An extra post today: urgent news calls for urgent posts. For according to yesterday’s Times: “A former private girls’ school has been put on the market for £2.95 million. Howell’s in Denbigh, north Wales, closed last year. The 37-acre site includes boarding houses, the principal’s house and the main Grade II-listed block.”
So when I win the lottery…
The listed status is fascinating. Presumably that brings with it all sorts of building regulations prohibiting too many changes to the infrastructure. Which, with me as the new owner would work just fine – the perfect cover story!
A little research uncovers the relevant details on the site of estate agent Jackson Stops.
- Grade II Listed main block with dining and great halls
- Grade II Listed Drapers Wing
- Grade II Listed Science Block
- Grade II Listed boarding houses:- St George’s, St Andrew’s and St Patrick’s
- Stanley House – fourth boarding house (and former medical centre)
- St David’s House (former principal’s house)
- Sports Hall/Leisure Complex with climbing wall, squash courts, caving centre, offices and changing rooms..
- Various ancillary offices/store rooms..
- In all about 37.75 acres
There’s a must-see video of the premises (oh look: an outdoor swimming pool – unheated, I hope). And the floorplan – sadly of the main building only and not the boarding houses – is marvellous. Girls: please locate the Head’s “Sitting Room” and daydream…
And Google is our friend. The National Library of Wales has a host of documents just waiting to be explored. There’s archive footage of the school from the era around World War II. As Cheshire Life comments:
A large contingent of boarding girls used to board a special carriage at London Euston, and the train brought them to Denbigh station where they walked up to school – while the porters brought their boarding trunks to school from the station by pony and cart.
Sadly the Denbigh rail line was removed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts and now our girls arrive at Manchester Airport and travel to school by minibus or car. A long-standing end of term tradition was lost, where the girls would unravel their straw boaters on the train and hang them out as streamers to celebrate leaving Denbigh to spend their summer at home.
The place closed down at the end of the last academic year – although it’s still listed on the Guide to Independent Schools, which gives a flavour of the education on offer in its final years.
I really must stop browsing and go for a run – before heading to Lord’s for the cricket. (How English is that?). I may just daydream as I jog about my forthcoming lottery win. Failing that: fancy a whip-round, folks? (Bad pun entirely intended!)
Oh my god. And I thought the castle I posted on twitter a while ago was where I want to live. Forget living in a castle: historic boarding school is my new dream house.
Oh wow – just imagine the possibilities…the fun you could have…all that space and so secluded…x
Woke up this morning to find my dream come true in this post…adding buying lottery tickets to my to do list this morning. This is drop dead gorgeous and would be my my perfect boarding school home.
Dear Lord Abel,
I am pleased to report that the renovations for the new private woman’s reformatory are proceeding ahead of schedule.
— The 30 foot high stone security wall, with rock taken from the same quarries as the original buildings, is in place, with the razor wire on top. The height of the fence should make it possible for you to conduct gym exercises “Grecian style” sans uniforms, and the cameras and other security sensors will make escape quite impossible. Note that the kennels for the security dogs and the guard towers and lights have also been installed.
— Although the delinquents will be from age 18-40 the institutions old school uniforms are still available, as per your request.
— The dormitories have been renovated from individual to “barracks style”, allowing for the enormous increase in capacity you requested.
— The showers were the most difficult project. Removing the privacy walls and curtains to create one large gang shower also required us to re-engineer the structure. But the view from the glass visitor’s gallery is now unobstructed, and the carbolic soap dispensers are in place.
— As per your instructions girls will exit the showers either through the delousing spray “car wash” or by jumping into the 9 foot deep dunk tank, with both egresses fully visible from the visitor’s gallery.
— An old English court room, complete with visitors dock, now sits a few feet from your office. This facility should allow Judge Hawthorn to rapidly sentence and re-sentence the delinquents.
— We have located two dozen birch, willow, and oak trees, which will be put to good use with this lot, I’m sure. One of the girls from my office volunteered to test the quality of the birch switches, and I’m delighted to report that the biting little twigs and buds were “devilishly horrible” to use her words.
— The enormous cupboard you requested for your collection of disciplinary instruments was moved by crane through the window into your study.
I would like to thank you again for the generosity of your foundation of private benefactors. My team is working around the clock, and I assure you that your Board of Governors will not be disappointed.