Schoolhouse (Lord Knyvett's)

Summary

No. 110 and 112 High Street, Stanwell.

Reasons for Designation

Despite some later alterations No. 110 and 112 High Street, Stanwell is a rare survival in good condition, with much of the original building still extant. Smaller schools of 17th century date were typically one or two storey buildings with a schoolmaster’s house attached. They often depended on private philanthropy; such was the case at Stanwell, and ranged widely in style. The coat of arms and tablet on the west front provide testament to the foundation of the building as a free school. The association with Lord Knyvett, a 17th century courtier of the highest standing, adds historic interest to the building.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 11 December 2014. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a former school building founded in 1624 from the will of Lord Thomas Knyvet. It is two storeys high and constructed of brick with a pitched tiled roof. The building originally formed a single composition of two three-bay halves. The west front has two doorways with heavy flat plastered surrounds and pediments. It was formerly a pattern school with separate boy's and girl's entrances. The left hand side was later altered into one high room and used as the main school building with the right hand side becoming the master's house.

Flanking the left entrance are two tall 20th century two-light double transomed windows. A single storey extension was added to the north side in the 20th century. At the centre of the west front is a tablet with a coat of arms commemorating Lord Knyvet. Lord Knyvet was granted the Manor of Stanwell by King James I in 1603. He served a long and distinguished career at court and helped foil the gunpowder plot whilst working as Keeper of Whitehall Palace in 1605. He later acted as Privy Councillor to Queen Anne. Following his death in July 1622 he provided for the foundation of the free school at Stanwell in his will.

The former school building is listed Grade II*.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

SU 147

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Websites
Mark Nicholls, ‘Knyvett, Thomas, Baron Knyvett (1545/6–1622)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, accessed 23 Feb 2009 from http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/15800

Other
Surrey HER3748. NMR TQ07SE14.

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