Battersea -

Battersea - Schools and Colleges
Click on the photos for an enlargement

Under Construction - Listing all the schools & Colleges in Battersea is not as easy as it sounds as many have come and gone, changed names or moved - Thus this is not necessarily a complete listing

Primary Schools

Battersea Charity School, 1799-1882 minute books are in Wandsworth Local Library

Belleville Primary School, prevoiusly Belleville Road School
Belleville Road, Battersea, London SW11 6PR
Opened August 1877, architect E R Robson, builder Joseph Thompson of Camberwell Green
Link yo the 1959 Belleville school holiday on the Isle of Wight

Bolingbroke Road School. Opened 1 Dec 1873, builder John Spink of Clapham Junction. Is this the buildind occupied by Northcote Lodge School, 26 Bolingbroke Grove, an an independent school founded 1993 (photographed below).

Canon Clarke's Girl's School. In the Old Vicarage near Battersea Square in 1872, moved to The Schubbery, Lavender Gardens 1885. The Shubbery later became the parish rooms for St. Barnabas Church and is now converted to flats.

Chesterton Primary School
Dagnall Street, Battersea Park Road, Battersea, London SW11 5DT
Chesterton Primary was at Forfar Rd/Battersea park Rd

Christ Church CofE Primary School
Batten Street, Battersea, London SW11 2TH

Christchurch National School, c1850, rebuilt 1900. Is this the same as Christ Church CofE Primary School above

Elsley School
31 Elsley RoadSW11 5LJ
Special school opened 1995.Near the site of the former Gideon Road School?

Eltringham Primary School
Rosenau Road (previously Eltringham St)
Built 1885

Ethelburga Street 1896 (Not currently active?)
Vic Myers has sent me this information -
This school was bombed I believe in 1944 - last Headmaster was R.J. WOOD, who was formerly Senior Master and Geography teacher at Battersea Central School.

Falconbrook Primary School
Wye Street, Battersea, London SW11 2LX

Gideon Road School

A picture of Gideon Road with the school in the background taken in the early 1950 sent to this site by Brian Greaves, together with a later one without the school After war damage the school was not used again and demolished in the 1950s. The chap on Brian's BSA 250cc side valve is a friend who lived at 35 Gideon Road, Brian lived at 32 Gideon Road until 1957. The old Ford van belonged to Batemans Laundry, they had two of the same and always parked across the road facing up Tipthorpe Road ready two go with clean washing. Brian's mum worked in the laundry for a few years and he used to go round in the van delivering and collecting washing. The later bike is a BSA Shooting Star 500cc.

Heathbrook Primary School, St Rule Street, off Wandsworth Road. A Board school of about 1900.

High View Primary School (sometimes Highview)
Plough Terrace, Battersea, London SW11 2AA
Built 1890,

Holden Street School. Opened February 1877. Architect E Robson. Now Shaftesbury Park Primary School.

Honeywell Junior School & Honeywell Infants School
Honeywell Road, Battersea, London SW11 6EF
Completed 1894 although in temporary iron buildings, may have been used for a few years earlier, architect TJ Bailey, Builder G Stringer

John Burns Primary School, previously Basnett Road School
Wycliffe Road, Lavender Hill, London SW11 5QR
Original school opened 26 May 1884, rebuilt 1975/6 & 1994.

John Milton Primary School
Thessaly Road, Battersea, London SW8 5AH
Previously known as the Sleaford Road School. Opened 10 August 1874 in Battersea New Town. Closed July 2004 (Paradise Lost?).

Joseph Tritton Primary School, Wynter Street, SW11 2TY
Was in the league tables as late as 1998 but now closed, "affordable" homes now developed on the site. Building work begun in March 2003 comprising 131 new homes in seven new buildings, constructed around two large landscaped courtyards with more than 40 new trees and was due to be completed by September 2004. Joseph Tritton was a supporter of the nearby Battersea Chapel Baptist Church

Latchmere Road School, Latchmere Road. Opened 27 August 1883, architect Robson (Pevsner has it as 1888-9, architect TJ Bailey - possible he is refering to the second of the two buildings). Now converted to apartments. 1891-1939 admission registers are in the London Metropolitan Archives but the school was in use much later.

