Mill Hill School
Encyclopedia
Mill Hill School, in Mill Hill
, London
, is a coeducational independent school
for boarding and day pupils aged 13–18. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, an organisation of public schools in the United Kingdom.
The Good Schools Guide called the school "A well-balanced school" which "suits a busy, engaged child happy to try out a wide range of activities and use all the facilities."
Dr. Dominic Luckett became headmaster at the start of the 2007–2008 academic year. He was previously deputy headmaster of Worth School
. He succeeded William R Winfield, MA.
The site was once the estate of Ridgeway House, significant in the history of British botany.
The two hundredth anniversary of the school was celebrated in 2007 by the publication of 'Strikingly Alive', The History of the
Mill Hill School Foundation 1807–2007 by School Historian, Roderick Braithwaite; the school's Archivist is Dr. Pamela Johnson.
Winterstoke House was re-purposed as Grimsdell Pre-preparatory School in 1995.
, founded the school for boys only in 1807. They located it outside the boundary of London
because of "dangers both physical and moral, awaiting youth while passing through the streets of a large, crowded and corrupt city". The school is therefore located in peaceful, secure and rural surroundings, yet by today's standards very close to Central London.
Mill Hill School occupies a 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) site, part of which formed the gardens of Ridgeway House, the house of botanist Peter Collinson
. Collinson was one of the most important importers of rare and exotic plants into English gardens. Many of the species that he introduced to Mill Hill in the 18th Century continue to flourish today in the grounds of the School. Britain's first hydrangea
was planted adjacent to School House by Collinson in 1746.
The estate was purchased by the botanist Richard Salisbury in 1802, Ridgeway House became the setting for the beginning of a long running scientific dispute between the new owner and his guest, James Edward Smith
. The flora of Mill Hill was also supplemented by the work of amateur botanist Richard William Bowry Buckland (died 1947), governor of the foundation from 1878 to 1889, who cultivated a garden in the south-west of the school's grounds for the enjoyment of future generations as detailed in his diary.
In 1939, Mill Hill School's premises were taken over by the British government and the school was evacuated to St. Bees School
in Cumberland
for the duration of the Second World War, leading to the naming of the exclusively female extension of Collinson House after it. A St Bees Association was also founded in commemoration of this period of evacuation in the school's history by Michael Berry OBE and David Smith.
Mill Hill first admitted Sixth Form girls in 1975 and became fully co-educational in 1997.
The BBC
news website usually uses a picture taken at Mill Hill School for articles about Boarding Schools.
In 2005 the school was one of fifty of the country's leading private schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times
, which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.
.
, famous for his work on the London Royal Exchange, School House was erected in 1825 and is described as being in the Greco-Roman style.
year during 2007. To honour this landmark in the school's history a service was held at St Paul's Cathedral
. Additionally, the school held the visit of HRH Countess of Wessex to officially open the school's new Favell building. An Acer fremanii was planted in her honour adjacent to the School House garden.
The school was also visited by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on its 150th anniversary in 1957. This was commemorated by the planting of a Cedar on Top Terrace (the grassed area in front of the School house portico
), in her honour.
under English law. The foundation offers education to boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in three schools. The foundation's other schools are:
Notable events in recent rugby history include:
, third editor of a new English Dictionary, that was to become the Oxford English Dictionary
.
In preparation for the work ahead Murray built a corrugated-iron shed in the grounds of Mill Hill School, called the Scriptorium.
A building called the Murray Scriptorium still stands on the school grounds, however this is not the same building as the original.
One of the school's houses, Murray, is named after him.
the Mill Hill theatre
was dedicated to the actor and named the Patrick Troughton Theatre in 2007.
ISBN: 9781860773303
Mill Hill
Mill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a suburb situated 9 miles north west of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until it was absorbed by London...
, 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...
, is a coeducational independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
for boarding and day pupils aged 13–18. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, an organisation of public schools in the United Kingdom.
The Good Schools Guide called the school "A well-balanced school" which "suits a busy, engaged child happy to try out a wide range of activities and use all the facilities."
Dr. Dominic Luckett became headmaster at the start of the 2007–2008 academic year. He was previously deputy headmaster of Worth School
Worth School
Worth School, near the village of Turners Hill, Crawley, West Sussex, England, is a co-educational Roman Catholic boarding and day independent school for pupils aged between 11–18 years. The school is located with Worth Abbey, a Benedictine monastery, in of Sussex countryside...
