Cranborne Chase School

Independent school in Wardour , Wiltshire, England

Cranborne Chase School

New Wardour Castle in 2013

Location

Wardour (near Tisbury)

Wiltshire

SP3 6RH

England

Coordinates| 51°02′17″N 2°05′38″W﻿ / ﻿51.038°N 2.094°W﻿ / 51.038; -2.094
Information
Type| Independent school
Day and boarding school
Girls' school
Religious affiliation(s)| Church of England
Established| 6 August 1946 (Crichel House)
Founder| 'Betty' Galton
Closed| 10 July 1990 (New Wardour Castle)
Staff| 26 (1985 figure)
Gender| Girls
Age| 13 to 18
Enrolment| 130 pupils (1985 figure)
Publication| Cranborne Chase School Magazine
Former pupils| Old Cranbornians
Campus| Rural campus

Cranborne Chase School was an independent boarding school for girls, and was located in the English counties of Dorset and (later) Wiltshire, between 1946 and 1990.

## History

[edit]

Cranborne Chase School opened in 1946 at Crichel House in the village of Moor Crichel in Dorset, England. In 1961, the school moved to New Wardour Castle near Tisbury in Wiltshire, and extensively renovated the building, which had fallen into a severe state of disrepair.[1]

In 1985 there were 130 girls, aged between 11 and 18 years, and 26 teachers at the school. The school closed in July 1990.

## Wardour facilities

[edit]

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At New Wardour Castle (not to be confused with Wardour Castle) there were dormitories for girls in the 1st to 4th Forms around the top fourth floor of the building, each with beds for between two and six girls. Fifth Formers slept on the mezzanine floor below this. The Lower Sixth Form had studios for one or two girls in a modern extension on the south-eastern side of the building. Upper Sixth formers had their own individual rooms in the upper East Wing flat or in a separate building known as 'The Hexagon'.

Pupils ate in the modern dining hall built on the south-eastern side of the building, next to the gymnasium. This extension had additional modern classrooms for Art and Science. All other classrooms were in the main building, on the ground and first floors.

A student assembly was held most mornings around the rotunda staircase, with each year standing in groups between the columns. This usually included a short religious ceremony and singing accompaniment on the rotunda organ.

Outside, there was an open-air swimming pool in the walled garden, six tennis courts and a running track, with space for field sports on the front lawn. There was also an enclosure for outdoor pets, which students were encouraged to keep.

In addition to the Hexagon building, there were three houses for staff and their families, built in the 1970s. Other staff lived in flats within the main building or commuted from the surrounding area.

## Notable former pupils

[edit]

See also: Category:People educated at Cranborne Chase School

* Josceline Dimbleby,[2] cookery writer
* Mandy Ford, Anglican priest
* Princess Tatiana von Fürstenberg,[3] singer, actress and socialite
* Amaryllis Garnett, actress[citation needed]
* Veronica Linklater, Baroness Linklater of Butterstone (1943–2022), a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords
* Roxanna Panufnik, composer
* Jane Ridley,[4] author, biographer, commentator and Professor of Modern History at the University of Buckingham
* Joanna Waley-Cohen, professor of history at New York University
* Harriet Walter, actress
* Iona Brown, conductor and violinist
* Madeleine Redfern, mayor of the City of Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
* Melanie McFadyean (1950–2023), journalist and lecturer

## Aftermath

[edit]

Betty Galton, the founding headmistress of Cranborne Chase School died in December 2005.[5]

The 2009 movie, Tanner Hall, written and co-directed by alumna Tatiana von Furstenberg, was loosely based on her experiences as a pupil there.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Wardour Castle – History Archived 2014-03-03 at archive.today Publication: Nigeltuersley.com. Retrieved: 3 March 2014.
2. ^ Best days of their lives? Author: Amy McLellan. Publisher: The Independent. Published: 7 October 2004. Retrieved: 3 March 2014.
3. ^ Back to School for Tatiana von Furstenberg and Francesca Gregorini Author: Daniel D'Addario. Publisher: The New York Observer. Published: 6 September 2011. Retrieved: 3 March 2014.
4. ^ Cranborne Chase School Register, 1967. Publisher: Cranborne Chase School. Published: Autumn 1967. Retrieved: 9 March 2014.
5. ^ The Bryanston Newsletter \- Winter 2006 - Pg. 6 (bottom-right)[permanent dead link‍] Publisher: Bryanston School, Blandford Forum, Dorset. Published: Winter 2006. Retrieved: 4 March 2014.

