Riddlesworth Hall is a country house, and was formerly used as a boarding school. It is located in Riddlesworth, Norfolk, England.

History

It was acquired by Silvanus Bevan III (1743–1830) in 1792.[1][2]

It later became the seat of the Compton-Thornhill baronets, including Sir Thomas Thornhill, 1st Baronet (1837–1900) and Sir Anthony John Compton-Thornhill, 2nd Baronet (1868–1949). The second baronet had no heirs and the hall was converted for use as a school.[1][3]

Architecture

It was designed by architect Thomas Leverton (1743–1824) as a Georgian style three-storey manor house in 1792.[1][3] It is surrounded by 12 hectares of parkland.[3]

It was listed by English Heritage as a Grade II building on 21 July 1951.[1]

Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School

In 1946, Riddlesworth Hall School was established as a predominantly girls' school but later catered to both boys and girls aged 2 to 13.[4] In October 2015 it was announced that Riddlesworth had joined the Confucius International Education Group, which runs several international schools in China, Spain & USA. Riddlesworth was rebranded Confucius International School-Riddlesworth Hall (CISRH) as a result. The school ithen underwent a refurbishment and development programme.[5]

Full and part-time boarding was available for children from age 7. Enrollment was intentionally kept small..[6]

Pupils were allocated to four houses, which were named after prominent British women. Points were awarded for "achievement, effort, behavior and generosity of spirit".[7]

House Colour Namesake
Aylward   Gladys Aylward, missionary
Cavell   Edith Cavell, nurse
Fry   Elizabeth Fry, reformer
Nightingale   Florence Nightingale, nurse

Notable former pupils include Diana, Princess of Wales[3][8]

The school was formally closed in April 2023.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d British Listed Buildings
  2. ^ The Regency Town House: The Bevans
  3. ^ a b c d Select English Archived September 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Department of Education
  5. ^ Ward, Zach (1 October 2015). ""Change in direction" for Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School under new Chinese ownership". Diss Express.
  6. ^ Boarding
  7. ^ Houses
  8. ^ "The House of Windsor from 1952 — Diana, Princess of Wales: Childhood and teenage years". royal.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010.
  9. ^ "Princess Diana's former school Riddlesworth Hall to close - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. 24 June 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2023.

External links

52°23′39″N 0°53′16″E / 52.3943°N 0.8877°E / 52.3943; 0.8877