Clayesmore School

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Clayesmore School
Address
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Iwerne Minster Blandford Forum , Dorset , DT11 8LL England
Coordinates	50°55′53″N 2°11′47″W / 50.93142°N 2.19644°W / 50.93142; -2.19644Coordinates: 50°55′53″N 2°11′47″W / 50.93142°N 2.19644°W / 50.93142; -2.19644
Information
Type	Public school Independent school Boarding school Day School
Motto	Dieu premier donc mes frères (God first then my brothers)
Religious affiliation(s)	Church of England
Established	1896
Founder	Alexander Devine
Local authority	Dorset
Department for Education URN	113912 Tables
Head	Jo Thomson
Gender	Coeducational
Enrolment	710
Houses	Devine Gate Manor King's Wolverton
Website	clayesmore.com

Clayesmore School is an independent school for boys and girls, aged 2 – 18 years, in the village of Iwerne Minster, Dorset, England. It is both a day and boarding school and is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC).

The school was founded by Alexander Devine in 1896 in Enfield, Middlesex. After moving to Pangbourne, Berkshire and then to Winchester, Hampshire it finally moved to Iwerne Minster for the summer term of 1933. In 1974 it was joined on the Iwerne site by Clayesmore Preparatory School, originally Charlton Marshall School, which had been founded in 1929 by R.A.L. Everett. In the following year the school became co-educational.

As of 2019 there are 430 pupils in the senior school (ages 13–18) and 200 in the prep school (ages 3–13). The current head is Joanne Thomson, and the Prep Head is Jonathon Anderson. The school is situated on a 62-acre (250,000 m²) campus, and the facilities include an astro-turf pitch, theatre, sports centre and subject facilities including an art department, science block, business school and design and technology department.

History[]

For centuries the land on which Clayesmore now stands was held by Shaftesbury Abbey. After the dissolution it passed to the Bower family. Their family home was built in 1796 roughly on the site of the existing main building. In 1876 the last member of the Bower family, Captain T B Bower, sold the village and estate to George Glyn, 2nd Baron Wolverton. The Baron demolished the existing house, laid out the Iwerne estate afresh and commissioned Alfred Waterhouse to design the present building (now Wolverton House) which was completed in 1878.

In 1904 the 4th Baron Wolverton put the whole 2,612-acre (10.57 km²) estate up for sale. This was bought in 1908 by whose father, Thomas Henry Ismay, had founded the White Star Line shipping company. On Ismay's death in January 1930 the estate was put up for sale in a number of separate lots. Clayesmore bought the main manor house and the 60 acres (240,000 m²) in which it stands and the school moved in during 1933.

Heads[]

• Alexander Devine, 1896–1930
• Aubrey de Sélincourt, 1931–1935
• Evelyn Mansfield King, 1935–1945
• D Peter Burke, 1945–1966
• Roy McIssac, 1966–1979
• Michael Hawkins, 1979–1986
• David Beeby, 1986–2000
• Martin Cooke, 2000–2016
• Joanne Thomson, 2016–present

Houses[]

The senior school is divided into five boarding houses; three for boys and two for girls. The three boys' houses are:

• Devine
• Gate
• Manor

The two girls' houses are:

• King's
• Wolverton

Notable former pupils[]

Former pupils include:

• Geoffrey Heneage Drummond, VC^{[citation needed]}
• John Brooke-Little CVO, officer of arms and heraldry expert
• Robyn Denny, Artist
• Tony Hart, artist and creator of Morph
• Mike Scott, television presenter
• Anthony Allen, England rugby union player
• Martin Bott, geologist
• Glynn Edwards, actor
• Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles
• John Craxton, painter
• Nicole Faraday, actress
• Johnny Martyn, singer and guitarist^{[citation needed]}
• Stephen Joseph, Pioneer of Theatre in the Round
• Augustus Casely-Hayford, Art and cultural historian^{[citation needed]}
• John Plamenatz, Political Philosopher
• Julian Rathbone, Author
• Jeremy Rogers MBE, Designer and builder of racing yachts such as Contessa 26 and Contessa 32
• George Devine CBE, Theatre Manager
• Nicholas Handy, British Theoretical Chemist
• Marcus Cheke, British Diplomat
• Eric Fernihough, Former holder of the motorcycle world speed record
• Edward Ardizzone, CBE RA Artist, writer and illustrator
• Howard Panter, Theatre impresario, Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG)
• Hugh Stewart, film editor
• Sir Rodney Sweetnam, KCVO CBE F.R.C.S. President of the Royal College of Surgeons 1995–98, Orthopaedic Surgeon to HM Queen.
• Graham Hayes, MC Commando
• David Walser, Church of England Minister, Archdeacon of Ely
• Lewis McManus, Cricket Player for Hampshire Cricket and Hampshire Hawks.

References[]

External links[]

• Independent Schools Council: Clayesmore
• Clayesmore School official website
• Old Clayesmorian Society official website