Kent College - History

History

The school was founded in 1885 as the "Wesleyan College, Canterbury". Upon land being made available by Edward Pillow, a local gentleman-farmer - recognition of which endures by way of the school's "Pillow Prize" - the foundation stone for the main building was laid in 1887. The architect was Charles Bell. In 1920, Kent College was acquired by the Board of Management for Methodist Residential Schools. Buildings forming a quadrangle were subsequently erected to the rear of the main building and the Chapel; an increase in the number of pupils through the twentieth century, attributable in part to the admittance of girls, necessitated the construction of, among other buildings, three boarding houses.

Buildings

Main Building, Chapel and School House: The Main Building, which accommodates School House, and the School Room (which was converted for use as a Chapel in 1936), were constructed in two stages in 1887 and 1900. The stained-glass windows in the Chapel depict things which were incorporated in the school crest. In 1938, a fire - which broke out when the master-on-duty was at the cinema in Canterbury - caused substantial damage to the Main Building; the central spire collapsed and was not replaced during reconstruction.

Prickett Building: So named after the Head Master, James Prickett. The foundation stone was laid by Baron Northbourne in 1935 and the building was opened by Baron Cornwallis on Speech Day in 1936. Before the acquisition of Vernon Holme, the building was used for the Kent College Junior School. It is recorded in the "Kent College Centenary Book" that during the construction of the Prickett Building, difficulties arose because of the presence of an underground spring. In the recent redevelopment of the school, the Medical Centre relocated from the Sanatorium on the top floor of the Main Building to a more-accessible site on the ground floor of the Prickett Building.

Science Block: The Science Block was constructed in 1958 by the school, financed by parents, friends and Old Canterburians in addition to a contribution from the Industrial Fund, and was opened by Professor Charles Coulson.

"Glasshouse" classrooms: The "Glasshouse classrooms", at the north side of the Quad., were opened by James Chuter-Ede, Baron Chuter-Ede of Epsom (Home Secretary in Clement Attlee's Labour Government), and were recently refurbished to accommodate the Sixth Form Centre on the first floor.

Centenary Building: The foundation stone of the Centenary Building was laid by John Prickett. The building contained the school Library until the Library was relocated in 2005 to the first floor of the Main Building; the Music Department occupies the Centenary Building today.

Wesley House: So named to recall the ethos of Kent College, the boarding house for girls was opened by David and Olive Norfolk in 1978.

Norfolk Building: So named after the Head Master, David Norfolk, who opened the building (constructed on the site of the open-air swimming pool).

Guilford House: So named for the Earl of Guilford; the Countess of Guilford opened the boys' boarding house on Speech Day in 1964.

Moat House (No longer in Kent College possession): Moat House was acquired as part of the Moat Estate (the acquisition of which came about through the donations of Old Canterburians in the face of a refusal by the Board of Management in the 1940s to finance it). Before Kent College acquired the house, it had been rented by Virginia Woolf for convalescence, who complained in her letters that "we had our windows prized open. The decay of centuries had sealed them. No human force can now shut them. Thus we sit exposed to wind and wet by day and by night we are invaded by flocks of white moths. The rain falls, and the birds never give over singing, and hot sulphur fumes rise from the valleys, and the red cow in the field roars for her calf...". The house was used as the Head Master's residence until the late 1970s, when it was sold by the school to finance the construction of Wesley House.

125 years: In February 2010, Kent College marked its quasquicentennial with a service in Canterbury Cathedral. Dr. David Lamper was joined by three former Head Masters: Mr. Roger Wicks, Mr. Edward Halse and Mr. Gino Carminati. The preacher was the Rev'd the Lord Griffiths of Pembrey and Burry Port, and the dedication was led by the Rev'd Baroness Richardson of Calow and Rev'd Alison Tomlin, President of the Methodist Conference.