opened on 17 July 1877 with 30 pupils and two masters, with school fees being £25 per annum. In 1889 the school underwent a period of expansion which began with the opening of the East Wing in order to house more boys. By 1902 the school site included a cricket pavilion, tennis courts and a gymnasium. The school's clock tower was built in 1911. In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, 300 of the school's pupils were called up and 38 died in the conflict, including 8 who died in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place be ...

. In 1921 a cenotaph was built, funded by the Old Boys' Association. In the 1920s and 1930s the school underwent further expansion to include the Memorial Hall, Library, Music Rooms and an open-air swimming pool. In 1929 Ashville purchased New College, Harrogate for £40,000 which included of land. In 1932 the school merged with

bringing its student population to 280 boys and making Ashville the largest private school in the north of England. At the outbreak of

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Ashville was requisitioned to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

and the school was evacuated to The Hydro Hotel in

Bowness-on-Windermere Bowness-on-Windermere is a town in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies next to Windermere lake and the town of Windermere to the north east with which it forms the civil parish of Windermere and Bowness. The town was hist ...

. During the war 465 of the school's pupils volunteered for the forces, 59 were killed and 90 decorations were awarded to Old Ashvillians. The school did not return to its original site in Harrogate until 1946. In 1982 girls were admitted to the school for the first time, initially only as day pupils until 1989 when the girls' boarding house was opened. In December 2018 Ashville College was accredited by the

New England Association of Schools and Colleges The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) is a United States' regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation. NEASC serves over 1500 public, independent schools, and technical/career institutions ...

(NEASC). Few schools in the United Kingdom hold this status.

Houses

All pupils are part of a competitive house, which they remain in throughout their time at Ashville, these are: * Ellis (Green) * Riverdale (Red) * Duckworth (Yellow) * Windermere (Blue)

Boarding

Ashville College offers boarding for pupils in Years 3 (aged 7) and above. Pupils live in four boarding houses: * Greenholme House (junior boys and girls) * Briggs House (senior boys), * Mallinson House (senior boys) * Norfolk House (senior girls) Boarding houses are managed by housemasters or housemistresses who are assisted by a team of residential tutors and matrons.

Current head

Mrs Rhiannon Wilkinson took over from Elspeth Fisher as head in September 2021. Elspeth Fisher had been the deputy headteacher (with specific responsibility for pastoral care) since September 2005. Mr Ian Kendrick held the specific responsibility for the academic side of the school at the time.

Headteachers

*Dr William Richardson BA LLD (1877–1889) *Dr John Bowick BA LLD (1890–1905) *Rev. Alfred Soothill (1905–1926) *Joseph T. Lancaster MA MLitt (1927–1957) *G. Ronald Southam (1957–1977) *David Norfolk MA (Oxon) (1977–1987) *Michael Crosby (1987–2003) *Andrew Fleck (2003–2010) *Mark Lauder (2010–2017) *Richard Marshall (2017–2020, died 2020) *Elspeth Fisher (the 2020–2021 academic year only, owing to Richard Marshall's deteriorating health) *Rhiannon Wilkinson (2021–)

Notable Old Ashvillians

Arthur Balfour, 1st Baron Riverdale Arthur Balfour, 1st Baron Riverdale (9 January 1873 – 7 July 1957), known as Sir Arthur Balfour from 1923 to 1929 and Sir Arthur Balfour, 1st Baronet, from 1929 to 1935, was a British steel manufacturer. Balfour was the son of Herbert Balfou ...

(1873–1957), industrialist * Jim Carter (born 1948), actor, Mr Carson in ''

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'' *

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(born 1962), former CEO, Network Rail *

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Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominated film director, producer and writer * Sir Stephen Furness, 1st Baronet (1872–1914), shipping magnate and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP * Andy Gray (born 1977), footballer * Chris Salkeld (born 1991), racing driver * John Grieve, CBE, QPM, (born 1946), police officer and university professor * Simon Heywood (born 1959), actor (''

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'' etc.) but most notably as teacher, Mr Smart in 1980s ''

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'' * Henry Iles (1871–1951), entertainment entrepreneur * Harold McIlvenny (1922–2009), footballer *Sir Stuart Sidney Mallinson, CBE, DSO, MC, DL, JP (1888–1981) *

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film ''Tom Jones''. Early ...

(1928–1991),

winning film and theatre director *

Granville Sharp Granville Sharp (10 November 1735 – 6 July 1813) was one of the first British campaigners for the abolition of the slave trade. He also involved himself in trying to correct other social injustices. Sharp formulated the plan to settle black ...

(1906–1997), Labour MP *Jay Smith, pub landlord, television personality * Colonel Sir Malcolm Stoddart-Scott (1901–1973),

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MP *

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(born 1971), Conservative MP * Ian Swales (born 1953),

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

MP *Canon Dr Howard Tomlinson BA, PhD, FRHistS, former headmaster of Hereford Cathedral School and historical author * Blanc Wan, pianist and writer *

Eugen Weber Eugen Joseph Weber (April 24, 1925 – May 17, 2007) was a Romanian-born American historian with a special focus on Western world, Western civilization. Weber became a historian because of his interest in politics, an interest dating back to a ...

(1925–2007), historian * Peter Whitehead (1937–2019), writer and filmmaker

References

Bibliography

* Booth, William (1990) ''A History of Ashville and The Ashvillian Society''. Harrogate: The Ashvillian Society, to mark their centenary (1890–1990).

External links

Official school websiteProfile
on the

ISC #REDIRECT ISC {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...

website {{Authority control Independent schools in North Yorkshire Boarding schools in North Yorkshire Methodist schools in England Schools in Harrogate Educational institutions established in 1877 Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference 1877 establishments in England