Beaumont College
Encyclopedia
Beaumont College was a Jesuit public school in Old Windsor, Berkshire, England
. In 1967 the school closed. The property became a conference centre, and from 2008 an hotel.
to Windsor
, near Runnymede
. It was originally known as Remenham, after Hugo de Remenham, who held the land at the end of the 14th century. The estate was then owned for a period by the Tyle family, and subsequently by John Morley, Francis Kibblewhite, William Christmas and Henry Frederick Thynne (clerk to the Privy Council under Charles II) in the 17th century.
In 1714 Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth
, inherited. In the mid-eighteenth century it was acquired by Sophia, Duchess of Kent
. In 1751 the Duke of Roxburghe purchased the land for his eldest son, the Marquis of Beaumont (then a boy at Eton College
), and renamed it Beaumont. In 1786 Warren Hastings
, the first Governor-General of India, acquired Beaumont Lodge at the cost of £12,000. He lived at Beaumont for three years. In 1789 the estate was sold to Henry Griffith, an Anglo-Indian, who had Henry Emlyn
rebuild the house in 1790 as a nine-bay mansion with a substantial portico.
. After his death in 1847, his widow continued to reside there until 1854, when she sold it to the Society of Jesus
as a training college.
For seven years it housed Jesuit novices of the (then) English province and on 10 October 1861 became a Catholic boarding school for boys, with the title of St. Stanislaus College, Beaumont, the dedication being to St. Stanislaus Kostka
.
The 1901 census shows a John Lynch S.J. as headmaster. Resident at the date of the census were one other priest, three "clerks in minor orders" and a lay brother, 8 servants and 23 schoolboys including one American, one Canadian, one Mexican and two Spaniards; one of the latter was Luís Fernando de Orleans y Borbón
, a Spanish royal prince.
Joseph M. Bampton S.J., rector 1901-1908, replaced the traditional Jesuit arrangement of close supervision of pupils by masters of discipline with the so-called "Captain" system, or government of boys by boys - perhaps inspired by the reforms of Thomas Arnold
at Rugby
in the 1830s. Bampton's Captain system was adopted also at Stonyhurst
and at sister Jesuit schools in France and Spain, and in 1906 Beaumont was admitted to the Headmasters' Conference. Beaumont thus became, along with Stonyhurst College
in Lancashire and St Aloysius' College, Glasgow, one of three public schools
maintained by the British Province of the Jesuits.
Prominent men educated there included the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott
OM FRIBA, the engineer Sir John Aspinall
, and a number of members of the Spanish royal family. The Austrian monarchist intellectual Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn
taught briefly at Beaumont in 1935-36, and from 1943 to 1946 A. H. Armstrong
, later to become the world's leading authority on Plotinus
, was a classics master at the college.
In 1937 the Papal Envoy, Mgr Giuseppe Pizzardo
, visited the College. During the Second World War
one of the first doodlebugs
destroyed an inn (The Bells of Ouseley) close to the school.
In 1948 John Sinnott S.J. was one of only two public school headmasters who detected a hoax letter from Humphry Berkeley
, then a Cambridge student, purporting to come from a fellow-head H. Rochester Sneath
(invited to lead an exorcism, Sinnott requested a packet of salt "capable of being taken up in pinches"). The "lovable but vague" Sir Lewis Clifford S.J., a Jesuit holding a New Zealand baronetcy, was rector between 1950 and 1956, when he was replaced by John Coventry S.J.; and in the early 1950s Gerard W. Hughes S.J., now a prominent writer on spirituality, taught there. On 15 May 1961 Queen Elizabeth II visited Beaumont to mark its centenary.
In 1888, a preparatory school was opened on Priest's Hill above the main school, in the direction of Englefield Green
; the buildings were designed by John Francis Bentley
in Tudor style with a Perpendicular chapel, and it was named St. John's, in honour of St. John Berchmans
. After an initial period of uncertainty following the closure of Beaumont, in 1970 the governors of Stonyhurst College
accepted responsibility for St. John's, which still serves as a preparatory school for Stonyhurst
.
.
Behind the war memorial, woodland ran down the edge of the estate, where there was a path leading to Windsor Great Park
, much used by the pupils for walks and cross-country runs. In the angle between the woodland and the garden was the cricket pitch. A boathouse lay on the Thames just outside the gates, and playing fields for rugby football
were a little further down river on Runnymede
. Beyond the cricket pitch was a home farm which supplied the school with milk and other products, and beyond that St John's.
As in other public schools, sport was important; indeed, an annual cricket match was played at Lord's against the Oratory
until 1965. Moreover, Beaumont held a number of sporting and similar distinctions. Only two public schools, Eton and Beaumont, came to send both their First Eleven to Lord's and their First Eight to Henley; and the first black player at Lord's was a Beaumont boy. When Pierre de Coubertin
visited England in the course of researching the basis of his new Olympic movement, the four schools he looked at were Eton, Harrow
, Rugby and Beaumont.
