Prior Park College
Encyclopedia
Prior Park College is a Roman Catholic co-educational independent school
for both day and boarding pupils.
It is situated on a hill overlooking the city of Bath, in Somerset
, in south-west England. Prior Park
has been designated by English Heritage
as a grade I listed building.
One of the wings of the mansion includes the Chapel of our Lady of the Snows, which was built in 1844 by Scoles and Son and is grade I listed. The adjoining 57 acres (23 ha) Prior Park Landscape Garden
, once part of the school site, is now owned by the National Trust
.
, Bishop Baines
, as a seminary, and continues to provide co-educational schooling for boys and girls aged eleven to eighteen in the Catholic tradition and ecumenical spirit.
In 2008, Prior Park A-level
pupils received the best results in the history of the school with over one-fifth of all students getting three A grades and 77% receiving A and B grades at A-level.
James Murphy-O'Connor replaced retiring head teacher Dr. Giles Mercer in July 2009. Mr Murphy-O'Connor is the nephew of former Prior Park pupil Cardinal
Cormac Murphy-O'Connor. Dr. Mercer had been head teacher since 1996 and with his previous position as head of Stonyhurst College
, his twenty-four years as a head teacher made him the "longest serving Catholic senior school headmaster in England."
The school is part of the Prior Park Foundation which includes the Paragon School
in Bath and Prior Park Preparatory School
in Cricklade
, Wiltshire
.
mansion which now houses Prior Park College was originally designed and built chiefly by John Wood, the Elder
in 1742. He was commissioned to build on the hill overlooking Bath by Ralph Allen
: "To see all Bath, and for all Bath to see"
Bishop Baines purchased the mansion in 1828 for £22,000 and used it as a seminary. Renovations were made according to designs by H. E. Goodridge in 1834. The seminary was closed in 1856 after a fire in 1836 that resulted in extensive damage and renovation and brought about financial insolvency. It was later bought by Bishop Clifford
who founded a Roman Catholic Grammar School in the mansion.
The grammar school closed in 1904 and the site was occupied by the army during the First World War and afterwards by a series of tenants until, in 1921, the Christian Brothers took it over and founded a boys' boarding school in 1924. Prior Park College has continued to occupy the house, but, in 1993, 11.3 hectares (27.9 acre) of the park and pleasure grounds were acquired by the National Trust
and have since been the subject of a detailed restoration programme.
Prior Park Landscape Garden
, now owned by the National Trust was first started in 1734 to 1744 with the Allens benefiting during the first phase from the advice of their friend Alexander Pope
. The Palladian bridge and lake that it spans were added in 1755; the final phase with the green slopes from the house to the lake are thought to have been planned by Capability Brown
in the 1760s.
The main building (Mansion) has been badly burnt twice. The 1836 fire left visible damage to some stonework. The 1991 fire gutted the interior, except for parts of the basement. Rebuilding took approximately three years. Unusually, the blaze started on the top floor, and spread downwards.
-owned site named from a triangular Gothic
building with a round tower on the top erected by Bishop Warburton
. It contained a circular staircase and had a tablet which was inscribed in Latin in honour of Ralph Allen.
Since 2000, refurbishments include the indoor swimming pool, a new Information and communication technologies
centre, other classroom extensions, and the new Mackintosh Dance Studio, which opened in September 2006.
Prior Park College has plans to build a new sports hall to expand training capacity and capabilities. Additional sports facilities are located within easy reach at the National Lottery
-funded University of Bath
Sports Village, which is the training camp of the England rugby union
and netball
teams, as well as Bath Rugby Club and the Great Britain rugby league
team.
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 both day and boarding pupils.
It is situated on a hill overlooking the city of Bath, in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, in south-west England. Prior Park
Prior Park
Prior Park is a Palladian house, designed by John Wood, the Elder in the 1730s and 1740s for Ralph Allen, on a hill overlooking Bath, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building....
has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a grade I listed building.
