History of the School

Clifton Hampden bridge
Clifton Hampden bridge

The village of Clifton Hampden lies on the north bank of the River Thames at a crossing point served by a ferry and subsequently by a bridge. Physically, the village has changed very little over the centuries and its name -the "enclosure on a cliff"- is of Anglo-Saxon origin. In 1726 the village was purchased from the Dunch family by Robert Hucks, a London brewer and M.P. for Abingdon and by 1842 it had passed to George Henry Gibbs, after the deaths of his cousins Anne and Sarah Noyes. One hundred and fifty years ago, as the history of the school unfolds, Henry Hucks Gibbs had just inherited the estate of Clifton Hampden, along with other estates in Hertfordshire and Essex. His uncle, Joseph, was the Vicar and had just moved into what we now know as the Manor House but built then by the family as a new Vicarage. The church had recently been completely renovated and cottages rebuilt. The village had three farmhouses and three inns. Later, in 1864, the bridge, as the Manor and the Church had been, was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott. The Village Hall was to be built in 1896 to commemorate the elevation of Henry Hucks Gibbs to the peerage as Lord Aldenham.

Clifton Hampden school
An early photograph of the school buildings

The first record of a school in the village is found on the Hucks Estate map of 1786 showing a school on Culver Close (opposite the present Post Office). In 1802 there was a school where children learned the catechism and a dame school had opened by 1808, where the poor 'upon such terms as suit them' sent their children to learn to read. In 1828 there were two schools and a Sunday School, where reading would have been taught. Craik's school was opened about 1846 at Courtiers in Watery Lane as a private commercial school run by a dissenter but in 1868 it moved from the village because of a fever outbreak.

William Gibbs
William Gibbs

It is to the generosity of William, uncle to Henry Hucks Gibbs, that we owe the establishment of a school for boys and girls, affiliated to the National Society, under a Trust Deed of 15th October 1847. A school for 100 children, with one room for boys and girls and another for infants, along with a master's house was designed by Joseph Clarke, a Diocesan Architect and the author of a book on Schools and Schoolhouses. It was built in the Gothic Revival style with one large room divided by a removable partition which formed a passage leading to the Master's house, which is described in a contemporary article as being "more perfect than usual; the covered way behind makes a pleasing feature. Everything was done to render these schools solid and enduring. They are placed on a terrace, formed by an embankment, with steps in the centre; and the space in front, with the slope, being turfed and kept in excellent order, shows the building to great advantage. The cost of these schools was considerable, and, with the materials found on the estate, amounted to between £700 and £800." Soon afterwards, the most outstanding feature of the building - the clocktower was added. It is thought to have been designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the architect of St Pancras Station and the Albert Memorial and houses a clock, built by E. J. Dent the maker of Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster and is surmounted by a bell, now to be seen outside the main classroom and inscribed "Gloria in excelsis 1847". In 1909 an infants' room was added on the south side and, in 1960, the infants moved to a modern style extension on the north side and the playground was extended by the purchase of land on the Abingdon Road corner. A library and quiet room were incorporated from the school house in the 1970's and the school is now a Grade Two Listed building.