History of New Hall and the School
Outline of the History of the School
Founded in 1642, as the oldest Catholic girls’ school in England, New Hall School has a long and rich history; today the school educates girls and boys, boarding and day, from ages 3-18. The founding Religious Order, the Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, is one of the most ancient in the Church and was established in Europe long before the English Religious Community was founded in 1642.
During Penal Times, an English woman, Susan Hawley, went to the Low Countries and was trained in the Religious Life of the Holy Sepulchre. On making her profession, she left that Religious Community to found an English Religious Community in Liège; from these earliest days, girls were sent to the nuns to be educated. The Community’s spirituality, rooted in the Augustinian tradition, has a special emphasis on the Resurrection, prayer, community life, hospitality and service to others. The faith which lies at the heart of this foundation remains essential to the character of the school today.
Initially the school offered a Catholic education to girls who were denied this in England in the Post-Reformation period. In 1794, the French Revolutionary Wars forced the nuns to leave the Low Countries. The school reopened on its present site in 1799.
With the exception of years during the Second World War, when evacuation to Newnham Paddox near Rugby was forced on the Religious Community and school, New Hall has been the environment in which the school has thrived and grown. School developments have included, for example, the Eaton Block Theatre and Gymnasium which was completed in 1925, with a stage and greenroom at one end and a studio above. The old theatre at New Hall was last used for the performance of ‘O what a lovely war’, in December 1986. The refurbished Eaton Theatre was reopened in September 2008, with new tiered seating. ‘Larkrise’ was the first performance in the refurbished theatre.
During Penal Times, an English woman, Susan Hawley, went to the Low Countries and was trained in the Religious Life of the Holy Sepulchre. On making her profession, she left that Religious Community to found an English Religious Community in Liège; from these earliest days, girls were sent to the nuns to be educated. The Community’s spirituality, rooted in the Augustinian tradition, has a special emphasis on the Resurrection, prayer, community life, hospitality and service to others. The faith which lies at the heart of this foundation remains essential to the character of the school today.
Initially the school offered a Catholic education to girls who were denied this in England in the Post-Reformation period. In 1794, the French Revolutionary Wars forced the nuns to leave the Low Countries. The school reopened on its present site in 1799.
With the exception of years during the Second World War, when evacuation to Newnham Paddox near Rugby was forced on the Religious Community and school, New Hall has been the environment in which the school has thrived and grown. School developments have included, for example, the Eaton Block Theatre and Gymnasium which was completed in 1925, with a stage and greenroom at one end and a studio above. The old theatre at New Hall was last used for the performance of ‘O what a lovely war’, in December 1986. The refurbished Eaton Theatre was reopened in September 2008, with new tiered seating. ‘Larkrise’ was the first performance in the refurbished theatre.
The Senior School girl pictured on the vault is Sr Margaret Mary CRSS, current Prioress General of the Association of the Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre.
History of the New Hall Estate
Approached from a mile-long tree-lined avenue, the main building occupies the magnificent former Tudor palace of Beaulieu. In 1517, the estate was acquired by King Henry VIII, from Sir Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII greatly enlarged and enhanced the building and called it Beaulieu.
The Royal Arms of Henry VIII are now to be seen in the school Chapel. For many years the home of Mary Tudor, New Hall was subsequently granted to the Earl of Sussex by Queen Elizabeth I. Oliver Cromwell later procured the estate for 5 shillings.
The Royal Arms of Henry VIII are now to be seen in the school Chapel. For many years the home of Mary Tudor, New Hall was subsequently granted to the Earl of Sussex by Queen Elizabeth I. Oliver Cromwell later procured the estate for 5 shillings.
On 16-18 February 2009, Channel 4’s Time Team came to New Hall to film for a special feature length documentary called Henry VIII’s Lost Palaces. The documentary was shown on Channel 4 on Easter Monday 13 April 2009 and repeated on Saturday 2 May 2009.
Jon Willers summarises the significance of the archaeological dig at New Hall as follows:
"When Henry came to the throne in 1509 aged eighteen, he inherited several palaces from his father, including Richmond, Greenwich and Woodstock. The documentary set out to explore why, seven years into his reign, he felt the need to build the Palace of Beaulieu, now known as New Hall.