The Beaumont school Combined Cadet Force was the only one in the country to be affiliated to the Household Division - and had a Garter Star in the cap badge awarded by King George VI in recognition of the school’s role in the Crown Land Battalion during WW2. The first motorist in England was the Hon Evelyn Ellis, who in 1885 drove a car from his home to Beaumont. Coco Chanel
's nephew was a pupil, and the school blazer is said to have been the inspiration for the 1924 Chanel suit.
Beaumont was easy of access from London, and, being where it was, rapidly developed an awareness of being the "Catholic Eton": a tag at the school was "Beaumont is what Eton was: a school for the sons of Catholic gentlemen" (similar claims have been made for the Oratory
, Stonyhurst
and Ampleforth
). Although all the boys at Beaumont were boarders, the school's nearness to London
meant that, unlike at Stonyhurst or Ampleforth, many parents could fetch boys away for weekends during term; the number of such "exeats" was limited.
Prior to and during World War II
, there were sufficient pupils to divide students into three separate Houses, Heathcote, Eccles and O'Hare, named after three previous Rectors. The respective 'House Colours' were brown, light blue and dark blue. However, Beaumont did not continue to be organised in such “Houses” as many British boarding schools are (cf Winchester
, Harrow
, or the fictional Hogwarts
), but in various other ways: in this respect it resembled the other English Jesuit public school, Stonyhurst
, but not St Aloysius'. The main grouping was by year-class, the names of the classes being reminiscent of the medieval trivium: Rudiments, Grammar, Syntax, Poetry, and Rhetoric. There was also a broader age-division between the “Higher Line” and “Lower Line” (the cut-off being around the beginning of the sixth-form). Finally, all boys were on admission assigned either to be “Romans” or “Carthaginians”: these two groups earned points during each term on the basis of the academic progress and behaviour of their members, and at the end of term there was a day’s holiday at which the winning group earned a special tea (this last tradition lost force over the years and by the 1960s attracted little enthusiasm from the boys).
Inevitably the school had its own song, put together in the late Victorian period in rather poor Latin:
The school had its own arms, with the motto Æterna non Caduca (The eternal, not the earthly).
and British Guiana
) suffered from an increasing shortage of priests. The financial viability of a school of only 280 pupils became more and more precarious. Moreover, by the 1960s the atmosphere of the Second Vatican Council
was also lending weight to a feeling that the Order ought not to devote so large a part of its resources to the education of the better-off of the First World.
A decision was therefore made in 1965 to close the school. It finally shut in 1967, amid a storm of protest from parents and old boys who had been contributing to an appeal to fund an extension of the laboratories. After the closure, most of the current pupils transferred to Stonyhurst.
Immediately thereafter the building was borrowed for one academic year by the Loreto Sisters
on account of delays to their new teacher training college. By the early 1970s, the building was owned and used for many years as a training centre by a British computer company (ICL, which was eventually absorbed into Fujitsu
). In 2003 it was acquired by Hayley Conference Centres, which carried out much new building on the site and very extensive extensions and alterations, including the closure of the sweeping front drive. In 2008 Hayley tastefully restored the chapel as a function space. A memorial to the dead of the South African War
also survives in the former Lower Line refectory.
The old boys’ association, known as the Beaumont Union, continues, largely through the efforts of Guy Bailey, a Beaumont old boy now resident in Monaco, with a bi-annual newsletter and an annual formal dinner at the East India Club
in St. James' Square in London. The Beaumont Union also arranges an annual service each Remembrance Day
at the Beaumont War Memorial. Members of the Beaumont Union and their families formed the London Beaumont Region of HCPT - The Pilgrimage Trust and are still involved with an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes
, where the Beaumont crest hangs at the Le Cintra cafe in the rue Ste Marie.
research establishment. The entire herd of 40 cattle was destroyed the same day.
Old Windsor
Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire.-Location:...
. In 1967 the school closed. The property became a conference centre, and from 2008 an hotel.
History of the estate
The estate lies by the River Thames on the historic highway from StainesStaines
Staines is a Thames-side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and Greater London Urban Area, as well as the London Commuter Belt of South East England. It is a suburban development within the western bounds of the M25 motorway and located 17 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in...
to Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
, near Runnymede
Runnymede
Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire, and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is the site of a collection of memorials...
. It was originally known as Remenham, after Hugo de Remenham, who held the land at the end of the 14th century. The estate was then owned for a period by the Tyle family, and subsequently by John Morley, Francis Kibblewhite, William Christmas and Henry Frederick Thynne (clerk to the Privy Council under Charles II) in the 17th century.
Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth
Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth was an English peer, descended from the first Sir John Thynne of Longleat House.Thomas Thynne was born posthumously on 21 May 1710, the son of another Thomas Thynne and his wife Lady Mary Villiers....
