Lambrook

Lambrook is an independent preparatory school for 615 boys and girls, aged 3–13, set in of Berkshire countryside. History The school was founded in 1860 by Robert Burnside, in a large country house built in 1853 by William Budd. Burnside initially employed only one master, and by 1879 there were twenty one boys, including two grandsons of Queen Victoria, Prince Christian Victor and Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein . Run as a traditional boys' boarding school, Lambrook accepted only male pupils between the ages of 7 and 13 until 1993. In 1883, Edward Mansfield took over as headmaster, with 46 boys, and made substantial additions to the property, almost doubling its size. Mansfield's expansion saw Lambrook gain a reputation as an efficiently run and forward-looking school, although this came at significant financial cost, which placed the school's finances under considerable pressure. It was around this time that what was later termed as 'a row', of undetermined origin and nature, took place, which saw almost all of the pupils leave. Upon the accession of Francis Browne in 1904, there were only 35 pupils and seven teaching staff, but by 1935 the school had expanded again to 59 boys. The current chapel was built under Francis Browne's tenure, in 1905. By 1945 there were 90 boys and a nearby residence, Westfield, was purchased to accommodate 30 pupils. When Archie Forbes took over in 1952 the school finances were at crisis point, and only improved by the time Philip Brownless, Archie Forbes' son-in-law, was appointed in 1956. However, substantial death duty liabilities hit Lambrook when Archie Forbes died in the same year, and the financial ruin that the school then faced was only averted in 1967, when Lambrook became a Charitable Trust.