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Allenswood Boarding Academy (also known as Allenswood Academy or Allenswood School) was an exclusive girls' boarding school founded in
Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a district and town of Southwest London, England, southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,187 in 2011 which includes ...
, by Marie Souvestre in 1883 and operated until the early 1950s, when it was demolished and replaced with a housing development.


History

Allenswood House was located on a large tract of land between Albert Drive and Wimbledon Park Road, in
Southfields Southfields is a district of inner London located within the London Borough of Wandsworth, England, 5.6 miles (9 km) south-west of Charing Cross. Southfields is mainly residential, historically a part of Wandsworth itself, and is divided b ...
in the
London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth Town. The borough borders t ...
, England. It was owned by Henry Hansler and was built in the Tudor Revival style between 1865 and 1870. The house was converted in 1870 by Marie Souvestre and her partner, Paolina Samaïa, into a boarding school for girls. The school, whose students were primarily from the European aristocracy and American upper-class, provided a progressive education to its students. Often called a finishing school, Allenswood had a curriculum that included serious study at a time when education was denied to women, and stressed feminist ideals of social responsibility and personal independence. In addition to learning French, which was the official language spoken at the school, students studied the arts, dance, history, language (English, German, and Italian), literature, music, and philosophy and were required to develop their own analytical skills to assess ideals and challenges. When Souvestre died in 1905, Samaïa became the headmistress until 1909. She was succeeded by Florence Boyce and then in 1916, by Helen Gifford, one of Eleanor Roosevelt's classmates and Jeanne Dozat. Gifford and Dozat served as co-principals until 1922, when Gifford left to establish Benfleet Hall, a school based on Souvestre's model, in Benhill,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. W ...
. Dozat was later joined by Enid Michell, who remained as headmistress until the school closed in 1950.


Redevelopment

In 1950, the
London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
and Wandsworth London Borough Council took possession of the site under
eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
to develop the Wimbledon Park Estate. The school was demolished and a housing development, known as Allenswood Estate, was created on the site.


Noted faculty

* Frances Stevenson


Noted alumni

* Hilda Wynnefred Burkinshaw (1885-1962), who in 1908 married Cuthbert Collingwood Lloyd Fitzwilliams (aka C. C. L. Fitzwilliams), a Major in the
Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...
. She remained close to Roosevelt and in 1942 hosted a reunion in London of classmates in Roosevelt's honor. * Dorothy Bussy, née Strachey * Beatrice Chamberlain * Ethel Chamberlain * Florence (Ida) Chamberlain * Corinne Alsop Cole, née Robinson * Sibyl, Lady Colefax, née Halsey *
Megan Lloyd George Lady Megan Arvon Lloyd George, (22 April 1902 – 14 May 1966) was a Welsh politician and the first female Member of Parliament (MP) for a Welsh constituency. She also served as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, before later becoming a L ...
*
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four t ...
*
Pernel Strachey Pernel Strachey or Joan Pernel Strachey (4 March 1876 – 19 December 1951) was an English scholar of French and Principal of Newnham College. Life Strachey was born in Clapham Common in London in 1876. She came from a large family led by Lieuten ...
, along with three of her sisters * Pippa Strachey * Mien van Wulfften Palthe, née Broese van Groenou


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allenswood Boarding Academy 1870 establishments in England 1950 disestablishments in England Defunct schools in the London Borough of Wandsworth Educational institutions established in 1870 Independent girls' schools in London