New Street National School. Opened before 1851, closed before 1861.

Sacred Heart Primary School, Battersea
Este Road, London SW11 2TD

Shaftesbury Park Primary School
Previously known as Holden Street School.
Ashbury Road, Battersea, London SW11 5UW

Sleaford Road School, Battersea New Town. Opened 10 August 1874, architect Edward Robson. Renamed the John Milton Primary School. Closed July 2004.

Shillington Street 1883 (Not currently active?)

St George's CofE Primary School
Corunna Road, Battersea, London SW8 4JS
Opened 1857?

St. John's National School, Usk Road. Built 1866.

St Mark's Church of England Infant's School, Battersea Rise
The nearest building in the postcard view below, still in use around 1960. The building is still there but now no longer a school.

St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Lockington Road, Battersea, London SW8 4BE
Previously on the opposite side of Battersea Park Road next to the Notre Dame school.

Sir James Barrie Primary School
Condell Road, London SW8 4JB

Westbridge Primary School
Bolingbroke Walk, Westbridge Road, London SW11 3NE

Winstanley Road School, opened January 1874, builder George Stevenson of Chealsea This was sited on a corner of Winstanley Road and Livingstone Road and was bombed during WW2. A correspondant (tinbath46) on the "Old Battersea" mailing list, as a child living in Livingstone Road, remembers the bomb site until everything was demolished in the early 1960's.

Wix Primary School
Wix's Lane, Clapham Common North Side, London SW4 0AJ
built 1903, architect TJ Bailey, builder AG Smith and subsequintly enlarged
Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, Wix School, teaching in the French system for children of French parents, is on site. A fee-paying school partly subsidised by L’Agence pour l’Enseignement du Français à l’Etranger.

Wycliffe Special School, active 1905-36 and probably later

Secondary Schools

The relationship between some of the schools in Battersea can be confusing this link may help (or possible add to your confusion)

Battersea County School, off Battersea Park Road, also known as Battersea Central School. Sometime prior to WW2 Surrey Lane School occupied the site (if you are confused, so am I). Evacuated to Hawkley Hampshire in 1939 Link to website for the Hawkley evacuation. More information on Battersea Central School is given by Jill Millson nee Ling, daughter of the former Headmaster

Battersea Grammar School, St John's Hill, Battersea, 1875 - 1936, on a site since occupied by the now disused Granada cinema. Moved to Abbotswood Road, Streatham, 1936 - 1977. In 1977 amalgamated with Rosa Bassett Grammar School to become the Furzedown Secondary School. Another Web Site.
A view of the school in St. John's Hill from a 1913 postmarked card

Battersea Technology College
401 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 5AP
Formerly the Battersea County School and Battersea Park Comprehensive School.

The County Secondary School for Girls, Clapham, 1909-1976, became Walsingham School, 1978-1993 and now Thomas's Preparatory School, Clapham.

Emanuel School
Battersea Rise, London SW11 1HS

Lavender Hill Secondary, Amies Street (on the Latchmere Road School site?), a boys and girls school till 1957 when it became a girls only school. 1892-1979 admission registers are in the London Metropolitan Archives.

Notre Dame High School, 8 Battersea Park Road. Closed sometime after 1985.

Ponton Road Day Industrial School, Battersea, 1895-1928 admission registers are in the London Metropolitan Archives.
      Possibly these links relate?
      Battersea Industrial School 1843-1864 Extracts from register
      Battersea Common Industrial School 1854-1869 Extracts from register

Royal Masonic Institution for Girls, Boutflower Road, 1853 to 1934. Moved to Hertfordshire 1932-34. The Peabody Trust, Clapham Junction Estate, built 1935-37, now occupies the site.