One of the wings of the mansion includes the Chapel of our Lady of the Snows, which was built in 1844 by Scoles and Son and is grade I listed. The adjoining 57 acres (23 ha) Prior Park Landscape Garden
Prior Park Landscape Garden
Prior Park Landscape Garden is an 18th-century landscape garden, designed by the poet Alexander Pope and the landscape gardener Capability Brown, and now owned by the National Trust. It is south of Bath, Somerset, England by Ralph Allen Drive, and 3/4 mile from the Kennet and Avon canal path...
, once part of the school site, is now owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Overview
Originally intended to be England's first Catholic university, Prior Park College was founded in 1830, and since then has been a Roman Catholic school. It was established by the BenedictineBenedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
, Bishop Baines
Peter Augustine Baines
Peter Augustine Baines was an English Benedictine, Titular Bishop of Siga and Vicar Apostolic of the Western District of England.-Life:...
, as a seminary, and continues to provide co-educational schooling for boys and girls aged eleven to eighteen in the Catholic tradition and ecumenical spirit.
In 2008, Prior Park A-level
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
pupils received the best results in the history of the school with over one-fifth of all students getting three A grades and 77% receiving A and B grades at A-level.
James Murphy-O'Connor replaced retiring head teacher Dr. Giles Mercer in July 2009. Mr Murphy-O'Connor is the nephew of former Prior Park pupil Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Cormac Murphy-O'Connor. Dr. Mercer had been head teacher since 1996 and with his previous position as head 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...
, his twenty-four years as a head teacher made him the "longest serving Catholic senior school headmaster in England."
The school is part of the Prior Park Foundation which includes the Paragon School
Paragon School
The Paragon School is an independent prep co-educational school in Bath, England, catering for approximately 220 pupils in total from 3 to 11 years. It is the preparatory school of Prior Park College.-Organisation:...
in Bath and Prior Park Preparatory School
Prior Park Preparatory School
Prior Park Preparatory School is located in Cricklade, Wiltshire. In 1946 a preparatory school was needed for Prior Park College, the independent Catholic senior school in Bath that was run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers...
in Cricklade
Cricklade
Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire in England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester.On 25 September 2011 Cricklade was awarded The Royal Horticultural Society's 'Champion of Champions' award in the Britain in Bloom competition.Cricklade is twinned with...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
.
History
The PalladianPalladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
mansion which now houses Prior Park College was originally designed and built chiefly by John Wood, the Elder
John Wood, the Elder
John Wood, the Elder, , was an English architect. Born in Twerton England, a village near Bath, now a suburb, he went to school in Bath. He came back to Bath after working in Yorkshire, and it is believed, in London, in his early 20s...
in 1742. He was commissioned to build on the hill overlooking Bath by Ralph Allen
Ralph Allen
Ralph Allen was an entrepreneur and philanthropist, and was notable for his reforms to the British postal system. He was baptised at St Columb Major, Cornwall on 24 July 1693. As a teenager he worked at the Post Office. He moved in 1710 to Bath, where he became a post office clerk, and at the age...
: "To see all Bath, and for all Bath to see"
Bishop Baines purchased the mansion in 1828 for £22,000 and used it as a seminary. Renovations were made according to designs by H. E. Goodridge in 1834. The seminary was closed in 1856 after a fire in 1836 that resulted in extensive damage and renovation and brought about financial insolvency. It was later bought by Bishop Clifford
William Hugh Joseph Clifford
William Hugh Joseph Clifford was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Clifton from 1857 to 1893....
who founded a Roman Catholic Grammar School in the mansion.
The grammar school closed in 1904 and the site was occupied by the army during the First World War and afterwards by a series of tenants until, in 1921, the Christian Brothers took it over and founded a boys' boarding school in 1924. Prior Park College has continued to occupy the house, but, in 1993, 11.3 hectares (27.9 acre) of the park and pleasure grounds were acquired by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
and have since been the subject of a detailed restoration programme.
Prior Park Landscape Garden
Prior Park Landscape Garden
Prior Park Landscape Garden is an 18th-century landscape garden, designed by the poet Alexander Pope and the landscape gardener Capability Brown, and now owned by the National Trust. It is south of Bath, Somerset, England by Ralph Allen Drive, and 3/4 mile from the Kennet and Avon canal path...
