A committee ofNonconformist merchants and ministers, includingJohn Pye-Smith founded the school,[3] originally called Mill Hill Grammar School,[4] for boys on 25 January 1807. They located it sufficiently distant ofLondon at that time, because of "dangers both physical and moral awaiting youth while passing through the streets of a large, crowded and corrupt city". A boarding house was opened in the residence once occupied byPeter Collinson, with about 20 boys. John Atkinson was the first headmaster and chaplain until 1810.[citation needed][a]
Mill Hill School occupies a 120-acre (49 ha) site, part of which formed the gardens ofRidgeway House, the house of the botanistPeter Collinson. He was one of the most important importers of rare and exotic plants into English gardens. Many of the species that he introduced to Mill Hill in the 18th century continue to grow today in the grounds of the School.[citation needed] In 1746 Collinson planted Britain's firsthydrangea on the grounds, now located adjacent to School House.
The estate was purchased by the botanistRichard Salisbury in 1802, Ridgeway House became the setting for a long-running scientific dispute between the new owner and his guest,James Edward Smith.[6] The flora of Mill Hill was supplemented by the work of the amateur botanist Richard William Bowry Buckland (died 1947), governor of the foundation from 1878 to 1889, who cultivated a garden in the south-west of the school's grounds for the enjoyment of future generations. He wrote in his diary:
In years bygone I pray to thee, This willow here, my legacy As I have sat, pray sit thee. In shaded splendour Millhillians; rest hither.
— (signed Richard Buckland)
In 1939, Mill Hill School's premises became a hospital. The school was evacuated toSt. Bees School inCumberland for the duration of theSecond World War. Collinson House, a school for girls, was named for it. A St Bees Association was founded in commemoration of this period of evacuation in the school's history by Michael Berry and David Smith.[7]
Mill Hill first admitted sixth form girls in 1975 and became fully co-educational in 1997. TheBBC news website usually uses a picture taken at Mill Hill School for articles about boarding schools.[8][9]
In 2005 the school was one of 50 of the country's leading independent schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed byThe Times. Together they had driven up fees for thousands of parents.[10] Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000, and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust. It is to benefit persons who were students at the schools during the cartel period.[11]
In March 2007, Mill Hill celebrated itsbicentenary. To mark the occasion, the school was granted a newcoat of arms byRobert Noel, Her Majesty's Lancaster Herald.[12]
In 2018, the school experienced controversy when it was featured in the music video of London rapperStefflon Don. In it, she was shown nude in the changing room showers, dancing on tables in classrooms, and smokingmarijuana in the dormitories.[13][14][15]
Atkinson – Named after the first headmaster, John Atkinson
Cedars – Named in honour of the cedars planted by Peter Collinson
McClure – Named after Sir John McClure, headmaster at the turn of the 20th century
Murray – Named in honour ofSir James Murray, teacher and longtime editor of theOxford English Dictionary; who began compiling his dictionary while a master at Mill Hill
Priestley – Named after headmaster Thomas Priestley
School House – Named after Tite's famous building constructed in the 1820s
Weymouth – Named after headmaster Richard Weymouth
Winfield – Named after headmaster William Winfield
The chapel was opened in 1896. Designed byBasil Champneys, it is a basilica in form. The School House was designed by SirWilliam Tite, famous for his work on the LondonRoyal Exchange, School House was erected in 1825 and is described as being in the Greco-Roman style. Other buildings within the site are of both traditional and modern styling. The cricket house was used as a set in thetenth episode ofInspector Morse.[citation needed] In honour ofPatrick Troughton the Mill Hilltheatre was dedicated to the actor and named the Patrick Troughton Theatre in 2007.[citation needed]
The school is run by the Mill Hill School Foundation (now known as The Mill Hill Education Group),[17] aregistered charity under English law.[18] The Education Group offers education to boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in seven schools.[19] The Mill Hill Education Group's other schools are:
Belmont – a day school for pupils aged 7 to 13. Head: Leon Roberts
Grimsdell – a pre-preparatory day school for pupils aged 3 to 7.[20] Head: Kate Simon
This article's list of alumnimay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Pleaseimprove this article by removing names that do not have independentreliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriatecitations.(August 2021)
Braithwaite, Roderick (2006).'Strikingly Alive': The History of the Mill Hill School Foundation 1807–2007. Chichester: Phillimore & Co.ISBN978-1-86077-330-3.
Brett-James, Norman G.The Book of Remembrance and War Record of Mill Hill School 1914-1918 (1919)
Brett-James, Norman G.The Book of Remembrance and War Record of Mill Hill School 1939-1945 (1948)
Brett-James, Norman G.The History of Mill Hill School 1807-1923 (revised ed. 1923)
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