The Building of St Edward's School: A Chronology (1870 - 2020)

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St. Edward’s School Buildings Chronology

The First 50 years (after the arrival in Summertown)

1870 - The Reverend Algernon Simeon purchases the nine year old St. Edward’s School, based in New Inn Hall Street Oxford, paying £300 (£48,600 today) for the furniture and fittings from the Reverend Thomas Chamberlain, the original founder. 1871 - Simeon secures 5.75 acres of farmland at the Old Diamond Farm in Summertown from its owner, the Reverend Canon Henry Edward Bull, Vicar of Lathbury (a cousin of Thomas Chamberlain). Cost is a ‘modest’ £1,500 (£243,000 today) paid out of Simeon’s personal funds and a mortgage. Edward Bull proves very stubborn and the negotiations are prolonged and very stressful for Simeon

Old Diamond Hall Farm, circa 1767, looking south down the Banbury Road towards Oxford. The farm buildings are on the left.

The eminent Oxford based architect, William Wilkinson, is engaged by Simeon to design the first School buildings and the Quadrangle (then called the ‘Meads’*). His instruction is to build ‘a modest and sufficient building’. Initial cost of these original buildings will be £3,000 (£486,000 today) paid for by mortgage and partly guaranteed by personal friends, particularly Lord Beauchamp, as well as from Simeon’s own funds. In the first schedule between Simeon and Wilkinson, the stated objective is to ‘prepare some plans for a School Building of a very plain character at the lowest sum for which a building suitable for the purpose could be erected’ (Simeon Obituary - Chronicle June 1928). * The Meads is a Winchester College term and introduced by Algernon Simeon, a former student. (Box 307) Wilkinson, in addition to the architectural challenges, also handles the final and conclusive survey of the School’s New Inn Hall Street premises in 1871, recommending that no extra expenditure should be made to improve what was already a condemned building and encouraging Simeon to look elsewhere. He also interviews contacts regarding other possible sites in and around North Oxford, including with a Mr. Napier, the Duke of Marlborough’s agent. He is also deeply involved in Simeon’s negotiations with the Reverend Bull. Furthermore he makes contact with Highway Board in order