Polam Hall

Polam Hall
Established 1847
Head John Moreland
Location Grange Road
Darlington
County Durham
DL1 5PA
England
Students over 300
Ages 2–18
Website polamhall.com

Polam Hall is an independent school located in the town of Darlington, County Durham, England. The Head is John Moreland.

Contents

History of Polam Hall

Mr Harrington Lee a prominent Darlington Merchant built a house in the country in 1794 and lived there with his family for twenty seven years; upon his death in 1824 his remaining family sold the property in the area referred to as 'Polam Hill'.

In 1825 Jonathan Backhouse a financial backer of the railways bought 'Polam Hill' and was responsible for renovations including the landscaping of the grounds; it was not until 1828 that his wife Hannah (née Chapman Gurney) and family moved in. As Members of the Darlington Society of Friends (Quakers) and Ministers they undertook missionary work resulting in them having to travel extensively around England and America. As cousins of Edward Pease, Joseph John Gurney and Elizabeth Fry they were able to work with each other to improve their world. In the 1841 census the family are listed as living in 'Polam Hall' but it is understood that both Jonathan who died in 1842 and Hannah who died in 1850 continued to refer to their home as 'Polam Hill'.[1][2]

'Polam Hall' was sold to William and Robert Thompson who leased it to the Procter sisters for use as a Quaker ladies’ finishing school. The Thompsons went into liquidation in 1878 and one of their largest creditors, Arthur Pease, became Polam’s new owner.[3][4]

School Census Statistics up to 1901

Year Residence Staff Visitors Servants Boarders Age Range
1841 Church Lane, Selby 3 0 1 4 7–15 [5]
1851 Selby House, 78 Hungate, Darlington 4 0 3 14 9–18 [6]
1861 Polam Hall, Darlington 4 0 7 31 11–18 [7]
1871 Polam Hall, Darlington 5 0 7 23 10–20 [8]
1881 Polam Hall, Darlington 5 1 9 31 12–18 [9]
1891 Polam Hall, Darlington 6 0 5 19 12–18 [10]
1901 Polam Hall, Darlington 2 0 17 11 12–19 [11]
Location of Birth 1841[12] 1851[13] 1861[14] 1871[15] 1881[16] 1891[17] 1901[18]
Yorkshire 7 7 10 13 16 5 5
Durham 0 4 6 2 19 4 11
Newcastle Upon Tyne 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
Northumberland 1 3 2 5 0 1 0
Lancashire 0 5 2 7 2 2 1
Cambridgeshire 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Huntingdon 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Ireland 0 1 8 1 0 2 2
France 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Germany 0 0 1 1 2 1 1
Cheshire 0 0 5 0 0 1 0
Worcester 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Coventry 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Oxfordshire 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Westmoreland 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Surrey 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Cornwall 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
London 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
Scotland 0 0 0 2 2 2 1
Wales 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Kent 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Herefordshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Suffolk 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Northamptonshire 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Somerset 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Cumberland 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Essex 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Polam Old Scholars

The Polam Hall Old Scholars Association (PHOSA) has existed since 1894 and now is a Registered Charity in its own right (No. 1058652), throughout the year the old scholars receive an annual Newsletter and have the opportunity to attend the PHOSA AGM at the school every June.

Notable Old Scholars include:

See also

References

  1. ^ Public Records Office – Census record for 1841 Reference H107/303/23 accessed on March 23, 2011
  2. ^ "Catalogue of the Backhouse Papers". reed.dur.ac.uk. http://reed.dur.ac.uk/xtf/view?docId=ead/fam/bkhouse.xml;query=polam#2. Retrieved March 23, 2011. 
  3. ^ Davies, Kathleen M. Polam Hall Story of a School G. Prodhoe & Co., LTD 1981 ISBN 0950779601
  4. ^ "Brothers' bankruptcy spurred expansion of People's Park". thenorthernecho.co.uk. http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/archive/2004/03/17/The+North+East+Archive/6997392.Brothers__bankruptcy_spurred_expansion_of_People_s_Park/. Retrieved March 29, 2011. 
  5. ^ Public Records Office – 1841 Class: HO107; Piece 1281; Book: 14; Civil Parish: Selby; County: Yorkshire; Enumeration District: 3 4 5; Folio: 16; Page: 25; Line: 5; GSU roll: 464248. accessed on March 29, 2011
  6. ^ Public Records Office – 1851 Class: HO107; Piece: 2382; Folio: 281; Page: 21; GSU roll: 87059-87060. accessed on March 29, 2011
  7. ^ Public Records Office – 1861 Class: RG9; Piece: 3680; Folio: 19; Page: 32; GSU roll: 543171 accessed on March 29, 2011
  8. ^ Public Records Office – 1871 Class: RG10; Piece: 4883; Folio: 5; Page: 3; GSU roll: 848002. accessed on March 29, 2011
  9. ^ Public Records Office – 1881 Class: RG11; Piece: 4887; Folio: 67; Page: 6; GSU roll: 1342175. accessed on March 29, 2011
  10. ^ Public Records Office – 1891 Class: RG12; Piece: 4043; Folio 56; Page 4; GSU roll: 6099153. accessed on March 29, 2011
  11. ^ Public Records Office – 1901 Class: RG13; Piece: 4619; Folio: 81; Page: 11. accessed on March 29, 2011
  12. ^ Public Records Office – 1841 Class: HO107; Piece 1281; Book: 14; Civil Parish: Selby; County: Yorkshire; Enumeration District: 3 4 5; Folio: 16; Page: 25; Line: 5; GSU roll: 464248. accessed on March 29, 2011
  13. ^ Public Records Office – 1851 Class: HO107; Piece: 2382; Folio: 281; Page: 21; GSU roll: 87059-87060. accessed on April 04, 2011
  14. ^ Public Records Office – 1861 Class: RG9; Piece: 3680; Folio: 19; Page: 32; GSU roll: 543171 accessed on April 04, 2011
  15. ^ Public Records Office – 1871 Class: RG10; Piece: 4883; Folio: 5; Page: 3; GSU roll: 848002. accessed on April 04, 2011
  16. ^ Public Records Office – 1881 Class: RG11; Piece: 4887; Folio: 67; Page: 6; GSU roll: 1342175. accessed on April 04, 2011
  17. ^ Public Records Office – 1891 Class: RG12; Piece: 4043; Folio 56; Page 4; GSU roll: 6099153. accessed on April 04, 2011
  18. ^ Public Records Office – 1901 Class: RG13; Piece: 4619; Folio: 81; Page: 11. accessed on April 04, 2011
  19. ^ Hardwick, Viv (October 14, 2004). "Magic MacBeth". thenorthernecho.co.uk. http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/archive/2004/10/14/The+North+East+Archive/6975190.Magic_Macbeth/. Retrieved March 23, 2011. 

External links