St Marylebone Grammar School (SMGS) was a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

located in the London borough of the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

. It was open from 1792 to 1981.

History

Philological School

Founded as the Philological Society by Thomas Collingwood, under the patronage of the

Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus; 16 August 1763 – 5 January 1827) was the second son of George III, King of the United Kingdom and King of Hanover, Hanover, and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A so ...

, its object was to help "the heads of families, who by unexpected misfortune, have been reduced from a station of comfort and respectability." Founded in Mary Street (later renamed Stanhope Street), NW1, it moved to

Marylebone Road Marylebone Road ( ) is an important thoroughfare in central London, within the City of Westminster. It runs east–west from the Euston Road at Regent's Park to the A40 Westway at Paddington. The road which runs in three lanes in both directi ...

in 1827. Its fortunes improved largely due to Edwin Abbott, headmaster from 1827 to 1872. After Abbott, the school's financial position deteriorated.

Grammar school

In 1901 it was accepted in trust by the

London County Council The 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 ...

and renamed St Marylebone Grammar School. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it recovered. Under headmaster Philip Wayne it developed artistic activities, acquired shared use of playing fields in Sudbury Hill, and established a country base in the village of Forest Green, near

Leith Hill Leith Hill in southern England is the highest summit of the Greensand Ridge, approximately southwest of Dorking, Surrey and southwest of central London. It reaches above sea level, and is the second highest point in southeast England, aft ...

. In 1957 the motto "ex animo tamquam Deo" ("from the heart, as from God") was added to the school's crest at the suggestion of the deputy headmaster Kenneth Crook. After Philip Wayne, SMGS was led by Harry Llewellyn-Smith as headmaster until 1970. During his period a new and separate science block was built a short walk away from the school's main site. Roy Mansell led the science team and was for a short period, following Patrick Hutton's tenure, the final headmaster.

Closure

Soon after headmaster Patrick Hutton (formerly head of English at St Paul's School) arrived in 1970, the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. From 1965 to 1986 it was an ad hoc committee of the Greater London Co ...

(ILEA) proposed to merge SMGS with the local secondary modern school, Rutherford School, later part of North Westminster School. ILEA itself came into conflict with the new

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government, whose secretary of state for education

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

took an interest in SMGS. By 1981, however, SMGS had closed.

Current use of buildings

The former science block continued in educational use as the Cosway Street Centre, part of City of Westminster College, but was later demolished. The main school building consisted of the original school building on

and two later wings in

Lisson Grove Lisson Grove is a street and district in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, West End. The street neighbourhood contains a few important cultural landmarks, including Lisson Gallery, Alfies Antique Market, Red Bus Recording Studio ...

; the Lisson Grove buildings were demolished and replaced with an office block. The original building is Grade II listed and remains intact. From 2002 to 2024 it was part of Abercorn School. File:Marylebone_Grammar_0002.jpg, LCC plaque with the school name; the original name and date of the school is incorporated into the arch below the plaque. Former pupils of the school are known as Old Philologians. * Adam Ant (Stuart Goddard), pop singer *

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. Often considered one of the greatest England players of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, Barnes currently works as an ...

, footballer *

Steve Barron Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker and music video director. Among the music videos he has directed are "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, " Burning Up (Madonna song), Burnin Up" by Madonna, "Summer of '69" and "Run t ...

, film director * Simon Reich, professor in the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers University - Newark in Newark, New Jersey * harles Bateman, architect * Peter Batkin, art expert * Marshal of the Royal Air Force">Peter_Batkin.html" ;"title="harles Bateman, architect * harles Bateman, architect * Peter Batkin, art expert * Sir Michael Beetham, a former Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)">Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force">RAF * Barry Blue">Michael Beetham">Sir Michael Beetham, a former Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)">Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force">RAF * Barry Blue (Barry Green), pop singer and writer * Anastasios Christodoulou, secretary general of the Association of Commonwealth Universities from 1980 to 1996 * Len Deighton, author * William Floyd, head of the Department of Ergonomics and Cybernetics at Loughborough University from 1960 to 1975 * Benny Green (saxophonist), Benny Green, musician * Geoffrey Stern, writer, broadcaster, composer and expert on International Communism * Victor Gauntlett, petrochemical entrepreneur and car enthusiast * Sir Leicester Harmsworth, 1st Baronet, Liberal MP for

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

from 1900 to 1918 and Caithness and Sutherland from 1918 to 1922 *

Robin Harper Robin Charles Moreton Harper, (born 4 August 1940) is a Scottish politician, who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothians region (1999–2011). He was co-convener of the Scottish Greens (2004–2008). Harper became a ...

, Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothians (1999–2011), first member of the Green Party to be elected to a parliament in the UK * Michael Henley,

Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane The Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane is the Ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane. The see is located at St Ninian's Cathedral in Perth, Scotland.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th ed ...

from 1995 to 2004 * Sir Charles Solomon Henry, 1st Baronet, Liberal MP for Wellington (Shropshire) from 1906 to 1918 and the Wrekin from 1918 to 1919 *

Eric Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" (''Th ...

, historian and author * Anthony A. Hyman, molecular cell biologist and director of the

Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics __NOTOC__ The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) is a biology research institute located in Dresden, Germany. It was founded in 1998 and was fully operational in 2001. Research groups in the institute work in m ...

* Jerome K. Jerome, Edwardian author * Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Welsh preacher * Sir Vincent Lloyd-Jones, judge * Andrew Loog Oldham, producer and manager of the Rolling Stones * Francis Paget,

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

from 1901 to 1911 * Sir Michael Pepper, Pender Professor of Nanoelectronics at UCL since 2009 * John Price, cricketer * Neil Rhind, writer and historian * Sir Landon Ronald, conductor * Irving Scholar, chairman, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (1980s) * E. H. Sothern, Shakespearean American Actor *

John Staddon John Eric Rayner Staddon is a British-born American psychologist. He has been a critic of Skinnerian behaviorism and proposed a theoretically-based "New Behaviorism". John Staddon conducted theoretical behaviorism research in adaptive functi ...

, professor, psychobiologist, Duke University * Sir Cyril Taylor, social entrepreneur *

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll ...

, film director * Sir

Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American former professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the i ...

, professor of English literature from 1975 to 2003 at

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

* Glenn White, professor of astronomy at

The Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

* Stuart Woolf, historian at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

File:Marylebone Grammar 0001.jpg, Marylebone Grammar School's original building, August 2011. At this time the adjoining office building was being rebuilt and was covered in scaffolding and plastic sheeting. File:Marylebone Grammar 0002.jpg, Plaque above the main entrance to the old Marylebone Grammar School building. The school's former name and date is shown on the archway, The Philological School 1792

References

External links

Old Philologians Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Marylebone Grammar School 1792 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1792 Defunct grammar schools in England * Defunct schools in the City of Westminster Educational institutions disestablished in 1981 1981 disestablishments in England Buildings and structures in Marylebone Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster