Mostyn House School was a school that was originally opened in

Tarvin Tarvin is a village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It had a population of 2,693 people at the 2001 UK census, rising to 2,728 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census, ...

Edward Henry Price Edward Henry Price (1822–1898) was an English cleric and educator. He founded two successful schools, Mostyn House School which existed until 2010, and The Philberds which was taken over to house prisoners of war during World War I, and demoli ...

, and moved to

Parkgate, Cheshire Parkgate is a village in the civil parish of Neston, on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Dee, adjoining of salt marsh. Parkgate forms part of the Neston built up area as defined by the Office for Nat ...

, in 1855. From 1862 until it closed in 2010, it was run by the Grenfell family, originally as a boys' boarding school, and from 1985 as a co-educational day school.

Design

The school's chapel, now a Grade II* listed building, was designed by Frederick Fraser and Warburton, with input by the headmaster of the school, A. G. Grenfell. Construction work began in 1895 and continued for two years. It is built in red Ruabon brick with

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

dressings, and has a red-tiled roof with a

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

at the east end. The chapel consists of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

in a single range, an

apsidal In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In Byzant ...

east end, and a west

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

. The furnishings are in collegiate style, designed by Frederick Fraser. In the windows is painted glass made by Morton and Company of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. The school and its chapel are Grade II listed buildings. Extensive building work to expand the school's facilities was carried out between 1890 and 1893; this included construction of a dining room, dormitories, bathrooms, a swimming pool and a covered playground. The frontage of the school on The Parade, Parkgate, was buttressed and decorated with its distinctive black and white appearance in 1932.

Carillon

The school's

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

was commissioned in 1918 to commemorate old boys who had died in the war. Upon the closure of the school in 2010 the bells were transported and reinstalled at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

in line with the wishes of A.G. Grenfell who wished that if ever Mostyn House ceased to be a school the carillon would be offered to Charterhouse so "that they may go on speaking to English boys as long as England lasts".

Notable alumni

Sir

Wilfred Grenfell Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell (28 February 1865 – 9 October 1940) was a British medical missionary to Newfoundland, who wrote books on his work and other topics. Early life and education He was born at Parkgate, Cheshire, England, on 28 F ...

(1865–1940), medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador, was born in Parkgate and was a pupil at the school. The 6th Duke of Westminster's children attended Mostyn House, including

Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster, (born 29 January 1991), is a British aristocrat and inherited trust manager. He inherited his title and control of the Grosvenor Estate, then worth an estimated £9 billion, from his father ...

. Other notable alumni include: *

George Ward Gunn Second Lieutenant George Ward Gunn VC MC (26 July 1912 - 21 November 1941) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can b ...

* Leonard Monk Isitt * David Partridge *

Gershom Stewart Sir Gershom Stewart KBE (30 December 1857 – 5 December 1929) was a Scottish-born British businessman in Hong Kong who became a Conservative Party politician in England. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, and after his ret ...

* James Ward

Gallery

Benkid77 Mostyn House School, Parkgate 240709.JPG Mostyn House School - geograph.org.uk - 1320607.jpg Mostyn House School, Neston - geograph.org.uk - 1500552.jpg Mostyn House School, Parkgate - geograph.org.uk - 70001.jpg Mostyn House School, Parkgate - geograph.org.uk - 70002.jpg

References

{{Schools in Cheshire Educational institutions established in 1855 Defunct schools in Cheshire West and Chester 1855 establishments in England 2010 disestablishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 2010 Neston Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire Grade II listed educational buildings