Downham School
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| Downham School | |
|---|---|
 | |
Hatfield Heath, Essex, England | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private boarding school |
| Established | 1932 |
| Closed | c. 1967 |
| Gender | Girls |
Downham School was a private boarding school for girls based at Down Hall, a Victorian country house near Hatfield Heath, Essex.
The school was established in 1932. Eleanor Louisa Houison-Craufurd was the first principal from 1932 to 1950. The school had a reputation for focusing less on education and more on preparing well-born young ladies for advantageous marriages.[1][2] In her 2007 memoir, alumna Clarissa Eden described the school as "a fashionable boarding school ... orientated to horses".[3] Down Hall was sold in the 1960s and the school closed circa 1967, the house becoming a conference centre.[4]
Notable former pupils
[edit]- Jennifer Forwood, 11th Baroness Arlington (born 1939), peeress
- Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon (1920–2021),[1][2][3][4] spouse of the prime minister of the United Kingdom
- Lady Caroline Blackwood (1931–1996),[1] writer
- Lady Martha Bruce (1921–2023), prison governor
- Elizabeth Carnegy, Baroness Carnegy of Lour (1925–2010), academic and activist
- Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner (born 1932), peeress and socialite
- Pamela Harriman (1920–1997),[1][2][4] Ambassador of the United States to France
- Lady Elizabeth Shakerley (1941–2020), party planner
- Frances Shand Kydd (1936–2004),[1][2][4] mother of Diana, Princess of Wales
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Hart, Sybilla (27 July 2024). "The history of Down Hall near Bishop's Stortford in Essex". Essex Life. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ a b c d "History of Down Hall" (PDF). Down Hall. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ a b A Memoir: From Churchill to Eden. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2007. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-297-85193-6.
- ^ a b c d Exton, Colin (25 May 2021). "Exploring the history of Down Hall Hotel & Spa". Absolutely Essex. Retrieved 5 February 2023.