, inherited. In the mid-eighteenth century it was acquired by Sophia, Duchess of Kent
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent KG PC was a British politician and courtier.-Family:He was a son of Anthony Grey, 11th Earl of Kent and Mary Grey, 1st Baroness Lucas of Crudwell...
. In 1751 the Duke of Roxburghe purchased the land for his eldest son, the Marquis of Beaumont (then a boy at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
), and renamed it Beaumont. In 1786 Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
, the first Governor-General of India, acquired Beaumont Lodge at the cost of £12,000. He lived at Beaumont for three years. In 1789 the estate was sold to Henry Griffith, an Anglo-Indian, who had Henry Emlyn
Henry Emlyn
Henry Emlyn was an English architect.Emlyn resided at Windsor. He published A Proposition for a new Order in Architecture, with rules for drawing the several parts, fol...
rebuild the house in 1790 as a nine-bay mansion with a substantial portico.
History as a school
In 1805 the Beaumont property was bought for about £14,000 by Viscount Ashbrook, a friend of George IVGeorge IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
. After his death in 1847, his widow continued to reside there until 1854, when she sold it to the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
as a training college.
For seven years it housed Jesuit novices of the (then) English province and on 10 October 1861 became a Catholic boarding school for boys, with the title of St. Stanislaus College, Beaumont, the dedication being to St. Stanislaus Kostka
Stanislaus Kostka
Stanisław Kostka S.J. was a Polish novice of the Society of Jesus. In the Catholic Church as Saint Stanislaus Kostka....
.
The 1901 census shows a John Lynch S.J. as headmaster. Resident at the date of the census were one other priest, three "clerks in minor orders" and a lay brother, 8 servants and 23 schoolboys including one American, one Canadian, one Mexican and two Spaniards; one of the latter was Luís Fernando de Orleans y Borbón
Luís Fernando de Orleans y Borbón
Luís Fernando de Orleans y Borbón, Infante of Spain was a Spanish prince who lost his title.-Early life and education:...
, a Spanish royal prince.
Joseph M. Bampton S.J., rector 1901-1908, replaced the traditional Jesuit arrangement of close supervision of pupils by masters of discipline with the so-called "Captain" system, or government of boys by boys - perhaps inspired by the reforms of Thomas Arnold
Thomas Arnold
Dr Thomas Arnold was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement...
at Rugby
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
in the 1830s. Bampton's Captain system was adopted also at Stonyhurst
Stonyhurst
Stonyhurst is the name of a rural estate owned by the Society of Jesus near Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It is dominated by Stonyhurst College, its preparatory school Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall and the parish Church of St Peter's.-The Estate:...
and at sister Jesuit schools in France and Spain, and in 1906 Beaumont was admitted to the Headmasters' Conference. Beaumont thus became, along with Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
in Lancashire and St Aloysius' College, Glasgow, one of three public schools
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference is an association of the headmasters or headmistressess of 243 leading day and boarding independent schools in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and the Republic of Ireland...
maintained by the British Province of the Jesuits.
Prominent men educated there included the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott
Giles Gilbert Scott
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red telephone box....
OM FRIBA, the engineer Sir John Aspinall
John Aspinall
John Aspinall may refer to:* John Aspinall , zoo owner and gambler* John Aspinall , engineer* John Thomas Walshman Aspinall , English Conservative Party politician, Member of Parliament for Clitheroe 1853...
, and a number of members of the Spanish royal family. The Austrian monarchist intellectual Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn
Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn
Erik Maria Ritter von Kuehnelt-Leddihn was an Austrian Catholic nobleman and socio-political theorist...
taught briefly at Beaumont in 1935-36, and from 1943 to 1946 A. H. Armstrong
A. H. Armstrong
Arthur Hilary Armstrong FBA was an English educator and author. Armstrong is recognized as one of the foremost authorities on the philosophical teachings of Plotinus ca. 205–270 CE. His multi-volume translation of the philosopher's teachings is regarded as an essential tool of classical studies.-...
, later to become the world's leading authority on Plotinus
Plotinus
Plotinus was a major philosopher of the ancient world. In his system of theory there are the three principles: the One, the Intellect, and the Soul. His teacher was Ammonius Saccas and he is of the Platonic tradition...
, was a classics master at the college.
In 1937 the Papal Envoy, Mgr Giuseppe Pizzardo
Giuseppe Pizzardo
Giuseppe Pizzardo was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities from 1939 to 1968, and Secretary of the Holy Office from 1951 to 1959...
, visited the College. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
one of the first doodlebugs
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
destroyed an inn (The Bells of Ouseley) close to the school.
In 1948 John Sinnott S.J. was one of only two public school headmasters who detected a hoax letter from Humphry Berkeley
Humphry Berkeley
Humphry John Berkeley was a British politician noted for his many changes of parties and his efforts to effect homosexual law reform, and both oppose, and then seem to abet, grand apartheid....
