Twyford School is a co-educational, private, preparatory boarding and day school, located in the village of Twyford, Hampshire, England.
History Twyford states itself to be the oldest preparatory school in the United Kingdom. It moved to its present site in 1809, but there has been a school for boys in Twyford since the seventeenth century.twyford During the nineteenth century buildings were added, including a large schoolroom built during the 1820s, and a mid-Victorian chapel. Original buildings are still used and form part of today's campus.
In 1859, while George Kitchin was master of the school, his friend Lewis Carroll took a photograph of Kitchin and his class of nine boys.Jon A. Lindseth, Grolier Club, Yours very sincerely, C. L. Dodgson (alias "Lewis Carroll") (1998), p. 52: "Photograph of Twyford School boys and the headmaster, George William Kitchin, by Lewis Carroll. Summer 1859. George William Kitchin, headmaster of Twyford School, Hampshire, with the "first class" of nine pupils."
Current status A series of developments coincided with the admission of girls to the school, and have continued in recent years. Building works and improvements have been undertaken, although historic fabric has generally been retained. In addition the sports grounds and other outdoor facilities have been upgraded.
Twyford is a private school, and a registered charity. It accepts both day pupils and boarders, and has a pre-preparatory school on the same campus for children below the age of five. It has capacity for around 400 pupils between the ages of 3 and 13, with boarders being accepted from the age of 8. It is a Church of England school.
Headmasters To 1692: Rev. Thomas Brown, alias WeatherbyJohn Dudley Browning, Education in the 18th Century (1979), p. 105: "In 1692 the Reverend William Husband, alias Bernard, succeeded the Reverend Thomas Brown, alias Weatherby, as headmaster at Twyford." From 1692: Rev. William Husband, alias Bernard 1855 to 1861: Rev. George Kitchin, later Dean of Winchester in 1883, then Dean of Durham from 1894 to 1912, and from 1908 to 1912, Chancellor of the University of DurhamGeorge William Kitchin at npg.org.uk, accessed 16 February 2019 1862 to 1887: Reverend Lathom WickhamThe Diaries of Lewis Carroll Volume 2 (1954), p. 387: "Lathom Wickham [sometime of Christ Church, Headmaster of Twyford School 1862-87] brought a son to matriculate here [Charles Townshend Wickham, became Headmaster of Twyford on his father's retirement]. 1887: Reverend Charles Townshend Wickham 1939 to 1963: Reverend Robert ("Bob") G. Wickhamhttp://www.twyfordschool.com/History-of-the-School..."In 1961, Bob Wickham’s son, David, joined the staff. It was the intention that David Wickham would take over the school on Bob’s retirement. This happened in 1963" 1963 to 1983: David. T. Wickham MA (Oxon)Public & preparatory schools yearbook 1983, p. 527 1983 to 1996: Peter Richard Douglas Gouldhttp://www.twyfordschool.com/History-of-the-School..."David Wickham retired in 1983, to be replaced by Mr. Richard Gould" 1996 to 2003: Philip Fawkes 2003 to 2009: Dr David LivingstoneGood Schools Guide 2003, p. 894: "TWYFORD SCHOOL... From April, 2003 the new head will be Dr David Livingstone (late forties), deputy headmaster of Rugby and a housemaster and geography teacher there. Doctorate in environmental sciences (East Anglia)."http://www.twyfordschool.com/History-of-the-School..."Dr. Livingstone left in July 2009 to take up another Headship. He was replaced by Dr. Steve Bailey, a Senior Housemaster from Winchester College and an extremely experienced educationalist as well as a renowned Olympic historian." 2009 to 2020: Dr Steve Bailey, previously a master at Winchester College 2020 Andrew Harvey
In 1984, Donald Leinster-Mackay noted that "The Wickham family have provided headmasters for Twyford School since 1834.Donald Leinster-Mackay, Old School Ties: Some Nineteenth Century and Early Twentieth Century Links between Public and Preparatory Schools, in British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Feb., 1984), pp. 78-83
Notable old boys
See also :Category:People educated at Twyford School Alexander Pope (1688–1744), poetHoward Erskine-Hill, “Pope, Alexander (1688–1744)”, in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004) Thomas Talbot (1727–1795), Roman Catholic bishop James Talbot (1726–1790), priest William Loring (1811–1895), Royal Navy officer Thomas Hughes (1822–1896), lawyer and author Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook (1826–1904) Philip Sclater (1829–1913), lawyer and zoologist Robert Biddulph (1835–1918), soldier Charles Eamer Kempe (1837–1907) designer of stained glass Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840–1922), poet Thomas Garnier (1841–1898), clergyman and cricketer Robert Moberly (1845–1915), priest Edwin Dodgson (1846–1918), clergyman and missionary, brother of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) Henry Hallam Parr (1847–1914), soldier Hubert Parry (1848–1918), composerJeremy Dibble, "Parry, Sir (Charles) Hubert Hastings, baronet (1848–1918)", in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004) Arthur Woollgar Verrall (1851–1912), classical scholar George Kemball (1858–1941), soldier Edward Christian (1858–1934), footballer and tea-trader John Rawlinson (1860–1926), lawyer and politician Walter Congreve (1862–1927), soldier Arthur Christian (1863–1926), Royal Navy officer Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair (1865–1945), Royal Navy officer John Poynder Dickson-Poynder, 1st Baron Islington (1866–1936), Governor General of New Zealand Andrew Hamilton Russell (1868–1960), New Zealand soldier Walter Roch (1880–1965), landowner and politician John Minshull-Ford (1881–1948), soldier and Lieutenant Governor of GuernseyNotable OTs by Twyford Society at twyfordschool.com, archived by archive.org, accessed February 2019 Roscow Shedden (1882–1956), bishop Clarence Napier Bruce, 3rd Baron Aberdare (1885–1957), sportsman George Gater (1886–1963), soldier and civil servant Roland Philipps (1890–1916), soldier, killed in action Alban Arnold (1892–1916), cricketer Ernest Fraser Jacob (1894–1971), scholar Gerald Vernon (1899–1963), bishop William Andrewes (1899–1974), Royal Navy officer Ralph George Scott Bankes (1900–1948), barrister Michael Perrin (1905–1988), nuclear physicist Richard Crossman (1907–1974), politician Amherst Barrow Whatman (1909–1984), radio engineer Claude Sclater (1910-1986), naval officer Lynch Maydon (1913–1971), naval officer and politician George Rudolf Hanbury Fielding (1915–2005), soldier Terence Edward Armstrong (1920–1996), arctic geographer Desmond Norman (1929–2002), aircraft designer Jock Bruce-Gardyne, (1930–1990), politician Douglas Hurd (born 1930), politicianDouglas Hurd, Memoirs (2003), p. 52 Mark Tully (1935–2026), BBC overseas correspondent Humphrey Taylor (born 1938), bishop Christopher Orlebar (1945–2018), Concorde pilot Ralph Palmer, 12th Baron Lucas (born 1951), publisher and politician Andrew Longmore (1953–2019), cricketer and journalist
References
Further reading C. T. Wickham, ed., "The Story of Twyford School 1809-1909" (Winchester: Wykeham Press, 1909) Rev. Robert G Wickham, "Shades of the Prison House: Glimpses of school life at Twyford over the past three hundred years" (Foxbury Press, 1986)
External links School Website Profile on the ISC website ISI Inspection Reports