The Origins of Strode’s College
The origins of Strode’s College can be traced back to Henry Strode, the member of the Strode family who was born in 1645 and died in 1704. In his will of 16th March, 1703 he gave £6000, which he vested in trust to the Coopers’ Company of London, for the building and endowment of a school and almshouses “for the learning and edifying of the poor children of the Parish of Egham”. These buildings were erected in 1707. For a considerable time – right up to the early 19th century - this charitable benefaction was subject to disputes and litigation because of the opposing interests of the Coopers’ Company and the Parish of Egham. The nature of these disputes and litigation can be seen in the extracts on display from Manning’s History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey (item 2). Frederick Turner has also devoted a number of pages in his book[1] to the turbulent implementation of Henry Strode’s will. Eventually in 1828, according to Turner, “a scheme for the settlement of the [Strode] charity was endorsed by the Court of Chancery and a new block of almshouses with a chapel were built”[2]. After that the Strode Charity enjoyed a period of comparative quiet but by the end of the 19th century schools of this type were becoming increasingly unsuited to the changing educational needs as envisaged by the Education Act of 1870 and subsequent educational Acts of Parliament. In the case of the Strode Charity efforts were made by the Charity Commissioner to introduce schemes to improve the use of the charity (see an example displayed as item 3). Ultimately, however the school was closed down in 1900 and replaced by a new school constructed during the First World War and opened as a secondary school for boys in 1919. A period of expansion and development of this school followed, culminating towards the end of the 20th century in its transition from a Grammar School to a co-educational sixth form college, known as Strode’s College, in 1975 and its incorporation as a Further Education College in 1993.
On Display:
1. Image of the title page of the book cited in item 2
2. Manning, O. The History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey, begun by the late Rev. Owen Manning. Enlarged and continued to the year 1814 by William Bray. Vol. 3 (London: printed for White, Cochrane and Co., 1814). Pages 262-264 of the section of vol 3 held in the Oliver Collection as loose pages. Page 264 is a copy of the verso of page 263
.
3. Charity Commission. In the matter of the Charity of Henry Strode, in the parish of Egham, in the county of Surrey; and In the matter of the Endowed Schools Acts, 1869, 1873 and 1874. Draft published. 1894.
Joan Wintour
March 2017
[1] Turner, F. Egham, Surrey: A History of the Parish under Church and Crown (Egham: Box &
Gilham, 1926), pp. 209-211
[2] Turner, ibid, pp. 210-211
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