, then a Cambridge student, purporting to come from a fellow-head H. Rochester Sneath
H. Rochester Sneath
H. Rochester Sneath MA L-ès-L was the nonexistent headmaster of the also nonexistent Selhurst School who wrote many bizarre letters to public figures in 1948. Selhurst supposedly had 175 male students....
(invited to lead an exorcism, Sinnott requested a packet of salt "capable of being taken up in pinches"). The "lovable but vague" Sir Lewis Clifford S.J., a Jesuit holding a New Zealand baronetcy, was rector between 1950 and 1956, when he was replaced by John Coventry S.J.; and in the early 1950s Gerard W. Hughes S.J., now a prominent writer on spirituality, taught there. On 15 May 1961 Queen Elizabeth II visited Beaumont to mark its centenary.
In 1888, a preparatory school was opened on Priest's Hill above the main school, in the direction of Englefield Green
Englefield Green
Englefield Green is a large village in northern Surrey, England. It is home to Royal Holloway, University of London, the south eastern corner of Windsor Great Park and close to the towns of Egham, Windsor, Staines and Virginia Water...
; the buildings were designed by John Francis Bentley
John Francis Bentley
John Francis Bentley was an English ecclesiastical architect whose most famous work is the Westminster Cathedral in London, England, built in a style heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture....
in Tudor style with a Perpendicular chapel, and it was named St. John's, in honour of St. John Berchmans
John Berchmans
Saint John Berchmans was a Jesuit seminarian and is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He is the patron saint of altar servers.-Early life:...
. After an initial period of uncertainty following the closure of Beaumont, in 1970 the governors of Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
accepted responsibility for St. John's, which still serves as a preparatory school for Stonyhurst
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
.
Character of the school
The buildings were laid out attractively, the main drive curving round an open field to a rendered 18th-century mansion known as the White House, and most of the ancillary buildings being concealed by trees. The science laboratories were a single-storey 1930s block to the left of the main house. Other outbuildings ran backward from there, including the ambulacrum and tuck shop, but without obtruding unduly on the agreeable garden dominated by two specimen cedar trees and a war memorial by Sir Edwin LutyensEdwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
.
Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park is a large deer park of , to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century...
, much used by the pupils for walks and cross-country runs. In the angle between the woodland and the garden was the cricket pitch. A boathouse lay on the Thames just outside the gates, and playing fields for rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
were a little further down river on Runnymede
Runnymede
Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire, and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is the site of a collection of memorials...
. Beyond the cricket pitch was a home farm which supplied the school with milk and other products, and beyond that St John's.
As in other public schools, sport was important; indeed, an annual cricket match was played at Lord's against the Oratory
The Oratory School
The Oratory School is a Roman Catholic, independent school for boys in Woodcote, Berkshire. It is the last Catholic all-boys boarding school remaining in Great Britain. It has approximately 420 pupils...
until 1965. Moreover, Beaumont held a number of sporting and similar distinctions. Only two public schools, Eton and Beaumont, came to send both their First Eleven to Lord's and their First Eight to Henley; and the first black player at Lord's was a Beaumont boy. When Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French educationalist and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games...
visited England in the course of researching the basis of his new Olympic movement, the four schools he looked at were Eton, Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
, Rugby and Beaumont.
The Beaumont school Combined Cadet Force was the only one in the country to be affiliated to the Household Division - and had a Garter Star in the cap badge awarded by King George VI in recognition of the school’s role in the Crown Land Battalion during WW2. The first motorist in England was the Hon Evelyn Ellis, who in 1885 drove a car from his home to Beaumont. Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
's nephew was a pupil, and the school blazer is said to have been the inspiration for the 1924 Chanel suit.
Beaumont was easy of access from London, and, being where it was, rapidly developed an awareness of being the "Catholic Eton": a tag at the school was "Beaumont is what Eton was: a school for the sons of Catholic gentlemen" (similar claims have been made for the Oratory
The Oratory School
The Oratory School is a Roman Catholic, independent school for boys in Woodcote, Berkshire. It is the last Catholic all-boys boarding school remaining in Great Britain. It has approximately 420 pupils...
, Stonyhurst
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
and Ampleforth
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...
). Although all the boys at Beaumont were boarders, the school's nearness to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
meant that, unlike at Stonyhurst or Ampleforth, many parents could fetch boys away for weekends during term; the number of such "exeats" was limited.
