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 |
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]
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 |
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: