Downham School
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| Downham School | |
|---|---|
 | |
Hatfield Heath, Essex, England | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private boarding school |
| Established | 1932 |
| Closed | c. 1967 |
| Gender | Girls |
Downham School was a private boarding school for girls based at Down Hall, a Victorian country house near Hatfield Heath, 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.[1][2] In her 2007 memoir, alumna Clarissa Eden described the school as "a fashionable boarding school ... orientated to horses".[3] Down Hall was sold in the 1960s and the school closed circa 1967, the house becoming a conference centre.[4]