Downham School was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for girls based at Down Hall, a Victorian country house near

Hatfield Heath Hatfield Heath is a village, civil parish, and an Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, and at its west is close to the border with Hertfordshire. In close proximity ar ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. The school was established in 1932. Eleanor Louisa Houison-Craufurd was the first principal from 1932 to 1950. The school focused less on education and more on preparing well-born young ladies for advantageous marriages. In her 2007 memoir, alumna

Clarissa Eden Anne Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon (; 28 June 1920 – 15 November 2021) was an English memoirist and the second wife of Anthony Eden, who served as British prime minister from 1955 to 1957. She married Eden in 1952, becoming Lady Eden in 195 ...

described the school as "a fashionable boarding school ... orientated to horses". Down Hall was sold in the 1960s and the school closed circa 1967, the house becoming a conference centre.

Notable former pupils

* Jennifer Forwood, 11th Baroness Arlington (born 1939), peeress * Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon (1920–2021), spouse of the prime minister of the United Kingdom * Lady Caroline Blackwood (1931–1996), writer * Lady Martha Bruce (1921–2023), prison governor * Elizabeth Carnegy, Baroness Carnegy of Lour (1925–2010), academic and activist * Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner (born 1932), peeress and socialite *

Pamela Harriman Pamela Beryl Harriman (''née'' Digby; 20 March 1920 – 5 February 1997), also known as Pamela Churchill Harriman, was an English political activist for the Democratic Party, diplomat, and socialite. She married three times: her first husband ...

(1920–1997), Ambassador of the United States to France * Lady Elizabeth Shakerley (1941–2020), party planner *

Frances Shand Kydd Frances Ruth Shand Kydd (previously Spencer, ''née'' Roche; 20 January 1936 – 3 June 2004) was the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales. She was the maternal grandmother of William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, respectively ...

(1936–2004), mother of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

References

{{Schools in Essex Defunct girls' schools in the United Kingdom Defunct schools in Essex Girls' schools in Essex Educational institutions established in 1932 1932 establishments in England 1960s disestablishments in England