History
On 6th October 1817 the following advertisement appeared in The Times: “Hampstead Heath Academy – A limited number of young gentlemen are received under the care of the Rev. J. Duncan, whose mode of instruction (the result of many years’ experience) has met with general approbation: several young gentlemen having finished their course of education leaves a few vacancies: terms are from 25-30 guineas: no entrance, extras or vacations. Pupils are charged from the time they enter.”
Heath Mount School, variously called Hampstead Heath Academy, Heath Mount Academy and Heath Mount Grammar School, was founded as a boarding school in about 1796 for the education of boys and young gentlemen. The first headmaster was the Rev John Hunter, who rented a house on Heath Street in the locality of Hampstead called Heath Mount nearest the summit of the heath.
Alfred Beale entered the school in 1865 and recalled, “The room we occupied was up one flight and directly over the schoolroom. It was equipped with long benches, each located in front of a somewhat primitive though serviceable desk. The hours of study were from 7 to 8 a.m., then breakfast; study from 9 to 12; dinner; study from 2 to 5 p.m., supper; study again from 7 to 9 p.m., and thence to bed.” At this stage the school had about 80 boys, all boarders and many from the colonies.
In 1875, Mr Bush – the fifth headmaster – surrendered the lease to Mr Goldsmith who moved Heath Mount to a school he had established in the early 1860s at New End in Hampstead. By this time its fortunes had ebbed with only about forty pupils in residence but it grew again in the new century under Mr John Grenfell with school numbers reaching one hundred just before the First World War, the majority of whom were day pupils. Mr Grenfell was headmaster from 1896 to 1928. He introduced a green school uniform which included the Grenfell crest in gold.
In a memoir from 1965, Derek Hudson recalls the life of a pupil under “Mr J S Granville Grenfill, a tall slim figure with a small pointed beard”. Each morning began with roll-call and assembly in the gymnasium. Pending his arrival the prefects kept order, flourishing their rulers. “The headmaster would jump the stairs two at a time and stood poised at the entrance. ‘Good morning, gentlemen! He cried. In reply the school chanted ‘Good mor-ning sir-r-r!’ while the headmaster listened critically, with head on one side.”
By the early 1930s the New End site no longer met the needs of a modern preparatory school. Hampstead had expanded and motor traffic had increased so, in 1933 the headmaster, the Rev Arthur Wells, searched for a new site for the school outside of London.
There are records of a house at Woodhall since 1372 (more on the history of the Woodhall estate can be found at http://www.woodhallestate.co.uk). The country property that the Rev Wells leased from the Abel Smith family had been built by Sir Thomas Rumbold in 1775, who sold it to Samuel Smith in 1801. The school with 32 boys from Hampstead moved to its new home in January 1934.
Heath Mount thrived in its new spacious surroundings. It remained as a school during the Second World War with some girls admitted as a temporary measure, although the first girls did not fully join until 1976. Until the 1980s, the house was Heath Mount with all classes, boarding and other activities taking place in the one building.
It was under the headships of the Rev Ian Watson (1980 – 1987) and the Rev Harry Matthews (1988 – 2006) that the school expanded. The sports hall was built in 1984 with a Pre-Prep building established in 1990. This allowed numbers in Pre-Prep to increase and gave more space in the main house for the Prep classrooms and boys dorms. Extensions to these new buildings along with the development of sports, science, art and music facilities have followed to give the school its current shape and character.
Heath Mount has had many famous sons and daughters over the years, some of whose names live on in the school. Four stand out from its first century:
Gerald du Maurier, father of Daphne, was an actor and theatre impresario who was knighted in 1922. He was a pupil at Heath Mount from 1882 – 1887 and wrote in a letter home that “we had such a fearful pudding today that I hid it with my spoon. It was made of blancmange and plums, bad clotted cream and small black beetles.” Gerald du Maurier
Arnold Bax studied music at the school in 1897 under Signor Masi before entering the Hampstead Conservatoire. He went on to be a highly successful composer writing seven symphonies and music for films as well as writing poetry and stories. He was knighted in 1937 and became Master of the King’s Musick in 1942. Arnold Bax
Cecil Beaton and Evelyn Waugh were pupils there from 1913 to 1916 and 1910-17 respectively. In his diaries, Cecil Beaton recalled his first meeting with Waugh. “During my first morning at Heath Mount day school the bullies led by a tiny but fierce Evelyn Waugh, at once spotted their quarry in me as, terrified, I crept around the outer periphery of the asphalt playground.” Cecil Beaton
Evelyn Waugh refers to Heath Mount School in his diaries. In Christmas Term 1914, aged 11, he wrote (his spelling and punctuation), “The miseries of scool. I have come to the conclusion that Heath Mount is the worst managed school in England. We had 3 classics today which was something awful Mr Hynchcliffe is getting more obnoxious every day and his nose is getting pereceptably longer every day.” Given Waugh’s subsequent success, he was, perhaps, not too badly served by his first school. Evelyn Waugh
And so, after over two centuries educating boys and girls, Heath Mount, with its early roots in Hampstead, looks forward to 2009 when it will be celebrating its first 75 years in Hertfordshire.