Prior to and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, there were sufficient pupils to divide students into three separate Houses, Heathcote, Eccles and O'Hare, named after three previous Rectors. The respective 'House Colours' were brown, light blue and dark blue. However, Beaumont did not continue to be organised in such “Houses” as many British boarding schools are (cf Winchester
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
, or the fictional Hogwarts
Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
), but in various other ways: in this respect it resembled the other English Jesuit public school, Stonyhurst
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
, but not St Aloysius'. The main grouping was by year-class, the names of the classes being reminiscent of the medieval trivium: Rudiments, Grammar, Syntax, Poetry, and Rhetoric. There was also a broader age-division between the “Higher Line” and “Lower Line” (the cut-off being around the beginning of the sixth-form). Finally, all boys were on admission assigned either to be “Romans” or “Carthaginians”: these two groups earned points during each term on the basis of the academic progress and behaviour of their members, and at the end of term there was a day’s holiday at which the winning group earned a special tea (this last tradition lost force over the years and by the 1960s attracted little enthusiasm from the boys).
Concinamus gnaviter
Omnes Beaumontani
Vocem demus suaviter
Novi, veterani;
Etsi mox pugnavimus
Iam condamus enses,
Seu Romani fuimus,
Seu Carthaginenses.
Numquam sit per saecula
Decus istud vanum:
Vivat sine macula
Nomen Beaumontanum!
The school had its own arms, with the motto Æterna non Caduca (The eternal, not the earthly).
End of the school
After the Second World War, the English Province of the Jesuits (which also had responsibilities in RhodesiaZimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
and British Guiana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
) suffered from an increasing shortage of priests. The financial viability of a school of only 280 pupils became more and more precarious. Moreover, by the 1960s the atmosphere of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
was also lending weight to a feeling that the Order ought not to devote so large a part of its resources to the education of the better-off of the First World.
Immediately thereafter the building was borrowed for one academic year by the Loreto Sisters
Sisters of Loreto
The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, more commonly known as the Loreto Sisters , is a women's Catholic religious order founded by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609 at Saint-Omer in northern France...
on account of delays to their new teacher training college. By the early 1970s, the building was owned and used for many years as a training centre by a British computer company (ICL, which was eventually absorbed into Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
). In 2003 it was acquired by Hayley Conference Centres, which carried out much new building on the site and very extensive extensions and alterations, including the closure of the sweeping front drive. In 2008 Hayley tastefully restored the chapel as a function space. A memorial to the dead of the South African War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
also survives in the former Lower Line refectory.
The old boys’ association, known as the Beaumont Union, continues, largely through the efforts of Guy Bailey, a Beaumont old boy now resident in Monaco, with a bi-annual newsletter and an annual formal dinner at the East India Club
East India Club
The East India, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools' Club, usually known as the East India Club, is a gentlemen's club founded in 1849 and situated at 16 St. James's Square in London...
in St. James' Square in London. The Beaumont Union also arranges an annual service each Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
at the Beaumont War Memorial. Members of the Beaumont Union and their families formed the London Beaumont Region of HCPT - The Pilgrimage Trust and are still involved with an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
, where the Beaumont crest hangs at the Le Cintra cafe in the rue Ste Marie.
Other notes
On 22 September 2007 cattle at Beaumont Farm were found with foot and mouth disease, in the course of the second outbreak following an escape of contamination from the PirbrightPirbright
Pirbright is a village in Surrey, England. Neighbouring villages include Worplesdon, Deepcut, Brookwood and Normandy. Pirbright parish has an area of some falling into two distinct communities with the military area to the north of the railway and the village to the south...
research establishment. The entire herd of 40 cattle was destroyed the same day.
Notable old boys
- Sir Giles Gilbert ScottGiles Gilbert ScottSir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red telephone box....
, OM, FRIBA; British architect - Fr Charles Sidney BeauclerkCharles Sidney BeauclerkFr Charles Sidney de Vere Beauclerk SJ was a Jesuit priest who attempted to turn the town of Holywell into the "Lourdes of Wales"...
SJ (1855–1934), Parish Priest of Holywell, North Wales, from 1890 to 1898 - Dr Noel BrowneNoel BrowneNoël Christopher Browne was an Irish politician and doctor. He holds the distinction of being one of only five Teachtaí Dála to be appointed Minister on their first day in the Dáil. His controversial Mother and Child Scheme in effect brought down the First Inter-Party Government of John A...
, Irish politician and Minister for Health - Sir Henry BurkeHenry BurkeSir Henry Farnham Burke, KCVO, CB, FSA was a long serving Irish officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.-Biography:Henry Burke was a son of Sir Bernard Burke . Henry Burke was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary in 1880...
(1859–1930), KCVO, CB, Garter King of Arms; grandson of the founder of Burke's PeerageBurke's PeerageBurke's Peerage publishes authoritative, in-depth historical guides to the royal and titled families of the United Kingdom, such as Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, and of many other countries. Founded in 1826 by British genealogist John Burke Esq., and continued by his son, Sir John... - Sir John KnillKnill BaronetsThe Knill Baronetcy, of The Grove in Blackheath in the County of Kent, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 August 1893 for Stuart Knill. He was head of John Knill and Co, wharfingers, and served as Lord Mayor of London from 1892 to 1893...
