Downham School

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 focused less on education and more on preparing well-born young ladies for advantageous marriages. ^{[1] [ unreliable source? ]} In her 2007 memoir, alumna Clarissa Eden described the school as "a fashionable boarding school ... orientated to horses". ^[2] Down Hall was sold in the 1960s and the school closed circa 1967, the house becoming a conference centre. ^[3]

Notable former pupils

• Jennifer Forwood, 11th Baroness Arlington (born 1939), peeress
• Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon (1920–2021), ^{[1] [2] [3]} spouse of the prime minister of the United Kingdom
• Lady Caroline Blackwood (1931–1996), 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] [3]} Ambassador of the United States to France
• Lady Elizabeth Shakerley (1941–2020), party planner
• Frances Shand Kydd (1936–2004), ^{[1] [3]} mother of Diana, Princess of Wales

References

1. "History of Down Hall" (PDF). Down Hall. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
2. A Memoir: From Churchill to Eden. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2007. p. 11. ISBN   978-0-297-85193-6.
3. Exton, Colin (25 May 2021). "Exploring the history of Down Hall Hotel & Spa". Absolutely Essex. Retrieved 5 February 2023.