Henry certainly set out to make a statement. The palace was huge - contemporaries describe it as having eight courtyards with a 550-foot wide facade and at the centre of this splendour stood two massive gatehouse towers. In 1516, Catherine of Aragon gave birth to Henry's first child, Princess Mary (later to become Bloody Queen Mary). At the time, Mary was Henry's only heir and it seems that as far as he was concerned, she was to get the very best of everything. Just a month before her birth, Henry ordered the construction of Beaulieu Palace. And nearly 500 years later, Time Team would uncover exactly how far Henry went when it came to lavishing luxury on his firstborn. The western range shown on later plans of the palace interested landscape surveyor Stewart Ainsworth because it overlooked the fancy privy garden - a prime spot. It was clearly intended for someone very important.
In fact, the results were more intriguing than anyone had expected. At the end of three days, the team had revealed an intricate series of Tudor drains where the western range would have stood, pointing to a kitchen or laundry area. The question was raised that if this was such an important part of the palace, why have a separate laundry here away from the main service areas? As architectural historian Jonathan Foyle suggested, this wing was meant for someone special, someone who needed a lot of care and attention. It looked like the team had inadvertently stumbled across the nursery for young Princess Mary.
Time Team was beginning to uncover a different side of Henry VIII: a doting father who thought nothing was too good for his new daughter and elsewhere in the palace, the team were discovering what else was important to the young Henry. A trench over the imposing gatehouse towers revealed the scale of the front of the palace. This was a building intended to impress and it was certainly built in the latest style, based on a series of 'perfect squares' - architectural ideas that were beginning to come across from Rome. Beaulieu Palace was the first in a long line of major building projects undertaken by Henry VIII, and even at this early stage in his reign we can see what was important to him: family and magnificence. It was much later that these concepts would take on a life of their own and result in the fantasy palaces of Henry's later reign".
History of New Hall Preparatory School
The Preparatory School was founded in 1947 at Goodings, near Newbury, with just 14 pupils. The school thrived under the leadership of Sr Magdalen John CRSS as Headmistress and, with 100 pupils, it had to be relocated in 1953 to a bigger campus, at Denford Park, Hungerford. All the time there was a Religious Community living at the school. Sr Pauline CRSS, a current member of the Religious Community, was a pupil at Denford Park. The school remained at Denford until 1967, at which time there were 150 pupils, including many boarders and some boys as well as girls. In 1967, the Preparatory School at Denford Park was closed and all resources were put into the development of New Hall Senior School. As a result, from being a boarding school of around 140 in the 1960s, New Hall became by the 1980s a large boarding and day Senior School for over 500 girls. In 1994, the Preparatory School was re-established on the campus at New Hall. Opening with 40 pupils, the school grew rapidly over the following years. In 2003, the Preparatory School welcomed its first boarders and now offers boarding for boys in Years 3-6 in Earle House and for girls in Years 3-6 in Hawley House. By 2009, the Preparatory School roll had reached 352. A new Pre-Reception for pupils aged 3-4 opened in 2004.
New Hall School Today
The first lay Principal of New Hall School, Katherine Jeffrey, was appointed in 2001. In 2005, New Hall School Trust (NHST) was established as a new registered charity (1110286) and limited company (05472420) registered in England at New Hall School. The principal objective of NHST, as set out in the Memorandum & Articles, is “to advance the Roman Catholic religion by the conduct of a Roman Catholic school”. The Religious Community now have a new main house in Colchester: 74 Howe Close, Colchester, Essex CO4 3XD Tel: 01206 867 296.
In April 2005, the announcement was made that the Senior School would be embarking on a period of further expansion, with the establishment of a separate Boys’ Division (11-16) and a co-educational Sixth Form. The Senior School now accepts boys throughout the 11-18 age range and there are 2 boys’ boarding houses fully established, in addition to the 2 girls’ boarding houses. The whole school roll now stands at its greatest ever, with 1,000 students.
The school belongs to the following professional associations:
In April 2005, the announcement was made that the Senior School would be embarking on a period of further expansion, with the establishment of a separate Boys’ Division (11-16) and a co-educational Sixth Form. The Senior School now accepts boys throughout the 11-18 age range and there are 2 boys’ boarding houses fully established, in addition to the 2 girls’ boarding houses. The whole school roll now stands at its greatest ever, with 1,000 students.
The school belongs to the following professional associations:
- Catholic Independent Schools’ Conference (CISC)
- Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA)
- Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS)
- Brentwood Diocesan Secondary Heads’ Association (BDSHA)
- Girls’ Schools Association (GSA)
- Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools (AGBIS)
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