. He succeeded William R Winfield, MA.
The site was once the estate of Ridgeway House, significant in the history of British botany.
The two hundredth anniversary of the school was celebrated in 2007 by the publication of 'Strikingly Alive', The History of the
Mill Hill School Foundation 1807–2007 by School Historian, Roderick Braithwaite; the school's Archivist is Dr. Pamela Johnson.
Houses
As with many independent schools, Mill Hill School is divided into houses. These are:- Boarding Houses
- Burton Bank - Named to commemorate its original position on Burton Hole Lane
- Collinson - Named after Peter Collinson who once owned what is now the estate
- Ridgeway - The name of Collinson's original house on the site
- Day houses
- Atkinson - Named after the first Headmaster, the Reverend J Atkinson
- McClure - Named after Sir John McClure, Headmaster at the turn of the 20th century
- Murray - Named in honour of teacher and originator of the Oxford English DictionaryOxford English DictionaryThe Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
; who began compiling his dictionary while a master at Mill Hill - Priestley - Named after Headmaster Thomas Priestley
- School House - Named after Tite's famous building constructed in the 1820s
- Weymouth - Named after Headmaster Dr R Weymouth
- Cedars - Named in honour of the cedars planted by Peter Collinson
Winterstoke House was re-purposed as Grimsdell Pre-preparatory School in 1995.
History
A committee of Nonconformist merchants and ministers, including John Pye SmithJohn Pye-Smith
The Rev Dr John Pye-Smith FRS, FGS was a Congregational theologian and tutor, associated with reconciling geological sciences with the Bible, repealing the Corn Laws and abolishing slavery...
, founded the school for boys only in 1807. They located it outside the boundary of 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...
because of "dangers both physical and moral, awaiting youth while passing through the streets of a large, crowded and corrupt city". The school is therefore located in peaceful, secure and rural surroundings, yet by today's standards very close to Central London.
Mill Hill School occupies a 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) site, part of which formed the gardens of Ridgeway House, the house of botanist Peter Collinson
Peter Collinson FRS
Peter Collinson was a Fellow of the Royal Society, an avid gardener, and the middleman for an international exchange of scientific ideas in mid-18th century London...
. Collinson was one of the most important importers of rare and exotic plants into English gardens. Many of the species that he introduced to Mill Hill in the 18th Century continue to flourish today in the grounds of the School. Britain's first hydrangea
Hydrangea
Hydrangea is a genus of about 70 to 75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea...
was planted adjacent to School House by Collinson in 1746.
The estate was purchased by the botanist Richard Salisbury in 1802, Ridgeway House became the setting for the beginning of a long running scientific dispute between the new owner and his guest, James Edward Smith
James Edward Smith
Sir James Edward Smith was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a precocious interest in the natural world...
. The flora of Mill Hill was also supplemented by the work of amateur botanist Richard William Bowry Buckland (died 1947), governor of the foundation from 1878 to 1889, who cultivated a garden in the south-west of the school's grounds for the enjoyment of future generations as detailed in his diary.
"In years bygone I pray to thee,
This willow here, my legacy,
As I have sat, pray sit thee.
In shaded splendour,
Millhillians; rest hither."
Richard Buckland
In 1939, Mill Hill School's premises were taken over by the British government and the school was evacuated to St. Bees School
St. Bees School
St. Bees School is a co-educational independent school in the West Cumbrian village of St Bees. Founded in 1583 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury Edmund Grindal as a boys' "free grammar school", today it is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference with around 300 pupils aged...
in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
for the duration of the Second World War, leading to the naming of the exclusively female extension of Collinson House after it. A St Bees Association was also founded in commemoration of this period of evacuation in the school's history by Michael Berry OBE and David Smith.
Mill Hill first admitted Sixth Form girls in 1975 and became fully co-educational in 1997.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
news website usually uses a picture taken at Mill Hill School for articles about Boarding Schools.
In 2005 the school was one of fifty of the country's leading private schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.
Chapel
Unveiled in 1896, the School Chapel is a basilica in form. The architect was Basil Champneys, well-known for his work at Oxford and Winchester CollegeWinchester 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...
.
School House
Designed by Sir William TiteWilliam Tite
Sir William Tite, CB was an English architect who served as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was particularly associated with various London buildings, with railway stations and cemetery projects....
, famous for his work on the London Royal Exchange, School House was erected in 1825 and is described as being in the Greco-Roman style.
