Canterbury was founded in 1915 on the aspiration of two men: Henry O. Havemeyer, scion of a wealthy family which made its fortune in sugar refining, and Nelson Hume, a Catholic schoolmaster. They intended to establish a Roman Catholic school where young men could be guided in their religion and be prepared to attend Ivy League universities.[5]
The school was established in New Milford, Connecticut, on the location of the former Ingleside School for Girls. Hume became the first headmaster of the school. From its start with 16 enrolled students, Nelson Hume guided the school through two world wars and the great depression until his death in 1948. He was succeeded as headmaster by Walter Sheehan, John Reydel in 1973, Roderick Clarke in 1978, Thomas Sheehy in 1990, and Rachel E. Stone in 2016. Canterbury became co-educational in the fall of 1971. The School now enrolls around 320 boarding and day students on its campus in New Milford.[4] Canterbury School celebrated its centennial in 2015.
Facilities
Residential
Canterbury School has seven residence halls that provide housing for about 250 students. Each residence hall contains faculty apartments that range from the size of town houses to smaller one-bedroom suites. Canterbury also has built single family homes on campus, providing housing for some faculty, such as the Headmaster’s House, located on the corner of Aspetuck Avenue and Elkington Farm Road.[6]
Sheehan House (née Middle House) is named for Canterbury’s second headmaster, and is located in center of the lower campus. Simply referred to as "Sheehan" by students, it houses upper form boys.
View of Sheehan House from Aspetuck Avenue
Carter House (née South House) is located on the lower campus and houses upper and lower form girls.
Duffy House (née North House) is located on the northern end of the lower campus and houses lower form girls. It contains a faculty townhouse on the western end of the building, in space that was converted from administrative offices. The school's art department is also located on the ground floor.
Hickory Hearth is located at the southern end of the lower campus and provides space for nine female sophomore students (in double rooms) and three faculty members.
Havemeyer House is located on the upper campus and houses upper form boys. Nicknamed "Havey" by students, it contains two faculty townhouses which bookend the dorm.
Carmody House is located on the upper campus and houses returning sophomore, junior, and senior boys. Identical to Havemeyer, two faculty townhouses bookend the dorm. It is named after the Carmody family, one of the founding families of the school.
South House is a newly constructed building on the lower campus between Hickory Hearth and Carter House that houses upper form girls.
Religious
Chapel of Our Lady was built in 1928 and expanded in 1959. It can seat 300. Mass is celebrated every Sunday during the school year in the Chapel at 11:30 AM. The bottom floor of the chapel contains a classroom. Its stained glass windows have been recently restored. The chapel's carillon is named for alumnus Mel Ferrer '34.
Chaplain’s Residence is the oldest building on campus and has had various uses, including acting as Canterbury’s first chapel.
Athletic
Outdoor facilities include 8 tennis courts, Hamilton Stadium (a multipurpose turf field and track), Sheehy Family Field (a multipurpose turf field), other multipurpose grass playing fields, and baseball and softball diamonds with dugouts [7]
Canterbury Offers 19 Varsity Teams in Baseball, Basketball, Field Hockey, Football, Hockey, Lacrosse, Squash, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball, and Wrestling.[8] All students participate in sports and Canterbury fields Junior Varsity, Thirds and Fourth teams in support of its varsity supports.
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (June 2022)
