Roedean School

[John]

Roedean School was founded in 1885 as Wimbledon House (in Kemp Town) by three sisters: Penelope, Millicent, and Dorothy Lawrence, apparently known locally as 'The Firm'. Penelope Lawrence was the natural leader – energetic and confident, she commanded respect and inspired academic effort. Dorothy’s soft, gentle character inspired love and loyalty from her pupils. Millicent was the most practical, perceptive and business like; she was also involved in local issues such as the state of the cliffs in Brighton. At one time, eight Lawrence sisters were teaching at Roedean. Sylvia designed the school uniform, known as a ‘djibbah’, reputedly inspired by the dress of North African tribesmen.

In 1898, the school moved to its present site occupying new buildings designed by the architect John William Simpson. Numbers grew steadily to over four hundred and fifty in the early 1920s. In early WWII most of the pupils were evacuated to Keswick in the Lake District as the military authorities commandeered the School, although fifty other pupils went to Canada. Roedean became HMS Vernon, a naval shore establishment acting as accommodation for apprentices attending the Mining and Torpedo School and working for the electrical branches of the Navy. Because of this, Roedean School is perhaps the only girls’ school in the country to have an Old Boys Association...

Five pictures of Roedean School and pupils (dated to the very early 1930's) attached.

[John]

More images from the same period, this set concentrating solely on the pupils and their activities.

[John]

Three more pictures of the ladies..

[Pete]

During the war there was a tunnel dug down to the beach for access by HMS Vernon On the attached link the entrance is visible at the S end of the path leading to the road and between the sports pitches
http://wtp2.appspot.com/wheresthepath.htm?lat=50.81070078167615&lon=-0.08399036861189228&gz=18&oz=10&gt=1

[John]

Another picture, same sort of date as those above.

[John]

A couple of old postcards of Roedean School..

[John]

Pupils at Roedean in 1923..

[John]

Lacrosse teams, 1923..

[John]

More lacrosse shots from Roedean School, 1923 and 1924.

[Man of Kent1]

A fascinating set of photos, John.  The school facilities were very impressive, as you would expect from the fees charged!  I wonder if the girls still play lacrosse - it seems to have suddenly become fashionable again, even the Chaucer has taken it up.