Boarding houses
Although the number of day pupils has risen over recent years, boarding at Mill Hill is still central to the life of the School.Faculties and other
The School occupies a number of buildings within its site of both modern and traditional styling.Bicentennial and sesquicentennial celebrations
The school celebrated its bicentenaryAnniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
year during 2007. To honour this landmark in the school's history a service was held at St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
. Additionally, the school held the visit of HRH Countess of Wessex to officially open the school's new Favell building. An Acer fremanii was planted in her honour adjacent to the School House garden.
The school was also visited by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on its 150th anniversary in 1957. This was commemorated by the planting of a Cedar on Top Terrace (the grassed area in front of the School house portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
), in her honour.
Management
The school is run by the Mill Hill School Foundation, a registered charityCharitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
under English law. The foundation offers education to boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in three schools. The foundation's other schools are:
- Belmont School - a day school for pupils aged 7 – 13. Head: Mrs Lynn Duncan BSc
- Grimsdell - a pre-preparatory day school for pupils aged 3 – 7. Head: Mrs Pauline E R Bennett-Mills, Cert Ed
Rugby
Mill Hill School has a large range of sports. Traditionally the main school sport has been Rugby Union, whose colours are chocolate brown and white.Notable events in recent rugby history include:
- 1993 Winners of Middlesex Cup
- 1994 Tour to South Africa and Australia, Ben Levenstein England Schools U-18s
- 1995 Peter Mensah England A
- 1997 Adrian Flavin England Schools U-18s
- 1999 Gerald Arasa England U-21s
- 2000 Tour to South Africa, Winners of the Middlesex Cup
- 2003 Tour to Australia and Fiji, the most successful to date
- 2004 Finalists of the Middlesex Cup
- 2005 Tour to Canada
- 2007 Tour to New Zealand
- 2007 Winners of Middlesex Cup
- 2007 Visit of South Africa Rugby team to Mill Hill School
- 2008 1st XV complete an unbeaten season
- 2008 Winners of Middlesex Cup
- 2009 Winners of Middlesex Cup
Notable alumni
- Alisha Bennett
- Michael BishopMichael Bishop (businessman)Michael David Bishop, Baron Glendonbrook CBE is a British businessman and life peer who rose to prominence as owner of the airline BMI. He sold his stake in the airline to Lufthansa on 1 July 2009 and has an estimated personal fortune of £480 million...
- Jasper BrittonJasper BrittonJasper Britton, in is an actor.Britton is the son of veteran actor Tony Britton, and Danish sculptor and member of the World War II Danish Resistance Eva Castle Britton...
- David BuckDavid BuckDavid Buck was an English actor. His most famous role was in the animated film The Lord of the Rings , for which he provided the voice of Gimli...
- Francis CammaertsFrancis CammaertsFrancis Charles Albert Cammaerts DSO was an outstanding Special Operations Executive agent who organised French Resistance groups to sabotage German communications in occupied France.-Early life:...
- James ChallisJames ChallisJames Challis FRS was an English clergyman, physicist and astronomer. Plumian Professor and director of the Cambridge Observatory, he investigated a wide range of physical phenomena though made few lasting contributions outside astronomy...
, astronomer - Chris CornerChris CornerChris Corner is an English musician and songwriter. He was a founding member of the band Sneaker Pimps and is now active with the IAMX solo project.He has been living in Berlin since 2006, where he has set up his new IAMX studio for music and visual work....
- Francis CrickFrancis CrickFrancis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
- Richard DimblebyRichard DimblebyRichard Dimbleby CBE was an English journalist and broadcaster widely acknowledged as one of the greatest figures in British broadcasting history.-Early life:...
, broadcaster - John Richard EasonsmithJohn Richard EasonsmithJohn Richard Easonsmith DSO MC was an officer in the British Army during the Second World War. At the start of the war he enlisted as a private and was later commissioned and served in the Western Desert with the Long Range Desert Group...
- Sir Norman Hartnell, fashion designer
- Francis HeronFrancis HeronCharles Francis William Heron was an English footballer who made one appearance as a forward for England and was a member of the Wanderers side that won the FA Cup in 1876.-Playing career:...
, EnglandEngland national football teamThe England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
footballer and FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
winner - Hubert HeronHubert HeronGeorge Hubert Hugh Heron was an English footballer who made five appearances as a forward for England in the 1870s and won three FA Cup winners' medals.-Playing career:...
