A collection of documents, mostly photographs, of Buchanans house, formerly Orchard Close from the 1980s and 1990s.
Orchard Close had been built in 1929 by W.L. Sargant as a private residence along the cricket fields when he retired. Later, in July 1975 the Trustees acquired the house from the school doctor, Dr T.D. Brentnall. In early October 1975, Orchard Close had become a girls’ boarding house. The house was later modernised to accommodate Sixth and Seventh Form girls. It was renamed Buchanans House in Summer 1977, following the retirement of Headmaster J.D. Buchanan. Work was completed on Buchanans house in 1982. The extension was ready for occupation in January 1983 and was officially opened on 23 February by former Headmaster John Buchanan.

This series is related to the buildings on the School campus and documents their history. Most of the collection is made of photographs and artwork, as well as architectural plans. Each sub-series focusses on a different building.

A collection of documents, including photographs and art works, of Chapmans, formerly Junior House, built in 1910. The Georgian-style house stood on a ground of one-and-a-half acres. It consisted of dormitories and classrooms facing south which were “well-lighted and ventilated”. The Junior House had been built initially in order to provide a well-equipped Junior Department for a limited number of boarders. In 1936, a new wing was added to the house, comprising a large dining hall, a leisure room, and a new sick room. Rooms were also designed for a House Tutor. The original house was improved, especially the kitchens where “all wash-basins were fitted with hot and cold water, and baths and lavatories were added”.
In September 1960, the Junior House was set to become a Senior House and was renamed Chapmans, after Frank Emerson Chapman, first Housemaster of the Junior House. In 1961, a wide new wing was built on what was the playground. The boys could now enjoy the comfort of new changing rooms, a common room and studies. Above, a dormitory accommodation and rooms for the House Tutor were also added. The old dining room was expanded into a former common room.

A collection of documents, mainly photographs, of Deanscroft house.
Deanscroft in the 19th century was a Jacobethan hunting lodge. In 1946, the Headmaster, G. Talbot Griffiths, brought the property and aimed at converting it into a boarding house. The boys’ boarding house opened in 1948, providing accommodation to thirty-seven boys on the first term. In 1959, the kitchen garden to the east of the Laboratories was transformed into lawns, grassy plots and flower beds. The house was enlarged in 1960 and the buildings by the Headmaster’s garage were annexed as studies. IN the 1960s, the boiler house was enlarged to house two large oil-fired boilers which provided Deanscroft and Wharflands with all the hot water they need and supplied central heating to both houses and all the adjoining classrooms and laboratories. In 1963, a new study block was built near the present Biology Laboratories.
In 1978, Deanscroft was refurbished and the Headmaster and his family were now occupying one part of the house. Further enhancements were made to Deanscroft in 1981, especially to the changing rooms and the ground floor accommodation. A new wing was added in 1983, with bedsits for the boys and a Tutor’s room, as well as study bedrooms for thirty-six boys in the Fifth and Sixth Forms. On Deasncroft lawn, a new fence was put up between the Headmaster’s garden and the boys’ tennis court in 1985 and Deanscroft Cottage was dismantled in summer before work began in October on the new Dining Hall. The Nursery School and Beach studies were also demolished. Finally in 1989, the Beach was paved and in the centre would be a Japanese gardens with herons in the pond. Deanscroft boarding house was closed on Speech Day 1989, prior to its conversion into Stevens, a boarding house for girls.

A collection of documents, mostly photographs, of the boarding house Haywoods on Kilburn Road, next to Chapmans. This new house was named after Colonel Tom Haywood, former Trustee. The boys previously in residence in Deanscroft moved into their new house in September 1989.

A collection of documents, mainly photographs, of Jerwoods, the Lower School Campus. In 1962 the School purchased the old vicarage on Burley Road, named Peterborough House. In 1967, the Junior boys moved into their new boarding house. In 1974, new houses were erected around Peterborough House. The duo-decagonal Lincoln House for boarding girls was designed by Tom E. Wilson and built by George Duxbury and Sons, the architect and contractors of Round House. Behind it was built the Coleman Building, named after Leslie Coleman, into which Sargants (Day boys) and Ancaster (Day girls) moved in 1975. On 14 May 1974, John Jerwood unveiled the foundation stone and the Junior School was officially opened on 23 November. The houses comprised small dormitories with bunk beds, common rooms, a junior library and playing areas. The Coleman Building was linked to Lincoln House and Peterborough House.

8 photographs of the opening of the Haywood Building

This file contains various photographs of College House throughout the years.

A collection of documents relating to Round House, the first purpose-built girls’ boarding house, built in 1972 on what was School House tennis court. The Architect, Tom E. Wilson, designed a building in the shape of a Dovecote, or a Birdcage. The builders were George Duxbury (OO, '34) and Sons. The new house contained thirty bed-sitters on three floors, built around a central spiral stairway. A common room linked the new building with the War Memorial Library. At the back of the Library were built a small flat and domestic offices. Sixty girls moved in from the beginning of the 1972 Winter term and the boarding house was officially opened on 28 October 1972 by Mrs Haywood.

A report on the development of Round House including architectural plans, notes, photographs and models.