About Us
History of Dorset House
Under various names, Dorset House has been in existence since 1784, originally in Hertfordshire but for eighty years in Littlehampton. In 1964, the School, then in private ownership, closed there but during its last term, Bury Manor School charitable trust was set up by parents, old boys and friends of the School to purchase Bury Manor where Dorset House now resides. The trust still owns and runs the school via our Board of Governors. We are proud of the school’s long history and you will find the names of some of the ex-Headmasters in use as our four Houses are Wilkinson, Munro, Sims and Hutchinson and our Pre-Prep building is known as `Champs’ – named after Tony Champion (HM 1983 – 1988).
Bury Manor has an extraordinary history. In 1066 the records show it was then owned by Countess Goda, sister of Edward the Confessor, but the Normans handed it over to the Monks of Fecamp, a Benedictine monastic order who farmed the Manor for centuries. The Great Barn was built in the 16th Century.
It is interesting to note that in the past, Dorset House offered rowing, sailing and fishing. There was also the first Bury Scout Troop which involved both the children at DH and some local children from the village. Our new leadership programme echoes the activities enjoyed by children in this idyllic setting in the past.
| Headmaster | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1784 | Totteridge Park School, Hertfordshire | Not Known |
| 1830s | Totteridge Park School | R Wilkinson |
| 1850s | David Munro employed as Usher, married Robert Wilkinson’s daughter | R Wilkinson |
| 1860s | Robert Wilkinson retired and David Munro became HM | D Munro |
| 1865 | Totteridge Park School moved to Hendon and became Brent Bridge House | D Munro |
| 1874 | Brent Bridge House moved to Elstree and became Hillside School | D Munro |
| 1886 | Hillside School moved to Littlehampton and became The School House | D Munro & Sons |
| 1900 | The School House and Dorset House merge and become Dorset House – a preparatory school | M Munro/ Beecheno |
| 1905 | David Munro retires and his son, Malcolm becomes HM | M Munro |
| 1912 | Mr Beecheno retires and Munro buys the school | M Munro |
| 1922 | Mr Robert `Bertie’ Sims becomes assistant master | M Munro |
| 1933 | Mr and Mrs Sims join Malcolm Munro in partnership | M Munro |
| 1936 | Malcolm Munro retires and Mr Sims becomes HM | R Sims |
| 1960 | Mr Sims retires – Mr Crathorne becomes HM | J Crathorne |
| 1963/4 | Mr Sims sells the school buildings and DH moves to Bury | R Hutchinson |
| 1983 | Mr Hutchinson retires and T Champion becomes HM | T Champion |
| 1988 | Mr Champion retires and Andrew James becomes HM | A James |
| 2003 | New teaching block, Wildbrooks opened. Euan Clarke becomes HM | E Clarke |
| 2006 | Co-education introduced in Nursery | E Clarke |
| 2008 | Flexi-Boarding introduced, full Co-education introduced, Saturday school ends, Richard Brown becomes HM | R C M Brown |
| 2016 | Matt Thomas becomes HM | M R Thomas |