, now owned by the National Trust was first started in 1734 to 1744 with the Allens benefiting during the first phase from the advice of their friend Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
. The Palladian bridge and lake that it spans were added in 1755; the final phase with the green slopes from the house to the lake are thought to have been planned by Capability Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
in the 1760s.
The main building (Mansion) has been badly burnt twice. The 1836 fire left visible damage to some stonework. The 1991 fire gutted the interior, except for parts of the basement. Rebuilding took approximately three years. Unusually, the blaze started on the top floor, and spread downwards.
Facilities
Prior Park uses The Monument Field, a National TrustNational Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
-owned site named from a triangular Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
building with a round tower on the top erected by Bishop Warburton
William Warburton
William Warburton was an English critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759.-Life:He was born at Newark, where his father, who belonged to an old Cheshire family, was town clerk. William was educated at Oakham and Newark grammar schools, and in 1714 he was articled to Mr Kirke, an...
. It contained a circular staircase and had a tablet which was inscribed in Latin in honour of Ralph Allen.
Since 2000, refurbishments include the indoor swimming pool, a new Information and communication technologies
Information and communication technologies
Information and communications technology or information and communication technology, usually abbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for information technology , but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of...
centre, other classroom extensions, and the new Mackintosh Dance Studio, which opened in September 2006.
Prior Park College has plans to build a new sports hall to expand training capacity and capabilities. Additional sports facilities are located within easy reach at the National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
-funded University of Bath
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
Sports Village, which is the training camp of the England rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
teams, as well as Bath Rugby Club and the Great Britain rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
team.
Notable former pupils
- Damian CroninDamian CroninDamian Cronin is a former Scotland rugby union rugby player who represented London Scottish FC. He is an alumnus of Prior Park College.Playing in the second row, he was part of the Grand Slam winning side in 1990...
, Bath and Scotland rugby player - 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...
, Professor of Poetry at University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096... - Christopher Logue, CBEChristopher LogueChristopher Logue, CBE is an English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival. He has also written for the theatre and cinema as well as acting in a number of films. His two screenplays are Savage Messiah and The End of Arthur's Marriage...
, poet - Sir Ken Macdonald QC, Director of Public ProsecutionsDirector of Public ProsecutionsThe Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
of England and Wales, head of the Crown Prosecution Service - Sir Cameron MackintoshCameron MackintoshSir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
, British theatrical producer (formerly partnered with composer Sir Andrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
) - Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Cardinal Archbishop of WestminsterArchbishop of WestminsterThe Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the Metropolitan of the Province of Westminster and, as a matter of custom, is elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and therefore de facto spokesman...
- Hugh ScullyHugh ScullyHugh Scully , is a British television presenter. He is best known as the host of the BBC show Antiques Roadshow from 1981 to 2000.Scully joined the BBC in 1965 as a freelance journalist...
, broadcaster - John Aloysius WardJohn Aloysius WardJohn Aloysius Ward was a Roman Catholic clergyman. He became Bishop of Menevia in 1981, and Archbishop of Cardiff in 1983...
, former Archbishop of CardiffArchbishop of CardiffThe Archbishop of Cardiff is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff.The archdiocese covers an area of and spans the historic counties of Monmouthshire, Herefordshire and eastern Glamorganshire... - Stephen BowmanBlake (band)Blake are a classical vocal quartet. They are widely known as the group who formed on Facebook.They released their debut album "Blake" in November 2007, which won the Album of the Year Award at the Classical BRIT Awards in 2008...
, member of Brit AwardBrit AwardsThe Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
winning band BlakeBlake (band)Blake are a classical vocal quartet. They are widely known as the group who formed on Facebook.They released their debut album "Blake" in November 2007, which won the Album of the Year Award at the Classical BRIT Awards in 2008... - Michael PleaseMichael PleaseMichael Please is a BAFTA winning animator.A former student of Prior Park College in Bath and the Royal College of Art and the University of the Arts London . He as made several music videos and short films including his BAFTA winning RCA graduation film: The Eagleman Stag...
, BAFTA winning animator