The History of
West Hill The Harrison Family were pioneers of the Cotton Industry in Stalybridge and amassed enormous wealth through their ownership of the Chapel Street Cotton Mills. West Hill House was built in 1822 for William Harrison and his future bride, Amy Cheetham. The house passed into the ownership of successive members of the Harrison family until Miss Mary Harrison, a spinster, was the one remaining member of the Harrison family left. In 1920 she placed the house on the market and it was offered for auction. The 1918 Education Act banished ‘half timers’ and raised the school leaving age to 14 meaning that Stalybridge needed a new school to accommodate an estimated additional 500 more ‘adult’ children. The Chairman of the Borough Education Committee saw the potential of West Hill as a school and work on the conversion began in 1925. At first, the school was to be designed for both boys and girls, but the decision was made for a boys’ only school. It was decided to make 10 classrooms for 400 children.
Aiming High since 1927