| Ref No | DD/984 |
| Alt Ref No | DD/984 |
| Title | Records of the Godolphin School, Hammersmith |
| Description | Minutes. magazines and publications, pupil's record, notes and correspondence, illustrations |
The Godolphin School was founded by the charity established under the will of Sir William Godolphin (1635-96). A decree of the Court of Chancery in April 1852 directed that the income of the charity be devoted to the maintenance of a school in the county of Middlesex. The trustees were appointed on 12 January 1855 and, after considering a number of sites, they decided to open a school for boys in Hammersmith.
Burlington House, [Great] Church Lane, previously used as school premises, was taken on lease and The Godolphin School opened on 5 August 1856. The building was enlarged in 1858 but negotiations to buy the property from the owners foundered. The trustees then accepted an offer from William Scott to sell over three acres of land to the north of the new church of St John at Bradmore on which to build a new school. It was designed by the architect Charles H Cooke of 11 John Street, Bedford Row, to accommodate both boarders and day pupils and was opened in August 1862.
The number of pupils fluctuated over the years and the second headmaster resigned in January 1873 owing to a steady and serious decline in the number of boarders. In December 1894 the trustees considered moving the school to Finchley and in February 1899 there was a proposal to sell the building to the LCC for use as a Technical Institute. The Godolphin School closed in December 1900 and the premises remained empty for a number of years.
The first suggestion that the endowment be utilised for a girls' school on the Latymer Foundation was made in May 1901 and the last meeting of the trustees of the boys' school was held on 17 March 1904. After alterations, the building was taken over by Godolphin and Latymer School for Girls in 1906 (see DD/985).
The two most well known pupils of The Godolphin School are Sir Leander Starr Jameson (1853-1917), South African statesman, and the Irish poet and playwright William Butler Yeats (1865-1939). Jameson, who left the school in 1869, was awarded a prize for 19th century English Literature in June 1869 (see prize list for that date in DD/984/1). ). His name was recorded in The Godolphin Book (DD/984/4-5). According to his biographers Yeats attended the school from 26 January 1877 to 1880 and a copy of his school report is included in the collection (DD/984/6) |
| Date | 1855-1955 |
| Related Material | See Local History Collection for two copies of The Godolphin Book, dated 1899, presented to Hammersmith Public Library in 1907 by the Reverend G E Mackie, last headmaster (ref: H373.21MAC); printed Register of West Division of Godolphin School 1889-99, with list of pupils, and typewritten list of masters, 1856-1900, both compiled by W M Hardman (ref: H373.21HAR). Illustrations, photographs and cuttings are contained in Local History file H373.21 |