, Bt; Lord Mayor of London in 1909 (first Roman Catholic to hold the office since the Reformation) - Sir John AspinallJohn AspinallJohn Aspinall may refer to:* John Aspinall , zoo owner and gambler* John Aspinall , engineer* John Thomas Walshman Aspinall , English Conservative Party politician, Member of Parliament for Clitheroe 1853...
, British engineer - Bernard CapesBernard CapesBernard Edward Joseph Capes was an English author.-Biography:Capes was born in London, one of eleven children: his elder sister, Harriet Capes , was a noted translator and author of more than a dozen children's books...
, novelist - Prince Reginald de Croy, diplomat active in the Belgian Resistance in the First World War (see Henriette Moriamé)
- Jaime de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma, called Duke of Madrid and known in France as Jacques de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou (27 June 1870–2 October 1931), the Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain under the name Jaime I and the Legitimist claimant to the throne of France under the name Jacques I
- General Cuthbert FullerCuthbert FullerCuthbert Graham Fuller DSO, CMG was a decorated Royal Engineers officer. He was educated at Beaumont College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Engineers in 1893, and served in South Africa, 1899–1902, being mentioned in dispatches...
, DSO, CMG - Chevalier Philippe de Schoutheete, Belgian diplomat
- Gilbert Pownall, British architect responsible for the mosaics in the Lady Chapel at Westminster CathedralWestminster CathedralWestminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
- Sir Francis RoseFrancis RoseFrancis Rose MBE was an English field botanist and conservationist. He was an author, researcher and teacher. His ecological interests in Britain and Europe included bryophytes, fungi, higher plants, plant communities and woodlands.Rose was born in south London...
Bt.; British artist and aesthete - Peeter de Vleeschauwer, Belgian diplomat
- Raffaele Altwegg, cellist
- Bernard Arthur William Patrick Hastings Forbes, 8th Earl of GranardBernard Forbes, 8th Earl of GranardBernard Arthur William Patrick Hastings Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard KP, GCVO, PC , known as Viscount Forbes from 1874 to 1889, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Liberal politician.-Background:...
, KP, GCVO, PC (17 September 1874–10 September 1948), known as Viscount Forbes from 1874–89; Anglo-IrishAnglo-IrishAnglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
soldier and Liberal politician, and Master of the HorseMaster of the HorseThe Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :... - Lt-Col. Edward Lisle StruttEdward Lisle StruttLt-Col. Edward Lisle Strutt CBE, DSO was an English soldier and mountaineer, and President of the Alpine Club from 1935–38.-Family:...
, CBE, DSO; British soldier and mountaineer - John Bede DalleyJohn Bede DalleyJohn Bede Dalley was an Australian journalist and novelist, editor of Melbourne Punch.Dalley was born in Rose Bay, Sydney, the second son of William Bede Dalley and Eleanor Jane, née Long. He was born at Sydney and was educated at St Aloysius' College...
(1876–1935), Australian journalist and writer. - Carlos Aramayo, Bolivian diplomat and winner of the Maria Moors Cabot prize for journalism
- Prince Jean de Bourbon, Duc de Berri, Claimant to the French Throne, MI5 security suspect
- Edward Topham, Owner Aintree racecourse, Grand National Handicapper and Clerk of the Course
- Sir Patrick John Rushton Sergeant KBE; British journalist
- Sir Hilary Synnott, KCMG; British diplomat and author
- Colonel Sir Mark Sykes Bt. (1879–1919); soldier, author of the Sykes/Picot Agreement
- Malcolm Hay (1881–1962; the last Laird of Seaton in Aberdeenshire); Director of Military Intelligence 1B in World War I; fund-raiser for the relief of prisoners of war in Germany and Italy; historian and author (The Roots of Christian Anti-Semitism)
- Bernard Howell Leach, CH (1887–1979); world renowned potter based in St Ives, CornwallSt Ives, CornwallSt Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
- Alfonso de Orleans y Borbón, the Infante of Spain, and his younger brother Luís FernandoLuís Fernando de Orleans y BorbónLuís Fernando de Orleans y Borbón, Infante of Spain was a Spanish prince who lost his title.-Early life and education:...
were sent to EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to be educated at Beaumont, where they remained from 1899 until 1904 - Sonnie HaleSonnie HaleSonnie Hale was an English theatre and cinema actor and director.John Robert Hale-Monro was born in London, the son of Robert Hale and Belle Reynolds. His father and sister, Binnie Hale were actors. He worked chiefly in musical and revue theatre, but also acted in several films with occasional...
, British actor - Prince Michael Andreevich of RussiaPrince Michael Andreevich of RussiaPrince Michael Andreevich of Russia was a descendant of the House of Romanov which ruled Russia from 1613 to 1917. He was a great nephew of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia.-Early life:...
