# Downham School

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{{Short description|Private boarding school in Essex, England}}
{{Notability|1=Organizations|date=February 2026}}
{{Infobox school
 | established             = 1932
 | name                    = Downham School
 | image                   = File:Down Hall Country House Hotel from the rear gardens - geograph.org.uk - 451750.jpg
 | location                = [Hatfield Heath](/source/Hatfield_Heath), [Essex](/source/Essex), England
 | type                    = [Private](/source/Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom) [boarding school](/source/boarding_school)
 | closed                  = {{circa|1967}}
 | gender                  = Girls
 | lower_age               = 
 | upper_age               = 
}}
'''Downham School''' was a [private](/source/Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom) [boarding school](/source/boarding_school) for girls based at [Down Hall](/source/Down_Hall), a Victorian country house near [Hatfield Heath](/source/Hatfield_Heath), [Essex](/source/Essex).

The school was established in 1932. Eleanor Louisa Houison-Craufurd was the first principal from 1932 to 1950. The school had a reputation for focusing less on education and more on preparing well-born young ladies for advantageous marriages.<ref name="Hart">{{cite news |last1=Hart |first1=Sybilla |title=The history of Down Hall near Bishop's Stortford in Essex |url=https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/essex/24267265.history-hall-near-bishops-stortford-essex/ |access-date=13 April 2026 |work=Essex Life |date=27 July 2024}}</ref><ref name="History">{{cite web |title=History of Down Hall |url=https://www.downhall.co.uk/uploads/documents/GeneralDocuments/History_of_Down_Hall_-_updated.pdf |publisher=Down Hall |access-date=5 February 2023}}</ref> In her 2007 memoir, alumna [Clarissa Eden](/source/Clarissa_Eden) described the school as "a fashionable boarding school&nbsp;... orientated to horses".<ref name="Eden">{{cite book |title=A Memoir: From Churchill to Eden |date=2007 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location=London |isbn=978-0-297-85193-6 |page=11}}</ref> Down Hall was sold in the 1960s and the school closed circa 1967, the house becoming a conference centre.<ref name="Exton">{{cite news |last1=Exton |first1=Colin |title=Exploring the history of Down Hall Hotel & Spa |url=https://absolutely-essex.co.uk/exploring-the-history-of-down-hall-hotel-spa/ |access-date=5 February 2023 |work=Absolutely Essex |date=25 May 2021}}</ref>

==Notable former pupils==
* [Jennifer Forwood, 11th Baroness Arlington](/source/Jennifer_Forwood%2C_11th_Baroness_Arlington) (born 1939), peeress 
* [Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon](/source/Clarissa_Eden) (1920–2021),<ref name="Hart"/><ref name="History"/><ref name="Eden"/><ref name="Exton"/> [spouse of the prime minister of the United Kingdom](/source/spouse_of_the_prime_minister_of_the_United_Kingdom)
* [Lady Caroline Blackwood](/source/Lady_Caroline_Blackwood) (1931–1996),<ref name="Hart"/> writer
* [Lady Martha Bruce](/source/Lady_Martha_Bruce) (1921–2023), prison governor 
* [Elizabeth Carnegy, Baroness Carnegy of Lour](/source/Elizabeth_Carnegy%2C_Baroness_Carnegy_of_Lour) (1925–2010), academic and activist
* [Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner](/source/Anne_Tennant%2C_Baroness_Glenconner) (born 1932), peeress and socialite
* [Pamela Harriman](/source/Pamela_Harriman) (1920–1997),<ref name="Hart"/><ref name="History"/><ref name="Exton"/> [Ambassador of the United States to France](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_the_United_States_to_France)
* [Lady Elizabeth Shakerley](/source/Lady_Elizabeth_Shakerley) (1941–2020), party planner
* [Frances Shand Kydd](/source/Frances_Shand_Kydd) (1936–2004),<ref name="Hart"/><ref name="History"/><ref name="Exton"/> mother of [Diana, Princess of Wales](/source/Diana%2C_Princess_of_Wales)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Schools in Essex}}

Category:Defunct girls' schools in the United Kingdom
Category:Defunct schools in Essex
Category:Girls' schools in Essex
Category:Educational institutions established in 1932
Category:1932 establishments in England
Category:1960s disestablishments in England

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Downham School](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downham_School) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downham_School?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.