St Gabriel's School is an independent

Independent school

An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...

 girls' day school at Sandleford Priory at Sandleford

Sandleford

Sandleford is a hamlet and former parish in the English county of Berkshire.The settlement is now within the civil parish of Greenham, and is located approximately south of the town of Newbury.-Priory:...

, two miles (3 km) south of Newbury

Newbury, Berkshire

Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...

, in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

.

Priory

The Priory of St John the Baptist at Sandleford was founded for Augustinian Canons Regular by Geoffrey, Earl of Perch and his wife Maud some time between 1193 and 1202. In 1274, Maud de Clare, Countess of Gloucester and Hertford made arrangements to refound it as a double house for Fontevrault Benedictine nuns and brothers, but this did not come about. It was dissolved in 1478. The remains were converted to a country house and the old priory chapel is the present library.

Country house

The present Sandleford Priory is a grade one listed building in 54 acres (21.9 ha) of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown

Capability Brown

Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...

. It was erected around the old priory buildings between 1780 and 1786 by James Wyatt

James Wyatt

James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...

, for Elizabeth Montagu

Elizabeth Montagu

Elizabeth Montagu was a British social reformer, patron of the arts, salonist, literary critic, and writer who helped organize and lead the bluestocking society...

, the social reformer, patron of the arts, salonist

Salon (gathering)

A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...

, literary critic and writer who helped organise and lead the Blue Stockings Society. It was later inherited by her nephew, Matthew Montagu, 4th Baron Rokeby

Matthew Montagu, 4th Baron Rokeby

Matthew Montagu was a British Member of Parliament and Peer of the Realm.Montagu was born Matthew Robinson, the son of Morris Robinson of the Six Clerks' Office, Chancery Lane and nephew of Matthew Robinson, 2nd Baron Rokeby...

.

School

The house became a school in 1947. There is now a school community of over 500 girls, 60 teaching staff and 20 support staff. It is associated with traditional Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

values.