Reddam House, Berkshire

Building

Reddam House was founded in 1827 as the Merchant Seamans' Orphanage in the City of London. Its purpose was to care for and educate children whose fathers were lost at sea. In 1862 the school moved into new buildings in Snaresbrook, London, with the support of the Prince Consort, Prince Albert (husband of Queen Victoria) and John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, a British Prime Minister. The school earned the designation "Royal" from Edward VII 1902 and the name was changed to the Royal Merchant Navy School by George V.

In 1921, the school moved to Sindlesham near Wokingham, Berkshire into its present home in a Victorian mansion, Bearwood House. In 1961, the school began to accept fee-paying students, whereupon it changed its name to Bearwood College. In 1995 the school became co-educational. In 2007, the preparatory school opened, allowing for continuous education through primary and secondary school. In July 2015, Bearwood College closed its doors and Reddam House, Berkshire took its place.

School Buildings

In around 1830, John Walter (1776–1847), owner of The Times newspaper, purchased the 5,000-acre (20 km²) estate on which the school is now located. His son, also John Walter (1818–1894), employed architect Robert Kerr to build a mansion in the grounds as his country seat. Erected 1865–74, it is one of the largest Victorian country houses in England. Nikolaus Pevsner described it as "the climax [of country mansions], and in its brazen way one of the major Victorian monuments of England". The bricks used in the building were made from clay extracted from what is now California Country Park, once part of the estate. A dam was constructed around the site and was then flooded to form the 47-acre (19 ha) Longmoor Lake.

Reddam House on Screen

The mansion has appeared in a number of television series, including Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (1986) and as the club 'Brydges', in the 2012 mini-series, Restless. The house also featured in the second episode of the second series of ITV's Endeavour titled 'Nocturne', and in episodes of Midsomer Murders.

Reddam House Group of Schools

Reddam House Group was founded in 2000 by Graeme Crawford in Cape Town, South Africa. The group’s motto is Tutem te rebore reddam, meaning I will keep you safe by my strength. The motto has its origins in Scottish history, when the first Monarch of Crawford saved King David the First of Scotland from certain death by a stag during a hunting expedition. The Monarch’s Coat-of-Arms included the stag’s head as a symbol of his bravery. On marrying his wife, the Monarch included the fleur-de-lis in his Coat-of-Arms.