, England footballer and FA Cup winner - Stanislav IanevskiStanislav IanevskiStanislav Ianevski is a Bulgarian actor, known for playing Viktor Krum in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.Ianevski was born in Sofia, Bulgaria and has lived in England and Israel. While attending Mill Hill School in the United Kingdom, Ianevski had no particular acting...
- Simon JenkinsSimon JenkinsSir Simon David Jenkins is a British newspaper columnist and author, and since November 2008 has been chairman of the National Trust. He currently writes columns for both The Guardian and London's Evening Standard, and was previously a commentator for The Times, which he edited from 1990 to 1992...
- Keith LeveneKeith LeveneKeith Levene is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was an early member of The Clash, but is best known as being a founding member of Public Image Limited, along with John Lydon....
, musician, Public Image Limited - Nick LeslauNick LeslauNick Leslau is an English commercial property millionaire, with an estimated fortune in the Sunday Times Rich List of £200 million. He owns Thorpe Park which he leases to Merlin Entertainment.-Biography:...
- Bob Marshall-AndrewsBob Marshall-AndrewsRobert Graham Marshall-Andrews QC is a British Labour Party politician and barrister, who was the Member of Parliament for Medway from 1997 to 2010.-Early life:...
- Harry MellingHarry Melling (actor)Harry Edward Melling is an English actor best known for playing Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films.He is the grandson of Patrick Troughton, who starred as the Second Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who from 1966 to 1969...
, actor - Thanos PapalexisThanos PapalexisThanos Papalexis Greek - Θάνος Παπαλέξης is a businessman and property developer of Greek descent, and also a convicted killer...
- Vir SanghviVir SanghviVir Sanghvi is an Indian print and television journalist, columnist, and talk show host. Currently, he is an Advisor, at HT Media....
- Ernest Satow
- Henry ShawHenry Shaw (botanist)Henry Shaw was a philanthropist and is best known as the founder of the Missouri Botanical Garden.-Early life:...
, botanist - Roger SpongRoger SpongRoger Spong was a rugby union international who represented England from 1929 to 1932.-Early life:Roger Spong was born on 23 October 1906 in Barnet into the family that had founded and ran Spong and Co...
, international rugby union footballer, England and Great Britain - Mitchell SymonsMitchell SymonsMitchell Symons is a Journalist/Writer from London, England. Born in 1957, he was educated at Mill Hill School and the LSE where he studied Law. Since leaving the BBC, where he was a researcher and director, he worked as a writer, broadcaster and journalist...
- Sir Denis ThatcherDenis ThatcherMajor Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet, MBE, TD was a British businessman, and the husband of the former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. He was born in Lewisham, London, the elder child of a New Zealand-born British businessman, Thomas Herbert Thatcher, and his wife Kathleen, née Bird...
- David TinkerDavid TinkerLieutenant David Hugh Russell Tinker was a Royal Navy supply officer, appointed as Captain's Secretary in the county class destroyer . He was killed in action on the 12 June 1982 on the last day of the Falklands War, when Glamorgan was hit by an Exocet missile fired from a lorry by an Argentine...
- Roger ToulsonRoger ToulsonSir Roger Grenfell Toulson QC PC is a British judge and member of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. He was educated at Mill Hill School, to which he won the top scholarship for his year and was one of the most talented pupils, taking 'O' levels at 13, 'A' levels in Greek, Latin and Ancient...
, Lord Justice of Appeal - Patrick TroughtonPatrick TroughtonPatrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
, actor
James Murray
The most prominent former member of staff was James MurrayJames Murray (lexicographer)
Sir James Augustus Henry Murray was a Scottish lexicographer and philologist. He was the primary editor of the Oxford English Dictionary from 1879 until his death.-Life and learning:...
, third editor of a new English Dictionary, that was to become the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
.
In preparation for the work ahead Murray built a corrugated-iron shed in the grounds of Mill Hill School, called the Scriptorium.
A building called the Murray Scriptorium still stands on the school grounds, however this is not the same building as the original.
One of the school's houses, Murray, is named after him.
The Patrick Troughton Theatre
In honour of Patrick TroughtonPatrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
the Mill Hill theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
was dedicated to the actor and named the Patrick Troughton Theatre in 2007.
Further reading
- Roderick Braithwaite. "'Strikingly Alive', The History of the Mill Hill School Foundation 1807–2007"; published Phillimore & Co.
ISBN: 9781860773303