Group    From 1701 

Grey Coat Hospital / Grey Coat School

Categories: Education

From the school's website:
"In 1666, after the Great Fire of London, many inhabitants of the Old City of London moved to the medieval town of Westminster. With its congested and squalid alleys, the area was the home of many criminals who, until 1623, had the right of sanctuary in the Abbey. It was in the first seedy area – home to every type of vice and depravation - that The Grey Coat Hospital was founded. 

On St Andrew’s Day in 1698, eight parishioners of the parish of St Margaret’s each invested 12/6 (65p) towards the founding of the school. The aim of the founders was to give an education to the poor of the parish so that they could be ‘loyal citizens, useful workers and solid Christians’. In 1701 the Governors purchased the old workhouse in Tutle fields (Tothill Fields) from Westminster Abbey and established a school for both girls and boys. St Andrew’s stands on the original site of the Elizabethan workhouse, the flagstones of which are walked over daily. After a colourful history which included a murder in 1773 and a rebellion in protest against the dreadful conditions of the school in 1801, the school became a day school of girls in 1874."

In 1706 Queen Anne granted the Grey Coat Hospital Foundation a royal charter.  

The building was damaged by WW2 bombs. It was repaired and reopened in 1955. The original building is still used by the Lower School.

2023: Penny Swan of Grey Coat Hospital came across our site while researching the history of the School. She is deep diving while we can only skim the surface but she kindly provided the following information:

"The current building is in fact our second site. When the school opened 1698 it was a day school for poor boys in Broad Sanctuary, close to the Abbey.

"We moved to the current site in 1702, and became a boarding school for boys and girls (strictly separated!) and also gained Queen Anne’s Royal Charter. It was then that we acquired the ‘Hospital’ part of the name, because the students lived here – it is derived from the Latin ‘hospes’ meaning a guest or host, and came to mean a place of safety for the needy in the early 15th century.

"The building was refurbished as a school, having been built as a poorhouse. The original Elizabethan flagstones are still in use in the downstairs corridor, where the Charter hangs on the wall.

"David Thompson is not our only famous alumnus – John Hatchard {see Hatchards Bookshop} was educated here 1776-1782, and apprenticed to a bookseller."

The print reproduced on this page is by William Henry Prior and is dated "1878 (or later)".

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Grey Coat Hospital / Grey Coat School

Commemorated ati

Grey Coat School - Eddy

For Joan Audrey Eddy (Chivers), student at The Grey Coat Hospital, 1944 - 194...

Read More

Grey Coat School - Rusbridge

In memory of our secretary and vice-president, Elizabeth Rusbridge (Gibbs), 1...

Read More

Other Subjects

Royal Military Academy

Royal Military Academy

Founded as an academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. Originally located in a converted workshop of the Royal Arsenal and so popularly known as...

Building, Armed Forces, Education

2 memorials
Braidwood Academy for the Deaf and Dumb

Braidwood Academy for the Deaf and Dumb

First school in England for the education of the deaf.  Established  by Thomas Braidwood.  On old maps one can see a large house just a little to the north of the plaque location but we can find n...

Building, Education

1 memorial
Imperial Institute

Imperial Institute

Established in 1887 to promote research that would benefit the British Empire. From 1893 it was housed in a building in Exhibition Road, designed by T. E. Collcutt. This was demolished in the 1950s...

Building, Education, Science

2 memorials
Boundary Community School

Boundary Community School

We are puzzled at the lack of an online presence for this school. We found "Boundary Community School was founded in 9/11/95. This business is working in the following industry: Education." The Cha...

Group, Education

1 memorial
Stanley Trade School

Stanley Trade School

Founded by W. F. R. Stanley as the Stanley Technical Trade School. It was taken control of by Philip Harris, and Croydon Council and the local community of South Norwood agreed that it should be ca...

Place, Education

1 memorial