Wycombe Abbey
 |
|
| Motto |
Latin: In fide vade Go in faith |
|---|---|
| Established | 1896 |
| Type | Independent day and boarding school |
| Religion | Church of England |
| President | Maj The Rt Hon Peter, Lord Carrington KG GCMG CH MC PC DL |
| Headmistress | Mrs R Wilkinson MEd MA (Oxon) |
| Deputy Heads | Mrs A Hems Miss E Boswell Miss R A Keens BEd |
| Chairman of The Council | Patrick Sherrington |
| Founder | Dame Frances Dove DBE |
| Location |
High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP11 1PE England Coordinates: 51°37′33″N 0°45′04″W / 51.6259°N 0.7511°W |
| DfE number | 825/6018 |
| DfE URN | 110547 Tables |
| Staff | 117 Teaching 167 Support |
| Capacity | 615 |
| Students | 589 |
| Gender | female |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | 11 |
| Colours | |
| Website | Wycombe Abbey School |
Wycombe Abbey is an independent girls' boarding school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top schools regionally and nationally in academic results, the school was founded in 1896 by Frances Dove, who was previously headmistress of St Leonards School in Scotland. Its present capacity is approximately 615 girls, aged 11 to 18. The school is situated on a 160 acres (65 ha) campus in central High Wycombe. The land includes woods, gardens and a lake, and rises up to 500 feet (150 m) above sea level in the Chiltern Hills. The freehold is owned by the school; the main house and several buildings at Wycombe Abbey are Grade II* listed. The current headmistress is Rhiannon Wilkinson.
The history of the building predates school's acquisition of it. In the thirteenth century, the area, with the parish church, was part of the holding of the Abbess of Godstow. 600 years later, the priory at Godstowe was also re-founded as a school by Dame Frances Dove, and today is a 'feeder' preparatory school for Wycombe Abbey.
On the site of the present Wycombe Abbey was a large manor house known as 'Loakes House' which was the seat of the Archdale family, until 1700, when Thomas Archdale sold it to Henry Petty, 1st Earl of Shelburne. The earl in turn bequeathed the estate to his grandnephew, William Petty, (who inherited a different Earldom of Shelburne in 1761 and became Prime Minister in 1782). The Shelburnes, though, had a far larger and grander residence at Bowood House in the Savernake Forest and spent little time at Loakes House.
Consequently, Lord Shelburne sold his estates in the area. Loakes House was purchased from them at auction by Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington, in 1798. He employed the architect James Wyatt to transform Loakes House into Wycombe Abbey as we see it today. The original house and other parts of the school are listed as Grade II* by English Heritage.
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