Mary Datchelor School

Mary Datchelor School was founded out of an endowment originally intended for the upkeep of the 18th-century Datchelor family's family tomb. A board of trustees was established in 1871, with £20,000 to found a girls' school. The school was designed by the architect Thomas Chatfeild-Clarke and opened in 1877 with thirty girls, and had grown to over 400 by 1900. The first headmistress was Caroline Rigg (1852-1929), who remained in the job for four decades, until 1917. Rigg had been professionally trained as a teacher, and encouraged professional training for her staff. From 1879 she began selecting pupils to train herself as teachers. As demand grew, senior girls were awarded…