Celebrated 100 years in 2021-21
‘CELEBRATING HISTORY, EMBRACING OUR FUTURE.’
“Manor House School has educated many girls (and boys) since first opening in 1920. Today, our growing community of pupils and staff are excited to be recognising 100 years in our history.
We offer a high quality, well-rounded education where girls develop a love of learning, achieve academic excellence and become confident and happy individuals.
In September 2023, Manor House School joined the Effingham Schools Trust. This new partnership with St Teresa’s and Cranmore enables Manor House School pupils to enjoy a rich variety of events, facilities and resources while retaining its strength and individuality.
The School is filled with energy and passion on a dayto-day basis and I never cease to be amazed by the talent, ambition and courage of our pupils.
Our founders, Miss Green and Miss Wheeler, who were two very inspirational and forward-thinking women, would be very proud of their legacy.”
TRACEY FANTHAM, HEADTEACHER
Celebrating History ...
THE MANOR OF LITTLE BOOKHAM dates back to before the Norman Conquest and it is one of the smallest Manors in the country. After the Conquest, the Hansard family (related to the family responsible for the Hansard official record for Parliament) became Lords of the Manor under the powerful Braose family, the Lords of Bramber.
In the fifteenth century, the Lordship came into the Howard family by inheritance and Lord Charles Howard, better known as Howard of Effingham, who was Lord Admiral at the time of the Armada, was probably its’ most famous Lord.
In 1637, the Manor was acquired by the wealthy Benjamin Maddox. His grand-daughter, Mary, heiress to half her father’s fortune, married Edward Pollen, from whom the Lords for the next two hundred years were descended. The Manor’s estate owned by the Pollens included about half of the land in Little Bookham, some 465 acres.
The estate used to include the Manor Farm, just across the road from Manor House and the Rectory; the estate extended more than 30 acres. Over the years, the Pollen family spent more time in the Manor Farm or Rectory, as
the upkeep of the house was too large for them. Eventually the house was let and old census returns show a series of tenants in the house.
The current house was built in the mid-18th century. It was extensively extended and expensively remodelled in the Regency style in around 1800. It was often tenanted out as three of the Lords were also rectors of Little Bookham Church, with whom the Manor has always been closely associated. They lived at the Rectory on Rectory Lane which they developed into a large mansion house. The whitewashed columned Manor House is entered through a large entrance hall, with a large impressive staircase and first floor open landing. This part of the house dates back to the 18th century. The estate once had its’ own ice-house – a method of storing ice in a pit dug about twenty feet underground. It was built on the slope of the marling pit to the south of the house but sadly no trace can be found now.
Henry Court Willock became Lord in 1906 and adopting the family name of Pollen, changed his name to WillockPollen. He at first lived in the Rectory which he bought from the Church, but later lived at Manor Farm.
A fire almost gutted the Manor House in 1927 but fortunately, the building was saved and restored. Following the fire, the house was redesigned by the eminent architect, Baillie Scott. After Willock-Pollen’s death in 1934 the estate was split up and sold off.
Today, the Manor House sits in seventeen acres of gardens and parkland.
Nearly 100 years ago, Manor House School began as two small classes run by Miss Green and Miss Wheeler in Sidmouth, Devon in 1920. They joined forces and ‘The Beehive’ was born.
By 1929, the two ladies decided to move to Surrey because they wished to branch out into boarding and it was felt that Devon was too far for London families to travel. For seven years they rented Mickleham Hall in Dorking, but in 1937 the school moved to Bookham after Miss Green purchased the Manor House at auction. Manor House School has been settled here ever since. The house had been empty for some time, so the rooms in the main house needed updating and altered to provide classrooms and accommodation.
Elizabeth Green and Lillian Wheeler became joint headmistresses, with a roll of fifty girls and three boys!
The school needed more space so having just moved in, workmen began the foundations on a new wing, situated on the left hand side of the house. Work started in September 1937 and the ‘Arcot Hall’ (as it is known) was ready for an opening ceremony on 25th November, just two months later. There was a hall/gym with stage on the ground floor, although the stage was an afterthought and wasn’t really high enough! Nine rooms upstairs were used as bedrooms and Music rooms.
The gardens too had been neglected but an outbreak of chicken pox in 1938 meant that isolated girls who were well
but needed fresh air, were able to gently discover where the old flower beds were. Under Miss Richards direction it was restored to its former glory.
In 1939 Miss Wheeler sadly died suddenly and Miss Green appointed two Vice Principals to support her.
The war period was hard as many parents sent their children abroad and so numbers dwindled. An offer to take the school to New England near Boston was turned down. Miss Green decided to carry on in the Manor House bringing all dormitories down to the ground floor and moving the classrooms upstairs. An air raid shelter was built in the ‘Dell’ but proved impractical and too far from the house. The Matron, Mrs Muller, declared that there “was greater risk of pneumonia than bombs!” The large windows were wire screened to guard against blasts and at night all eighty-four windows were heavily curtained to black out light.
Fortunately, the house suffered little damage although a small bomb was dropped on the top field. The only damage was shattered windows. French Canadian troops and their lorries were stationed in the lane and proved to be a good source of help to the school.
Thankfully, the war ended in 1945 and life returned back to normal at the school. In the early fifties, two more
classrooms were added in place of the garage, which was moved a little further from the house. In 1958, a Needlework and Art Room were built at right angles to the outside classes and in 1961, another two classrooms and a laboratory were built.
Miss Green retired in 1965 and moved into Meadow Cottage which was built for her in the grounds. She died on the 8th October 1976 and is buried in All Saints Church next to Miss Wheeler.
The wooden Main Block was built as the school grew in the late 1970s. The Mason Centre was added in 1990 and a further addition to it, the Church Wing, in 1999. This currently houses the Science department and ICT suites.
The Elizabeth Green Hall was opened on 15 March 1997 by Mr Richard Thornton, O.B.E., J.P., Lord Lieutenant of the County of Surrey. It is our main hall used for sport, assemblies, productions and concerts.
Recent additions to Manor House were in 2005 with the new Nursery, HE, Music and Art rooms replacing the old wooden classrooms. Extensions to the Science and Art blocks were then built in 2009.
The school has a responsibility to maintain this beautiful house and grounds and a team of dedicated facilities staff work all year round to achieve this objective.
Former aerial view
“In order to learn and develop, we educate our pupils to embrace individual challenges and become self-reliant. We will continue to apply these same principles in the future. Each section of the school has grown in the last two years and we aim to continue this growth until the school reaches its’ target size.”
TRACEY FANTHAM, HEADTEACHER
We are acutely aware that affordability is a key factor for many families and we intend to provide a quality education and value for money. Accordingly, we will keep our fee increases to a minimum and only at levels necessary for the effective running and achievement of the schools’ aims and objectives.
We are committed to offering attractive scholarship packages and bursaries to those unable to afford the full fee so that we may continue the legacy of our Founders. We are also constantly exploring opportunities to utilise our facilities for income generation and to provide further activities for young people within the school and wider community during the weekend and holiday periods. We look forward to embracing the next centenary to come.
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