(1920–2008), eldest grandson of HIH Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich; Grand Prior and Imperial Protector of The Sovereign Order of the Orthodox Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem. - Michael Burgess, Coroner to the Royal Household
- Freddie Wolff, CBE, TD; Olympic gold medallist (1936)
- Charles LaughtonCharles LaughtonCharles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
(1899–1962), British-born naturalized American citizen; U.S. film actor/director - Kynaston ReevesKynaston ReevesKynaston Reeves was christened Philip Arthur Reeves, and was an English character actor who appeared in numerous films and many television plays and series.-Career:...
, British actor - Nicholas Danby, British/U.S. organist
- Luis Federico LeloirLuis Federico LeloirLuis Federico Leloir was an Argentine doctor and biochemist who received the 1970 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was the first Spanish-speaking scientist to ever receive the award...
, Argentine doctor and biochemist who received the 1970 Nobel Prize in ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,... - Professor Sir Anthony Leggett KBE, FRS; won Nobel Prize for Physics (2003)
- Ralph BatesRalph BatesRalph Bates was an English film and television actor, known for his role in the British sitcom Dear John and for being one of Hammer Horror's best-known actors from the latter period of the company....
, British actor - Hugh BurdenHugh BurdenHugh Burden was an English actor and playwright.He was the son of a colonial official and was educated at Beaumont College and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and RADA...
, British actor - Sir Christopher William KellyChristopher KellySir Christopher William Kelly, KCB is a former senior British Civil Servant who is currently the Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and Chairman of the NSPCC.-Early life:...
, KCB; former British Permanent Secretary, currently Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public LifeCommittee on Standards in Public LifeThe Committee on Standards in Public Life is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government.The Committee on Standards in Public Life is constituted as a standing body with its members appointed for up to three years.-History:...
and Chairman of the NSPCCNSPCCThe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is a United Kingdom charity campaigning and working in child protection.-History:... - Anthony Darnborough, British film director and producer
- Sir Reginald SecondéReginald SecondéSir Reginald Louis Secondé, KCMG, CVO was HM British Ambassador to Chile, Romania and Venezela. He is the son of Lt-Colonel Emile Charles Secondé and Dorothy Kathleen . On 4 June 1951, he married Catherine Penelope Sneyd-Kynnersley .He was educated at Beaumont and King's College, Cambridge...
, KCMG, CVO; HM British Ambassador to Chile, Roumania and Venezuela - Christopher HewettChristopher HewettChristopher Michael Hewett was an English actor and theatre director best known for his role as Lynn Belvedere on the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere.-Career:...
(1922–2001), British/U.S. actor - Peter Drummond-Murray of Mastrick, Slains Pursuivant of ArmsSlains PursuivantSlains Pursuivant of Arms is a private officer of arms appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Hay – presently the Earl of Erroll, Lord High Constable of Scotland. It is believed that the Hay family had an officer of arms since the time that the office of Lord High Constable was forfeited by...
- George More O'FerrallGeorge More O'FerrallGeorge More O'Ferrall was a British film and television director.-Selected filmography:*The Holly and the Ivy *Angels One Five *The Heart of the Matter...
, film/television director - William F. Buckley Jr. (1925–2008), founder of the modern American conservative movement which laid the groundwork for the presidential candidacies of Barry Goldwater and Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
- Peter Holman, Director, The Parley of Instruments
- Sergio Osmeña III, Filipino politician
- Peter HammillPeter HammillPeter Joseph Andrew Hammill is an English singer-songwriter, and a founding member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Most noted for his vocal abilities, his main instruments are guitar and piano...
, a founding member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf GeneratorVan der Graaf GeneratorVan der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester. They were the first act signed to Charisma Records. The band achieved considerable success in Italy during the 1970s... - Desmond Knox-Leet (1923–1993), co-founded DiptyqueDiptyque-Background:Founded in 1961 by three friends , Diptyque originally produced printed fabrics, but in 1963 they introduced a line of scented candles which eventually became the main focus of their business...
(Paris) - Terence O'Brien, New Zealand diplomat
- Sir George Ogilvie-Forbes, KCMG; British diplomat
- Edward MolyneuxEdward MolyneuxEdward Henry Molyneux was a British fashion designer whose fashion house in Paris was in operation from 1919 until 1950.- Overview :Born in London to Justin Molyneux and Lizzy Kenny, Edward Molyneux attended Beaumont College, a Roman Catholic preparatory school...
, French dress designer - Jean Prouvost, French Government minister, founder of Paris MatchParis MatchParis Match is a French weekly magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. It was founded in 1949 by the industrialist Jean Prouvost....
- Brigadier-General Edmund William Costello, VC
- General Sir Basil EugsterBasil EugsterGeneral Sir Basil Oscar Eugster KCB, KCVO, CBE,DSO MC was a Commander in Chief, UK Land Forces.-Army career:A British soldier of Swiss descent, Basil Eugster attended Beaumont College. In 1935 he joined the Irish Guards. He served with his Regiment through World War II and fought in the Narvik...
