New life for Frank Whittle’s old school

The hall, where jet engine inventor Sir Frank Whittle was once a pupil, is the centrepiece of the new Audley Retirement Village in the heart of the town’s conservation area. But it has a fascinating past.

The site of Binswood Hall, formerly Leamington College, was first built on in 1848. The college aimed to provide schooling to the local nobility, clergy and gentry in accordance with the principles of the Church of England.

The college was designed by a local architect, Daniel Squirhill. His brief was to design the new school buildings in a Victorian Gothic style reminiscent of an Oxford college .

Financial difficulties forced the school to close in 1902 and the building was taken on by a French order of nuns in 1905 – the Society of the Sacred Heart, who ran the site as a convent school until 1916, when they were forced to close because of the First World War.

During the rest of the First World War it was occupied by Dover College, and then in 1922 it once more became Leamington College.

After the Second World War the buildings were taken over by Warwickshire County Council which did some construction work in 1957.

In 1975 the hall became the Sixth Form Centre for North Leamington School, which moved to purpose built premises in 2009, leaving the site vacant.

The site was acquired by Audley Retirement Villages in 2010 and in July 2012 they started work on the building.

The builders faced a massive restoration task. They have retained the character of the original Victorian architecture, including the main hall and the chapel and taken out many of the less attractive features from the 20th century building work.

The former school swimming pool has gone but the village will have a new indoor pool as part of its leisure facilities, which also include a restaurant, bistro, bar, teatment and fitness rooms.

Some of the apartments will be rather grand with high ceilings and stained glass windows. Prices will start at £295,00. Potential residents can choose to live in blocks named after famous old boys of Leamington College: Whittle Court, Strachey House (writer Giles Lytton Strachey) or Painting Court (actor Norman Painting - Phil Archer).

Read more about these famous old boys in next week’s Nostalgia.