There are several different names which all apply to the same institution.
The Central London School District was formed in 1849, when the school district's board acquired a privately owned building in Norwood, which was used as a pauper school. In 1854 it was decided to transfer to a site on Cuckoo Hill in Hanwell, and the first pupils were admitted here at the end of 1856. The Central London District Poor Law School was created by the City of London and the East London and St. Saviour Workhouse Unions in 1857.
A total of 1,200 children could be accommodated on the site. It was also known as the Cuckoo Schools, after the name of the farm on which it was built. It was partly destroyed by bomb damage during WW2, and in 1945, the remaining buildings became the Hanwell Community Centre.
Charlie Chaplin and his half-brother Sydney were pupils.
Since Johnson's school, 'Central London School for Orphans and Destitute Children', is described as being in Hanwell, we think it must be this one.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
