Parsons Mead School was a private girls school founded by Jessie Elliston in

Ashtead Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Primarily a commuter settlement, Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on ...

, Surrey, England, which existed from 1897 to 2006.

Founder

Jessie Elliston (1858–1942) was born in

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. Histor ...

, Shropshire. The family moved to Leighton Buzzard in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, where she grew up. After her mother died and her father remarried, Elliston decided she would have to make her own way in life. She became a governess and worked for many wealthy families, including the Bonham Carters, teaching the children until they were ready for boarding school. She finally moved to

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leathe ...

Vicarage, where she came on the recommendation of Mrs. Bonham Carter who was related to Mrs. Utterton. When the Utterton children no longer needed a governess, it was Canon Utterton who suggested a change of course by starting her own school. By this date, Elliston was in her late 30s, with little money, and battling against deafness; but did have her years of experience teaching children.

History

The school was established in

in 1897 to prepare the daughters of gentlemen for home life. Elliston began the venture with an aunt, Eleanora Elliston, one of her father's sisters, but the partnership was not a success: Eleanora left one night, having taken all the capital, about £200, out of the bank, leaving Jessie penniless. Parents and friends came to the rescue with some financial support. In 1901, Elliston moved the school to larger premises in a house called Claverton, which was by the cricket field on Woodfield Lane, Ashtead. (Retirement flats now occupy the site, but the estate retains the name Claverton.) By 1904, the school needed to move again, and Elliston rented Parsons Mead, Ottways Lane, a large house built in the 1860s. The name reflects the location's history as a meadow owned by the local clergy. As the school grew, the 1860s house was extended and new buildings added. The curriculum expanded from domestic and art courses to a full range of subjects including science and maths. In 1957, the school ceased to be privately owned and was made an educational trust.

Crisis and closure

In July 2005, all but two members of the Parson's Mead Educational Trust resigned and were replaced by directors of the Vernon Educational Trust (operators of

Danes Hill School Oxshott is a suburban village in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England. Oxshott includes hilly acidic heath which is partly wooded (see Esher Commons and Prince's Coverts) and occupies the land between the large towns of Esher and Leatherh ...

in Oxshott), a change that was later said to be part of a rescue plan, with the alternative being to sell the school to a private firm. The rescue plan was not successful and Parsons Mead closed on 7 July 2006, a month after the announcement of its closure. The school's new trustees said they were unable to keep Parsons Mead going after the number of pupils fell below the break-even point. Parents asked the Charity Commission to begin an inquiry in June 2006, accusing the trust of running down Parsons Mead so that its assets could be used for another school. The accusation was denied by a spokesperson for the Parsons Mead Educational Trust. The Charity Commission issued a response on 17 November 2006, stating "There do not appear to be any issues that merit the opening of an Inquiry or further investigation". The Chairwoman of Parsons Mead Trust was former Conservative education minister Dame

Angela Rumbold Dame Angela Claire Rosemary Rumbold (née Jones; 11 August 1932 – 19 June 2010) was a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament from a 1982 by-election until the 1997 general election. Education She was educ ...

, who said that the remaining assets would be put in a trust to provide financial help to local families seeking independent education for their children. The Vernon Educational Trust and the Parsons Mead Educational Trust were formally merged in August 2006. The Vernon Educational Trust therefore took ownership of the Parson's Mead School site, along with £2.2 million in liabilities. The Vernon Educational Trust sold the site to Oracle Homes Residential Ltd in August 2007 for £16 million under section 36 of the Charities Act. There was press speculation over whether Danes Hill School would benefit from the sale. Demolition of Parsons Mead School commenced in September 2009, the site having been sold on from Oracle Homes to Bewley Homes.

Notable former pupils

Teresa Banham Teresa Banham, also known and credited as Theresa Banham (born 1964) is a British television and theatre actress perhaps best known for playing the role of the Broadfell Prison Governor in the first part of the '' Doctor Who'' Christmas special, ...

, actress * Stella Cunliffe, first female President of the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

(1975–7) *

Joan Hassall Joan Hassall (3 March 1906 – 6 March 1988) was a wood engraver and book illustrator. Her subject matter ranged from natural history through poetry to illustrations for English literary classics. In 1972 she was elected the first woman Mas ...

, artist * Lucy Schwob ( Claude Cahun), surrealist photographer and writer * Helen Woods ( Anna Kavan), writer

References

External links