Allenswood Academy
Location
London

England
Information
TypeBoarding
Established1870
HeadmistressMarie Souvestre
GenderGirls

Allenswood Boarding Academy (also known as Allenswood Academy or Allenswood School) was an exclusive girls' boarding school founded in Wimbledon, London, by Marie Souvestre in 1883 and operated until the early 1950s, when it was demolished and replaced with a housing development.

History

Allenswood House was located on a large tract of land between Albert Drive and Wimbledon Park Road,[1][2] in Southfields in the London Borough of Wandsworth, England.[3] It was owned by Henry Hansler and was built in the Tudor Revival style between 1865 and 1870.[4] The house was converted in 1870 by Marie Souvestre and her partner, Paolina Samaïa, into a boarding school for girls.[1][4] The school, whose students were primarily from the European aristocracy and American upper-class, provided a progressive education to its students. Often called a finishing school, Allenswood had a curriculum that included serious study at a time when education was denied to women, and stressed feminist ideals of social responsibility and personal independence.[5] In addition to learning French, which was the official language spoken at the school, students studied the arts, dance, history, language (English, German, and Italian), literature, music, and philosophy and were required to develop their own analytical skills to assess ideals and challenges.[6][5]

When Souvestre died in 1905, Samaïa became the headmistress until 1909. She was succeeded by Florence Boyce and then in 1916, by Helen Gifford, one of Eleanor Roosevelt's classmates and Jeanne Dozat. Gifford and Dozat served as co-principals[7] until 1922, when Gifford left to establish Benfleet Hall, a school based on Souvestre's model, in Benhill, Surrey.[8][9] Dozat was later joined by Enid Michell, who remained as headmistress until the school closed in 1950.[8]

Redevelopment

In 1950, the London County Council and Wandsworth London Borough Council took possession of the site under compulsory purchase to develop the Wimbledon Park Estate.[8] The school was demolished and a housing development, known as Allenswood Estate, was created on the site.[1]

Noted faculty

Noted alumni

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 McNeill-Ritchie & Elam 2016, p. 180.
  2. Ziemba, Gregg. "The site of Allenswood Academy - Eleanor Roosevelt attended between 1899-1902". www.englandunderground.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  3. 1 2 Steinberg 1959, p. 31.
  4. 1 2 Fookes 2016, p. 3.
  5. 1 2 Roosevelt & Dunn-Mascetti 2002, p. 64.
  6. Steinberg 1959, p. 33.
  7. 1 2 Fookes 2016, p. 11.
  8. 1 2 3 Fookes 2016, p. 12.
  9. Thres 2011.
  10. 1 2 Gilbert 1992, p. 21.
  11. UK Census 1901, p. 19.
  12. 1 2 The Times 1962.
  13. Death Registry 1962.
  14. Marriage Registry 1908, p. 215.
  15. Roosevelt 1942, p. 5.
  16. Thomason & Hayes 2016, p. 12.
  17. Fookes 2016, p. 10.
  18. Marsh, Peter T. (2013). "Chamberlain, Beatrice Mary (1862–1918), educationist and political organizer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/101358. Retrieved 28 August 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  19. Merry 2001, p. 4.
  20. McLeod 1991, p. 24.
  21. Fookes 2016, p. 7.
  22. Rawlinson 2006, p. 37.
  23. Caine 2004.
  24. de Wilde 2016.

Bibliography

51°26′36″N 0°12′36″W / 51.4432°N 0.2101°W / 51.4432; -0.2101

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