Ravenscroft School (Somerset)
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| Motto |
Audi et Aude (Learn and dare!) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1930s |
| Closed | 1996 |
| Type | Preparatory/Special |
| Location |
Beckington, later Farleigh Hungerford Somerset England 51°18′41″N 2°17′30″W / 51.3113°N 2.2917°WCoordinates: 51°18′41″N 2°17′30″W / 51.3113°N 2.2917°W |
| Gender | Boys, from 1964 co-educational |
| Houses | Scots and Picts |
| Colours | Black, brown and green |
Ravenscroft School (founded 1931 at Yelverton, Devon, and until 1978 known as Ravenscroft Preparatory School) was an independent day and boarding school, initially for boys only, but from 1964 co-educational. From 1945 onwards its premises were in Somerset, England. It closed in July 1996, when most staff and pupils transferred to the new Farleigh College.
Ravenscroft was founded by Mr H. F. Bailey as a preparatory school for boys at Yelverton, Devon, in 1931. In the course of its existence, it had at least three different homes.
Its first home was a house at Yelverton called Ravenscroft House, on the edge of Yelverton Common, with views over Dartmoor. This was previously known as 'Hayesleigh' and is now the Ravenscroft Care Home. In 1941, during the Second World War, a new but temporary Royal Air Force airfield called RAF Harrowbeer was constructed on part of Roborough Down close to Yelverton, and Ravenscroft House was requisitioned to become the officers' mess.
From 1945 to 1970, the school occupied Beckington Castle in the village of Beckington, Somerset. This property had previously been the home of Captain Hamilton, Coldstream Guards, later 3rd Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, and it was the birthplace of his second son the politician Archie Hamilton, Baron Hamilton of Epsom.
In February, 1966, a major fire began in the Castle's boiler room and much of the interior was destroyed. Ravenscroft closed for a week, then continued to operate in its outbuildings while the extensive damage was made good.
In the year 1970, growing numbers of pupils led to a move to a large country house called Farleigh House near the village of Farleigh Hungerford. It had previously been owned by Earl Cairns and the Hely-Hutchinson family, a cadet branch of the Earls of Donoughmore.
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