## External links

[edit]

* Cranbourne Chase School – Wiltshire Community History

* v
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Schools in Wiltshire (including Swindon)

Primary|

* Box Primary School

Secondary|

* Abbeyfield School
* Abbey Park School
* Avon Valley Academy
* Bradon Forest School
* The Clarendon Academy
* Commonweal School
* The Corsham School
* Devizes School
* The Dorcan Academy
* Hardenhuish School
* Highworth Warneford School
* The John of Gaunt School
* Kingdown School, Warminster
* Kingsbury Green Academy
* Kingsdown School, Swindon
* Lavington School
* Lawn Manor Academy
* Lydiard Park Academy
* Malmesbury School
* Matravers School
* Melksham Oak Community School
* Nova Hreod Academy
* Pewsey Vale School
* The Ridgeway School
* Royal Wootton Bassett Academy
* St Augustine's RC College
* St John's Marlborough
* St Joseph's RC College
* St Joseph's RC School
* St Laurence School
* Sarum Academy
* Sheldon School
* Swindon Academy
* The Stonehenge School
* The Trafalgar School
* UTC Swindon
* The Wellington Academy
* Wyvern St Edmund's

Grammar|

* Bishop Wordsworth's School
* South Wilts Grammar School

Special|

* Exeter House School
* Melksham House School
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Independent|

| Preparatory|

* Chafyn Grove School
* Salisbury Cathedral School
* Sandroyd School

|

Senior|

* Dauntsey's School
* Godolphin School
* Leehurst Swan School
* Marlborough College
* St Mary's, Calne
* Stonar School
* Warminster School

Special|

* Appleford School

Further education|

* New College, Swindon
* Salisbury Sixth Form College
* Swindon College
* Wiltshire College

Former|

* Bentley's School
* City Grammar School, Salisbury
* College of the Valley Scholars
* Cranborne Chase School
* Fitzmaurice Grammar School
* The George Ward Technology College
* Greenways School
* Grittleton House School
* Hawtreys
* Jenner's School
* Kingwell Court Preparatory School
* Marlborough Royal Free Grammar School
* The Old Ride School
* St Edmund's Girls' School
* St Mary's School, Shaftesbury
* Sevington Victorian School
* South Wiltshire UTC

* v
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* e

Education in Dorset (including Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)

Primary|

* Atlantic Academy Portland
* St Mark's CE Primary School
* St Peter's RC School

Secondary|

* All Saints CE Academy
* Atlantic Academy Portland
* Avonbourne Boys' Academy
* Avonbourne Girls' Academy
* Beaminster School
* The Bishop of Winchester Academy
* The Blandford School
* The Bourne Academy
* Budmouth Academy
* Corfe Hills School
* The Cornerstone Academy
* Ferndown Upper School
* Gillingham School
* Glenmoor Academy
* The Grange School
* The Gryphon School
* Highcliffe School
* LeAF Studio
* Lytchett Minster School
* Magna Academy
* Oak Academy
* Poole High School
* The Purbeck School
* Queen Elizabeth's School
* St Aldhelm's Academy
* St Edward's RC & CE School
* St Peter's RC School
* Shaftesbury School
* The Sir John Colfox Academy
* Sturminster Newton High School
* The Thomas Hardye School
* Twynham School
* Wey Valley Academy
* Winton Academy
* The Woodroffe School

Grammar|

* Bournemouth School
* Bournemouth School for Girls
* Parkstone Grammar School
* Poole Grammar School

Independent (preparatory)|

* Castle Court School
* Dumpton School
* Hanford School
* Port Regis School
* Sherborne Preparatory School

Independent|

* Bournemouth Collegiate School
* Bryanston School
* Canford School
* Clayesmore School
* Leweston School
* Milton Abbey School
* Ringwood Waldorf School
* Sherborne School
* Sherborne School for Girls
* Talbot Heath School

Further education colleges|

* Bournemouth and Poole College
* Kingston Maurward College
* Weymouth College

Higher education|

* Arts University Bournemouth
* Bournemouth University
* Health Sciences University

Defunct|

* Beaminster Grammar School
* Cranborne Chase School
* Durnford School
* Foster's School
* Homefield School
* The Old Malthouse School
* St George's School
* Swanage Grammar School
* Uplands School
* Weymouth College (independent)

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