Holcombe Manor
Encyclopedia
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Chatham
Chatham, Medway
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
, George Winch (September 20, 1842 – February 22, 1914), for him and his wife Mary Clarke Bluette to live in. Mary was brought up in the village of Holcombe Rogus
Holcombe Rogus
Holcombe Rogus is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. The population of the parish is 503.The manor house is described as "perhaps the finest Tudor house in Devon". The last element of the village's name – often mistranscribed as Regis – is that of the owner of...
, Devon. Winch built the new family house in a near-identical style to that of her childhood home, Holcombe Court in Devon, calling it Holcombe. There was a lake in the grounds, and a sunken Italian garden. The original building was later extended past the conservatories
Conservatory (greenhouse)
A conservatory is a room having glass roof and walls, typically attached to a house on only one side, used as a greenhouse or a sunroom...
.
In 1909 Holcombe Manor was put up for auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
. The lots were the house itself, the local football ground, Chatham Town F.C.
Chatham Town F.C.
Chatham Town are an English Association Football club based in Chatham, Kent. They currently play in Division One North of the Isthmian League and are nicknamed "The Chats"....
, and the surrounding woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
. This area is now occupied by houses, shops and so on.
In 1920 the house became home to Chatham Grammar School for Boys
Chatham Grammar School for Boys
Chatham Grammar School for Boys is a grammar school in Chatham, Kent, England. As with most schools in the town, it is a selective school; however, the sixth form is comprehensive.- History :...
, after which more buildings were built to accommodate students. These temporary buildings remained on the site of the sunken garden for about forty years until the year 2000, when construction on the Performing Arts block was started. The last remnants of the garden were destroyed as the steps leading out from the Manor's library down to the garden were demolished and the area bricked over. Today the English and Science ("B" Block") stands on the site of the lake.
Parent-Teacher Association
In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
of Chatham Grammar School for Boys is called the Holcombe Association - it is believed to be the oldest PTA in England. Students are known as "Holcombians".