The Children's House, St George's School

A Montessori school - later moved to Gorselands

By Rosemary Ross

The first Montessori Children's House, Montessori House, (6) Manland Avenue

LHS archives, scan from Montessori brochure

The Rev Grant, first Headmaster of St George’s School, was always keen to welcome whole families to the school. He had become interested in the teaching of Dottoressa Montessori in Rome, and had visited her in 1913. He helped to form a separate Montessori Company at the school (Director Frederick E Pearce of Fairview, Crabtree Lane). The Dottoressa visited St George’s in 1919 and 1925.

This first started in a private house, Whitegarth (4) Manland Avenue, but the date is difficult to determine as Kelly's Directories were not pubished for the years between 1914 and 1922. Whitegarth was the home of Cecil Nott up to 1913/14  and of Hugh Alexander McClulloch from 1922-1928. It was also listed as "Montessori School, Montessori House, Manland Avenue" in the Commercial section of Kelly's between 1922 and 1924. From 1926, it was listed as "Montessori School, Montessori House, Sun Lane" - evidently in St George's School grounds. Miss D Matthews was Director.

Goddard House, St George's School

LHS archives, scan from Montessori brochure

Eventually the school moved into the main part of what is now Goddard House, which became known as the Children’s House. 

The Kindergarten or Lower School in Goddard House, St George's

LHS archives, scan from EM 69/23

In 1930 the Children’s House, still a separate entity both academically and financially, was extended with a long classroom being built on to the back of the house, and in 1934 an upper classroom was added.

During the second world war, the Children’s House was evacuated to Belstone, near Paschoe in Devon, where the rest of the Lower School was accommodated.

I

Gorselands

LHS archives - Detail from a glass negative by Jim Jarvis

in December 1955 the Children’s House moved to Gorselands at the corner of Queen’s Road and Walker’s Road in Southdown. Here it was run by Mrs Jean Blackden LRAM, as a private pre-preparatory school - see advertisement below. She had previously been head of the Children's House at St George's, and the Gorselands school ceased to be part of St George’s, though links continued to be strong until the school closed . The Gorselands house was demolished and replaced in 1976 by a development at the corner of Queen Road and Walkers Road, named Gorselands. 

Information drawn from "A History of St George’s School Harpenden" by Pam Weatherley. Does anyone know the date when the school closed? ed

Below are scans from the brochure for the Montessori School, published as a booklet of postcards in the 1930s.