Hillbrow School was an English boys' preparatory school established in 1859 in the Midland town of Rugby. The founder was John William Joseph Vecquerary, a Prussian by birth, who had been recently recruited as a modern languages master at Rugby School, to which it was a feeder school, although he remained in post at Rugby.[1] In 1870 the school moved to a purpose-built building on Barby Road.[2]

The name Hillbrow, taken from the name of the building erected to house the school, was in use by the time of his successor, Thomas Bainbridge Eden, who according to Duncan Grant, one of its most famous pupils, ran "a Spartan institution with only about forty pupils".[3] Eden was asked to leave as head in 1908 following a scandal about his sexual interest in his pupils.[4]

Twentieth century

In 1917, during the First World War the school moved to Overslade House, also in Rugby,[5] and in 1922 the school was taken over by W.S. Dixon. In 1940 a landmine, or perhaps two, exploded some way from Overslade, and blew out all the windows. The school was thereafter evacuated to Featherstone Castle in Northumberland. George Bennett took over as headmaster in 1953, but was quickly succeeded by D.N. Clark-Lowes. In 1961 the school amalgamated with St Nicholas's School and moved to their premises at Ridley Hall, Northumberland. In 1962 D.N. Clark-Lowes resigned, and the name Hillbrow ceased to be used. St Nicholas's closed a few years later.[2]

Notable pupils

References and sources

  1. ^ Leinster-Mackay, Donald P. (1984). The rise of the English prep school. Falmer Press.
  2. ^ a b "THE ORIGINS OF HILLBROW SCHOOL IN RUGBY". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  3. ^ Frances Spalding (1997). Duncan Grant, A Biography. Random House UK. ISBN 0-7126-6640-0.
  4. ^ a b c d e Jean Moorcroft Wilson (9 August 2018). Robert Graves: From Great War Poet to Good-bye to All That (1895-1929). Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 47–. ISBN 978-1-4729-2916-7. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  5. ^ "HILLBROW SCHOOL IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Frances Spalding (30 April 2011). Duncan Grant. Random House. pp. 22–. ISBN 978-1-4090-2938-0. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Paul Delany (1 April 2015). Fatal Glamour: The Life of Rupert Brooke. MQUP. pp. 130–. ISBN 978-0-7735-8278-1. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  8. ^ a b Spalding, Frances (1997). Duncan Grant: A Biography. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  9. ^ Hale, Keith (1998). Friends and Apostles: The Correspondence of Rupert Brooke and James Strachey, 1905-1914. Retrieved 20 January 2019.

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