Salesian College
Surrey Lane, Battersea, London SW11 3PB
A religious order, the Salesians of Don Bosco, had begun a small school in Battersea late in 1887 at 26 Trott Street, the beginnings of the College, as we know it today, did not occur until 10^th July 1895 with the acquisition and occupation of Surrey Lodge, as it was then named, in Surrey Lane.
Surrey Lodge had been built by David Ker, a financier and Battersea resident in 1839, as a gentleman’s country villa.
Prior to their purchase, in 1895, of Surrey lodge, the Salesians had already acquired, by rent and long lease, properties at 24 and 26 Trott Street, 124 or 126 Battersea High Street, 58-60 and 62-64 Orbel Street. (Latterly they have also taken occupation of 2, 3 and 32 Orbel Street.)
See also picture of Surrey Lodge (now called Surrey House) below. [Notes thanks to Tom Champagne]

Surrey Lane School, I have little information on this school which was en existance in 1904 if not before, 1904-14 admission registers are in the London Metropolitan Archives, There was a Domestic Economy School at Surrey Lane School. At sometime prior to WW2 the school occupied the Battersea County School building off Battersea Park Road. A new purpose built School with modern facilities was being built in Culvert Road before WW2, due to be opened in 1940.
1908 photo from Tom Champagne

Vic Myers has sent me this information -
It comprised in the 1930s of an Infants School on the ground floor for boys and girls mixed from 4 to 7 (yes some of us did go to school at 4 years old in the Nursery Class); the 1st floor was occupied by Battersea Central School for Girls and the top floor occupied by Battersea Central School for Boys; in the grounds were a wood work centre, Science labs for the boys and I believe domestic economy for the girls (we were not allowed to mix so I can't confirm this) in one building.. Also in the grounds was a metal work centre and adjacent was the Domestic Economy House - which you mention in your notes.
I still have the Boys School magazines - The Torch - for 1934, 1935 1936 and 1938 (none was published in 1937. In the 1938 edition the Headmaster, Mr. A. Ling, gave details of the new school being built in Culvert Road. This school eventually became Battersea County.
See Vic Myers notes regarding his life in Battersea on the Hawkley - Evacuation - web site.

Thames Christian College
Hornsby International Dyslexia Centre, Wye Street, London SW11 2HB

Sir Walter St John School (Sinjuns), Battersea High Street. Founded 1700. New buildings by the Architect Butterfield 1858-9, a 1914 wing plus new wing in 1951 to replace war damaged section (September 1040, when a 500lb time delay bomb landed in the headmaster's study). Amalgamated with William Blake School to form the Sir Walter St. John's Comprehensive School in 1977. Merged with Battersea County School in 1986 to form Battersea Park Comprehensive School. The buildings in Battersea High Street were closed in 1988. Thomas's London Day Schools, 28-40 Battersea High Street, London SW11 3JB, now occupies the site.

Colleges

Southlands College, the Wesleyan training college for women teachers was opened in Battersea on 26 February 1872. It moved to Wimbledon Park Side, facing Wimbledon Common, in the 1930s. In September 1997 it moved to the present site at Roehampton Lane. See http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/southlands/history.asp

Battersea Polytechnic Institute
Battersea Park Road

Founded in 1891 and opened 1894. Renamed about 1956 as Battersea College of Technology. In 1966 became The University of Surrey which moved to Guildford by 1970. A history of Battersea College 1891-1962 by Harold Arrowsmith was published 1966. An excellent history of the collage up to 1966 is on the University of Surrey website (presumably from Mr. Arrowsmith's book) on a PDF file but beware a large, 1.5mb, download.
Became part of Westminster Kingsway College (which I attended in an earlier guise as Westminster Technical College at Vincent Square, Westminster, in the 1960s) but this site was closed in July 2004.
Proposals have, 2005, been submitted to redevelop the college. The developers propose to retain the old building fronting Battersea Park Road but buildings to the rear of the site are to be demolished and replaced with a new 6 storey building. The conversion would give 205 flats and old the library would become restaurant. Link to the planning application. The building is a grade II listed building

A List of Schools and their Masters & Mistresses from the 1878 Post Office Directory for Surrey

Other Links:

Wandsworth Borough Site for Schools

Friends Reunited

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