, KCB, KCVO, CBE, DSO, MC; Colonel of the Irish Guards - General Sir George MacDonoghGeorge MacdonoghLieutenant General Sir George Mark Watson Macdonogh GBE, KCB, KCMG was a British Army general officer. After early service in the Royal Engineers he became a staff officer prior to the outbreak of the First World War, and held a series of intelligence posts during the war.-Early career:Macdonogh...
, GMB, KCB, KCMG; Head of Military Intelligence in WW1 - Pierre de VomécourtPierre de VomécourtPierre de Crevoisier de Vomécourt was, during the Second World War, a Special Operations Executive agent, who founded and headed SOE's first Resistance network in occupied France, the AUTOGIRO network....
, founder of the first SOE network in occupied France during WWII
- George Hennessy, 1st Baron WindleshamGeorge Hennessy, 1st Baron WindleshamGeorge Richard James Hennessy, 1st Baron Windlesham OBE , was a British soldier and Conservative politician.Hennessy, an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, served in the First World War as a Major in the King's Royal Rifle Corps and on the Staff of the 8th Division...
, Conservative politician - Frank RussellFrank Russell, Baron Russell of KillowenFrank Xavier Joseph Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen PC, was a British judge and law lord.The son of the Lord Russell of Killowen, Russell was Lord Justice of Appeal in 1928 and 1929, and became a member of the Privy Council on 7 May 1928On 18 November 1929, he was appointed Lord of Appeal in...
, 2nd Lord Russell of Killowen, PC; Lord Justice of Appeal - Charles Ritchie Russell, 3rd Lord Russell of Killowen; Lord Justice of Appeal
- Sixtus de Bourbon Parme French legitimist prince and Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne
- Percy O'ReillyPercy O'ReillyPercy Philip O'Reilly was an Irish polo player who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Together with John Paul McCann, John Hardress Lloyd and Auston Rotheram, he was a member of the Ireland team that won a silver medal The Ireland team was part of the Great Britain Olympic team.His daughter...
, Olympic Silver medallist for polo - Sir Edward JacksonEdward JacksonEdward Jackson or Ed Jackson is the name of:* Edward Jackson , former American college football head coach* Edward Jackson , British diplomat...
, KBE, KCMG; Lt-Governor of Malta during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and Nuremberg War Trials Board Member - Stephen Fitzsimons, co-founded the fashion business "Biba" with wife Barbara Hulanicki
- Admiral Sir Gerald DickensGerald Charles DickensAdmiral Sir Gerald Louis Charles Dickens, KCVO, CB, CMG, RN, was a senior Royal Navy officer and the grandson of Victorian novelist Charles Dickens.-Early career:...
, KCVO, CB, CMG; Director of Naval Intelligence between WWI and WWII - Henry Morriss, "Shanghai" Morriss winner of the 1925 Derby with MannaManna (horse)Manna was a British Thoroughbred racehorse an sire. In a career which lasted from summer 1922 until September 1923, Manna ran four times, winning eight races. As a three-year-old in 1925 he won the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Epsom Derby by a record margin of eight lengths...
- Charles HeidsieckCharles HeidsieckCharles Camille Heidsieck was a 19th-century French Champagne merchant who founded the Champagne firm Charles Heidsieck in 1851. He is credited with popularizing Champagne in the United States and was known as "Champagne Charlie" during his stay...
, vintner (House of Heidsieck) - Edmund de Ayala, vintner (House of Ayala)
- Carlos GonzalesCarlos GonzalesCarlos González is a Mexican football player who plays for Jaibos Tampico Madero. He had his best years playing for Necaxa, where he played the final match of the 2002 season against Club América....
, vintner - Peter LeviPeter LeviPeter Chad Tigar Levi, FSA, FRSL, , Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford was a poet, archaeologist, sometime Jesuit priest, travel writer, biographer, academic and prolific reviewer and critic.-Early life and education:Levi was born in Ruislip, Middlesex of parents with Mediterranean...
, FSA, FRSC; Oxford Professor of Poetry, author and critic - Boy CapelBoy CapelCaptain Arthur Edward "Boy" Capel CBE was an English polo player, possibly best-remembered for being a lover and muse of fashion designer Coco Chanel.-Biography:...
, CBE; British polo player - Sir Philip de Zulueta, Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Harold MacMillan
- Count Quentin de la Bedoyere, writer, speaker and artist
- Ely Calil, international businessman
- Prince Michael Obolensky of Russia, grandson of Tsar Alexander
- MonsignorMonsignorMonsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
Alfred Newman Gilbey, writer and chaplain - Francis BeckettFrancis BeckettFrancis Beckett is an English author, journalist, biographer, and contemporary historian. He has written biographies of Aneurin Bevan, Clement Attlee, Harold Macmillan, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. He has also written on education for the New Statesman, The Guardian and The Independent...
, British writer/author