History

The origins of the School date back to the late sixteenth century and the will of Lady Dacre, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I, in which she directed her executors to ‘cause to be created and builte a meete and convenient house with rooms of habitation for twentie poor folks, and twentie othere poor children’. Thus Emanuel Hospital came into being, in Westminster.

With the passing of the years, what had become Emanuel School grew too large for its original accommodation, and so, in the 1880s, moved to its present site in Wandsworth. Here, a few years earlier in 1872, the Royal Patriotic Boys’ Orphanage had been constructed to the designs of Henry Saxon Snell.

This building became the foundation of Emanuel School upon its arrival in 1883 and indeed, much altered, it still constitutes the main teaching block today.

Over the subsequent years the site has changed and developed tremendously, but positioned between two train lines, retains the quiet and leafy feel of a much more rural location.

The Building

Built mainly of red brick and three storeys high, the main block has a striking central tower which was bombed in 1941. Below this is the entrance porch which has segmented doorways, Corinthian columns and ornamental medallions, which reflect those near the top of the tower. With its rows of repeated windows under lightly-pointed arches, its string courses, dripstones and herringbone brickwork, this is Victorian Gothic of a quieter kind.

The School chapel contains paintings of Moses and Aaron and a communion table from the church of St Benet Fink in the City of London. Other objects in the chapel (including a distinctive eagle lectern) were purchased from the same Benet Fink church in 1673. There are other rare objects in the chapel, including a set of paintings which have been attributed to Robert Streeter “Serjeant Paynter to Charles II”.

The School’s twelve acres of grounds have made it possible to extend the original buildings on several occasions, chiefly in the late nineteenth century (to the rear), the mid twentieth century, and in more recent years.

In 2017 the new Dacre Building was cleverly attached to the main Saxon Snell Building and the glass vantage points give wonderful views over the trainlines into Wandsworth Common.

The Grounds

There is much to see around the school site, including:

a. The 1/4 mile Drive (once said to be haunted by 'The Tall
Man).
b. The Fives Courts.
c. The Sports Centre and outlying buildings.
d. The Sports Field, which backs close to Spencer Park and
once housed an orphanage for girls.
e. The Exeter building and swimming pool.
f. The nature garden.
g. The Memorial Bridge, constructed in 2015.
h. The New Dacre Building, opened in 2017.
i. The Sixth Form Centre, extended in 2022.
j. The Hampden Hall, opened in 1959.
k. The Dining Hall, opened in 1959.