St. Stephen's College (Clewer, Folkestone, Taplow, Broadstairs)

St. Stephen's College
Established 1867
Closed 1991
Religion Anglican
Founder Community of St John the Baptist
Location England
Gender Girls
Former pupils Old St Stephenites
Website St Stephen's College

St. Stephen's College was an educational establishment for girls run by the Anglican convent of the Community of St. John Baptist in Clewer (Windsor, Berkshire) from 1867. The college took gentlemen's daughters, clergymen's daughters (with a discount on fees), and student teachers.[1]

St. Stephen's moved to Folkestone in 1919, but evacuated to Taplow during the Second World War. The buildings in Folkestone were eventually acquired by Folkestone School for Girls. After the war St. Stephen's College was re-established in Broadstairs. It closed in 1991.[2] [3]

Timeline

[4]

1863 Thomas Thellusson Carter, Rector of Clewer, and Sister Emily of the neighbouring Anglican Community of St. John Baptist found a ragged school for the poor in a cottage in Clewer Fields.
1867 Foundation stone of new Mission House in the parish of Clewer St. Stephen is laid. The ragged school moves into its new premises in 1868.
1870 Following Forster's Education Act which paves the way for free elementary education for all children, St. Stephen's College gradually transforms into a fee paying boarding school for the daughters of clergymen and gentlemen.
1919 The growing school moves into more spacious premises in Folkestone, Kent.
1940 The school is evacuated from Folkestone to Taplow Court in Buckinghamshire, the home of William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough, where it remains for the duration of the war.
1945 Following the death of Lord Desborough, Taplow Court is put up for sale. In 1946 the school moves to Broadstairs on the Isle of Thanet in Kent where it takes up residence in buildings vacated during the war by another independent school, North Foreland Lodge. The school buildings consist of the main school's north and south wings, a staff house, Wynstow, on the opposite side of North Foreland Road, connected to the main school via an underground tunnel, and another house behind this, St. Christopher's (known as St. Kitts) for the youngest boarders.
1964 The last of the Sisters of Clewer leave St. Stephen's College and the first lay Headmistress, Megan Lowe takes charge of the school.
1967 The school celebrates its centenary with the building of a new school hall, named Clewer Hall in gratitude to the Sisters of Clewer.
1968 The school's sixth formers begin to travel daily to St. Lawrence College, Ramsgate to join the boys there for their lessons. The St. Stephen's College stables and riding school is established in the school grounds.
1970 St. Stephen's College Preparatory School is established at North Foreland Court under the leadership of Miss Paget.
1977 From September 1977 'A' Level courses are taught at St. Stephen's instead of at St. Lawrence College.
1991 The school governors announce the decision that due to falling numbers on the school role and financial difficulties, the school is to close at the end of the 1991 summer term. After closure of the school, the buildings lie derelict for many years before being demolished to make way for a housing development. The development incorporates the Grade II listed wing of the main school building[5] which has been converted into flats and is now known as St. Stephen's Manor.


Literature

  • Jenny Balston, The Story of St. Stephen's College (1994) ISBN 9780952334309
  • Valerie Bonham, A Joyous Service: The Clewer Sisters and Their Work (2012) ISBN 9780957419704

References

  1. ↑ Emily Janes (ed.), The Englishwoman's Year Book (1900), pp. 29, 79.
  2. ↑ Records of the Community of St John Baptist, Clewer, The National Archives. Accessed 11 Nov. 2015.
  3. ↑ St Stephen's College, Clewer, Folkestone, Taplow and Broadstairs, The National Archives
  4. ↑ Jenny Balston, The Story of St. Stephen's College (1994) ISBN 9780952334309
  5. ↑ https://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101223387-st-stephens-college-broadstairs-and-st-peters#.Wt0w138h3cs
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