The Royal Naval School was an English

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

that was established in

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in 1833 and then formally constituted by the ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. lxxxvi). It was a charitable institution, established as a boarding school for the sons of officers in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

. Many of its pupils achieved prominence in military and diplomatic service. It was an important institution in the early education of many Royal Navy officers during the 19th century. The school closed in 1910.

History

A purpose-built school building was designed by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

John Shaw Jr, and opened in about 1844 at

New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...

in south-east London (close to

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

and

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

, both areas with strong naval connections). However, the school soon outgrew this building and relocated to Mottingham in 1889. (The building remained in educational use, being sold to the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths for £25,000, and being re-opened by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

in July 1891 as the "Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute" – more commonly known simply as the "Goldsmiths' Institute". In 1904, it became the main building of

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

. The Royal Naval School remained at Mottingham (in a building today occupied by Eltham College) until it closed in 1910.

Author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler was wife to one of the teachers at the Royal Naval School before it closed. Thomas Charles Leeson Rowbotham the artist also served as Professor of Drawing at the school in the mid 19th century.

Royal Naval School for girls

Around the same time as the boys' school was founded, in 1840, ''The Royal Female School for the Daughters of Naval and Marine Officers'' was founded 'in a candle-lit, rented house on Richmond Green' which later changed its name to ''The Royal Naval School'' or ''RNS'' - as it is still known today by its old girls. ''RNS'' was due to the inspiration of Admiral Sir Thomas Williams, a

officer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, who had served with distinction in numerous theatres during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. As stated on the dust jacket of the history of the school published in 1975, Williams

... realised that after the Napoleonic Wars there were hundreds of impecunious ex-Naval officers acutely in need of an economical means to educate their daughters to earn a living; entirely by the efforts of an influential group of distinguished Officers the necessary funds ware raised, the School established and Royal Patronage obtained... from Richmond, it moved on to the fine Kilmorey mansion beside the Thames, at St. Margaret's, where it grew and flourished until the building was destroyed by bombs in 1940. Difficult wartime moves first to Fernhurst and later to Stoatley Hall were a triumph for the headmistress, Miss Oakley-Hill, and paved the way for further expansion. P. Unwin, ''The Royal Naval School, 1840-1975'' (Haslemere: The School, 1976)

In 1995, The Royal Naval School for girls at

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...

was amalgamated with '' The Grove School'' founded in 1864 to form '' The Royal School, Haslemere''.

Notable former pupils

*Major General Sir William Bridges (1861–1915) * Robert Bruce Burnside (1862–1929) was an Australian barrister and judge *Admiral Richard Vesey Hamilton (1829-1912) * Sir James Harris (1831–1904), artist, British Consul in Nice and Monaco *General Richard John Meade (1821–1894) * Sir Charles Mitchell (1836–1899), governor of

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

*Admiral Sir George Nares (1831–1915)

officer and

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explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

*Admiral Stuart Nicholson (1865–1936) *Admiral Bedford Pim (1826–1886) * Kivas Tully (1820–1905), architect * William Hoste Webb (1820–1890), politician in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Other schools with the same name

There are other schools by this name including Royal Naval School Tal-Handaq in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and the Royal Naval School in Colombo, Sri Lanka, then named

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, which became the Overseas School of Colombo in 1957.Fifty years of international education
/ref>

References

{{Coord, 51.4380, 0.0386, type:edu_region:GB-BRY, display=title Boarding schools in London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lewisham Goldsmiths, University of London Educational institutions established in 1833 1910 disestablishments in England Defunct schools in the London Borough of Southwark 1833 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1910 Camberwell